Go

"Go therefore."

The word is short. The implication is vast.

Jesus is not telling His disciples to stay where they are and wait for the world to come to them. He is telling them to leave. To move. To cross boundaries they would never cross on their own. Geographic. Ethnic. Linguistic. Cultural. Social. The mission is outward. It goes to where the gospel has not yet been heard.

Acts 1:8 gives the map. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Local. Regional. Global. No boundary is the final boundary.

This was not easy for the first disciples. They were Jewish men in a Jewish world. The idea of crossing into Gentile territory was offensive to their upbringing. It took a vision from heaven to move Peter into the house of Cornelius. It took the persecution following Stephen's martyrdom to scatter believers beyond Jerusalem. Again and again, God had to push His people outward. The human heart turns inward. We prefer comfort to calling. We prefer the familiar to the foreign. We prefer safety to sacrifice.

The church at Antioch shows how "go" actually works.

While the church was worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2). The church laid hands on them and sent them off. That is the first deliberate missionary sending in the New Testament. Notice the pieces. A worshiping church. The leading of the Spirit. The identification of gifted men. The corporate act of commissioning. The willingness to release their best leaders for the sake of the mission.

Antioch did not send its weakest members. It sent Barnabas and Saul. Two of its most gifted teachers. A sending church gives its best. It does not hoard talent for internal comfort. It sends talent for the sake of the world.

Going takes three forms. Pay attention. You are in one or more of them.

Across the street. The missionary in your own neighborhood. The believer who shares the gospel with coworkers, neighbors, and family members who do not yet know Christ. For most Mayflower members, this is the day-in, day-out shape of going.

Across New England. Partnership with sister churches in our region. Church plants. Disaster relief. Pastors helping pastors. Some of you are called here.

Across the world. The believers who learn new languages, adapt to new cultures, and plant churches where there are none. Some at Mayflower will be sent further. The church's job is to identify, equip, pray for, and release those whom the Spirit calls.

You may not board a plane. But you are sent. Every Christian is. The only question is what your going looks like this week.