On Your Mark...

The 4x100 meter relay fascinates me. You take the four fastest runners and see how fast they can circle the track, passing the baton every 100 meters. The race is lightning fast, over before you know it. And because of the blazing pace, there is absolutely no margin for error handing off the baton.

That was not the case for both the men's and women's 4x100 meter relay teams at the Olympics in Beijing. Both teams were favorites for the gold, but both teams failed to make it out of the preliminaries. Why? They dropped the baton. Years of training and hard work down the tubes as the batons bounced on the track.

In the book of Acts, Jesus makes sure that He passes the baton of the Gospel off to His followers. We see that, like the starter of the race, He gives them instructions.

On your mark. Get set. Go!

Just before He heads back to heaven, Jesus tells His disciples...

4 In one of these meetings as He was eating a meal with them, He told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what He promised. Remember, I have told you about this before.
5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking Him, ‘Lord, are You going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?”
7 “The Father sets those dates,” He replied, “and they are not for you to know.
8 But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 It was not long after He said this that He was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and He disappeared into a cloud. (Acts 1:4-9 NLT)

First He tells them, "On your mark."

Stay in Jerusalem. Like a relay runner waits inside the designated exchange area for his teammater to deliver the baton, Jesus' followers were to wait in Jerusalem.

Once in Jerusalem and waiting, they observe their next instructions, "Get set."

For approximately ten days, our Savior's first followers hung out. Waiting. He had told them to be ready for the Holy Spirit, but they had no idea what to expect. Suddenly, it happened. While they waited in a loft apartment they heard the roar of whirlwind. They saw tongues of fire. Whammo! God baptized all of them in the Holy Spirit. And He gave them power to communicate the message of Christ to a lost and dying world.

"Go!"

This was the signal Jesus told them about. Now, they were to take the Gospel first to Jersusalem. That was convenient since they were already there. And God blessed them as they met in the Temple, shared life together in each other's homes, studied the Bible and prayed together.

It was a great time to be a Christ-follower in Jerusalem. God was adding folks to their numbers each and every day. And the members of this new movement were loved by all the citizens of the city.

It would have been easy to simply stay in Jerusalem. Things were going well. It's comfortable. This is home. But that's not what Jesus commissioned them to do. They were to take the Gospel to not only Jerusalem, but Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.

God made sure that happened. One of the young church's deacons named Stephen got himself in a boatload of trouble. The Jewish leaders arrested him and had him stoned. Stephen's execution turned the tide of the city against Jesus' followers. Once the toast of the town, now they are a target.

Saul was one of the official witnesses at the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and all the believers except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria. (Acts 8:1 NLT)

Did you notice what happened as a result of the persecution? Yup, that's right, believers fled into Judea and Samaria. Anybody think that's just a coincidence? Not a chance. God used the persecution to carry out His plan and purpose to spread the Gospel. If that's not enough proof for you, check out what else Luke writes...

But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus. (Acts 8:4 NLT)

Jesus would insure that the baton would be passed. The new church may have had a false start and missed the "Go!" command, but the Lord would make sure they hit the road.

As we wrap things up here at Freedom River, God is making sure that His message of grace and repentance is going beyond the walls of our church. While we don't know exactly His reasons in closing our fellowship, it's clear we're to "Go!"

Hopefully we'll run into each other somewhere along the road. Maybe we'll see you in Samaria.

"On your mark. Get set. Go!"

In Christ,
Jay

From a sermon at Freedom River Community Church in Raleigh, NC on September 28, 2008.