Acts 1:1-11. In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But 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.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ has called us to reach the unreached. Even today, countless nations and people groups live without access to the gospel, trapped under the power of the devil and unable to escape disasters, calamities, and spiritual darkness (Acts 10:38). This reality grieves the heart of our Father. His desire has always been clear—that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4) .
What makes this even more painful is not merely the vast number of unreached peoples, but the weakening of the church itself. Churches are declining, faith is growing shallow, and many believers feel powerless. God’s people lack concern for the unreached and the spiritual power to reach them. This, too, breaks God’s heart.
Yet the resurrected Jesus spoke clearly and decisively: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is not a suggestion but a divine mandate flowing from His victory over death. So what has happened to us? Why do we struggle to live as Christ’s witnesses?
First, for many believers, Christ is not yet complete, sufficient, and absolute. When Christ is reduced to one part of life rather than the answer to all of life, we remain vulnerable to the power of sin, Satan, and hell. Without experiencing Christ as our True King, True Priest, and True Prophet, we cannot live in victory.
Second, our primary concern often drifts away from what concerns God the most. Like the disciples who asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6), we focus on personal benefit, security, and comfort. When our prayers revolve around ourselves rather than God’s kingdom, we, though citizens of heaven, become enslaved by the world.
Third, many of us draw strength from sources other than God. Without a life led by the Holy Spirit, we are easily overpowered by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). As long as our strength comes from the world, it is impossible to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel.
This is why Jesus spent forty days with His disciples after His resurrection, speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). He was restoring their perspective, reminding them of their true background—not Rome, not Israel, but the kingdom of God. This is the realm where the power of the Triune God is fully at work, “the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:21).
Because we belong to this kingdom, God promises that Satan will soon be crushed under our feet (Romans 16:20). Throughout history, men and women of faith overcame the world not by strength or numbers, but by holding firmly to this heavenly reality (Hebrews 11:38).
Therefore, we must stop clinging to what is temporary—our problems, weaknesses, failures, and circumstances—and instead hold fast to what is eternal: “the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). When the kingdom of God rules every area of our lives, our eyes are opened to see what God has already given us through His Spirit.
When this happens, our values change. Like Paul, we begin to regard what once seemed valuable as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord (Philippians 3:7–8). From the moment Paul met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he lived fully as a citizen of the kingdom of God, exercising spiritual authority and gospel power wherever he went.
Taking the gospel to the unreached and reviving the church in these last days is not an optional task; it is the mission God has entrusted to us. God delights in sending His people because there is no greater joy than saving lives through the gospel.
We may feel weak, inadequate, or unqualified, but God never intended us to rely on ourselves. He promised to clothe us with power from on high (Acts 1:8). He has already prepared His absolute disciples—men and women with unwavering faith in Christ, willing to stake their lives for the gospel, just as the believers of the Early Church did.
Through these disciples, God establishes absolute systems—gospel-centered lives, churches, and movements—through which His kingdom advances. God is moving toward His absolute goal: proclaiming the gospel to all nations, every tribe, every language. And astonishingly, He desires to include us in this plan.
Are you still living in guilt and shame? Meet Jesus at Calvary, who loved you and gave Himself for you. Are you enslaved by the ways of the world? Meet the risen Christ at Mount Olive, who gave many convincing proofs that He is alive (Acts 1:3). Are you living aimlessly and without power? Meet Jesus in the upper room, where the Holy Spirit descended with transforming power (Acts 2:1–4).
You are a child of the King. The resurrected Jesus Christ is reigning now, watching over you, leading you, and sending you to the ends of the earth as His witness. And just as He promised, when the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, He will return in glory (Acts 1:11).
Prayer. Father, I thank You for Your complete covenant—Christ, Your kingdom, and the Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to my true identity and heavenly background. Restore my heart to what concerns You the most. Clothe me with power from above and send me to the ends of the earth as a witness of the risen Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.