COV LIFE BLOG

Acts 1:1-11 Intro to the Book of Acts and the Importance of the Spirit in the Mission

A witness must know, not merely by hear-say, whereof he speaks. Those who are to be witnesses for Christ must know Christ. They must know Christ so well that no amount of cross examination can pervert their testimony. The world is constantly cross-examining the Christian. Men of the world are watching us at our work, in our trading, in our buying, in our selling, in our homes, at our worship, in our prayers, in our teaching, in our preaching, in our giving and in all our ways of living. If our testimony breaks down in any part it may lose its entire effect.

The disciples were to be witnesses first in Jerusalem, or at home. The warm-hearted disciple of Christ today will begin to witness wherever he is, he will not wait for a golden opportunity, he will make one. It may not be easy to witness at home, nor is it easy to witness away from home. The witness should make up his mind from the very outset that he will have to bear his cross. It was not long after the early disciples began to witness at Jerusalem until they were scattered everywhere through persecution, but they did not stop witnessing on that account. They went everywhere preaching the Word. They went to other parts of Judaea, to Samaria to Cyprus, Asia Minor, Africa, Greece, Rome, Spain and India.

The missionary work had so languished that in the early days of William Carey, a little over a century ago, he could not stir his congregation to take an interest in missions, nor could he even arouse an interest among the ministers of the Gospel in his community in this great work. When he preached his great sermon on the second verse of the fifty fourth chapter of Isaiah the people were not moved. One who writes of that memorable occasion says, he would have thought the congregation would have wept. But they did not weep, they did not even wait after the sermon. They started to go out as usual.

But Mr. Carey stepping down from the pulpit grasped Andrew Fuller by the hand and said, “Fuller, call them back! Are we going to do nothing today?” The result was that some of them did come back, they were interested and the foreign missionary society was organized which sent Carey out as pioneer missionary. Does it not seem pathetic that seventeen centuries after the Book of Acts was written there should still be the need of pioneer work in the foreign missionary enterprise?

We should read again the final commission of Jesus! We should hear again the call that beginning at home we should carry the Gospel message to the uttermost parts of the earth! We should awaken to a sense of our responsibility and in consecration, in work, in prayer, in giving and in witnessing give ourselves into the hands of the Holy Spirit to be used of the Lord when He will and where He will!

Frank Allen

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Heart Preparation
Read Acts 1:1-11. Consider the commission of Christ to his disciples in the beginning of Acts. Where does your life not align with God’s mission? What can you do about it today?