In the bid to run a man made government, the disciples of Jesus (Who were devastated by the rule of the Romans, and seeking for liberty) asked Him the purpose of His Kingdom whether it was the restoration of “…the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
The Lord understood the wrong concept and mentality they had of His Kingdom, that is why He had to introduce a new approach of the Kingdom mentality and lifestyle in Acts 1:4-5.
“…He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me… but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The time for Jesus to return to the Father had come; He had to give the disciples His last words, hence the strong emphasis on what they must do in order to be fully equipped for the dispensation ahead.
It is a Kingdom era, not by the system and pattern of the world, but by God’s power, the Holy Spirit. And that was why He showed them the way out in terms of defining their role in the fulfillment of the plan of God at that point in time.
So He drew their attention to the new pattern or the approach of God to obtaining the Kingdom mandate, and He said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the world.” (Acts 1:8)
Well, these obedient disciples got the message; and they complied. They never departed from Jerusalem they waited patiently with all seriousness and commitment for the promise of the Father. They heard the Master very well and clear. He said, the ‘Promise of the Father’, and that Promise was the Holy Spirit’s presence which is accompanied with power!
And they heard the Master very well when He said, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…’ By His enabling strength, they withstood all the temptation of running after things that did not matter, but remained faithfully focused, waiting for the fulfillment of the command of the Lord.
As you continue to read the account of the account of the apostles in the book of Acts, you will confirm the fulfillment of the promise of the Father to them (2:1-4). The witness unto Christ started that same hour in Jerusalem. And it was the emergence of the power people who would soon turn their world upside down. That was the overthrow of the on going systems both religiously and politically.
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