May 5, 2011 - Acts 1 -...after He had given commands.
What is witnessing? Acts 10:42, Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21...These are what Jesus commanded the disciples to do:
- Preach and testify that He is appointed by God to judge the living and the dead
- Make disciples of any person
- Proclaim the Gospel
- Proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins
God chose exactly whom He wanted to do what. It is God who chooses what we do.
It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father ahs fixed by his own authority...Daniel 2:21, Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:21, 1 Thessalonians 5:1. It is not for us to know. Do the so called prophetic predictors of the times really think they will be given information concerning
this? What they needed was the power of the Holy Spirit who was not made available to all saved people until Christ left the earth. Before, it was select men/prophets and prophetess to whom the Spirit of the Living God came upon. But now, all believers are given the Holy Spirit as a deposit of sorts when they get saved.
They did not need to know anything about the coming kingdom or end but they needed the wisdom and power of God.
Note too, that in order for someone to be an apostle at first, they had to be an eye-witness to the events of Jesus life from the beginning of John until Christ ascended into heaven. There were apparently two men eligible for that. I wondered what Barsabbas thought when he wasn't picked. I hope he was satisfied with the knowledge that God knows best and that God has the right to choose.
Wow! Once again, its all about the Plan...
Just Some Random Older Ocean Art:
