unstoppable gospel

But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:51-52

Paul and Barnabas initially saw the gospel receive a warm welcome in Pisidian Antioch. Luke records an extended sermon from Paul that was delivered in their first Sabbath meeting at the synagogue there. It was provocative, biblically solid, and winsome. And by the next Sabbath the synagogue was overflowing with those seeking to know more. This scared the Jewish leaders and they asked Paul not to come back to their synagogue.

The gospel team moved on then to do their work among the Gentiles with complete freedom. And disciples were made. The Word of God kept spreading throughout the region, steadily moving forward. The Jews, still jealous of the success and threatened by the large numbers of converts used their influence to stir up an official persecution against Paul and Barnabas that had them forcibly driven out of the region. But this did not stamp out the spread of the gospel!

So Paul and Barnabas had their Matthew 10:14 moment. Obeying the very commissioning words of Jesus, they pause to shake the dust of the city from their feet before moving on to Iconium, where the next phase of missions work would commence for them.

The persecution ultimately failed in two ways: 1) The disciples left behind in Pisidian Antioch were strong, joyful, and filled with the Holy Spirit. This would keep the gospel advancing there despite the persecution. 2) Paul and Barnabus just moved on, preaching the good news, and seeing the gospel have an even bigger regional impact. The gospel response just got bigger in terms of reach, reception, and influence.

The gospel is unstoppable when Christians will proclaim it anywhere no matter what!

astonished at the gospel

Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Acts 13:12

This verse describes an interesting first conversion for the first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas are just beginning their missionary travels. They arrive on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Their first step was to visit the local Jewish synagogue in Salamis, and were then making their way through population centers across the island. Then in the city of Paphos they have their first big gospel conversation with a person of influence, the local proconsul, Sergius Paulus. But they also find sinister opposition from a Jewish false prophet and film-flam magician name Elymas.

Paul and Barnabas were speaking with Sergius Paulus at the direct invitation of the proconsul. He seems truly interested in the gospel and in hearing all about Jesus. But Elymas, who seems to have been some kind of religious advisor to Sergius, interferes, opposing the gospel and working against the efforts of Paul and Barnabas as they share Christ. Paul sees right into the wicked heart of Elymas. He publically calls Elymas out for his deception and pronounces him blind. And immediately the false prophet is led away unable to see. The persuasive power of God was at work.

A hindrance to faith was eliminated. The proconsul believed, not just because of the miraculous display of God’s power, but because of the powerful truth of the gospel. He was astonished, not at the instant blindness of Elymas or the boldness of Paul, but instead at the teaching of the Lord. It was the gospel that was the real amazement, as it always should be.

When we evangelize, God may do great things to prepare a heart to receive His truth. We can count on Him doing His part. But those things cannot become the focus. The gospel itself is always the wonder at the root of every believing heart.

our salvation

May we shout for joy over your salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

Psalm 20:5

Let us rejoice

for God has brought

salvation!

Looking at us

His mercy sought

salvation.

Sending His Son

Jesus is our

salvation.

Living His life

He taught us

salvation.

Taking our sin

Jesus accomplished holy

salvation.

Making us new

He gives free

salvation.

Living for God

we can know

salvation.

In His presence

we gladly show

salvation.

gifts that bless a growing church

So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:29-30

There are two things I notice in these two verses today. They show the growth of the gospel. The first is a matter of generous living. The Christians in Antioch felt a certain kinship with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were suffering under persecution. This crossed racial barriers since the Antioch church was gentile and the Judean church was Jewish. And when it became clear via prophecy that a famine was soon to add to the hardships in Judea, their compassion for the saints in Jerusalem took the form of systematic, organized, generous giving.

Some principles about giving emerge from this account. Generous giving can’t be generic. This was a specific, organized effort meant to go to a specific project: the relief of the saints in Jerusalem and surrounding areas. Also, generous giving is planned giving. The disciples “determined” the scope of the project, putting some careful thought, prayer, communication, and collection into the effort. This was not pocket change or last minute. And finally, they gave as they were able. Some had capacity to make large gifts. Others had capacity to sacrifice equally with smaller gifts. They ALL had the ability to give.

The second thing that shows the growth of the gospel concerns leadership. This can be seen in how the gift arrived. For the first time the leadership group in the Jerusalem church getting charged with the reception and distribution of the relief funds is the group known as “elders”. They are becoming the ministry leaders as the church expands beyond just the leadership of the apostles. A growing church develops new leaders. It grows in leadership.

The gospel grows all disciples in generous giving according to their ability. And the gospel builds leadership in specific men gifted by God to lead the church as elders. Giving and leadership bless the gospel growth of the church globally.

You light my lamp.

For it is you who light my lamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

Psalm 18:28

Sitting in a cold January pre-dawn darkness, my Bible open in front of me, I pray for some direction. And without fail, the Lord strikes the match and a flame breaks out in front of my eyes as His Word begins to light my day. My lamp now lit, I read on, finding strength, finding comfort, finding my own needs met in the grace of my Lord. I see my sin. I feel His mercy warm my heart with gospel light. The darkness starts to fade.

I pause for prayer. “Thank You, my God, for this light. I need it! I see Your mercy. I plead Your grace. I cannot see without Your light! You must lead me, for the day will be cold and short, the night is so very long, and sin waits to wrap icy fingers around my heart and draw me from Your light. But Your Word kindles a warm flame that will sustain itself, light my way, keep me safe and keep me true. Thank You, my God, for Your holy, precious Word!”

Pausing to reflect, I see where the light must shine on me and in me, not only on my heart, but in my actions. Grace will lead me to love my wife and family as well as I can. I pray for them to see God’s gracious light as He protects and guides them this day. God’s light will shine on my neighbors and friends. I pray that those who may not yet know Jesus might find His light today! His light will also lead His people, so I ask that my church might seriously shine His light among ourselves and to our neighbors and the nations so Jesus might be the light of the world.

I look out the patio door and there is a faint glow starting to show itself in the southeast. A January sunrise is about to break forth. God is once again lighting the darkness as He always does. Grateful, I thank Him that He is the lighter of my lamp.

God listens to us.

In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

Psalm 18:6

God listens to the prayers we make. Why else would we pray if this were not true? The reality of prayer is bound up in the important expectation that God listens to His people. God hears prayer. God answers prayer. God loves to act on the behalf of His creation. We can be sure that God hears us and listens attentively to our prayers.

I love the way Psalm 18 describes how God responds to our distress. He flies down from His heavenly throne riding on the wings of a mighty angel to attend to the cries of His people. He arrives to deal with oppression and pain, and the ground where He lands trembles and smokes in the fury of His fierce response. He shares the feelings of His people and answers their prayers passionately and powerfully. Prayer brought God’s undivided attention. It always does.

I need this reminder because sometimes I choose to discard prayer because I think a circumstance is not worthy of God’s attention. But that is wrong of me. God sees and knows all that is going on in my life. He listens to prayer and knows what I need and when I need it. He is ready to act, to love, and to give good gifts to His children. Jesus reminded us we should ask of Him like children ask of their parents and that when we do so he longs to give help to us. Jesus said we don’t have from Him because we don’t ask of Him. So NOT praying is a spiritual failure. Prayer is always a spiritual win when my desire is for God to show His power and glory! Prayer thus fits any occassion because God listens to us, and listening, acts on our behalf always in the very best way for our good and His glory.

The Golden Rule

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 7:12

These words of Jesus know as the Golden Rule provide a social framework that if adhered to generally would represent what God has always wanted from His people. Jesus said “doing to others as you would have them do to you” would summarize the Old Testament Law. It would provide a kind of practical care in society that would eliminate much of the wrong that happens among us. It would create altruism at its finest.

It is simple: Treat others like you want to be treated. Through the transformative effects of the gospel this can and should happen. Of course, without the gospel at work in us, selfish sinfulness would threaten our ability to do this at all. But if I truly want others to know the grace that I have in life through Christ, it would make sense for me to share the gospel greatly and freely with others. The gospel is how I want to be changed. I want others to experience it as well because it is so good. So if I link together the Great Commission to make disciples with the Golden Rule to love as I wish to be loved, good works and the gospel can together make maximum impact in my world.

Unfortunately Christians may not always make this linkage. They separate preaching the gospel from gracious good works. And then good works become an end in themselves and a kind of legalism emerges. We become proud of who we help and what we do and how much we volunteer and miss Jesus truly transforming both us and the ones we want to serve. Or we may share the gospel out of a rigid obedience and ignore a need, making our efforts unfruitful. A homeless person may need the gospel, but it ought to come with some warm shelter and a meal. For us to love people made in God’s image means truly and practically helping them (especially if their condition is the result of their own wrong choice). You must do this the way you would long to be helped if you were in that same situation. This changes all of us. This lives out the gospel. This is how we “do to others” according to the Golden Rule.