When reading the book of The Acts of The Apostles, (concisely called "The Book Of Acts"), we see that these acts were consistent with the instructions of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV)
"And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Luke 24:46-49 (NKJV)
"Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
In the Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ (concisely called "The Book Of Revelation"),
we see that two of the seven churches were persecuted for the testimony of Christ. Philadelphia and Smyrna. In the 5 other churches, there would be a few believers that would be unscathed of the warning that the Head of the assembly gave them.
Or you can work so much that you leave your first love. Ephesus.
You could be dead. Sardis.
You could have false doctrine and sexual immorality. Pergamos.
You could have a Jezebel teaching sexual immorality. Thyatira.
You could be lukewarm. Laodecia.
In Sardis, they were dead. They were unresponsive. They thought that they had life. Just like the woman of Samaria that arrived at Jacob's well. She thought that she was a worshipper but the Lord revealed that she was an adulteress.
To worship the Father in spirit (life) and truth, sin must not be found in you. The Lord never revealed specific sins in Sardis, but when you're dead, James 1:14-15 comes to mind.
"And sin when it is finished brings forth death."
In the charismatic camp, there's been a perversion of the gospel. Many want a move of God. In other words, a supernatural move of God to bring revival but when we see Acts of the Apostles, we see that they were moved by the Holy Spirit to go to areas where the gospel wasn't preached.
We can't do the work of the Lord without the help of the Holy Spirit but once the Holy Spirit gives us the direction, are we willing to go where He says to go? And remain faithful and consistent with the Word that the Lord Jesus gave the apostles?
The Great Commission is the standing orders of the assemblies of God.
Acts 1:1-3 (NKJV)
"The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
If we were to read through the entire Book of Acts, we see the main players.
Peter, James, John, Paul. These individuals blazed a trail in spreading the gospel but even though the other apostles weren't named, it's clear to me that they went on assignments elsewhere and were effective.
They were eyewitness (martyrs) of the Lord and fulfilled their assignments.
Tradition indicates that 11 of 12 disciples were killed in action.
In Matthew 10, the Lord warned them that they would be persecuted and killed for the gospel's sake, so it wasn't as if they weren't prepared. Neither should we be unprepared.
Paul warned the churches that savage wolves would come in, and not spare the flock of God (see Acts 20:28-31). Paul warned by the Holy Spirit that many would depart from the faith in the latter times (see 1 Timothy 4:1). Paul warned that evil men and imposters would grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (see 2 Timothy 3:13).
Peddlers or hucksters are all around. The Lord Jesus warned us that false prophets would arise and deceive many (see Matthew 24:11).
However, in the midst of all these things, the Lord knew that a very few through the centuries, and up to today would remain faithful and true to the preaching and living of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let's not fool ourselves.
Be not deceived.
If you're not doing the gospel the way that the Lord commanded His disciples, and you're doing everything else but what the Lord commanded, you and I will pay for it at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
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