Living between the cross and the cloud

1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. ‘Which,’ he said, ‘you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit in a few days.’

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time? ’

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

9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.’

Acts 1:1-11

That was so lovely, refreshing, and beautiful to be in the presence of the Lord and to sing these songs that lift our hearts to Jesus and also to the Great Commission. So, I’m just going to say a word of prayer before I share from the Word of God.

Father, we thank You for Your church. Thank You for Jesus Christ. Lord, that song says, “Oh church, arise and put your armor on.” Lord, we want to be fit for purpose to serve the Great Commission and the purposes of God in our generation. Lord, let us know what’s on Your heart, and let us follow You and bring the good news to all the people of Benoni and beyond. Thank You for this beautiful time, this lovely day—a day that we can remember that God is still on the throne and we are here to serve Him. That is the purpose. We are alive, and we will meet Him in the air one day as He returns to call us home. Thank You for this beautiful time. Lord, touch our hearts as we share and read through Your word now, in Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.

A Personal Connection to This Church

What a joy to be with you this morning. I’ve been reflecting on the privilege of coming to serve and share the Word of God with you. Just to reminisce a bit: in 1976, I came here as a young child, 14 years old and full of mischief. So I know what it’s like, Thomas, to be a preacher’s child. We had a great school that we went to, and then by His grace, God called us to the mission field.

It’s lovely to think of my dad, who also came from a completely non-Christian background. Someone just invited him to go to a service, and he went and was gloriously converted. Overnight, his life was changed. He was an utter pagan, and he became the pastor of this church. He laid the foundation stone to build this new sanctuary in the early 80s. My dad is buried just in the rose garden here with my mom. So we are very connected to Benoni Baptist, and we’ve received love and care all our lives through this very church.

My encouragement to you is to see the church growing and to see Pastor Mark’s heart for you and for missions. All I can say is: you are in the right place right now. Stay here and see God bless your life. My life has been abundantly blessed through the church of Jesus Christ and through the faithful ministry of the Word of God.

The Certainty of the Risen Christ

Let’s read Acts chapter 1, a very familiar passage to most of us. But I believe the Lord is going to bless us as we read through it and reflect on it.

Acts chapter 1, verse 1 says: “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach.” Acts is a book written by Dr. Luke, a medical doctor who also wrote the Gospel of Luke. He is talking about the Gospel of Luke here, where he wrote all about what Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up into heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

Jesus gave instructions. He taught the people. He taught His disciples how to reach the world with the gospel, and He gave final instructions. Verse 3 says: “After His suffering, He presented Himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.” This is talking about Jesus. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

On 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. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around Him and asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?”

I can’t resist breaking out quickly to thank God for the reading in Micah chapter 3. Micah was a prophet trying to bring the children of Israel back to faith in God and to worship in the temple. But they had been in exile, and they were a bunch of rogues—that’s why God took them into exile. Their kings would rise and fall. I think somewhere in Scripture it says only 30% of the kings really followed the law; the rest were not. They were eating people, doing terrible things, as we saw in Micah’s prophecy. It was pretty damning. But I thank God for that beautiful verse in Micah 3 where it says that Micah had power because the Spirit of God was on him, and he began to lay down the rules and reestablish the kingdom of God.

The Jewish people, including the apostles, were still hoping for some kind of physical kingdom where the Jews would reign in power and command the people of the earth, not recognizing that it was a heavenly kingdom. Verse 7: He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.” That is what Micah would have said to these guys as well—that God has a time, and He mentioned that He would send His King to rule the whole earth.

Verse 8 says: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. Can you imagine the shock and dismay? Jesus died, then praise God He came back, and now He is going again after 40 days. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

I am titling my message from Acts chapter 1, verses 1-11: “Living Between the Cross and the Cloud.” This was the time when the disciples had seen Jesus die on the cross. Their hearts were broken. They were dismayed. They didn’t understand why our Messiah, the Lord, would die on a cross before their eyes, brutally killed. Now they were living in this period where Jesus had risen from the dead.

The first point I want to bring out is the certainty of the risen Christ. Luke writes that there were many convincing proofs that Jesus had risen from the dead. That is the great distinction between Christianity and any other religion. Other leaders are in the grave, and people worship even the dead tomb. But praise God, Jesus is alive! He rose from the dead. In John chapter 20, it says He proved Himself to be alive. Thomas, the doubter, said, “I won’t believe until I touch the nail prints and the wound in His side.” Jesus knew what was in Thomas’s heart. When He appeared another time, Thomas was there, and Jesus said, “Come, Thomas, feel. See, I am alive. I am real.” He was risen not only as a spirit but with a physical, glorified body. Thomas was able to touch Him. Jesus ate food. His body was no longer found in the tomb.

We too will receive that same glorified body. I praise God that when I receive my glorified body, I will definitely not be needing my wheelchair. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? We’re going to receive a perfect body, and God will be glorified through that.

Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” I want to testify that it is watertight. Josephus and others wrote about the death and resurrection of Jesus. There is more historical fact that Jesus died and rose again than any other historical fact in all of history. It is a very well-documented fact.

First Corinthians 15:6 says that after He appeared to the disciples, He also appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at the same time—about double the size of this congregation. It says most of them are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Paul himself saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. He wrote this in First Corinthians, proving to everybody that Jesus had risen again. That is truly like a lighthouse to our faith. Though the world might be dark, though things might be difficult, though ships might battle to navigate through a stormy sea, the resurrection is the lighthouse. It is the most significant fact of history. The death and resurrection of Jesus go hand in hand. There were so many prophecies that He would die, and Jesus Himself prophesied, “I will be killed on the cross, but after three days I will rise again.” Luke was a medical doctor; he would have done his research because nobody would believe that a dead person had come alive again unless it was true.

The Mission of Christ Through the Power of the Holy Spirit

The second point I want to emphasize from these 11 verses is in verse 8: the mission of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus had appeared to them and spoken to them, they were living fearfully. Remember, when Jesus was crucified, the Romans were guarding the tomb, and the disciples even fled. So they were not full of faith and power. But Jesus said to them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”

Before Jesus was crucified, at the Last Supper, there is a long teaching in John 14 onwards. In John 14:1, He says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms, and I am going to prepare a place for you.” Thomas said, “Lord, how do we know where you are going? How will we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” But He also said, “It is better for you if I go away, because the Father and I will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who will come and teach you and lead you into all truth, and He will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.”

They had heard these words from Jesus, and now Jesus told them, “Go and wait in Jerusalem.” They gathered together in that upper room, probably where Jesus had done the Last Supper. They prayed, and there were about 40 of them praying earnestly, trusting God to send the Holy Spirit as He had promised. It wasn’t a short prayer meeting. It took 10 days. So if you get called for an hour of prayer, come for that—but 10 days of prayer, fasting, and waiting.

The Lord said, “You will receive power when my Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That is the Great Commission. In Matthew 28, He had said previously, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” So the Great Commission was already in their hearts, and now Jesus is saying, “All power will be given to you.”

Romans 8 also says that this Advocate will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. To be a witness for Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit who actually is the witness. He will give us power to say the right words, and He will bring conviction to people’s hearts. Romans 8 also says that if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Not only does the Holy Spirit give us power to be witnesses, but that same Spirit lives in us—the one that raised Christ from the dead. He will quicken our mortal bodies and give us eternal life. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of power. He gives life, He teaches the Word, He lifts up Jesus, and He gives us power to overcome the flesh and to live for Jesus, not following the ways of the world.

I want to share a brief testimony. After my accident and going to Wits University, I was able to continue studying dentistry, but I had an absolute passion for the Word of God. I loved reading the Bible, and I recommitted my life to the Lord because of the accident. It’s a great witnessing opportunity. I am actually grateful to the Lord that He allowed the accident to happen. Whatever your theology is, I believe God can heal and could raise me up right now. But in many ways, He has given me a pulpit. People often say, “Hey, what happened to you?” And I say, “I had this terrible accident, but Jesus came fully into my life. He became the Lord of my life.” It’s a wonderful opportunity to witness. So don’t feel sorry for me because I’m in a wheelchair. The Lord has blessed me with greater energy and power than I had even before my disability, because I was living for self.

I learned a wonderful secret. I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ Ministries on campus. A dentist has a great opportunity because he has a captive audience. There’s even a dental psalm that says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” That’s Psalm 81:11, talking about the Word of God. While I was working on my patients, I would tell them about Jesus and His love for them—that He died to forgive their sins, and if they give their lives to Him, they will receive eternal life and be free from their sins. Many people came to know the Lord. What enabled me to do that wasn’t because I was some great superhuman; it was because of the Holy Spirit.

I had been taught that the Holy Spirit will not fill a dirty vessel. Ephesians 5:18 says, “Keep on being filled with the Spirit.” We need to confess our sin and say, “Lord, forgive me when I have failed.” We don’t have to go on a witch hunt, constantly asking what sins we have committed now. But when the Lord makes it clear that you have done something wrong—been nasty, said a bad word, done something not right—then just say, “Lord, please forgive me, and I ask You to fill me again with Your Holy Spirit.” It’s called spiritual breathing. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter. The Greek word is *Paraclete*—the one who sits beside us. He walks beside us, and He wants to empower us to live the Christian life. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”

Peter was incredibly afraid, yet on the day the Holy Spirit was poured out, he stood up and preached, and 3,000 were added in one day. So, Mark, you think this church is a bit small, but 3,000 people could be added in one day, just as on the day of Pentecost. God is going to keep adding people to this church. Why? Because Mark also walks in the Spirit. Mark also believes—and many of you do—that it is only through God’s Spirit that we can be empowered to bring the gospel to others and to live the Christian life. We need fuel in our tank, just like a car. When you’ve driven your car for a while, you need to refill it. We are the same. We need to keep on being filled with the Spirit.

This prophecy about being witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and to the ends of the earth was fulfilled after Jesus said it. Ten days later, the Holy Spirit was poured out. In Acts chapter 2, when the day of Pentecost came, tongues of fire came. “Pentecost” means fifty. After the death of Jesus, fifty days later, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Feast of Pentecost, which came after Passover. Jesus’ ascension was 40 days after He died, so 10 days later they were waiting for the Holy Spirit. These tongues of fire came upon them, and verse 4 says, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Those tongues were actually languages that the people who had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost could understand. A crowd came because each one heard them speaking in their own language. Utterly amazed, they asked, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us hears them in our native tongues?” There was a whole list of people—Parthians, Medes, people from the known world, Africa, Mesopotamia, Asia. It actually says there were people from all over the world. Amazed and perplexed, they asked, “What does this mean?” because they heard them declaring the glory of God in their own languages. Jesus’ words were fulfilled: they were His witnesses because people from every part of the world were there and heard them.

There was an Ethiopian eunuch there as well. He got back to Ethiopia, and the Ge’ez Bible—an ancient language of Ethiopia—was the third full Bible to be translated, from Hebrew, then Greek, then Ge’ez. How quickly the gospel spread from the prophecy of Christ! But the reality is that it’s still not finished. We still have a lot of work to do. There are still many people who don’t know the gospel of Jesus Christ. To the ends of the earth—in our language, there are 7,200-plus languages spoken in the world, and still 3,000 don’t have any Scripture. Work is in progress. Only about 3,000 languages have the New Testament available. So many people still need to get the Bible.

I believe AI is going to help us. Computers are an incredible gift from God to help us do proper word processing, get all the spelling and grammar right, and do a great job. They are even doing speech-to-text now. On a Zoom call, you can get a lovely summary through AI of all that was discussed. In fact, you can get a transcript of everything that was said, not only in English but in about 200 world languages. Computers are hastening the return of Christ because they are giving us tools. But never be deceived: a computer is just a dumb tool. It can’t really think. AI is not really correct—computers don’t think and understand, and they don’t have the Spirit of God ever. Only believers can truly internalize the Word of God and live it out. We will never depend on the computer as the final authority, not as long as I’m alive anyway. But we will trust God to help us get the Bible into all these languages. We have a vision of a thousand languages for Word for the World, but there are many other Bible agencies that God is equipping and moving forward to get the good news to the ends of the earth.

The Ascension and Our Focus on Jesus

This is my third point: the ascension and our focus on Jesus. As Jesus is taken up into heaven, the disciples are standing there looking up into the sky. They were wondering, probably thinking, “What on earth is going on?” Jesus is going up into the clouds, and they were bewildered. Then the angels came and said, “Why do you stand here looking up into the sky?” That is my encouragement to each one of us: we are living between the cross and the cloud. The angels said, “This same Jesus, who was taken up into the clouds, will come back in like manner as you have seen Him go.” They were promising the second return of Jesus. He is coming again. He is returning.

He was the first great missionary who left the portals of heaven, gave up everything, and came to seek and save the lost. But He has given us a job to do. We can’t just stand there looking up into the clouds, waiting for Jesus to return. In Paul’s day, people said, “Let’s not work anymore. Let’s just wait for Jesus to come back. What’s the point of doing work?” Paul said, “No, go and work with your hands, earn some money, and get the gospel out to the people. Don’t just sit there waiting for Jesus to come back. There’s a job to be done.” So don’t get stuck looking up. Start moving out, and let’s get the gospel done. Jesus will return, but in Matthew 24 it says, “This good news must first be preached to all nations, and then the end will come.”

I want to read another beautiful passage in Mark chapter 13, verses 26-27: “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” So even my old dad and mom are going to be gathered up. They were cremated—some people don’t think that’s a good way to end, but it doesn’t matter. God knows where all the pieces of our bodies are. Some of us might have even been eaten by sharks or crocodiles, but God is going to find those molecules. He is going to bring them together, and we are going to be raised physically. Our bodies will be raised, and we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The Son of Man will come with great power and glory, and those who are alive will be caught up to meet Him in the air. We’re going to get that resurrected body as we go up. We’ll get a liftoff, and we will be with Jesus forever and ever. What good news! How wonderful!

But the problem is that many people don’t know about this, and we need to tell them. The Great Commission was given to us. He didn’t give it to the angels, even though it says angels will gather people from the ends of the earth. God has given you and me a mouth. Sharing the gospel is not good enough just by your life; you need to share it with your mouth. “If you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confess with your mouth, you will be saved.”

Each one of us has been given the task of going to the ends of the earth. I’m so grateful that we have been to Fiji, Papua New Guinea—it’s amazing what God has done in our lives. The Lord gave us the vision to train and empower other people. Same with Jesus: He gave instructions to His disciples. I thank God for those who have gone before us because they carried the gospel to us, and now it’s our turn. If we keep quiet, only people of our generation can reach the people of our generation. So we need to get going. We need to ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and to help us be witnesses. Don’t let your faith become sky-gazing spirituality. Yes, we need to dig into the Word of God. We need to know Jesus. But don’t just keep coming to church without inviting others. Let us become a force that will be a witness in this town and beyond.

Conclusion and Challenge

Christ’s work is ongoing, and it is through us. The Spirit’s power is available. We just need to ask: “Holy Spirit, fill me.” Our mission is to tell everyone the good news. I trust that you have been blessed as you reflect on your own life. We only have one life. It will soon be passed. Only what is done for Christ will last into eternity. We can’t take our things with us, but we can take people as we share the good news with them. I’m not trying to be a killjoy. The Lord wants to bless our lives. He wants to prosper us. But at the same time, He has given us those things so that we can reach others with the good news.

My challenge for you today: maybe God is nudging you. It was lovely speaking to Diego this morning—he said he wants to be a more effective witness for Jesus. My teaching this morning is simply to say, “Holy Spirit, fill me and give me the power to share the good news.” And second, some of you here today might be thinking, “I’d like to get more involved, even in going to other parts of the world.” Maybe the Lord is stirring your heart that He wants you to be involved in the mission of God to go into all the world. You can ask Mark to help those of you who feel that nudge. Even on our website, you can see where Word for the World is at work. Keep praying. The Lord will not send you to the ends of the earth until you have proven faithful here locally. Get going, share your faith, use your profession, use anything else to reach people with the gospel. Then you will see God get you going even to other parts of the world as you grow in your faith and ability.