The early followers of Jesus were empowered and unstoppable. In Acts 1:8, “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.” This is the first passage in the book of Acts where Luke, the author, mentioned about power.
Then in Acts 5:38-39, these Christ’s followers were described as unstoppable. “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” And in Acts 5:42, “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”
These particular passages above show evidences that the early followers of Jesus were pushing forward of bringing the message about the Lord Jesus Christ. They were unstoppable. They were empowered as Christ’s witnesses.
Let me share with you three foundational principles to live with, so that no one can stop you. We can be effective witnessess, faithful in serving the Lord, and consistently moving forward as Christ’s followers.
1. Clarity of Purpose (Your Intention)
Before Jesus ascened to heaven, He commissioned His followers The mandate was so clear. It is to go and make disciple. It is also clear to them that they need to continue the ministry of Jesus.
There are various phrases and statements found in different passages concerning the mandate of Jesus but they carries similar meaning and intention. For instance, the phrase, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men” in Matthew 4:19 is connected to the command to “go and make disciple” in Matthew 28:18. Jesus also said in Matthew 9:37, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” He refers to the harvest of souls and that concept is related to fishing people.
The early followers of Jesus knew their mission and purpose. To continue the ministry of Jesus, to become His witnessess, and to transfrom the world through the message of salvation in Christ. They were unstoppable because they have clear intentions.
2. Courage to Proclaim/Produce (Your Action)
To be unstoppable, having a purpose or to have a clear intention is essential. But purpose alone does not work. Ideas and plans are good but the real challenge is execution. A purpose, a plan, and an idea must be put to action.
To witness is an action word. In Acts 1:8, Jesus strongly emphasized that His early followers are to become witnesses. He said, “you will be my witnessess…” He wants them to take the mandate seriously by putting it into action. It starts with a purpose and then having the courage to take action. The early followers of Jesus were men of action because they were courageous in proclaiming the gospel.
Robin Sharma is repeadly saying, “Ideation without execution is delusion.” An idea does not work unless you do the work. This is an important principles in all areas of life. We all know that exercise is good for our health. The questions is, are we taking action? We should take the bridge between knowing and doing. That is to take action.
Every follower of Jesus should take the mandate to become effective witnessess. Be courageous. Take action. Move forward. Push through.
3. Clothed with Power (Your Potential)
The early followers of Jesus were unstoppable because they were empowered. But before the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts, Jesus said in Luke 24:49, “I am going to send you what the Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. The promised, “you will receive power” in Acts 1:8 is an affirmation of what has been Jesus in passage above.
Jesus’ followers waited in that upper room and they were baptized int he Holy Spirit. The promised to be “clothed with power” in Luke is fulfilled in Acts 2 when they experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
So many motivational speakers and personal development coaches put emphasis on self-development so that ones potential is maximized. I agree with most of them. We need to develop ourselves. But I believe, true potential is maximized by raising up the standard of human ability and by fully embracing the power of the Spirit. That can be done through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Loving and developing “yourself” is similar to a certain narcissistic belief. On the other hand, Pentecostalism is recognizing that we have potential but self-development is not enough, we need the Spirit-empowerment. When Christ’s followers are empowered by the Holy Spirit, they are unstoppalbe. The Spirit enable them to continue the ministry Jesus.
