You BelongSample

You Belong, Now Move

Just over 2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus was born. Starting around the age of 12, Jesus worked as a carpenter in the town of Nazareth. By the time he was 30, Jesus began his public ministry. For 3 years, Jesus ministered. He called his disciples, turned water into wine, healed the blind, the deaf, the lepers, the lame. Jesus fed thousands with just a boxed lunch on two different occasions. Even more miraculously, he raised the dead back to life. 

At the age of 33, Jesus was crucified on a cross. It all began on a Friday morning and by Sunday morning, Jesus was resurrected from the grave. In Acts 1:3-9, we see Jesus walk the earth for forty days after his resurrection. Before He ascended, Jesus commanded his followers to go to Jerusalem and wait there for the Holy Spirit. This command was a command of action.

At the time Christ charged His followers, He was likely east of Jerusalem on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives in a village called Bethany. Bethany was about 2 miles from Jerusalem. Most scholars estimate that there were about 500 people at the ascension of Jesus. Acts 1:15 tells us, however, that there were about 120 in the upper room when the Holy Spirit fell. That means about 380 people saw Jesus live, saw Jesus die, saw him resurrected, heard His command to go and wait in Jerusalem, and yet they still didn’t make it! 

In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit comes down, the power of God is manifested, Peter preaches a sermon, and 3,000 are saved that very day. But what happens next? The disciples mobilize as witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth just as Jesus had commanded them.. right? Not so fast. 

Fast-forward to Acts Chapter 8— the apostle Stephen has just been martyred and Saul is ravaging the Church. In verse 1, it says “the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” The time-frame of Acts 8 is 1 to 2 years after they were commanded to go to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. That means it took Stephen dying, Saul dragging Christians to prison, and people losing their lives to motivate them to start doing what God told them to do in the first place. 

Our personal charge from Christ is the same. We are called to move! What is it going to take for you to do what God has called you to do? Is it going to take a great tragedy or great persecution? God wants you to move now and act on what He has already spoken over your life!

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