“I promise you this,” Jesus tells his disciples in Acts 1, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be seized with power. You will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces – even to the remotest places on earth!”
The phrase “seized with power” caused me to pause and ask myself whether I am that kind of disciple of Jesus. Power can mean different things depending on who you ask. In our culture, power is often seen in governments, political leaders and influential figures.
Yet leadership in God's kingdom is not about status or influence, but about faithfully serving wherever God has called us – whether inside the church or outside. There are moments when we question whether our efforts are truly having an impact and ask, “Am I doing anything meaningful for the kingdom?”
We compare ourselves to missionaries, pastors, and the people out there doing seemingly extraordinary things. Which are all amazing, yet it’s okay to balance that with knowing that not everyone is called into those roles.
In my mid twenties, I had a strong affiliation with Mozambique. I can’t explain why. I had never been, I didn’t know of anyone there, but I had a pulling that I couldn’t explain and a deep longing to go. I truly felt as if this was where God was leading me. My “big calling” in life. I remember being in Christchurch one evening in 2017, flat on my face crying out to God. My genuine prayer was, “Lord, I will do whatever you want me to do. I’ll go wherever you want me to go, just tell me where you want me to go and I’ll go there.”
I needed to know if this was the next step for me. I needed certainty about where he was sending me…
But in that moment, God so gently and softly said to me, “What if I told you to stay? What if it’s not in the going, but it’s in the doing?”
It felt like a switch had flipped in my mind.
What if calling isn’t always found in the going? What if sometimes it’s found in the staying? What if significance is found in faithfulness?
Now looking back, if I had gone to Mozambique, I’m sure God would have used me and developed my character in ways only he could. But because of my staying, I pressed on with my work, introducing co-workers to Jesus, and started a non profit organisation that has now fed thousands upon thousands of hungry people. I met my husband, we had a beautiful family and now we run a cafe that partners with The Liberty Project in Mozambique. Only by God’s kindness could he orchestrate these things and fill these deep desires and longings of my heart.
You see, the power wasn't in Mozambique or Christchurch.
The power was in obedience.
So often we think God only moves in the spectacular. Yet in 1 Kings 19 Elijah discovers something profound. He was fleeing those who wanted to kill him, had been travelling 40 days and 40 nights and was now at Mt Sinai, spending the night in a cave.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
What strikes me about this passage is that God wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake. He wasn't in the fire.
Instead Elijah encountered God in the gentle whisper.
God was teaching Elijah that his presence is not limited to the dramatic. Sometimes he meets us in the quiet places. Sometimes his greatest work happens in the ordinary moments where he is shaping our hearts.
The same Spirit who met Elijah in the whisper came upon the disciples like a rushing wind and tongues of fire at Pentecost. He’s in the dramatic moments and the ordinary ones.
Its different manifestations of the same spirit and different moments with the same power.
After Jesus told the disciples they would be “seized with power”, he ascended into the sky right in front of them all. Then two angels appeared and asked the disciples, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but he will come back in the same way that you saw him ascend.” It almost feels like a gentle reality check, like a nudge to stop standing still and start moving.
Surely there is more to this following Jesus than simply wondering what our big calling is or waiting for him to return. Perhaps the challenge is not to keep looking up for what's next, but to faithfully step into what God has already placed in front of us.
Maybe God is saying, “Stop staring. There is work to do.”
It wasn’t given to make our Sunday morning services more entertaining, but given to be a demonstration of the kingdom, out past these church doors, the kingdom breaking out into our city, offices, schools and all the places we belong to in our Monday to Saturday. We have the collective call as the church body, in whatever occupation, office or title we may hold.
This mission of the church is not escaping earth for heaven. It’s bringing the life of heaven into the world around us.
NT Wright said, “Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project – not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonise earth with the life of heaven.”1
Maybe it looks like sharing Jesus with a neighbour. Inviting someone to dinner. Feeding someone who’s hungry. Giving generously. Raising children faithfully. Showing up at work with integrity.
Some of these things may feel a little uncomfortable, but in the words of John Mark Comer, the church is “not a community of comfort but of calling”.2 Maybe it’s time to get a little uncomfortable as most kingdom impacts happen in ordinary places.
The same spirit that fell at Pentecost is with you in the school pickup line. In the office. In the cafe. In your family. The seemingly small moments.
I once heard a pastor say that we are saved for something, not just from something. And that always stuck with me.
What’s in your hands?
Time? Skills? Relationships? Creativity? Business? Influence? Finances?
God rarely starts with what you don’t have. He starts with what he’s already placed in your hands.
We are to be faithful in the going. Faithful in staying. Faithful in the doing. Seized by power, bringing heaven to earth wherever he has planted us. The kingdom of God advances not only through extraordinary moments, but through ordinary people saying yes to Jesus every single day.
Faith was never meant to be admired from a distance – it was meant to be lived.
Maybe God will call some of us to go.
Maybe he will call some of us to stay.
But every one of us is called to do.
1 N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: A Study of Christian Hope and Resurrection.
2 John Mark Comer, Live No Lies.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
“I promise you this,” Jesus tells his disciples in Acts 1, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be seized with power. You will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces – even to the remotest places on earth!”
The phrase “seized with power” caused me to pause and ask myself whether I am that kind of disciple of Jesus. Power can mean different things depending on who you ask. In our culture, power is often seen in governments, political leaders and influential figures.
Yet leadership in God's kingdom is not about status or influence, but about faithfully serving wherever God has called us – whether inside the church or outside. There are moments when we question whether our efforts are truly having an impact and ask, “Am I doing anything meaningful for the kingdom?”
We compare ourselves to missionaries, pastors, and the people out there doing seemingly extraordinary things. Which are all amazing, yet it’s okay to balance that with knowing that not everyone is called into those roles.
In my mid twenties, I had a strong affiliation with Mozambique. I can’t explain why. I had never been, I didn’t know of anyone there, but I had a pulling that I couldn’t explain and a deep longing to go. I truly felt as if this was where God was leading me. My “big calling” in life. I remember being in Christchurch one evening in 2017, flat on my face crying out to God. My genuine prayer was, “Lord, I will do whatever you want me to do. I’ll go wherever you want me to go, just tell me where you want me to go and I’ll go there.”
I needed to know if this was the next step for me. I needed certainty about where he was sending me…
But in that moment, God so gently and softly said to me, “What if I told you to stay? What if it’s not in the going, but it’s in the doing?”
It felt like a switch had flipped in my mind.
What if calling isn’t always found in the going? What if sometimes it’s found in the staying? What if significance is found in faithfulness?
Now looking back, if I had gone to Mozambique, I’m sure God would have used me and developed my character in ways only he could. But because of my staying, I pressed on with my work, introducing co-workers to Jesus, and started a non profit organisation that has now fed thousands upon thousands of hungry people. I met my husband, we had a beautiful family and now we run a cafe that partners with The Liberty Project in Mozambique. Only by God’s kindness could he orchestrate these things and fill these deep desires and longings of my heart.
You see, the power wasn't in Mozambique or Christchurch.
The power was in obedience.
So often we think God only moves in the spectacular. Yet in 1 Kings 19 Elijah discovers something profound. He was fleeing those who wanted to kill him, had been travelling 40 days and 40 nights and was now at Mt Sinai, spending the night in a cave.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
What strikes me about this passage is that God wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake. He wasn't in the fire.
Instead Elijah encountered God in the gentle whisper.
God was teaching Elijah that his presence is not limited to the dramatic. Sometimes he meets us in the quiet places. Sometimes his greatest work happens in the ordinary moments where he is shaping our hearts.
The same Spirit who met Elijah in the whisper came upon the disciples like a rushing wind and tongues of fire at Pentecost. He’s in the dramatic moments and the ordinary ones.
Its different manifestations of the same spirit and different moments with the same power.
After Jesus told the disciples they would be “seized with power”, he ascended into the sky right in front of them all. Then two angels appeared and asked the disciples, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but he will come back in the same way that you saw him ascend.” It almost feels like a gentle reality check, like a nudge to stop standing still and start moving.
Surely there is more to this following Jesus than simply wondering what our big calling is or waiting for him to return. Perhaps the challenge is not to keep looking up for what's next, but to faithfully step into what God has already placed in front of us.
Maybe God is saying, “Stop staring. There is work to do.”
It wasn’t given to make our Sunday morning services more entertaining, but given to be a demonstration of the kingdom, out past these church doors, the kingdom breaking out into our city, offices, schools and all the places we belong to in our Monday to Saturday. We have the collective call as the church body, in whatever occupation, office or title we may hold.
This mission of the church is not escaping earth for heaven. It’s bringing the life of heaven into the world around us.
NT Wright said, “Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project – not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonise earth with the life of heaven.”1
Maybe it looks like sharing Jesus with a neighbour. Inviting someone to dinner. Feeding someone who’s hungry. Giving generously. Raising children faithfully. Showing up at work with integrity.
Some of these things may feel a little uncomfortable, but in the words of John Mark Comer, the church is “not a community of comfort but of calling”.2 Maybe it’s time to get a little uncomfortable as most kingdom impacts happen in ordinary places.
The same spirit that fell at Pentecost is with you in the school pickup line. In the office. In the cafe. In your family. The seemingly small moments.
I once heard a pastor say that we are saved for something, not just from something. And that always stuck with me.
What’s in your hands?
Time? Skills? Relationships? Creativity? Business? Influence? Finances?
God rarely starts with what you don’t have. He starts with what he’s already placed in your hands.
We are to be faithful in the going. Faithful in staying. Faithful in the doing. Seized by power, bringing heaven to earth wherever he has planted us. The kingdom of God advances not only through extraordinary moments, but through ordinary people saying yes to Jesus every single day.
Faith was never meant to be admired from a distance – it was meant to be lived.
Maybe God will call some of us to go.
Maybe he will call some of us to stay.
But every one of us is called to do.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
