Opposition is opportunity.
Jesus said: You will be brought before kings and governors for My name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness (Luke 21:12-13). And in Acts 9:15, the Risen Christ said of Paul: He is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. These words come true in Acts 26. Paul bears witness before Festus the governor of Judea and before Agrippa II, the last king of the Jews.
This is the third account of Paul’s conversion in Acts. It contains new information. For example, when Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, He said: It is hard for you to kick against the goads. This was a common Greek proverb. It means that when heaven calls, resistance is futile. A goad is a stick with a sharp point used to prod animals. Like Singapore’s Apostle Rick Seaward, Paul was goaded into the mission of Christ. From that point on, he did not kick against the goads. He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19).
Missions is the ministry of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the mission of the whole Church to the whole world.
Paul also shares new details on his commission by Christ: “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness … I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:16-18).
This is a Messianic prophecy (Isaiah 42:6-7, 49:6).
Why does Jesus take a prophecy about Himself and His mission and apply it to Paul?
This is a revelation not to be missed. Ever since Pentecost, Jesus continues His mission on earth through Paul and other messengers of the Church. Paul confirms this in Acts 26:23, where he says that the Risen Christ would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. Jesus is a missionary.
World evangelisation, therefore, is not an option for the Church. Missions is not a specialisation of one man, like Pastor Rick Seaward, or one church, like Victory Family Centre. No! Missions is the ministry of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the mission of the whole Church to the whole world. Will the Singapore Church follow the example of Paul and our own Apostle Rick Seaward?
Will we obey the heavenly vision? Or will we kick against the goads?
Fast and pray
- The Great Commission is not an option to be considered. It is a command to be obeyed. (Hudson Taylor) It’s not a New Testament idea. It’s as old as Abraham, to whom God said, I will make you a blessing to all the peoples of the earth.
Ponder and pray:
• “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
• “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7)
- We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God (John Stott). World missions is not a peripheral thing. It is the main thing. Not an elective, but a core of discipleship. When we reduce God’s mission to a programme alongside a thousand and one others, we are kicking against the goads.
Hear the Lord of the Nations saying to the Singapore Church: You are my servant with a mission – the mission of Jesus. My Kingdom is bigger than your local church. Growing the church, feeding the sheep, tending the lambs is too small a job for you. Even winning Singapore is just practice for the greater works ahead. I am setting you up as a light for all the peoples of the earth, so that my salvation goes global – to the ends of the earth (The Message, Adapted).
Pray with all your heart for this generation and all future generations. Ask God to download this vision deep in our spirits, and inscribe this biblical theology deep in our hearts and minds: This is our Father’s world. This is our Father’s dream.
- When heaven calls, resistance is futile. Have you been tuning out? Dragging feet? Making excuses? Kicking against the goads? Make this your prayer for yourself and a new generation of missionary pioneers from Singapore: I have but one passion: “It is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world. And henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” (Nicolaus Zinzendorf) In faith, declare that Celebration of Hope 2019 will yield a new crop of disciples who will eagerly drop everything to become fishers of men to the ends of the earth!
Read the devotional from Day 34, August 3: Corrupt practice here.
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