Acts 11.19–30

 Acts 11.19–30

This passage begins and ends with Saul. In verse 19 we have a flashback to the death of Stephen and the attacks on the church, which Saul led. The passage ends with Saul and Barnabas taking an offering from the Jerusalem church in anticipation of the coming famine. We see a picture of God’s grace as this vicious and dangerous persecutor becomes a tender servant leader of the church.

There’s something else noted quietly in this passage. We typically identify Saul and Barnabas as the first missionaries. In one sense, that is true, but that version of mission history might need some modifications. The disciples became a community well known in Antioch, so much so that they were known as “Christians” for the first time. Antioch is 300 miles more or less from Jerusalem. The gospel had spread far and wide as believers took the message with them, but verse 20 indicates an intentional effort by unnamed missionaries to travel for the purpose of proclaiming the good news. They apparently did this without large supporting structures, organizational plans, or sending institutions. While our missionary organizations have great value, they are supplements, not substitutes, to the heart-driven disciple who would serve. The reliance on organization may actually keep us tied down. It seems that we are unable to move till we have every resource in place, with a five-year plan, and the approval of at least two committees. In our effort to reform the organization of the church and restore New Testament Christianity, we have lost the critical concept that every disciple is in some way an evangelist and a disciple maker. The preponderance of professionals to manage every aspect of the church doesn’t make us more effective. Rather, it neutralizes the vast majority of workers and believers and burdens the church with a bureaucracy that begins to shift his focus from disciple-making to preservation of the institution.

 "Lord, make me an evangelist in my world. AMEN"

Acts 11.1-18

 Acts 11.1-18

Never has the term “this changes everything” been truer. The transformative power of the gospel is seen in the lives of believers. In verses 2-3 we see the open and direct opposition of some in the church to Peter’s going into a gentile home. In verse 18 we see the recognition of God is at work and their anticipation of a completely new reality. Everything had changed, a 180-degree about-face. This was no minor change to a peripheral issue of life either. The segregation of Gentiles from Jews was a core reality of life for Jews going back centuries. From the time of Abraham’s circumcision, the mark of the covenant relationship with God, separation from others was part of the very identity of faith and family and future.

We must not imagine that this was in some way easy. This moment literally changed everything as far as the religious, moral, and faith experience of these people. In the course of one gathering, one conversation, there is a complete radical reversal and change. Which brings us to the key question: How could this happen? What we see in our own lives and our churches is that the reality of change rarely happens, and if it does, it is only in minor ways and over the course of years. 

 

How was a radical change possible so fast in these early disciples? Two factors are involved. First the disciples understood it was the will of God. Change at such a realization seems like a no-brainer, but don’t doubt that many times we, as individuals and as congregations, don’t take time to ask, “What is the Lord‘s will?” Second, there was a submission to God‘s will on the part of the disciples. The enemy has two tools that are highly effective in keeping us from following our Lord's leading. First is keeping us ignorant of God's will and word. Keeping us from the word, prayer, meditation, and worship is a major objective of the enemy. To that end he inspires weak church leaders and self-centered theology. Second, he wants to promote and grow our own selfishness and justify our own personal agendas. If Satan cannot be a god over God, then he will gladly try to convince us that we can be. We, therefore, must know and obey God if we want to see change in our lives, churches, and the world.

"Lord, help me to be submissive to Your will. AMEN