Start Where You Are
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Some people want to go to other countries and be missionaries for Christ. And that is good. But how about starting with crossing the street and talking to your neighbor?
Some people say, “I want to be in the ministry.” Guess what “the ministry” is? It is service to the Lord.
Jesus said, “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is how it worked for the disciples, and that is how it works for us. It is a strategy for evangelism. They were to start in Jerusalem, where they were. Next came nearby Judea and Samaria, and then the rest of the world.
Here is what God is saying, in effect: If you want to reach the world, then start with your world. When you think of going into all of the world and preaching the gospel, that is a daunting task, isn’t it? But how about this? Go into all of your world and preach the gospel.
I know of an interesting group of people. They are small in stature. They have a lot of energy. They have a short attention span. But they are very open to the Word of God. They are called kids. They can be found in Sunday school rooms and are in need of people to help teach them.
You might be thinking, I am looking for the big call of God. But what about doing something simple? How about just sharing Jesus when you are out and about? How about starting with people that you live near? How about starting with members of your family? How about your coworkers? How about students on your campus? That is where it starts. So just start where you are.
Summary sentence: If you are looking for an evangelistic field, start right where you are!
Tags: Holy Spirit power, evangelism, missionary
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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