You Need to Go (Part 2)

Continuing my thoughts on “Leaving Jerusalem” I want to talk about the first of several reasons we all eventually need to leave our immediate surroundings to bear witness to the work of Christ in our lives, as Jesus instructed his followers to in Acts 1:8.

Though we often think the main purpose for leaving what we know is to help OTHERS, I believe we first need to see how much it helps US. Your motives may be as pure as fresh fallen snow, but until you understand and surrender to God’s will, no matter what that means, you will never know what it means to truly follow him. That doesn’t mean that people who leave our country to preach the gospel in third world countries are holier that the rest of us, but in many cases it does mean that they have stepped out of what they knew and into what they didn’t. That not only takes courage, but it takes surrender and a realization that sometimes WE NEED TO GO in order to understand what it means to surrender our lives to God’s will…and not ours.

So, maybe the reason you need to leave Jerusalem isn’t that you’ve done all the work, it’s that you need a work done to all of you. As we step out of our comfort zones, God steps into our lives. The last five years of my life have been one continually lesson on this subject. In the last six months my family has moved from the comfort of the Mid-West to the unknown world of South Florida. We didn’t just wake up one day and say, “Gee, I’d really like to live 18 hours away from here…maybe somewhere near a beach.” We saw God moving and arranging THE opportunity he had prepared for us and we stepped out of what we knew and into what he was going to teach us through it all. It hasn’t been easy, but it has always been the right decision. What it has taught me is priceless to my pursuit of Christ.

What it comes down to is this. When we simple stay in what we know we struggle to grow. And according to Acts 1, we’re called to more than that.

 

Leaving Jerusalem (Part 1)

Sunday I preached about the pattern of movement that Jesus instructed his disciples to follow just before ascending to Heaven in the book of Acts. Before he left the earth he said, “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). It’s a powerful statement where Jesus clearly lays out a mission for those who had been with him during his ministry. They were to be his witnesses, telling people what they knew of him after he was gone, and this grass-roots approach is how Christianity spread across the world. There was no plan B.

As I said Sunday, the reality is that most of us read that statement and go straight to the “end of the earth.” For whatever reason, it’s often more enticing to share the gospel with someone across the world than across the street. Then, when faced with the difficulty of crossing cultures and countries we get discouraged and disappointed and don’t do anything at all, or we don’t find real worth in anything other than exotic outreach. We forget that Jesus told his disciples first to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, which is where they already were. You see, what is often overlooked is the fact that we are called to be witnesses of Jesus’ work in our life in our “Jerusalem” FIRST. Before we cross the state, region, or country we need to bear witness where were already are.

Because I purposefully over-communicated this reality on Sunday I’m going to write a series of posts this week with reasons why you need to eventually leave your “Jerusalem.” The early church followed these instructions carefully, but they didn’t stay in Jerusalem forever. Eventually, they left the city and changed the world. This week, my hope is to encourage you to do the same.

Sermon audio: “Witness” (Acts 1:8)