God's global purpose

The British theologian John Stott said that we must be global Christians with a global vision, because our God is a global God. That sentence sums up what I want to share with you: God's purpose is global.

Before ascending to heaven, after spending 40 days with the disciples, Jesus commissions the church. The disciples ask: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" And Jesus answers that it is not for them to know the times or dates the Father has set, but that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them, and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:6-8).

1. God sees the whole

At Babel, people tried to reach heaven by their own strength, and God confused their languages and scattered them (Genesis 11). At Pentecost the opposite happens: people from many regions hear the disciples declaring the wonders of God in their own language (Acts 2). Where there was confusion, now there is direction and empowerment.

We solve problems piece by piece. God sees the whole without losing sight of the parts. He doesn't think about your city first and then about the world. He thinks about the world, and within that plan are your city, your neighborhood, and you.

1.1 The small-minded mindset

Our nature tends toward scarcity and shrinking back. Our upbringing, our frustrations, and a lack of encouragement also make us look at life in a small way. When a child dreams big, we often answer based on the resources we think we have, not on purpose.

God never thought, "Will I be able to afford this?" When He asked for a tabernacle made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, He thought from purpose. We miss out on much of what God has because we think about life from our resources instead of from His purpose.

2. Time belongs to God

The disciples' first question reveals a limited perspective: "Is this the time?" Jesus wants to pour out the Spirit, and they are worried about the clock. We often ask the wrong questions, and Jesus gives us the right answers. James says we ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives (James 4:3).

Their question uses the idea of chronos, clock time. Jesus answers by speaking of times and seasons, including kairos, the opportune moment when God acts. Neither one is under our control.

Jesus had already taught: seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). The kingdom is the whole; the other things are the parts. And what makes us anxious is precisely the parts.

The when belongs to God. The what and the how belong to us: what Jesus wants me to do and how He wants the church to do it.

3. The kingdom is God's, not ours

After three years of hearing Jesus speak about the kingdom of God, the disciples ask about the kingdom of Israel. They were concerned with a personal and national restoration, not with the global expansion of the kingdom. They were tired of Rome and wanted a solution for what concerned them.

The church is not a building but the bride of Christ, uniting Christians all over the world. It was to her that God gave the mission.

• Your work, your marriage, your children: all of it is part of that mission.
• It's not just about serving as a volunteer, but about understanding that nothing in your life lies outside God's purpose.
• God's purpose for you is woven into the story He is writing with His church.

It isn't God who steps into our story. We are the ones who step into God's story. And if you stop building your own kingdom, your life will be restored better than you can imagine.

4. Power to fulfill the purpose

Jesus promises power. The Greek word is dynamis, from which we get "dynamite" and "dynamic." The power of the Spirit is explosive and transforming.

Often, thinking about our own kingdom, we prefer effort. Effort is good when it is connected to what God is doing. But there are things in your marriage, your business, and your relationships that need the work of the Spirit. God told Zerubbabel that the work would not be done by might nor by human power, but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

God's power doesn't stay in the building after the service. The Holy Spirit goes with you: He encourages you, reminds you of what Jesus said, and puts words in your mouth.

5. You will be my witnesses

Jesus didn't say we would give testimonies, but that we would be witnesses. A witness is someone who saw, heard, and experienced, not someone who heard about it from somebody else. The Greek word is martys, from which we get "martyr": someone who gives their life for the truth they carry. And the truth is that Jesus is alive.

D. L. Moody used to say that the world may not read the Bible, but it reads the lives of Christians. What Bible are people reading in your life? Do they see a living Jesus?

It is not acceptable to live in the church and not have experiences with God, not hear His voice, not read the Word, not sense His presence. Job said that before he had only heard of God, but now his eyes had seen Him (Job 42:5). Jesus assured us that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13).

Conclusion

God needs witnesses: people who build their lives on His purpose, who leave time in the Father's hands, who seek God's kingdom rather than their own, and who live filled with the power of the Spirit.

When was the last time you heard Jesus speak to your heart, and what are people reading in your life today?