TEXT:
‘And then he told them, “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere’ (Mark 16:15 TLB)
What did the apostles need to get going and start evangelising the world? Acts chapter 1 reveals four things that really helped them to obey Jesus’ great commission: Proof, Promise, Prayer and Power. We are no different, so what helped them will help us too.
Proof
‘Until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs’ (Acts 1:2-3)
Understandably, the disciples took some convincing having seen Jesus’ death and burial. What would it have taken for you to be sure it really was Jesus who had risen from the dead? The disciples were very sceptical of reports Jesus was alive.
1. The women’s testimonies did not convince them – ‘Their words seemed to them like idle tales and they did not believe them’ (Luke 24:11). ‘Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen’ (Mark 16:14).
2. The empty tomb did not convince them
Both Peter and John entered that empty tomb, and although the Bible says John believed, back with the other disciples, unbelief soon set in. Millions visit the Tomb of Jesus, but I wonder how many end up as believers in a resurrected Christ?
3. What did convince them?
- The voice of Jesus
Jesus spoke to Mary, Thomas and to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee. They recognised His voice and believed. Voice recognition is now being widely used as an added level of security to protect bank accounts. Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear My voice’ (John 10:27).
- His teaching – ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’ (Luke 24:32)
When your ears are opened spiritually, it will do something in your heart!
- His presence
Twice He appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room. He ate fish and honeycomb to help them believe. Whatever it will take for you to believe that Jesus really is alive, God will do it, because He wants you to become a believer and take the first step to get going.
A lapel badge a young lady was wearing that said, “Jesus is alive”, helped me to take that first step. Fifty-three years later I am still convinced Jesus is alive! When we believe in our hearts that God has raised Jesus from the dead, then we will confess Him with our mouths before men.
Promise
God keeps His promises. If He said it, He will do it. Two promises helped the disciples to take the second step to get going.
1. The promise of the Holy Spirit – ‘He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me”’ (Acts 1:4).
They had to wait for the promise of the Father. Jesus promised not to leave them on their own, but send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Of all the things Jesus spoke to His disciples about during the forty days after His resurrection, the most important was about the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, ‘If I depart, I will send Him to you’ (John 16:7).
2. The promise of Christ’s return – ‘This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11)
Today, there does not seem to be much preaching and teaching about the return of Christ, but it’s a sure fact that will soon happen. Although Jesus said, ‘I am coming quickly’ (Revelation 22:12), the urgency seems to have been lost somewhat over the centuries. The early Christians lived in the light of Christ’s second coming. Knowing that Jesus fully intends to keep God’s promise and come again, helps us to take the second step and get going.
Prayer
‘These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication’ (Acts 1:14)
Prayer is the third step to get going.
1. They continued in prayer
What a difference. The disciples were asleep on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus manifested His glory and in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed in such agony. Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit, but for how long? The ones who couldn’t stay awake for just one hour, now continued in prayer and supplication for ten days!
2. The congregation grew as they prayed– ‘With the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers … altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty’ (Acts 1:14-15)
Not just the eleven disciples, but a hundred and twenty! They maintained a unity in spite of growing numbers. Unity that overcame past negatives such as Peter’s denial, Thomas’ doubts, Jesus’ family who at one time did not believe Him to be the Messiah, and James and John who Jesus nicknamed Sons of Thunder! Yet in a congregation as diverse as that, they were all together with one accord. When we are willing to meet together in the same way, we’ll be able to forgive, overlook the past and anticipate a great future.
Power
‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ (Acts 1:8)
The rest of the Book of Acts proves the disciples received power when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They flung the doors open as they got going to evangelise.
Thank God today we don’t have to wait for certain religious festivals before we can receive the Holy Spirit and power from on high. After the Day of Pentecost, people were being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit every day. Even persecution couldn’t stop them talking about Jesus. The early church receive power to preach the gospel, heal the sick and cast out demons. Persecution gave them an added momentum to obey the Great Commission and go into all the world with the Good News about Jesus.
God has made it as easy as possible to receive the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is ask (see Luke 11:9-13).
Four steps to help us get going. When we go, we find another promise of Jesus outworking in our lives. ‘Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20). Hallelujah!
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