No Telling, No Power

The sermon for today came from Acts 1:1-11. It is a familiar passage. But I am not so familiar with the Book of Acts as a whole. The pastor preached on the purpose of the church based on the passage. He said that the purpose of the church is to spread the Good News—“You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). This is not new, of course. However, it made me think and reflect on my Christian life and the purpose of the existence of the church. In the church, we usually talk about everything, such as our daily errands, movies, books, worship schedule, etc…We rarely talk about how to spread the gospel.

The gospel message has been passed on from one generation to another generation by telling, spreading, and witnessing since the early church. “How do I pass it on to the next generation?” I asked. The pastor mentioned that there is no power in us if there is no telling of Jesus to others. No telling; no power. Can we say that the power of the Spirit is manifested when the name of Jesus is told, even proclaimed? Is it the reason why so many of us lack of power to live as witnesses? Is it the reason why we are so caught up by our own agendas? Is it the reason why we are so self-conscious to a point where we fail to show consciousness to the needs of others?

Simple gospel; powerful message.

In this faithless age, how do I move forward with faith and hope? How do I move on with a sense of balance between discipleship and evangelism? Grounding the gospel and spreading the gospel? In other words, go and make disciples…teaching them…