WORLDS COLLIDE: Week 43 – Guaranteed to Succeed (Acts 28)

We have seen the story of the mission of God starting small and multiplying beyond what anybody would have dreamed imaginable, and it's been one story made up of smaller stories

- faithfulness and unfaithfulness

- opportunities and obstacles

- difficult circumstances wrapped up in the sovereignty of God.

Each story is woven into the bigger story by these consistent themes of the Reign of Jesus, the Power of the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God advancing through the Church.

From 120 followers of Jesus in Jerusalem to hundreds of thousands throughout the known western world. And this morning, I want you to see it’s more than just an adventure. It’s more than just mere history. In fact, I would say that chapter 28 is really the fulfillment of a promise Jesus made. He said that his disciples would be witnesses to the uttermost parts of the world. Well...here they are: Rome - for all intents and purposes, the uttermost part of THEIR world - AND quite literally the gateway to the rest of the world (All roads lead to - and from - Rome, right?).

By the time we get to chapter 28, we see that the Great Commission is attainable. You could say that chapter 28 is a guarantee of sorts. Yes, God gave us a mission - and because of what we have read this whole year, I believe this book proves we as God’s ambassadors are guaranteed to succeed.

There’s not a whole lot in life that has that guarantee. School? (academic excellence, clubs, activities - guarantee for success?) Career? (effort, training, education, internships - guaranteed for success?) Marriage? Diet? Raising great kids?

Some of you know what it’s like to put all your effort into those things, just to watch them fall.

Without guarantees we are left with this sense of uncertainty and doubt. Sometimes cynicism prevents us from developing a true confidence to keep on keeping on.

I wonder if that has happened with our efforts in fulfilling the Great Commission. When it comes to sharing the gospel with the world, is it because we don’t have the right training or techniques that we neglect to obey what Jesus commissioned us to do? Or is it something else? Is it a lack of know-how, or is it a lack of confidence?

But what if we TRULY believed that we are guaranteed to succeed in evangelizing the world, if we would just put ourselves out there and do what Jesus told us to do?