A Boundless Gospel

“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

Jesus’ words here are potent with depth and swelling with perspective on God’s gospel. Jesus tells us that the proclamation of the gospel by our lives requires the power of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus. This is an absolute essentiality in our witness of Christ. But here we also see something of the nature of a Spirit-empowered witness: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Our gospel witness begins at home, but it does not simply remain there. In science we learn that nature hates a vacuum. This is why air in a balloon is not content to stay bound up. As soon as the nozzle of the balloon is open and released, the air bursts forth.

In many respects, the gospel is similar. God’s message by nature demands the pushing of our boundaries. Our comfort zones are always put to the test by the ‘going’ nature of the gospel. Indeed, the first word of the Great Commission is “go” (Matt 28:19). Have you become content with your gospel witness being compartmentalized in areas of your life? Are there places/people where you are in Jerusalem or “at home” with the gospel (i.e. certain friends, home, some neighbours)? If so, the Lord would call you out of your comfort zones into the next sphere of your life. The Lord would say, “bear witness in Judea and Samaria” (i.e. work place, school, acquaintances). From there, the Lord would say “bear witness to the world” (i.e. strangers). The nature of a Spirit-empowered, gospel witness is ever expanding, and always moving outward until the whole world hears.

The Spirit-empowers our witness of Jesus to not simply remain where we are comfortable, but to ever expand and take ground causing us to live in ordinary life as missionaries empowered by the Spirit of God, to a world that needs to see a witness of Jesus.