How is it that the message of Jesus will reach the ends of the earth?
From before the world began, God’s mission, his plan, has been to bring glory to himself by saving people from their sins. That’s really what the entire Bible is about. And now God’s people, his church, we are active participants in his plan. Jesus has given us work to do.
Jesus says to his followers, “But you will 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.”
God’s method to accomplish his plan, is to use us, his people. He will accomplish his purposes through us. We are called his witnesses. A witness is someone who has seen something true and testifies about it.
We are witnesses that testify about God to the very ends of the earth.
God wants his message to be proclaimed everywhere. He wants his glory to fill the entire earth. I’m sure many of the first Christians wondered how that would be possible. The world is really big. As they began to preach and do the work God called them to, they found they were met with conflict and tension in the mission. The world is big and the mission is dangerous.
A Christian named Stephen becomes the first martyr. He is committed to declaring that Jesus is the saviour of the world. So he’s executed for blasphemy. His death sparks persecution against the Christians in Jerusalem forcing most of them to flee. They meet server opposition. How will this movement continue to the ends of the earth?
2000 years later we know that the movement did continue. Christians are active all over the world because God’s mission was not defeated. The history of this movement continues in the Book of Acts. Chapter 11 shows us how Christianity grows and spreads and how we can join in God’s work today.
As persecution caused the believers to scatter, the story focuses on the Mediterranean city of Antioch.
Acts 11:21 “And the hand of the Lord was with them." A group of anonymous Christians has taken the message of Jesus to this large city. God is with them. His power is working through them. The result is that "a great number who believed turned to the Lord.”
This pattern is all through acts, all through the Bible. God by his power is continuously drawing more and more people to himself. We see it again in 11:23 “When Barnabas came to Antioch he saw the grace of God." Lives were being changed, sins were being forgiven. All this was a confirmation of God’s work. In 11:24, God worked through Barnabas and “A great many people were added to the Lord” This is God’s work. This is God’s plan. God gets glory when he saves people from their sins. So His kingdom is always increasing, always growing
What is the growth? The growth is people! God loves to save people and add them to his kingdom. The kingdom is always growing. And it's God who is causing it to grow.
How is it that the message of Jesus will reach to the ends of the earth? The message will travel, person to person, by the work of God's people. Despite opposition, danger, and death, God stirs passion and vision deep in the hearts of his people that causes them to go.
