Acts 1: Mission Begins When You See Other People's Needs

Introduction

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be witnesses to me." On this verse, Acts 1:8, pastor Daniele Di Iorio, a guest at the Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica Koinonia in Rome, builds a message on mission, during a service devoted to the Church in Cuba.

Before opening the Bible, he tells his story. He is one of about 600 Italian survivors of thalidomide, a drug given to pregnant women against nausea: his right hand was born without fingers. He lost his father at 13, and was saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit the same year. Twelve years ago, a triple heart attack destroyed the tip of his heart, "but it keeps beating." He believes that every beat says "glory to God." He and his wife have been going to Cuba for about twelve years, and they devote to this mission the monthly allowance the State pays to thalidomide victims.

"If we urge you not to forget the least of these, it is because we ourselves, personally, do not forget them." The message that follows is a call to leave indifference behind and become channels of blessing.

Outline of the Message

1. Channels, Not Basins

The worship the Church experiences is beautiful: worshipers who worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23). The preacher quotes an old hymn: "By his blood, we are free to enter the holy place where he dwells forever" (see Hebrews 10:19).
In worship, the door opens in the name of Jesus into the throne room. We receive the Word, power, blessing, an inner lightness, communion with God. "All of this is very beautiful."
"But if all of this is locked in a basin, kept only for ourselves, it is useless." All of it only makes sense if we are conduits through which God's presence, blessing, and Word flow.
The angels could not carry out this mandate: with no physical body, they could never have understood human realities. God needs witnesses who live in space and time to declare that the gift of God is eternal life.
The mission of the Church is born from a clear program: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only born Son" (John 3:16). Jesus does not call us only to look at our own church and our own city, but at the nations.

2. Mission Begins When Other People's Needs Enter Your Heart

"When the Holy Spirit makes you perceive another person's need, he is calling you to mission." This mission may be in your building, your city, your region, your nation, or among the peoples.
Today we sit at the table while screens show children dying, bombs killing whole families, acts of violence. An inner atrophy sets in: we can hardly feel compassion anymore. But the Holy Spirit keeps producing compassion in the hearts of believers.
"Seeing the multitudes, he was moved with compassion" (Matthew 9:36). First Jesus sees, then he is moved. Then he says: "Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:38).
"If your eyes stay fixed on the tips of your shoes, if you refuse to look up, you will never see that the fields are golden for harvest."
His prayer: "Lord, help us to go beyond our comfort zone, beyond our own interests. Help us not to be selfish basins, but channels of blessing."

3. A Church That Sees Beyond Its Walls

His church in Vomero, Naples, has rented its building for 38 years. People often ask him why it has never built one. He smiles: "We have built many for others."
When God gives the grace to build, you should build, as the church in Rome is about to do. "But if the Lord leads you another way, do not keep for yourself what could be a blessing for others."
He quotes William Carey, pioneer of modern missions: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."
Traveling with only one hand is a trial for him: carrying luggage, taking the subway or the bus. "Try traveling on the subway with one hand and you will understand what I am telling you." Yet he has always tried to do things for the glory of the Lord.
"Do not think about your physical limit, do not think about your financial limit, do not think about your family limit. Attempt great things for God." William Carey was only a shoemaker, but God put India in his heart. This is how mission begins: God puts in our hearts people we may never have met.

4. You Cannot Help Everyone, but You Can Stop Being Indifferent

"We cannot help everyone, but we can stop being indifferent. Enough indifference." He quotes a saying from the Talmud: "Help one soul and you will help the world."
The story of the starfish: after a storm, the beach is covered with starfish. A child on his way to school throws them back into the sea one by one. A man tells him: "You will never make it." The child picks up another one and answers: "For this one, I made it." The man understands the lesson and comes down to help, others follow, and before the sun is high, the beach is empty.
"For this one, I made it." He applies it to a young Cuban, the son of a pastor who was discriminated against in his country, welcomed in Italy for four years and trained at Bible school: for him, "we made it."
Lillian Trasher, a Pentecostal missionary in Egypt, took care of thousands of children. She started with a single little girl left without a mother. She saw a child and said: "Yes, Lord."
"God does not ask us to do everything, he asks us to do our part."

5. In Mission, Everyone Has a Part

Paul asks: "How will they preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10:15). "There is the one who goes, the one who prays, the one who encourages, the one who supports, the one who opens a door."
A mission to Cuba is planned for February. Some may feel called to take part, with their pastor's agreement. "But not everyone will cross the ocean. Everyone can do their part. Everyone can pray."
We must also break the silence about Cuba, "a silent Gaza" that is rarely talked about. He and his wife consider themselves ambassadors of this nation, and above all of the Church there.
At 63, he told his churches that his current term would be the last and that he would stop at 67. But he will continue the missions abroad "until someone rises up to whom the torch can be passed," despite his fragile health and the dangers. "Who knows whether among you there is not a faithful man to whom to hand the baton."

6. Mission Means Bringing Jesus, Not Only Aid

"We do not go there only for philanthropic purposes. We go there to bring Jesus." Cuban pastors organize large gatherings in the neighborhoods where hundreds of families come, and each one personally receives material and financial help, one by one.
"Man's deepest need is not only bread, nor only medicine or clothing, it is Christ." The most beautiful thing is to preach the Gospel in a nation where it cannot be preached.
He once applied for a pastoral visa, paid 400 euros for it, and it was refused. So they travel as visitors and bear witness on the spot, "because beyond bread, the Gospel must be preached."
He quotes Jim Elliot, a missionary in Ecuador: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." What you own today, you cannot keep for eternity.
Elliot was killed along with other missionaries while trying to reach an unevangelized people. According to the preacher, he was putting Bibles in the hands of his killers. A few years later, his wife Elisabeth returned to that village and many were converted, because "the blood of believers is a seed for new conversions." He points out that the fastest-growing Church today is the persecuted Church.

7. The Greatest Missionary Is Jesus

"Who was the greatest missionary? Not Paul, not Peter, but Jesus."
On the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7), he prefers an interpretation received from the Church fathers: where could 99 righteous people be found, since "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)? The shepherd "left the places of righteousness." The Son of God leaves the places of righteousness to come looking for humanity, the lost sheep.
"The Son of God became the son of man to allow the sons of men to become sons of God."
We thank God for the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us, but our eyes stay fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). "Whom do we want to be like? We want to be like Jesus."
Not everyone can go, but everyone can say: "Here I am, Lord, I will do my part. Here I am to pray, here I am to encourage." Like Isaiah, who hears "Whom shall I send?" and answers "Here I am. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8).
He shares that his wife is going through a health trial, while a mission is planned for 2027. Will this trial stop them? "May it not be so." Hence the importance of a hand on the shoulder and a promise of prayer.
The mission will continue until this Gospel of the kingdom is preached to every creature (Matthew 24:14), as long as there remains one person to whom to say: "Jesus loves you. Jesus is looking for you. Jesus has not forgotten you."

Key Takeaways

The blessing received in worship only makes sense if it flows toward others: God wants channels, not basins.
Mission begins when the Holy Spirit makes you see and feel another person's need, as Jesus did when he saw the crowds.
You cannot help everyone, but you can help the one God puts on your path and refuse indifference.
Everyone has a part: going, praying, encouraging, supporting, opening a door.
Mission is not limited to material aid: man's deepest need is Christ.

Personal Application

Does what you receive from God in worship stay in you, or does it flow toward someone this week?
When did you last look up and notice the need of a person in your building, at your work, or in your city?
Which limit (physical, financial, family) do you use as an excuse for attempting nothing for God?
Who is the "starfish" God has placed on your path, the one for whom you can make a difference?
Are you ready to add a persecuted Church to your prayer list once a week?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “you will be my witnesses” mean in Acts 1:8?

For Daniele Di Iorio, the presence and blessing of God received in worship only make sense if they flow toward others. God wants us to be channels, not basins that keep everything for themselves. The angels could not carry out this mandate: God chose people who live the human reality to proclaim that the gift of God is eternal life.

When does mission begin according to this message?

Mission begins when other people's needs enter your heart. When the Holy Spirit lets you perceive, in a real and concrete way, what another person is going through, he calls you to mission, whether in your building, your city, your nation, or among the peoples. As with Jesus in Matthew 9:36, you must first see the crowds in order to be moved with compassion.

How can you take part in mission without going abroad?

Not everyone will cross the ocean, but everyone can do their part: pray, encourage, support, open a door, speak up among the people around you. The preacher asks for one simple commitment: once a week, add these words to your personal prayer, “Father, remember Cuba.”