Tag Archives: scattered

ACTS THE SEQUEL…THE CHURCH SPREADS – 22

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“Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

They just could not keep quiet! Everywhere the scattered disciples went, they spoke about Jesus….Phoenicia, the island of Cyprus, Cyrene…Jesus was the subject of their conversation…but only to Jews. They had obviously not yet heard about Cornelius and his household.  

Some of the converts in Cyprus and Cyrene, Hellenistic Jews, didn’t care about Jewish scruples. They took the message to Antioch and told the Greeks about Jesus. Soon Antioch became the hub of non-Jewish believers. In fact, so great was their influence that it was in Antioch that the people of “the Way” were nicknamed “Christians”, people who resembled Jesus.  In Antioch, there was another explosion of new life…the church there grew apace until… 

Jerusalem got to hear about it and reacted. “What’s going on in Antioch? We’d better fine out.” So, they sent good old Barnabas to find out. 

Of course, Barnabas was delighted with the new development and threw his weight behind the church. In fact, he hurried off to Tarsus to fetch Saul. Why should Saul sit around twiddling his thumbs when there was work to be done? In any case, Saul had had quite enough time to cool his hot-headed zeal, to sort out his theological issues, and gain an understanding of how Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures perfectly dove-tailed.  With Saul’s knowledge, understanding and experience, he would be an asset in this new development in the Gentile branch of the church. 

Little did Barnabas know that the Holy Spirit was positioning him and Saul/Paul for a partnership that would take them deep into hostile territory…into the Gentile world of paganism, hatred, violence, and persecution that almost cost Paul his life.

Barnabas had made the right decision. 

“…When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For a whole year, the soon-to-become comrades-in-arms cemented the believers in Antioch in their faith. The outcome was a  maturing church that became the centre of the missionary outreach into Asia Minor and eventually into Europe and the known world. 

“During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When famine, predicted by Agabus, a Christian prophet, hit the Roman empire, the church in Antioch detailed Barnabas and Saul to take help to the church in  Jerusalem.  

“The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…As we progress through this account of the partnership between the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ, despite serious opposition and cruel acts of violence against them, the church grew.  It spread from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria and, eventually, into the Greek and Roman world. 

The Holy Spirit, the administrator of this grace, choreographed every movement, every step of growth and progress, drawing people together from far and wide, cementing relationships, and opening new doors of opportunity. Not even their 

hardships and suffering were wasted. Every dark and light thread of this marvellous tapestry was being woven together to reveal a picture of the infinite love, power, and wisdom of God. He was at work, creating something that would transform the world and set the body of Christ on a course to be the salt that preserves a decaying society and the light that shows the way back to the Father. 

The story of Acts, a partnership between God, the Holy Spirit from heaven…and the church, the image ofJesus, the Son of God, on earth…is only a fragment of a much bigger story. It will never end until the whole earth has heard…and Jesus returns to write the final chapter. 

To be continued 

ACTS THE SEQUEL…AND SAMARIA – 15

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“And Saul approved of their killing him…On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The seed was buried…

The persecution began in earnest… not just with court cases…intimidation, threats, jail. These strategies didn’t work. This dangerous heresy was spreading like a forest fire. The “wood” of the  common people was tinder dry…ready for the fire of the Holy Spirit to set it ablaze with supernatural life. 

And the wind of the Spirit blew…scattering the burning fragments from Jerusalem everywhere. The believers fled the city…just as Jesus had predicted…into Judea and Samaria. Up to that point, the church was still contained and functioning within city and the borders of Israel but…give it time…

Meanwhile, a new branch of the church began to grow in Samaria…the place where Jesus Himself had started a blaze through a disreputable Samaritan woman…who had drunk from the “water of life.”

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The leadership of God’s people had new blood. The “deacons” of Acts 6 became spiritual leaders outside Jerusalem while the apostles remained in the city to care for the remnants of the flock left behind. 

Stephen was gone…but Philip, possibly one of the seven deacons, stepped up to fill the gap. The city of Samaria, in the province of Samaria, came alive with the power of the Holy Spirit. The same miracles that sparked the fierce opposition in Jerusalem now spread to Samaria. The powers of hell were shaken. The comfortable demonic presence was stirred up to resist and fight. The kingdom of God had come… and the demons didn’t like it. 

Luke included a story about an individual, Simon the sorcerer, who had duped the people into believing that he doing miracles for God. His deception was unhindered until the Spirit came. The people of Samaria were ripe for the gospel. 

“Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Peter and John, on a fact-finding mission from Jerusalem, passed on the Holy Spirit’s baptism to the new believers in this Samaritan hybrid group… and Simon was impressed!

“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria…

“…When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭14-‭17‬ ‭NIV

Simon also “ believed” but his cover was blown. When the true Spirit of God fell on people in Samaria, Simon decided to change sides. He still craved power…but now…he saw genuine power at work and tried to buy it!

Wrong!

“When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Peter was incensed. How dare this man try to buy God’s power! 

Peter stared right into Simon’s soul. No words were harsh enough to expose this man’s true intention. Money! Peter saw a heart full of money, dark and sinister because the love of money drove his life…colouring his every thought and deed…killing love, compassion, and kindness…caring about nothing or no one except to deceive for the sake of money. He was even ready to use some of his money to buy the Holy Spirit, as if he could, to gain more power over people, to manipulate and deceive…so he thought!

…“May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

The judgment was harsh but real…and Simon was shocked and afraid. 

“Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭20‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The next phase of God’s strategy, painful as it had been…through death and persecution…had opened the door to a hybrid nation.  The once-hated Samaritans had become part of God’s forever family. Grace had come to graft them into God’s “olive tree”! 

To be continued 

Peter, An Apostle

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PETER, AN APOSTLE

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance (1 Peter 1: 1-2).

Who wrote this letter, Peter or Paul? It sounds a lot like Paul, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t Paul; it was Peter, the fisherman.

When we read these letters, we read them as inspired writings rather than as letters written by human beings who must have been in contact with one another and influenced one another in many ways. These men were apostles and leaders in the early church. They had a profound influence on the believers and would have spent time together whenever they could so that they would speak with one voice.

Peter had been with Jesus for more than three years. Paul had his three years in the desert of Arabia, communing and learning the message he was to take to the world from the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised, would lead him into all truth. They learned from the same Master and taught the same message wherever they went.

To whom did Peter write this letter? To believers scattered throughout Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. How can one write a letter to people scattered all over the place? Perhaps Peter made many copies and had one of his compatriots drop them off as they travelled from place to place. We can send e-mails anywhere simultaneously simply by adding an address to our list of addressees and pressing ‘send’. In a flash through technology we use but do not understand, our recipients can read our letter within seconds.

Peter’s way of communicating was tedious and took many months to reach his readers but his message was permanent, preserved on material that has survived thousands of years. What happens to our messages on computer? They disappear as fast as they were sent simply by pressing ‘delete’. Unfortunately, we often dismiss God’s word from our minds as quickly as we delete our e-mails from our computers, instead of saving them on the ‘hard drive’ of our hearts.

Peter’s greeting was in itself a short but profound summary of his message to these scattered believers:

Who were they? They were God’s elect, unknown and unnamed people as far as the world was concerned but, as far as God was concerned, known and chosen to belong to Him before the world was even created. From the world’s perspective they were exiles, aliens, rejected by the world, refugees living in foreign lands, not belonging anywhere in this world but, nevertheless, citizens of the heavenly kingdom, their true homeland.

What a contrast! Rejected by the world but belonging to God. Their identity was not rooted in the world’s favour. What did it matter if the world did not want them? They were God’s chosen, chosen by Him and identified with Him. That made them secure for time and eternity. And it was a God-thing from beginning to end. Why? The triune God is involved in their election.

Firstly, God the Father was behind the choice of every individual who made up the elect. They did not happen to be in His kingdom by chance. They did not stumble into it by accident. They were there by the Father’s choice and for a purpose.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit was involved in their election. He made it all happen. He wooed and won the heart of every person who was called ‘elect’. He drew them to Jesus, opened the eyes of their understanding, brought them to faith and set them apart for God.

Thirdly, Jesus was also involved in their election. He was the object of their faith and the reason for their salvation. It was through His blood that they were forgiven, cleansed and made fit to be citizens of God’s kingdom and members of His family. It was for obedience to Him that they were chosen and called. This was ultimately the evidence and the outcome of their election.

If you are a citizen of God’s kingdom, you are also ‘elect’ of God, unknown and unwanted by the world, but belonging to God and set apart for him.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.