As a child growing up I often subjected myself to some intense mental stimulation… my favorite was the Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. For those fortunate enough to have regularly viewed this classic moose with his flying-squirrel sidekick, you have to admit you laughed a lot and learned a little.

What I truly enjoyed were the cliffhanger endings on each episode. The story came to a screeching halt and would not be resolved until what? The next episode.

Many of us have a similar view of Jesus and his ministry. Think about it. Jesus was born, grew up, ministered and did his thing, was crucified, buried, arose from the dead, hung out with his disciples for a bit and then zip… ascended to heaven. And some day he will come back and finish what he started. Right?

But what we must realize is that the key to Jesus’ ministry is that we don’t have to wait until the next episode airs… we aren’t in some cosmic commercial break right now, we aren’t waiting to tune in next time.

Check this out: Acts 1.1-3

¹In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

A little background might prove helpful here… Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles (sort of part-two of his writings.)  Luke’s “former book” was his account of the gospel where he details Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, miracles, teachings, death and resurrection.  We see Luke connecting what Jesus was doing on earth to what Jesus will now do from heaven… of course that sort of throws us a curve ball, right?

How will Jesus continue ministering if he is not around? Jesus makes it clear that the ministry will be accomplished by the Holy Spirit … the Spirit of God.  But not just God’s Spirit flying around and making things happen like some magic genie.  No, it is the Spirit present and empowering the Christ-followers.

Look at what Luke writes next: Acts 1.4-9

⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Take note of the disciples question: “are YOU going to now restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus’ response? “Nope. You are going to reveal, not the kingdom of Israel, but the Kingdom of God!”

What was Jesus saying to them?

1. It is not about what Jesus is going to do… it is what Christ-followers are going to do
2. It is not simply about your self-interest (the kingdom of Israel)… it is about the Kingdom of God

This is huge: the church will be actively involved in going out and revealing the Kingdom of God

And it was not just about their own self-interests, the kingdom of Israel.  The disciples were thinking small, boxing this whole God-thing in.  But Jesus was thinking huge, really huge, making a point that this is a much bigger thing… this is a ‘Kingdom of God’ thing.

Jesus was making clear that this was not the end of his ministry, but the beginning.

So, the world is not waiting to tune into the next episode.  Jesus’ ministry continues in the lives of those who follow Him through the Holy Spirit.

So what we find here in Acts is the beginning of what we would call the church, right? Here we find regular people, people like you and me, who took seriously the implications the Kingdom of God would have on their lives.

These were ordinary people:

• Whose hearts and minds and lives were captivated by Jesus
• Who devoted themselves to embracing the revolutionary realities of God’s Kingdom
• Who truly believed Jesus’ words: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit come son you:
• Who expected God to be more than just something they added to their lives when it was easy or convenient or painless
• Who expected God to really transform their lives and their world
• Who opened their lives up, engaging the Spirit of God, and together became unstoppable, empowered, irresistible, courageous and contagious.

Though the kingdoms of the world tried to snuff them out, the Kingdom of God thrust them forward…

• Their lives were forever changed.
• Their families were forever changed.
• Their homes were forever changed.
• Their cities were forever changed.
• Their world was forever changed.

In a short three decade span these regular people overcame incredible odds, survived vicious attacks, rose above critics and endured the storms.

How? Not because of their own cunning or resources or plans or ideas or strength or power… but because they entrusted themselves wholly to God and lived in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But this is not just history, just something that happened with these 1st century Christ-followers. This is our story… our invitation.

The book of Acts as found in our bibles has 28 chapters. But when the 28th chapter wraps up we don’t get a “tune in next time” message.  Jesus continues to minister… continues to work in us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You see, the drama is still unfolding, the story is continuing to be written and we find ourselves right here… right in the middle of it all.

How will you live your part as the story unfolds?

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