My Adult Sunday School class is working through the book of Acts. One of the most arresting verses in that inspired chronicle records these words from our Lord: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
I’d like to unpack four remarkable promises.
- The promise of You – I find it remarkable just how personal our Lord makes these incredible promises; He starts with YOU! He is not speaking to the church as a whole or some elite group of spiritual saints within the church. He starts with the personal promise of YOU!
- The promise of Power – Jesus assured us that we will receive power from the Holy Spirit. He did NOT promise that we are capable in our own strength of living the life of sacrifice and service to which God has called us. To the contrary, Jesus promised us that Omnipotence will take up residence inside us and shape our lives according to His will.
- The promise of Witness – Jesus said we will be His witnesses. We will, by the power of the Holy Ghost, be living epistles of the Lord Jesus Christ. To be sure, Jesus witnessed to the glory of God everywhere He went: from the Holy Temple to the lake of Gennesaret; from walking the streets of Jerusalem to sitting at the well; from preaching on a mountainside to gasping out His last message on the hill Golgotha. His witness consisted of what he said and what he did. If we are to truly be His disciples, we are to be like Him as witnesses.
- The promise of “Glocal” Impact – Jesus said we will have a Gospel ministry that is locally impacting and globally reaching—a “Glocal” impact.
Standing confidently on these four promises, we are called by God to live beyond the borders of our lives. Living out these promises keep us from shrinking the size of our lives down to the size of our lives! Beloved in the Lord, is this the confession of your life? Does your life provide a clear testimony to the truth of the Gospel?
Remember, Jesus witnessed in every imaginable kind of circumstance. He witnessed before the wealthy and the poor. He witnessed to large crowds at midday and one-on-one late at night. He witnessed to friends and enemies alike. And the Book of Acts vividly describes the ever-expanding reach of the Gospel. It began locally in Jerusalem and spread into Judea and Samaria and ultimately to the ends of the earth. It would change the lives of both Jews and Gentiles.
Isn’t it remarkable to realize that the Almighty would enlist such broken, weak, and sinful vessels as you and me into His redemptive service? But that is exactly what He has done! The work began with Him, but the call goes out to YOU! This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 