WHY ASCENSION DAY STILL MATTERS IN 2026

 

Today we commemorate the day when our dear Lord Jesus Christ ascended up into Heaven, 40 days after His resurrection from the dead. If you add 40 days from Resurrection Sunday (5^th April 2026), you get to Ascension Thursday, 14th May 2026.

The church in history has always observed this day in her calendar.  

·        According to Augustine the bishop of Hippo in North Africa (354-430 AD), the Feast of Ascension originated with the apostles.[1] Augustine urged believers to celebrate the Ascension by letting their hearts ascend with Christ to heaven.

·        John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa, contemporaries of Augustine, refer to it as being one of the oldest feasts practiced by the early Church, possibly going as far back as AD 68. [2]

·        At the council of Nicaea (325 AD) it was established that the memory of the death and resurrection of our Lord should occur after the Jewish festival of Passover, which also follows a lunar schedule. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon (the "Paschal Full Moon") that occurs on or after the spring equinox (March 21).

Ascension day is a public holiday in Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, and Lesotho, but no longer in South Africa. Ascension Day was removed as a public holiday in 1994. At that time Easter Monday was also renamed ‘Family Day’.   Sadly, many of our citizens have used these days simply to take a long weekend.  Hardly anyone you might ask on the street  remembers what the Ascension is all about. No wonder then that it has been removed from our public calendar. This is the finger of God.  But, we ought not to depend on the government to legislate such days   for the church. These days are sacred to our memory without government legislation, and so we will remember the Birth, Death, Resurrection, Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ plus Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit whether we have the day off or not.  It is not about having a public holiday. It is all about honouring  the great work of God.

In connection with this day then, we read these three texts from Scripture:

·        Acts 1:6-11: The actual happening. Jesus appeared to many of His disciples during the 40 days following His resurrection. On the 40th day, He appeared again to the apostles and He then led them out to the Mount of Olives where He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit. The 11 disciples saw Him ascending into the clouds. As they continued to watch, two angels appeared and declared to them that, just as He ascended, He would also return in glory.

·        John 14 :1-3 tells us what He is doing in heaven for us. He is preparing a place for His people.

·        1 Peter 3:21-22 tells us about the amazing authority of our ascended Christ.

So why should we continue to observe Ascension day?  6 reasons

1. We remember that the Ascension is also the promise of His Descension. Not only do we remember today that Jesus ascended to heaven. We remember that Jesus is faithful to all His work which He came to do. He ascended in order to descend   again. He promised not to leave us as orphans. He promised that He will come again to fetch His bride, the church and to be the Judge of all the earth. 

2. In this regard we remember then also that our future lies where He is now.  John 14:1-3 reminds us that our future is with Christ, in heaven.  This helps us to maintain an ultimate perspective on our life, which does not consist only of 70 or 80 years. We are made for eternity!

3. We remember that Jesus our ascended King, is endowed with great authority  (1 Peter 3:21-22).  We remember Who is really in charge of this   world and of this Universe!  We affirm that this Lord Jesus is now exalted and enthroned at the right hand of God the Father, Almighty.  We remember that He is above every other name and authority as King of kings and Lord of lords.  Ascension Day is a bold affirmation about ultimate authority. Jesus is in charge of all things. Abraham Kuyper, the prime minister of the Netherlands at the turn of the 1900’s (and also Founder of the Free University in Amsterdam and also a pastor of the reformed church) famously declared: “There’s not an inch of this universe of which Jesus (God) does not say “Mine”.  That is an echo of Psalm.   Oh, how we need to hear this truth in our fear and anxiety driven society -  fears  that make us feel insecure, vulnerable, exposed – many of the fears are driven by untruths, fake news, social agendas, political agendas – you name them!  What fears, what anxiety   such news  brings to the hearts of many people.  How will I survive? How will I eat, how will I drink, how will I clothe myself (Sounds familiar? see Matthew 6)

Ascension Day deals with authority. Christ “has gone into Heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him” 1 Peter 3:22.  Ascension Day deals with who its is that ultimately rules- about who it is that is ultimately in charge!   This is why Jesus, could say to his disciples on the eve of His departure, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you . . .” Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus’ authority in heaven is not an abstract authority. It is not simply related to heaven.  He is not simply ‘the man upstairs’  (Deistic worldview), far removed from reality. He is Lord over all, heaven and earth  and  in that setting Peter says, “He knows how to rescue the godly from trials“ (2 Peter 2:9).  From His heavenly throne, He empowers His true church. When she lives in His strength, and in obedience and submission to Him, she shall have His power and authority. Pentecost (remembered on Sunday, in 10 days time) proved this.

Jesus is LORD  everywhere  and in all areas of life. There is no area of life that is outside of the authority of Christ

·        He is Lord over every continent, country and city. He has authority over every people group.  For reasons known only to Him,  some people groups are presently more favoured with the gospel than others. Others have been more favoured in the past (see North Africa, and the Middle East and in the Western world). The reason why the gospel is scarce in Iran and Saudi Arabia is not because Jesus is powerless and helpless in those countries.  He is not! There are more believers in these countries than we dare to assume.  Our Jesus possesses the hearts of the kings of the nations.  Some are handed over others are in possession of His mercy.

·        He is Lord over every area of life, and again we are reminded of Abraham Kuypers dictum.  He cares about what we see, and what we listen to.  He cares about our business ethics and our legal practices, our schools and governments and the decisions that our parliamentarians make. He cares about our treatment of the vulnerable – the widow and the orphan and the sick.    And we do well to remember that everyone  will have to individually stand before this ascended, enthroned  King and coming Judge on the Day of Judgment. All will have to give an account to Him (see Matt 25).

4.  We remember this day because it reminds us that the ultimate victory over all evil  belongs to Christ.  Many rulers think that they have unlimited power and authority in themselves. But do they? History shows us otherwise.   Think of Bible times. Think of Caiaphas, the high priest, Herod the king and Pontius Pilate the Roman governor. They all thought that they had authority over Christ in their day.   But where are they?

They are awaiting the coming final judgement reserved for all the enemies of God at His  descension. It did not occur to them that they who judged Him, would one day have to stand before Him, the righteous Judge.  The Emperor Augustus issuing  a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world, requiring everyone to return to their town of birth,  did not  realize, that this  baby born under his rule would one day judge him.

5. The Ascension is a great comfort to believers who suffer persecution for righteousness sake. “Therefore, since we have a great High Priest Who has gone through the Heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the Faith we profess.” Hebrews 4:14. Remember then  that,

·        We have an Advocate in Heaven.

·        He hears our prayers.

·        He ever lives to make intercession for us.

·        He will come again.

·        He will crush all His enemies.

Therefore, do not fear governments or evil systems. Like Daniel and his friends do not bow before idols. Do not compromise the essential principles of our Faith. Wait for Him to act. Though He  is physically absent from the earth, yet, by His Holy Spirit, He is spiritually present.  We must wait patiently, for “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:25.

The Ascension is a wonderful reminder and assurance to us that “. . . the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14

7. We remember this day, because it gives us gospel opportunities. Whenever people, or our children ask, “What day is this?”  tell them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Such days stand out like the memorial stones  of  Joshua  4:6.  

The Lord God commanded Israel to observe a number of important days in Israel. The most regular one was to be the Sabbath (the 7th day). Apart from that Israel was  commanded to keep an additional 3 feast days (see Ex 23:14-17).  The Christian church also has memorial days:  Christmas, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost, and although the NT does not insist that we shall keep them (for  fear  that we make the day greater than  the person of Christ – Col 2:16,17), we do well to see Christ in them.  Whatever glorifies our Lord Jesus must be upheld by the Christian Church.  Thank God   for the remembrance of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus!

 

 

 

 

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[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/Ascension-Day.html

[2] https://archpitt.org/the-feast-of-the-ascension-of-our-lord-according-to-the-byzantine-rite-tradition/

WHY THE THOUGHT OF CHRIST'S ASCENSION SHOULD BRING US GREAT JOY

I have two texts for us. Our first text leads us to the consideration of our second text: 

Luke 24:50-53

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Taking leave of our loved ones is never easy. Sometimes there are goodbye’s where we even have to say to one another,  “see you in heaven!”  The thought of parting always fills us with sorrow.  It was now  time for Jesus to  go back  (to ascend)  to the Father and amazingly,  we read  here that this parting   was not characterized by grief  or sorrow – in fact,  it was characterized by  great joy. We read that they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy! What made the disciples so joyful  at Christ’s ascension?  And what implications might the thought of the ascension have on our joy?  

There are at least  four  reasons  why Jesus’ ascension, should bring us joy, and for this I refer you to our next scripture reading :

John 17:4 -11   (Context: Christ’s high priestly prayer)  

[4]“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. [5] And now Father glorify  me in  your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the  world existed. [6] “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. [7] Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. [8] For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. [9] I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. [10] All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. [11] And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.“

FOUR REASONS  WHY THE THOUGHT OF CHRIST’S ASCENSION SHOULD BRING US JOY

 (i)         The thought of His finished work

(ii)        The thought of His present heavenly ministry

(iii)       The thought  of  our empowerment for effective ministry  in this world

(iv)       The thought of His return,  and the prospect of our finished work

1.         The  Joy that comes at the thought that Jesus’ Work is truly finished.  [John 17:4]

I don’t know about you, but my present work as a pastor never feels as if it is finished. There is always more to do; more people to visit and to attend to; more  counsel and help to offer; more church admin, and emails, what-apps  and writing to do ; more  preparation for many different kinds of meetings; more prayer, more preparation for the Bible studies and Sunday sermons. Our work never seems to have an end. There are aspects  here and there  where I can say, “Well, thank God  that  this is  now finished”, but then when I look at the bigger picture,  there is still so much that is not finished, and it won’t be finished   until Jesus returns.  The Lord Jesus, however at this moment can truly say that His work on earth was   now finished! He had accomplished what He had come to do. He could now  go back to the Father  knowing that He had glorified Him on earth, having accomplished the work that the Father  had given Him to do. The night before He died, He told His disciples: “I came from the Father and  have come into the world and now  I am leaving the world  and going to the Father” (Jn. 16:28). His work was now truly finished! 

How can this fact make us joyful?   Let us think about this for a moment.   He accomplished His work for us on the cross.  By this work He made atonement for our sin, in two ways. 

Firstly, He fully dealt with the consequences of our sin by substituting His life for ours (expiation), and secondly He fully bore the just wrath of an offended, holy God (propitiation). Jesus therefore   perfectly accomplished His work  as Mediator between God and men.   From our perspective in particular  the joy comes  as a result of knowing  that  we have been freed to go  to heaven, knowing that there is no condemnation awaiting us there  (Rom. 8:1).   

Your sins are forgiven in His name.  

You are ready for heaven. 

You  can worship Him and rejoice in Him because His earthly ministry for you and for all His church  is  now completed. Nothing more needs to be added on your part to Christ’s finished work. 

The only thing that you can do  is to be obedient to His commission   for you  in terms  of sharing this good news in your generation,  so that people may hear, believe  and be saved from their sin and go to heaven!

2.  The Joy of  thinking about   Jesus'  heavenly ministry.  ( John 17:5)

In  John’s gospel Chapters 13 – 17 (The Upper room discourses)  the Lord  Jesus had told His disciples on a number  of occasions  that He was going to leave them.  At that  stage their hearts were troubled  and He needed to remind them,  “If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father  is greater  than I” (John 14:28). He is reminding them here that they did not need to grieve, for  in  returning to the Father, He would be restored to that  place of glory and power that was His before  He became the incarnate Son of God.    

How does the fact of Jesus’ ascension, and session  in  heaven help us to be  joyful? 

Consider  these 4 facts:

(i)         We are joyful because we have a glorious, enthroned King in heaven.  He is our representative and guarantee before the Father.  Jesus is our man in heaven. He is our Advocate before the Father.  He is our brother in heaven (Hebr. 2:11). He is the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18) and therefore He is the hope of our resurrection (1 Thess. 4:14-18).   When we shall receive our resurrected bodies one day, we will also share in His glory (John 17:22-24). But think also about this: He is now  worshiped, loved and adored by our    departed brothers and sisters gathered before the throne, saying “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing.”  They also say, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honour and glory and dominion forever and ever” (Rev. 5:12, 13).

(ii)        We are  joyful   that He represents us  and intercedes  for us in heaven. (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). This  prayer involves not only presenting our prayer petitions and needs before the Father. Hebrews 9:24 tells us that He appears in the presence of God on our behalf.  1 John 2:1, 2 tells us that He is our Advocate in heaven. We have  continual access to God through  Jesus our Advocate. 

(iii)       We are joyful knowing that He is preparing a place for us,  knowing that we may be where He is. (John 14:1-3).

(iv)       We are joyful   knowing that that at the ascension Jesus has declared His  dominion over heaven and earth.  Peter tells us that Jesus is now “at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him” (1 Pet. 3:22). Paul says that Jesus is seated at God’s “right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet” (Eph. 1:20b-22a). There is, of course  a sense in which all things are not yet subject to Him (1 Cor. 15:27-28; Ps. 110:1; Heb. 10:13). But when He comes again in power and glory, He will conquer every  enemy and reign forever and ever. So,  it is as good as done, and this knowledge fills us with joy.

3. We may be joyful because we may effectively continue His work in the world until He comes.  (Jn. 17:14)

"I have given them your  word..." 

Why did the Lord Jesus not take His followers with Him into heaven when He ascended? The answer is simple. He has work for them to do in His name.   Future generations still have   to be reached. The church’s mission   is to continue to proclaim the saving work of Jesus to every generation and to all nations.  However, the Lord Jesus also knew that in our own strength  we could not do  it. So He promised  us to send the Helper- the Holy Spirit.  He told the disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away;  for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I  go, I will send Him to you” (Jn 16:7).  Jesus had promised,   “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (Jn. 14:18) He had to provide His church with power and authority.  For this reason the church had to wait until it was endued with His power (Lk 24:49 ; Acts 1:4,8).  When Christ ascended, the Holy Spirit descended. It is essential that we are clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit if we want to succeed in that mission. So, joyfully thank God that  we  have the Holy Spirit who effectively enables us   to do this work.  

We need Christ’s blessing in order   to be effective representatives for Him in the world. Note that He blessed the disciples before He left (Lk.  24:51; Acts 1:12). “He lifted up His hands and  he blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Lk. 24:50b-51). The picture is that of the Old Testament priest blessing the people after offering the sacrifice for them (Lev. 9:22).  Jesus wasn’t just wishing the disciples well when He blessed them. His blessing was absolutely essential for them and for us, if we are to carry on His work. Without Jesus’ blessing, we are reminded   of Psalm 127:1, “unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain”.  In God’s work, His blessing means everything.  Thank God that we are empowered  to do this work by our ascended Christ.

4. We may be joyful at the thought of His return and the prospect of our finished work

The promise of Christ’s ascension is also the promise of His descension, that is, His second coming. No man knows the day or hour (Matt. 24:36). We are to be prepared at all times (Matt 25:1-13). But this we know, that when He comes, our work will be done and then we too shall ascend with Christ to heaven (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:17). Then too all suffering, challenges, tears, sorrow, sadness, sickness, pain etc. will be over and our work will be done, and our eternal rest (Hebr.  4:9-16)   will have begun.

The ascension of our Lord Jesus began the final step of His great plan of salvation. 

It is the pen ultimate step. 

The next step will be his descension, His second coming. 

What a day that will be!

I trust that this brief meditation on the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ has helped you too, to worship our Lord Jesus  with greater expectancy and  with greater joy!  

We thank and bless our God for the remembrance of this day. Amen

Acts 1:12-2:1 What to do between Ascension and Pentecost?

 

Chronologically,  we are  now between  the Ascension of  the Lord Jesus Christ  and Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit – the promise of the Father -  Acts 1:4). This ‘in between period‘ corresponds  to Acts  1:12-26. This is the text we shall  consider today.

Next week D.V. on Pentecost Sunday I would like to consider with you  the message and meaning of Pentecost (Acts  2). We  would like  to follow   this up  by  spending  3 days in  prayer  seeking  the LORD  for   personal and national  revival  and  renewal.  By then we  will also be  half way through the year. We shall  need   God’s  help  to be all that He wants us to be in these challenging days. God has called  us to be  primarily His holyworshipping  people,  His body on earth  and  His  witnesses to the ends of the earth. We need His help  to be that and to do that  by prayer. Prayer is the language of dependence upon God. Prayer give us perspective for life. Being too busy to pray robs us of such  perspective. Therefore prepare your hearts now  for  focused prayer.

Acts  1:12-26: Survey

What  was  the most important activity  of the disciples   between   the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost as they were told to wait for the promise of the Father? According to Luke, ( author  of the Gospel and of Acts) they  were continually in the temple  blessing God  (Lk 24:53) and  here in the book of Acts  they  were devoting[1] themselves also to prayer,  together with  the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers (v.14), while they were waiting for the promise of the Father.  They worshipped  God in the temple and they  had prayer meetings in their home. John Stott says: “It was  a healthy combination: continuous praise in the temple, and continuous  prayer in the home.”[2] 

One of the things they  dealt with was  the matter of  Judas’ desertion and tragic death  and  destiny. The apostle Peter  speaking  from v. 15 onwards, giving perspective to all this,  also sees  from  the Scripture   in Psalm  109:8  that another one must take the place of Judas. “Let another take his office (ESV)  / his place of leadership (NIV)“. This is important  since the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus  Christ (v.22)  must be  authenticated in the face of many skeptics and challenges. The  criteria set for the election  of a new apostle are simple. He must have  accompanied the disciples during all the time that the Lord Jesus  went in  and out among them-  and specifically,   from the days of the baptism of John until the day when He was taken up from us  - one of these men must become with us a witness to His resurrection”. Two men were selected Joseph (Barsabbas i.e. Son of Sabbas) also known as Justus  and Matthias. After   committing this matter  to prayer,  lots were  cast and the lot fell to Matthias, and so he became the 12^th member on the apostolic team.  This then was one of the important things they prayed  for in their  prayer meetings. They prayed for a completion  of their leadership team.  I will come back to this  in conclusion  because our church has presently great need in this  very same area. Worship, prayer, witness! These things  are  the   key activities  of the church , and whatever we fail  to do, we must not  fail in  these  areas. In the context of our text  in Acts, I want to zoom in on one of these core  activities – prayer. Verse 14 says that, with one  accord, they were devoting  themselves  to prayer. 

Verse 14:  Notes on Prayer  

1.  They were  there with one accord. They were of one mind. There was unity.  They had a common  goal and purpose. Nothing was dividing them now. We were created for unity. It is sin that separates us . It is our desires that drive us apart. A united, praying  church is a powerful church. She has the ear of God. She portrays  heaven on earth. Psalm 133 testifies to this. No wonder that Satan  continuously works to divide us. He fears  the united, praying church more than anything else upon the face of  the earth. 

2.   They were  continually  devoted to the work of prayer.  Prayer was a major  work in this congregation.  In one sense we can say that the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost as the sovereign  promise   of God and on the other hand  we can say that the Holy Spirit came  because   He was  prayed for. When God intends to do a work in our midst, He first  gets His people praying. We see this here. A season of devoted  prayer precedes the coming of the Holy Spirit. Never underestimate  the importance of  the prayer meeting in the life of the church, and be very concerned when the prayer meeting of the church is attended by the minority  and not the majority!  If  a large percentage of the body is absent  from public prayer, this generally points to divided priorities, divided hearts  and therefore a lack of  spiritual  unity  and purpose. You are probably asking : do  these people in the Bible  never work? Answer: They do, but they are not firstly known by what they do. They are firstly known as worshippers of the living God!  Unfortunately our Protestant work ethic  so easily substitutes  work for worship, when in reality our work should be driven by our worship. Let me therefore encourage you to consider the prayer meetings of your church in that light.

Now, it is not that we have to ask for a new Pentecost. It is not  that  the  Holy Spirit  needs to come again  from heaven. Pentecost is  a unique, unrepeatable   historic  occasion. He has come, and He has not been withdrawn. Jesus has promised that He would continue  to  be with us   as our Comforter, Counselor  and Convicter of sin.  However, consider this, that in the New Testament  period God  wants us  to seek the help of the outpoured Holy Spirit by asking !

         a. God commands His people  to  pray  without ceasing. 

    In the OT corporate  temple prayer  was  a daily  occurrence (see Acts  2:42; Acts  3:1). The early church  was  continuously devoted to prayer, and although the church at this time had not yet received the Holy Spirit, they were  waiting, until He had been given. We  today  have the Holy Spirit, but  we need to continually ask  Him to be involved in all that we do, remembering  that without God’s help we really can do nothing  of everlasting value (see Jn 15). So, the life of  the Christian and of the Christian church should be driven by continual prayer. 

          b. God commands  the church  to  ask for  the Holy Spirit. 

    He promises to give Him in response to  our asking: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” The gift  of the Holy Spirit is always associated with conversion (Jn. 3:1-8; 1 Pet. 1:12) and empowerment for effective ministry  (Lk. 4:1; 1 Cor 12 ; Hebr.2:4)  and joy (Lk. 10:21; 1Thess 1:6). And so, although the Spirit has been given,  every new NT generation needs to continually   seek God  in prayer and ask  for  the help and power of the Holy Spirit   in terms  of everything that we do.  James points out that  a worldly church  “does not have, because it does not ask, and  when it does ask, it does not receive because it asks wrongly to spend it on  its passions.” (James 4:2,3). There can be no doubt that we must ask . It is an exercise of our faith! It is a logical extension  of our faith!  In this  act of faith  we must believe and not doubt  (James 1:5-8). God is  for us when we pray in the Holy Spirit.  John  14:12-14,  Jesus tells  His disciples: [12] “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. [13] Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it (see also 15:16 ; 16:23-24). 

       c. God commands the church to pray in the Spirit in all occasion (Eph 6:18; Jude v.20). This does not mean  ‘speaking in  tongues’ so much as  praying in and by and under  the power of the Holy Spirit  i.e. effectively  and with confidence  (1 Jn 5:14,15).

       d. We are  warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Lk 12:10; Eph 4:30), for if we do so, He may be withdrawn, and  our prayers  rendered ineffective. It is ultimately the Holy Spirit that intercedes for us  and makes our prayers intelligible before the throne of God (Rom. 8:26,27). If  we are not helped by Him in prayer, God will be silent, something which the Psalmist dreaded (Psalm 28:1; 35:22; 83:1)

So, with all  this in mind  what  was this church praying for  between the Ascension and Pentecost?

We cannot say  with  certainty, but  the following three aspects   for which they prayed  may be deduced from   Acts 1 and 2. 

1  (i)      They were  praying for the promise of the Father: the descension of the Holy Spirit  in accordance with the promise of Jesus in John 14:15-31  and  16:4-15. This would soon happen in Acts 2.   For us this would mean that  we should pray  that the  promised Holy  Spirit  would  be pleased  visit our city and country. Although the Spirit  of   God has always been at work in the world and in Namibia (Missionary biography proves this), we are currently in a precarious moment in our history:  the church at large is backslidden, and  it shows in our national morality and the lukewarmness of the  Christian church. Worship is often man-made, prayer meetings are empty and  our witness  is feeble. The fear of God  is  absent. Thoughtlessness rules  as man made philosophies  and ways of thinking about politics, education, gender, sexuality  etc.  prevail. We need   a new reformation in our society  in regard to these things.

  

     (ii)  They  were praying for power  to be  effective witnesses  to the whole world  (Acts 1:8). This would have included  prayers for personal courage in the face  of fearful challenges. The   commitment of the Namibian  Church   to the  great commission  of Christ (Matt.28:18-20), when  compared, for instance with the South Korean Church)  is by and large  non existent. We lack power and conviction to this end.  We have been  receiving help  for far too long. We  need to pray that the Holy Spirit would stir many into   mission and evangelistic labour.

    (iii) They were praying  for  leadership. The  church  throughout the ages  has  always  depended on godly and God-given leadership. It is God ‘s means of  leading His church on earth. Where shall  we  get  the pastoral leadership,  the evangelists and the missionary force  from?  Jesus  said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly  to the  Lord of the harvest  to send out labourers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2). The disciples in the upper room were therefore acting in accordance with this instruction from the Lord, and  He was not slow in providing them with a replacement called Matthias.  We too are calling you  to pray  for leadership  on various fronts in our church –  for elder’s  and  deacons ,  and labourers  in the harvest field. But you must help us in this regard , brothers and sisters (2 Cor. 1:10,11).

What to do between Ascension and Pentecost?  

• The early church was  praying  for God’s kingdom to come; 
• for God’s glory to advance; 
• for His Name to be known  in all the earth; 
• the church was praying for leadership. 
• Let’s join them in this.  

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[1]  The present participle denotes an ongoing action. The NIV therefore translates “ They all joined together constantly in prayer”

[2] John Stott : Acts , p 52