Lifted Vision Ministry

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ! God bless you and keep you now and forevermore! It is with great joy that I have begun to write this blog again! I have returned from Japan, completely debriefed and am looking forward to keeping you continually updated on exciting biblical truth and new Japan mission experiences and information! My new uploading schedule will be every Monday, so please look forward to new blog posts every Monday right here on Liftedvision.blog! I want to express a huge “Thank You” to everyone for lifting me up in prayer! I’m sure that all of the prayers that you have prayed for me have all been answered! And then some!

Today, I’d like to take a deeper look into one small, but powerful verse in the bible. This verse is actually a direct quote of what two angels spoke to the apostles after Jesus was taken up into heaven. The angels said,

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.“ – Acts 1:11 NIV

Men of Galilee, why are you standing here?

So let’s set the stage for what is happening in this verse. Jesus had just died on the cross, rose from the grave and appeared to many people to prove that He was alive and not dead. We find this information in the beginning of the book of Acts:

“[after Jesus had risen from the dead]…Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” – Acts 1: 1-3

After this, Jesus ascended up into heaven to fulfill all the prophecies about the Messiah, proving that He was the Messiah and God himself.

“And after He [Jesus] had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.“ – Acts 1:9

So Jesus showed Himself openly to the apostles and other believers of the Church and did everything exactly as He said He was going to do. Jesus’ behavior was always done in the light, where other people could see and observe. Jesus never kept His children in the dark about anything! He didn’t then and He still doesn’t now! Jesus always invites us into the light with Him. What an amazing Savior!

So since the apostles could visually see Jesus being taken up into heaven right before their very eyes, just how did they react to all of this?!

“And as they [the apostles] were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.“ – Acts 1:10

So from the sounds of this verse, the apostles were more than a little star-struck looking into the sky, probably questioning if they were seeing correctly that Jesus was actually being taken up into heaven! Although Jesus informed them that all of this would happen, when it came time for it to actually happen, the apostles responded in shock and awe at the supernatural things that were happening around them.

While they were standing there looking into the sky, they must have been standing there for a long time, mouths gaped and wondering if what they saw was actually real. I find it great that right at that moment, “two men in white clothing stood beside them.” If it wasn’t crazy enough that Jesus was just taken up into heaven, now two angels have appeared right next to the apostles?! Standing right beside them?! I can imagine that the apostles didn’t even notice the angel’s presence as they were completely fixated on the sky. They probably felt exceedingly perplexed at everything they had just witnessed. The angels must of had to speak up to get their attention! This is what the angels said:

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.“ – Acts 1:11 NIV

The angels questioned the apostles behavior. They were wondering why they were merely standing around after Jesus had given them instructions of what they must do after He ascended (Acts 1:4).

I thought it was very interesting that the angels said this to the apostles. How many of us stand in shock and awe when supernatural things (good or bad) happen around us? Do we allow it to paralyze us from what the Lord has told us to do? When things occur around us that we don’t understand, do we freeze up and stand there wondering? Or are we able to instantly respond to the instruction of God’s voice and remember His promises?

What this verse shows us is that: God calls us to “DO” for His Kingdom; not just stand around waiting for Him to come back. Jesus wants us to partner with Him to bring heaven to earth, to do the amazing things that He has called us to do and to bring His perfect plans to pass. God uses us to accomplish great things!

When God gives us visions they are glimpses into what He’s doing behind the scenes. They are an outline of what will come to pass or what we need to be prepared for.

I want to ask you today: When supernatural things happen around you, how do you respond?

I think too often we can respond just like the apostles did: standing and starting. How often do we spring to action and remember the Lord’s words?

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. “ – 2 Timothy 4:2 KJV

Be instant! Are we instant in responding to do what the Lord wants us to do? Or have we becoming apathetic in spiritual things towards our Father? Are we instant in our own correction? Are we instant in encouraging others? In season and out of season means all the time! When we are expecting to do something for the Lord and also not expecting.

I want to encourage you to ask the Lord what is it that you should be doing. What is it that He wants you to do? Is it praying for others, buying a homeless person a meal, starting a business or going on a mission trip? Whatever it may be, I pray that together we can learn to have an instant reaction to the Lord’s voice. Let’s continue listening to Him at all times and remaining in communication with Him all throughout our day through the Holy Spirit. That way, angels won’t have to come and say, “Hey! Why are you just standing there?!”

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