The Book of Acts ~ Study Two

"No Distractions"


Acts 1:6-11 (NLT) So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
     He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
     After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”


I can't imagine how I would react to the resurrected Jesus, having just eaten a meal with me, giving me some things He wants me to do and then seeing Him lifted up in the sky and eventually disappearing. It would take two men dressed in white to close my mouth and get my attention back here on earth. These men have been through a lot in the last couple of months. Let's give them a break. They were a tad bit distracted.


The Disciples were Jewish through-and through. They believed that the Messiah was sent to be a Savior for Israel. But their view of "Messiah" was one of a military defender. He would be one who would firmly reestablish Israel as a nation, defending her from all other nations. So the disciples still weren't sure that He wasn't going to set up His Kingdom now. This is the verse the Jewish Nation bases their belief of "Messiah" then and now:


Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NLT) “For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.


If you look at the question that the disciples asked, then you would see that they weren't thinking along the same lines as Jesus. They wanted to know when His Kingdom would be set up. He was telling them that they would receive the power of God through the Holy Spirit indwelling them. You see Jesus had already defeated the foe who wanted them dead. He defeated Satan and death itself. They were focused on the here and now. On the threat of other nations like Rome. Jesus' focus is always eternal and He has already defeated our foes.


Now don't be looking down on the disciples. We aren't any different. Our focus is generally on what's happening to us now and how God is going to get us through it. Do you find yourself thinking about the here and now instead of what has been given to us that is truly eternal? Do we understand that what God has placed within each believer ~ the powerful Holy Spirit ~ is an awesome gift He has given us? I forget. I really do forget all too often. What we have dwelling within us is God's Kingdom already here. It is here in our hearts and will one day be set up on the earth fully renewed.


Jesus gently redirects the disciples to what's important. He said, "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know." He tells them what IS important: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you..." 


Jesus gently redirects you and me to what is important too. Everyday we focus on what's wrong instead of what's right. We can't control the government, the news, our family issues,....But, we do have the power to overcome them and focus on what matters. What matters is that Jesus has not left us alone to fend for ourselves. He has given the gift of God in our souls ~ the promised Holy Spirit of God Himself.


2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NLT) It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.


Our heads need to come down from the distraction of the clouds and what may happen. Rather, we should concentrate on what has been given to us to defeat the distractions and problems that we face daily. Let's place our eyes on Him and what He has placed within us.


Hebrews 12:2a (MSG) Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in.


Let's keep our eyes on Jesus and trust that He has given us the power to focus on what really matters ~ the defeat of sin and death.