Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gives his disciples the Great Commission.
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about… 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 1v4,8).
Jesus essentially says, “It’s time for me to leave, but don’t worry because something even greater is about to happen! I am sending my Spirit, the Spirit of God, and just as God’s glory once filled the Temple, I am about to fill your hearts with so much love, joy, peace and compassion that it will literally overflow from your lives out into the city and on to the ends of the earth!”
So the Holy Spirit is given for mission. We are to be witnesses.
But what does that mean? Everyone grab some gospel tracts and head out?
We get a clue in His commission to his disciples. Jesus didn’t issue individual assignments. He didn’t move one by one down the line and knight each individual. Instead he said, “You (collectively) will be my witnesses”. The Holy Spirit will create and empower this new community.
But to really understand the Great Commission we have to look at the Great Example in Acts 2. There we read that the disciples were gathered together in one place when the Holy Spirit arrives and Jesus promise is fulfilled in this incredible communal experience.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47).
The Great Commission is followed by the Great Example of the early church.
This is fascinating to me. Rather than run out and start “witnessing”, they formed this new, Jesus-kind of community. They began living out the values of the Sermon on the Mount together in community. And the people in their neighborhoods, schools and homes began to notice. They saw these people living out these incredibly upside-down, yet beautiful practices and they began to realize that they were “witnessing” something amazing. Something incredible. Something supernatural.
In Seth Godin’s book, The Purple Cow he writes, "If you aren't remarkable you're invisible." No one ever notices or talks about a brown cow, but a purple cow? That’s different.
The Church needs to paint itself purple. But this is not about gimmicks or just being different for difference sake. It’s about making such a remarkable difference in our communities that we are un-ignorable.
Brown churches sit on the sideline and invite the community to come to them. Purple churches are always going and compelling. They are making such a big difference that they become a highly visible part of their community.
When the Holy Spirit comes he doesn’t just empower us as individuals to go out and “witness” - he comes to fill us collectively. To empower us to live with one another within the Divine community and to display for a watching world a picture of God’s remarkable kingdom.
Karl Barth said, “The church exists to set up in the world a new sign which is radically dissimilar to the world’s own manner and which contradicts it in a way which is full of promise”
The church is to be a holy nation. A people who are both distinguishable yet visible in the world. Not because of our programs or buildings. Not because of the way we vote. But as a people who are faithful to their promises, love their enemies, tell the truth, honor the poor, suffer for righteousness, and visibly testify to the amazing community-creating power of God.
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