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Thursday, 29 May 2003 - "Ascension power"
(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)
Acts 1:7 - 11; Philip 2:8 - 11; Zech 12:10; Rev 1:7 (Click here to read texts)
The service started with the testimony of Sipho Zondi. Once
he got converted, his heart burned for Christ and he preached in his area and at the
schools. At one school almost the whole school got converted and some of them started to
spread the Gospel of Christ they've just received. When asked why they no longer lived
lives of immorality, cheating etc. there response was that they've found Christ who keeps
them from sin. In that area there was a school that was known for its violence, even to
such an extent that no preacher could preach there. These newly converted children then
went to that school and preached there. The pupils that used to intimidate other preachers
were simply dumbed by the boldness and authority of these children and responded
positively to the message. These children had met the ascended Lord and received the power
of the Holy Spirit even as Jesus had promised.
Have you received this boldness and power from the Holy Spirit? Do you fulfil Jesus'
command to be His witness even to the uttermost corners of the earth. What fire drives
you? Is it Christ's fire of the Holy Spirit.
We read of a cloud that received Him out of their sight.
This cloud speaks of God's presence even as the cloud that was over the tabernacle and the
cloud that covered Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. God exalted Jesus greatly as we
read in Philip 2:8 - 11, but the governments of the world do not want to bow to Him. That
is why they remove Ascension Day from their calendars. However, one day they will bow and
acknowledge Him as Lord. Just think of His return to this earth. What will it be like? It
will be an awful day for those who rejected Him? That is why your vote is important. You
must make sure that you vote for a godly government.
When Christ return, not only the Jews will mourn, but all
the tribes of the earth. Those who hear the Gospel daily and persist in sin will mourn
even more than the Jews. Your very sins pierce Him daily. On that day there will be
instant recognition of how hidden, unconfessed sin wounded and pierced Him. There will be
no salvation on that Day for those who are forced to bow in hell. Yet they will bow and
acknowledge Him as Lord. Unless you part from sin, that will be your lot. Rather bow now
in truth and not with lip-service. Confess your sins today specifically and thoroughly and
not generally and on the surface. May today be the day that you see the wounds and
anguish that your sin causes Him and may you turn completely from it to Him. Then go out
and obey His command to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses to the
uttermost parts of the earth. |
