Get Filled & Get Going

By Gobel Brockman

In Acts 1 we see the resurrected Jesus about to ascend back into Heaven. His last words to His disciples before His ascension are found in verse 8:

     "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In Acts 2 we see them waiting in Jerusalem until the promised Holy Spirit came, and His indwelling made an immediate impact on the disciples. Peter preaches what was the inaugural message of the New Testament church, and three thousand people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. In the following days they saw incredible miracles, powerful deliverance, and continued growth. I try to imagine what they must have been feeling during that time. I imagine them looking at each other with joy and wild-eyed wonder as they witnessed firsthand the power of God moving among them and through them. I believe we all have periods in our lives when we wish we could push a button and say, "Life will always be like this." I'm sure it had to be like that for them during that time.

They were about to learn a difficult lesson, however, and it's a lesson that we must learn as well: you can't stay in your "Jerusalem" moments forever. What I mean is this: in the Scripture I quoted earlier Jesus told the disciples that they were to go to "Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth." In Acts 8:1 we read this:

     "And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles."

I find it very interesting that the persecution that God allowed to come to the disciples actually fulfilled His very words to them - even listing the areas they went in the same order. The Holy Spirit being poured upon them was for a purpose, and that purpose had to be fulfilled.

Our purpose must be fulfilled as well.

Times of revival and refreshing are amazing, and I thank God for every season of these that He has allowed me to experience. I must remind myself, however, that I'm not supposed to simply be a "sponge" - getting filled but never releasing what I receive. I desire and I NEED the Holy Spirit's continual infilling, but I need to be reminded that He fills me so that I can take what He gives me and share it with others. Our "Jerusalem" experiences are awesome beyond words, but our "Judeas and Samarias" need what God gives us. May we receive everything that God desires to give us in those times when God blesses us in abundance, and then may we take those blessings and share them with everyone we can.

What am I saying? Simply this - get filled with God, then get going for God!