Jesus’ Game Plan

Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, he gave the disciples a final command: wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. He paired this command to wait with two promises. First, being baptized with the Holy Spirit would give them power for witness. The second promise, that their witness would reach the ends of the earth, revealed the scope of Jesus’ intentions. The gospel is for the entire world, not just for the people of Israel. Jesus’ strategy, led by the Holy Spirit, would start in Jerusalem, spread outward to Judea, then Samaria, and ultimately reach the ends of the earth.

Read Acts 1:1-8 and then consider:

1. During Jesus’ last forty days with the apostles, he convinced them of this bodily resurrection, taught about the kingdom of God, and gave them final instructions. Imagine yourself as one of the apostles. What would those final days with Jesus have been like? What might you have felt and thought?
2. Knowing the kingdom of God and seeing Jesus alive again was not enough for the apostles to be his witnesses; they needed the power of the Holy Spirit. To what extent do you attempt to fulfil God’s mission in your own strength rather than relying on the power of the Holy Spirit?
3. In verse 6 the disciples ask a clarifying question, "Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" What assumptions and mindset does this question reveal? How does Jesus shift their expectations?
4. Jesus’ inclusion of Samaria and the ends of the earth in his game plan would require his Jewish followers to engage in cross-cultural witness. How open are you to ministering beyond your "Jerusalem and Judea" (your own cultural context)? Pray that God would stir everyone connected to the Lausanne Movement with passion and courage for cross-cultural ministry.