From the Small to the Great

From the Insignificant to the Powerful
Acts 1:1-15
“At this time, Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gather of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together.”
It was a small church in a hostile world that was insignificant in the eyes of the religious leaders of the day.  As they gathered that day, the mandate given them seemed impossible.  In verse 8, Christ mandates the early church to become his witnesses to the world. But what could a small church achieve with so few and so little to offer?  They were untrained and without resources.  The only ones who received any training in preparation for the task were the 12 disciples.  The rest were just ordinary people who had accepted the gospel's message.  They were common people with very common, ordinary backgrounds and skills.  There was nothing that anyone would characterize as remarkable. As they sat together that day, the words of Jesus must have seemed overwhelming.  It is estimated that there were approximately 300 million people on earth at that time. This small gathering represented a mere .0000004% of the population in the world.  How could so few be the vehicle through whom the gospel would reach the world?  There were no great entrepreneurs among them.  There were not highly powerful people who had name recognition throughout the Roman Empire.  They were common people.  They were the type of people the rest of society would walk past and not notice.  They were fishermen and shepherds.  There was nothing outwardly visible to suggest they could have any impact.  

Often, we look at the size of our church and the lack of any special talents and abilities, and we wonder what we can do for the kingdom. We have bought into the falsehood that only churches with dynamic preachers, skilled worship teams, and trained staff can accomplish anything for the kingdom. If our numbers are few and our talents are common, then there is little we can do.

However, despite their insignificance, there was a hint that God would do something special through them. Throughout his ministry, Christ continually illustrated that He could take what was insignificant and turn it into the miraculous. He had taken a boy’s lunch and turned it into a feast for thousands. On another occasion, He repeated the act with again a small lunch for one person. Not only did He illustrate the principle in His miracles, but He also taught that the gospel would spread from what seemed like an insignificant start to a powerful force. The gospel would begin as a small seed the size of a mustard seed but grow into a mighty tree that would become a nesting place for the birds of the air. Christ had both taught and demonstrated that it was not the size of the group or the abilities of the people that would transform the world. It would be His sovereign power that would accomplish it through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When Christ left them, he promised that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task. This is the same Holy Spirit that empowers us today. Christ reminded them of what we often fail to recognize. It is not our abilities, talents, skills, or resources that accomplish great things for the kingdom. It is the empowerment of God. When we surrender to His will and His empowerment through us, God can accomplish far more than we can ever Imagine.

By 100 AD, it is estimated that there were 7,000 Christians.  By 150 AD, the number had risen to 218,000 in 200 AD. And by 250 AD, there were estimated to be 1.17 million.    Roman Empire, it is estimated that by the end of the 3rd century, 50% of the Roman Empire was Christian.  Little did that small group of Christians assembled on that day realize that God would use them to transform the world.  The same is true for us today.  When we submit to God’s work and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, God can do the impossible, for he can use us to have an impact on others for all eternity.  Begin each day with just a simple prayer, asking God to use you to serve Him, and then you will be amazed at what He can do.