You’ve been given all that you need.

“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.” Acts 1:8

Being that I tend to see the world in black and white, I simply love it when God’s Word is ultra clear on certain issues. Discipleship is one of those black and white issues as far as I understand it. Not so much as to how discipleship should look, but rather the fact that every follower of Jesus Christ is called to be a disciple and a discipler. It’s not a gifting; it’s a calling. It’s a command.

Our small group has been focusing our gaze on the topic of missional community, and it led us to Acts 1:8. What would it look like if the church were intentionally missional in everything that we did? It would look like modern-day revival, I think. But I think that you and I and the church at large tend to fall into fear and doubt when faced with this calling to go and make disciples. We fear rejection. We doubt our effectiveness. So, we fail to go and do.

I was reminded afresh last night that God has not called me to something that is unattainable or unachievable. My call to go and make disciples is not a calling that is out of reach for me. Rather, it is a calling that God has thoroughly equipped me for, and He has thoroughly equipped you as well.

Take another look at Acts 1:8.

“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.”

Did you catch that? You will receive power. Power. The same “power” that God exerted when He raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that He grants to each of us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are His temple. Therefore, wherever we go, He goes, and His power goes with us. We have been given all that we need to fulfill the call to make disciples.

So, how are we doing at this? Have we forgotten that our words, actions, or perhaps lack thereof inform the world around us of who Jesus Christ is? Make no mistake about it, we are making disciples, but the question we must ask ourselves today is, “What Jesus are we preaching?” Because our lives are on display, we are representing God all the time. So, how are we representing Him?

I would charge us all today to step out of the doubt and fear that has held us back from embracing this call, and instead let’s start being Christ’s witnesses – in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our cities, in our states, in our countries, and in this world!