“…appearing to them over a period of forty days,” – Acts 1:3
In 1 John chapter 1, the apostle John makes the statement that, “…what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld with our hands, handled, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested,”.
John had an eyewitness account of what took place, and here, the author of the book of Acts, Luke begins to fill in for us the things we have not seen nor heard of in the first four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
We must begin there because what we will soon learn regarding things as the baptism in Holy Spirit, miracles, signs, wonders, they are all connected. Scripture will make this very clear.
Let me share my story with you if I may:
I was shown the deeper things of God’s Word regarding the Truth of the Kingdom of God the Son back in 2010. This truth is that there is a Judgment Seat of Christ for all believers and that there is a possibility of rewards and the loss of those rewards. That Truth states that we as believers have the ability to rule and reign with Christ for 1,000 years in His literal millennial Kingdom.
To say that this Truth was not widely accepted would be an understatement.
But I also learned something else, that when Jesus (and then the disciples) came proclaiming the Truth of the Kingdom, there were miracles, signs, and wonders. I was also taught, and believed, that those miracles, signs, and wonders ceased in 70 AD with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
And I held on to that belief for the next 12 years. Until September of 2022, when God began to open my eyes to what Scripture now says is True.
What was intriguing to me is that the same push back I got from those who did not believe in the Truth of the Kingdom, I was now receiving from the ones who knew the Truth of the Kingdom about what the Lord was revealing to me regarding baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Yet, the same Truths were found the same way. Scripture interprets Scripture and the context determines the meaning.
Holy Spirit chose this opening verse for me to share with you so that you would understand that some believers, don’t see Truths at the same time.
You may be hearing or reading this and thinking, “I don’t believe in that baptism in the Holy Spirit business.”
That’s ok. I didn’t either. But the Word of God is True, and it doesn’t need to defend itself. If you will just allow Him to speak for Himself and show you the CONVINCING Truths that He has revealed to us, you too will come to see that the things in the book of Acts are not merely church history…they are actually a blueprint for how we are to be as a Body of Believers today.
You see, there was a period of forty days that Jesus appeared to people, raised from the dead.
Would you deny that? Of course not! Acts 1:3 clearly tells us that after Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11), He walked on this earth for 40 more days. He taught, opened people’s eyes to Scripture, gave “many convincing proofs”.
You see, it’s no accident that you are here right now, because God has chosen right now for you to see the Truth of Scripture and to grow into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.
Remember 1 John 1:1? If you really want to know why you are on this earth, look at 1 John 1:3.
But what does that word “fellowship” mean anyway…?
But I digress.
I believe the time is now. I believe we have squandered enough of our intellectual pursuits trying to prove our positions, but it’s now time we get back to the Truth and the FACTS of God’s Word.
Tomorrow, Lord willing, we’ll take a step back to the night that Jesus rose from the dead when He entered the upper room. It is a PIVOTAL time in the life of the Church…and in yours…
If you would like to learn more about how to grow in the Word of God, we have different teaching resources available at our website: lhcpensacola.org. Just look for the “Teaching” tab for more information.
If you feel led to give online to support us, we have a “GIVING” tab on our website where you can do just that and thank you for even considering…
Thank you so much for your time today. If this message has blessed you, challenged you, or encouraged you, then please share it by passing it on! I pray God blesses you today! Cast all your cares to Him, because He loves you!
Kingdom Moments 