What’s Your Mission?
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” Acts 1:7–8
Life as we’ve known it has come to a screeching halt because a fearful virus has spread throughout the earth. Is the world about to end? Is Jesus returning soon?
We might feel much like the disciples felt after the resurrection. They gathered around him and asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They were aware something was about to happen. They knew the many Old Testament prophecies describing the spiritual and national restoration of Israel. Would that happen very soon because Jesus had risen from the dead?
He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). Next on God’s agenda would be sending the Holy Spirit who’d live inside them. Then they’d go out “in Jesus’s name” to witness, heal, work miracles (Luke 10:1–24), make disciples, and teach others all that Jesus had taught them (Matthew 28:18–20). They would go to the ends of the earth.
When Jesus had given these final instructions, he lifted his hands as their High Priest and blessed them. Then, right before their eyes, he was lifted up until a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1:9). They stood there staring at the cloud. A miracle had just happened. During the forty days since the resurrection, Jesus had appeared and disappeared. This was different.
Suddenly, two men dressed in white appeared and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10–11).
The disciples hurried back to Jerusalem. They were changed men: men with a mission, full of purpose and joy, worshiping Jesus the Risen Christ. Fearlessly, they went to the temple praising God (Luke 24:52–53).
Don’t let fear paralyze you. Are you trying to compare the dreadful events happening in the world to the prophecies in the Bible? Jesus Christ’s message to the disciples is our message too. We must focus on the mission God has given us to do in the power of the Holy Spirit: we are to witness, heal, work miracles, make disciples, and teach all that Jesus taught us until we reach everyone—to the very ends of the earth until the end of time.
Fight fear as you focus on your purpose, your mission.
Dig Deeper:
The same man wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Compare the ending of Luke: 24:36–53 and Luke’s continuation in Acts 1:1–11. What’s the same, and what’s different in his accounts of the ascension? How is Matthew’s account different in chapter 28:16–20?
The warning Jesus gave his disciples (Acts 1:7–8) could be applied to the church in all ages: we have been told many things through prophecy, but we can’t expect exact dates or details. Which of the warning signs in Matthew 24:33–50 and visions John recorded (such as Revelation 6:1-11) might apply to various times in history?
Do you know what mission God has given you? Read 1 Corinthians 12 to see some of the gifts which we can use.
Nancy J. Baker
This devotion is part of our series, “Do Not Be Afraid.”