Stop Looking Up | Acts 1:9-11 Pastor Joshua Thomas, Sr. | Freedom Church ATL

May 17, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Scars and Unlocked Doors

Jesus stood among His disciples, alive. Thomas touched the nail marks. Peter ate broiled fish with resurrected hands. For forty days, they walked with Him again—laughing, learning, relearning trust. Their locked room became a classroom of wonder. [40:11]

The scars proved death’s defeat. Jesus didn’t erase His wounds—He made them proof. His resurrection wasn’t a reset but a revolution. Every meal, every teaching, prepared them to lead without His physical presence.

You’ve survived storms. Your scars aren’t failures—they’re proof God brought you through. What closed door in your life might Jesus be standing inside right now, waiting for you to recognize Him?

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’”
(John 20:27, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for three specific “scars” He’s turned into victories in your life.
Challenge: Text one person today: “God’s been good to me. Here’s how…”

Day 2: Jerusalem Dust on Sandals

Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. Not to strategize or protest Rome, but to receive power. They’d asked about political kingdoms; He promised the Holy Spirit. Their sandals stayed dusty in the city where He’d been crucified. [37:39]

Waiting wasn’t passive. Jerusalem meant facing their failures, their fears. The upper room became a womb for courage. God’s timing required their full presence—not distracted by “when” but anchored in “who.”

How often do you rush ahead while God says “stay”? What if your current frustration is the birthplace of your next anointing? Where is God asking you to plant your feet instead of chasing answers?

“‘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.’”
(Acts 1:4-5, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one area where you’ve prioritized your timeline over God’s instruction.
Challenge: Write “Jerusalem” on your wrist today—when you see it, pray for patience.

Day 3: Clouds and Unclenched Fists

The disciples craned their necks as Jesus ascended. Two angels snapped them back to earth: “Why stand here gazing?” Their job wasn’t to chart clouds but to carry power. The sky held no answers—their hands did. [38:34]

Heavenward staring paralyzes. Jesus left so they’d stop spectating and start stewarding. The cloud didn’t hide His plan—it revealed their purpose. Witnessing requires moving feet, not frozen necks.

What miracle are you still staring at instead of stewarding? What “cloud moment” have you turned into an excuse for inaction? When will you unclench your fists from yesterday’s miracles to grasp today’s mission?

“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 into the sky?’”
(Acts 1:10-11, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to shift your gaze from what’s missing to what’s mission-critical.
Challenge: Identify one habit of “spiritual procrastination” and replace it with a 5-minute action.

Day 4: Peter’s Fish-Stained Faith

Peter stood—the same man who’d denied Christ—and led the disciples to replace Judas. Fish scales still clung to his tunic from Galilee, but failure no longer defined him. The Upper Room became his pulpit. [01:04:09]

God doesn’t waste your resume—even the broken parts. Peter’s three denials became three restoration questions by the sea. Your worst moments are raw material for His redemption.

What failure have you let silence you? What if your biggest regret is the exact story someone needs to hear? When will you stop disqualifying yourself from the work God’s already qualified you for?

“In those days Peter stood up among the believers… and said, ‘Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas.’”
(Acts 1:15-16, NIV)

Prayer: Name one past failure and ask God to repurpose it for His glory.
Challenge: Share a “fish-stained faith” story with someone today—raw and real.

Day 5: Pentecost Fire in Empty Hands

The disciples waited with empty hands—no strategy, no weapons. Then fire fell. Tongues of flame turned fishermen into ambassadors. Their emptiness became the Spirit’s canvas. Power came not when they “figured it out” but when they showed up. [01:11:24]

God fills surrendered spaces. The Upper Room wasn’t a boardroom—it was a blank page. Your inadequacy is the prerequisite for His power. Weakness is the wick the Spirit ignites.

What empty place are you trying to fill with effort instead of surrender? Where is God asking you to hold open empty hands rather than clench full ones? Will you let your “not enough” become His “more than”?

“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”
(Acts 1:8, NIV)

Prayer: Hold your hands open and ask the Spirit to fill one area you’ve been striving in.
Challenge: Write “EMPTY = READY” on a sticky note—place it where you’ll see it hourly.

Sermon Summary

We gather with thankful hearts and name the simple truth: God has been so good to us. We focus our praise on what God has already done so that gratitude reorders our desires and frees us from obsessive attention to what lacks. We celebrate an upcoming Pentecost season as a hinge for communal renewal and expect the Holy Spirit to equip us for the work already placed before us. We commit to stewardship and sacrificial giving now, trusting that every seed sown into this work bears a harvest as God moves.

We read Acts 1 and find a sharp invitation to stop looking up and start moving forward. The text shows that forty days after the Resurrection the disciples still basked in presence and teaching, but they stalled when Jesus gave the final instruction: wait for the promised gift, then witness. Instead of acting, they stood looking into heaven. Angels interrupt that fixation with a question that functions like a summons: why do you stand here? That question flips faith from passive waiting to obedient motion.

We notice three linked realities. First, waiting does not equal surrender; it can become avoidance when we refuse the responsibilities God already entrusted to us. Second, God prepares us through proximity and training, so preparedness exists in our present lives even before full confirmation arrives. Third, bold obedience cultivates confidence, and God often releases power into those who move in faith before every answer appears. Peter models this movement: despite past failures he stands, calls the community to prayer, and begins to act into God’s promise.

We leave with a practical summons. We will stop spiritualizing inactivity and instead step into the tasks before us. We will trust God in our finances, join our lives visibly to the community, and take the next obedient step even when the horizon looks uncertain. We will walk forward and let God unfold destiny through our faithful motion.

Key Takeaways

1. Stop looking up; start moving We must learn that longing for signs can disguise fear. When we fixate on heaven as a substitute for obedience, our gifts gather dust and our callings atrophy. Moving forward tests and reveals grace, and action invites God to complete what faith has begun. [39:22]
2. God has already prepared us Proximity to Jesus trains us for future power even before visible confirmation arrives. The skills, instincts, and character formed in daily discipleship equip us to respond when opportunity knocks. When we act from that preparation, God multiplies what we already possess. [57:58]
3. Do your part before confirmation Waiting for full clarity often becomes an excuse for paralysis. When we fulfill the responsibilities within our reach, God will meet us and expand our capacity. Obedience primes us to receive what revelation alone cannot produce. [71:47]
4. Sow now with expectancy Investing our resources in God’s work demonstrates trust and positions us for increase. Giving is not a magic formula but a posture that aligns our priorities with God’s purposes. As we sow in faith, we cultivate a soil where God grows kingdom fruit. [33:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[20:11] - Opening Praise: Youve Been So Good
[22:22] - Worship and Thanksgiving
[26:47] - Pentecost and Covenant Day Announcement
[32:03] - Call to Trust God with Finances
[35:53] - Reading Acts 1: The Promise of Power
[39:22] - Core Exhortation: Stop Looking Up
[62:11] - Peter Stands: Move Forward in Faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 1:1-11 (NIV)
[Read the full passage here: Jesus’ ascension and the call to witness.]

Observation Questions

In Acts 1:11, the angels ask the disciples, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” What were the disciples doing immediately before this question, and what instruction had Jesus just given them? ([39:22])
According to the sermon, how did the disciples’ focus on “when” Jesus would restore Israel distract them from the promise of the Holy Spirit? ([44:04])
What practical example did Peter set after Jesus’ ascension, despite his past failures? ([01:04:09])

Interpretation Questions

The sermon argues that “waiting for full clarity often becomes an excuse for paralysis.” How does Acts 1:6-8 challenge the idea that waiting must be passive?
The angels’ question (“Why do you stand here?”) is called a “summons” in the sermon. What does this imply about the relationship between faith and action? ([39:22])
How does Peter’s decision to step forward (Acts 1:15-26) demonstrate that God uses our current preparation, even before we feel fully “ready”? ([57:58])

Application Questions

The sermon warns against “spiritualizing inactivity.” Where in your life are you “looking up” for a sign or waiting for perfect clarity instead of taking the next step God has already shown you? ([01:11:47])
Peter acted despite his past failures. What fear or past mistake might be holding you back from stepping into a responsibility God has placed in front of you? How could you begin moving forward this week?
The call to “sow now with expectancy” includes finances, time, and gifts. What is one practical way you can invest in God’s work this month—even if the outcome feels uncertain? ([33:30])
The sermon says, “Bold obedience cultivates confidence.” What small, faithful step could you take this week in your relationships, work, or community to “test and reveal grace” in your life? ([39:22])

Sermon Clips

41s

#DoYourPartFirst

“Pentecost was gonna happen. The spirit was gonna fall. People were gonna be changed. They were gonna have power from on high. But they did not need that to be the moment where they were confident in moving forward. Yeah. Don't wait for god to do his part for you to do your part. Amen. Do your part first. Yes. So that when god does what he's going to do. Yeah. You don't have to go back and learn last week's lesson. Well, you don't have to say, well, I should've come to class this day.”

42s

#AlreadyPreparedForThis

“Because sometimes, the opportunity to move forward is all the indication we need that we are really ready because this is the key. Because god would never take never take us somewhere that we weren't prepared for. God would never put us in a situation that we weren't ready to handle. That's why when you are living your life by faith and allowing the Lord to lead and guide you, it doesn't matter where you stop or start. God has already prepared you for it. So even if you don't know what you need, when you get in the moment, god will start pulling stuff out of you that you didn't even know was there.”

40s

#StopComparingStartDoing

“that one of the reasons you have not become all that God told you you would be is not because the doors were closed. That's right. It's not because the opportunity wasn't there. Yeah. But you questioned if you could do it. Yes. Amen. You wonder saying, am I as good as somebody else? Have has my edge does my education trick match up to somebody else's education? Does my background hold sack with somebody else's background? And we really believe that we need something else to prepare us for what we've already been prepared for. Yeah.”

35s

#AlreadyEquipped

“And one of the realities is whenever we get stuck looking up, we gotta learn that we transition from looking up to moving forward by remembering that we have everything we need to do what we gotta do. Amen. It's unique in this text. Jesus literally gave them the blueprint. He said, all y'all gotta do is stay in Jerusalem, and I'm gonna send power. Y'all don't have to go back home and get all your stuff. Y'all don't need to go down to the temple and memorize three of the scrolls.”

23s

#GraceRevealsYourGifts

“Many of you know there have been some times where you said, I'm not ready for this. I can't handle this. And you watched as God was pulling stuff out your spirit. You didn't know you remembered that thing from school. But right when you needed it most, it came back to your mind, and you stood up in that place, and people wondered how you did it, and you said it was nothing but the grace of God.”

34s

#StepUpAndRise

“I started seeing some needs in the ministry that I was planted in. And I started stepping up just filling the needs. Went to my pastor, my father, and said, hey, there's a there's a hole over here. Can I help to cover it? There's a gap right there. Can I step up and try to make it so that the operation runs smooth? And he was like, go ahead. Do it. And then about couple months later, he called me into his office and said, I want you to serve as my number two.”

29s

#ActLikeYourCalling

“God's already told you what you shall be. It's time to start acting like it. Yeah. Stop being scared that everybody else don't know it. Yeah. Stop questioning and doubting. Well, I'm not sure if I can do this. Yeah. And you just walk and watch as everything will fall in place.”

15s

#DoTheChapterWork

“God does not come to give you the next chapter when you still haven't done the previous chapter's work. You gotta move forward. Yes. And let god show you that you can trust him.”

16s

#MoveToBecome

“And every now and then, god is calling us to move forward not for everybody else but so that we can see we are who god created us to be. We may not have been it before but we are now.”

19s

#StillWritingYourStory

“Yes. I see that was somebody's deliverance. Let me try it again. We may have failure on our record. But we're still writing the story. And if we're still writing the story, there's still time for us to see what God is gonna do in and through us.”

35s

#BelieveYoureReady

“I just need y'all to stay in Jerusalem and you gonna have everything that you need because you have been, hear this, already prepared for what you gotta do. You just gotta move forward and remember that you already been trained. And the place so many of us get hung up is not just that we don't see ourselves as going forward, but we don't really believe in our heart of hearts that we can do it. How many of you know, if you could be honest and deep down in your spirit,”

45s

#DecideToMove

“Thank you. All because he made a decision. Yes. He said, I'm going to stop looking up. This is your season, my brothers and sisters. Stop looking up. Stop saying I just need this one thing to move forward. Move forward. And you'll either get it or you won't. That's right. But it's the key. But you'll still be moving forward. Maybe answers you said, I need to understand why before I move on from this job, this relationship. You may get that in the future. But one thing for sure, if you don't move forward, you'll still be stuck. Yeah. And”

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