The Universal Message
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Acts 13:44-52
44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. 45 But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said,
‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.
50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. 52 And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Of Paul’s many journeys, the success of his first missionary voyage (Acts 13) must have been one of his most memorable. As Paul and Barnabas preached to Antioch they had no idea what to expect from the city. They did not know that so many Gentiles would believe, and they didn’t know that a mob would literally run “them out of town” (v.50). This story demonstrates how the only way to do be faithful to God is to be completely vulnerable to Him.
Paul and Barnabas probably did not expect to preach “the entire city of Antioch” (v.44), but they probably did expect the reaction of the Jewish leaders who argued against their presentation of the gospel. They were completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to move through them and connect with the vast Gentile congregation before them, and offer salvation to those who were not aware of Jesus.
Are you glad to hear the messages of the Lord? The best indication of receiving an exciting message is in the way the message spreads beyond your control. When the Lord gives you a message silence is impossible. You cannot contain His message and it will spill into everything you do. And as Paul and Barnabas witnessed in Antioch, the word of the Lord is alive: “So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region” (v.49). Maybe you need to be refreshed by the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that moved through Paul and Barnabas in Antioch.
Posted By: Eric at 11:29 AM : Link : 0 Comments
