MISSIONS
Acts 1:8

Jesus’ entire earthly ministry lasted just 3 years and was confined to a tiny patch of land east of the Mediterranean. The vast majority of His ministry took place within a remarkably small region—around 50 square kilometres. To put that in perspective, the LGA of Penrith is more than 8 times larger! So given the fact that He taught, delivered, and healed in such a small region, it is absolutely extraordinary that more than 2 billion people profess to be followers of this same Man today. It’s extraordinary, but perhaps it’s not entirely surprising!

Just before Jesus was taken up into heaven in Acts 1, He told His followers, “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.” He knew that, once filled with the Spirit, they would have all that they needed to take His Kingdom message to the furthest reaches of the planet. Jerusalem was where they were at the time. Judea was the overall region—a place where they were welcome, and where they were like the other people around them. Samaria was well out of their comfort zone. Jews viewed Samaritans as religious and ethnic outsiders, and were socially expected to stay well clear of them, so it was somewhere they certainly wouldn’t have naturally wanted to go. And going to the ends of the earth? Well, that meant language barriers, cultural challenges, and places they couldn’t even physically get to. But off they went! That promise, and that calling, did not end with the first disciples. As followers of Jesus, all of us are still “on mission”. 

The same Spirit who empowered them is still at work in us today. We are to be His witnesses in our own ‘Jerusalem’ (where we always go), ‘Judea’ (where we sometimes go), ‘Samaria’ (where we don’t want to go), and to the ends of the earth (where it’s hard to go). We can’t do it all on our own of course, but as the body of Christ, we can do it together. That’s where the crucial work of missions comes in! At City Church, we support various projects locally, nationally, and internationally, from Mountains Care and ONE80TC to Nungalinya College and Mercy Indonesia, to name just a few. You can check out www.citychurchau.com/pages/missions for further info. One thing is for certain though: missions work needs to be supported by prayer. 

Paul clearly believed prayer was at the heart of missions, asking the Christians in Colossae to “pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains” (Colossians 4:3). To those in Ephesus, he said, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19), and to the church in Thessalonika, he pleaded, “pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, just as it was with you” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). Today, let’s pray for missions work in our local communities, our nation, and to the ends of the earth. Let the Holy Spirit guide you to intercede for particular people, projects, or countries.

Jesus, we pray for all involved in the crucial work of missions, both at home and abroad. May your Word go forth in power, and may multitudes come to know you and be your disciples. Thank you for your promise that you will be with us always, “to the very end of the age”. Amen.