Venture out of Your Comfort Zone!

"… But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 is called the great commission. It’s the words of Jesus telling those of us who have the Holy Ghost to take His power and become witnesses of God’s saving grace; to spread the good news about Him to all parts of the world. However, even a brief look at the early church shows us those who heard these words did not go to Samaria much less to the uttermost parts of the earth. Where is Samaria and why didn’t they go?

Samaria, (also known as the Shomron in Hebrew) refers to the region between Galilee and Judea. For many reasons such as their worship of other gods and their intermingling with local peoples, the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea would have nothing to do with them; hence Jesus’ parable about the “good Samaritan”.

This great commission was not specific to time and place as some have said or a directive only to those who are called Apostles, (as the power of the Holy Spirit is readily available to all who have received Him), and is therefore equally applicable to us today regardless of our calling.

So are we then being told to hop on a plane and head over to Israel to finally reach the Samaritan people? No! I would suggest that, as Samaria today is another name for “comfort zone”. The first century church could have broken with their traditions and those things with which they felt comfortable, made the short journey north and before long had many churches built in that area. God’s power to bring in Gentiles would have immediately become evident as it did later on to Peter (Acts 10:15).  The same is true of us. If we would venture out of our comfort zone, the power of the Holy Spirit would be there for us.

Of the things I normally do for my mother, taking out her trash isn’t one of them. Those huge bins by the condo are filthy and the environment around them especially in the evening isn’t exactly appealing. Yet one day last week, despite having no real desire to do so. I took the trash and made the journey outside of my comfort zone. As I got closer, I saw a man there who was picking through the trash bins. As I neared he started talking, about what I don’t know pushing me even further out of my comfort zone. But then he said one word and it sparked the Spirit in me to turn the conversation around. I told him about Jesus, he listened, and I was able to pray for him! Now I don’t know what went on in his heart or if he’ll ever get the chance to hear words of salvation again, but when I travelled out of my comfort zone I met someone in need of Jesus. Because I was there, I believe I made a difference no matter how small, in that mans life.

So today I urge you to GO TO SAMARIA, it may be the uttermost parts of the earth and it may be right outside by the trash cans. But if you go, God’s power will be there with you and you will be a witness of Him.

-Pastor Jim

Comments

[Rocky Veach]

I like this a lot, Jim! A great way of turning our attention outward...beyond ourselves...back to the things that really matter.