Heart Meditations

Act 1:1-5  In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,  (2)  until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  (3)  He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  (4)  And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; (5)  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Ok so several things jumped out at me.

Firstly that in the gospel of Luke all that was written about Jesus was what he began to do and teach.  Jesusonly begun his doing and teaching while he was hear.  So watch this the infinite God restricted Himself to being the one person in the incarnation, He became on man.  I always thought that Jesus’ work on earth was done and now He is just in the heavenly sanctuary but actually what does the scripture tell us ‘heaven of heavens can’t contain him’ so much less one human body.  Therefore after the resurrection Christ has decided to expand his body from just the human for he retains to the church through the Spirit.  Now we have been talking about this all week but I just realised that this metaphor of the body is not really a metaphor its actually the reality.  So The Acts is actually the second part of the teachings of Jesus and the doing of Jesus through in his resurrected body.  What is the ressurecred body of Jesus, is it just the form he was in after Sunday morning?  What I have noticed about the gospels is that after the resurrection its seems like He keeps changing form, the disciples don’t recognise Him by his physical form anymore but by the things he does and teaches.  isn’t that exactly the story of the road to emmaus in the book of Luke.  They recognise Jesus by teaching and by when they saw Him bless the food.  So  now Jesus is a shape shifter, He looks different every time you see Him by you can recognise Him by His actions and teachings.  Some times He looks like Rob, sometimes Rickey, sometime Tori etc.  Jesus is doing and teaching through us.

Ok second things, Jesus gives commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles.  So Jesus gives the prophets insights, inspiration but He gives the apostles commands…let head slapping and pacing begin.

OK Third thing he presented Himself alive to them by many proofs.  So what is the main basic thing that the apostles need to know before they are able to function, that Jesus is alive and He is with them through the in the person of the Spirit so He shows up over and over because the main problem that the disciples who became the Apostles had was that of little faith.  He was always speaking to them about it during the disciples phase but during the transition from being discipled to being sent He just keeps filling their lives not with the theory of His being alive but with the fact of it.

Forth, it says while saying with them,  my ESV has a not that says the word is actually eating with them.  So we went to Applebee’s think we left Jesus at the camp meeting but we didn’t realise that Jesus likes to have team meetings over a meal….!!!!!

Fifth  Jesus says they ought to wait until the receive the Father’s promise.  They already have the instructions that they need to go make disciples but they have to wait until the Father sends the Holy Spirit.  Why?  Because even though APEST is your spiritual personality type, its how your hard wired, its what you dream about doing or being.  Yet you can achieve it with out God.  Its a too step process the Paul in Philippians 2:13, ‘for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’  Just because you are wired to be an Apostle doesn’t mean you can just do it.  Just because you have the gift of teaching does’t mean you can actually be effective.  We need to wait in Jerusalem for the promise.  I feel like continued connecting is how we wait for what God wants to release in us through the Holy Spirit.  Now one word of warning, after the Holy Spirit fell things started happening but the original team also got scattered.  We learned how, the apostles didn’t want to leave Jerusalem and how God had to force them.  They were loving the community they had discovered so much that they didn’t want to let it go.  We must be aware that God has brought us together to receive his promised gift together but He reserves the right to scatter us too.

Finally…what if the Holy Spirit feel on us in power in the next few days…just a question not a prediction…do we have the faith to even believe that it is even possible…are we willing to receive the empowerment of God’s spirit in our gifting or do we want to just pleasure ourselves spiritually and never actually plant any seed.  God killed Onan for enjoying the pleasure of intimacy but being unwilling to plant the seed.  Is there a problem if enjoying intimacy with God does not lead to seed planting?

God I just want to pray that you will continue to show up amongst us even through this medium of the internet.  We just want you to keep showing up, interrupting out lives, giving us proof that you are alive, do your work through us.  May we be mistaken for Jesus today.  Lord I want to also pray for the youth that you are raising up that you would keep them by your name an in your Spirit.  Father we prayer for the church basement that you would keep from being flooded down stairs but you would flood the church upstiars with your Spirit.

Be with U Crew as they get some down time and prepare for their next assignment.  Continue to use them powerfully as they keep you as their conner stone.  Be with Kelly as they prepare for camp and the whole staff team.  Be with Brian as he tries to get back on nights, may we be a light in the grime depressing darkness that is walmart :).  By Brad as he bonds with his new baby and Nick as he reconnects with his wife after a week away.  Finally Lord I pray for my Nephew Gavin, who was admitted to hospital last night with a high fever, I praise you that it is noe gone but ask that you help the Dr’s to know what to do to prevent it happening again.  Continue to help him develop and allow me to be used prophetically to encourage, comfort and build up his parents

Amen