Acts 1
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Philippians 2
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Zechariah 12
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Revelation 1
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
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.