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Acts
11:19-21 (NIV)
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in
connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch,
telling the message only to Jews.
20 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.
21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people
believed and turned to the Lord.
Someone said it best when they said,
"Christians are like a pile of manure. If you get them all together they
raise a big stink but if you spread them out they do a lot of good."
God has determined to spread his gospel to
the far corners of the world and he will do it. The question is, 'Do we want
to work in agreement with him or chafe against his goading?'
Consider with me the text before us today.
The persecution caused the church to leave Jerusalem and spread out over the
Roman Empire. As they went they spoke with many about Christ but up to this
time they had only spoken to those who were of Jewish background. Now things
were about to change in a big way.
Some men, who were converted by those who
preached the gospel in Cyprus and Cyrene, somehow made the decision to travel
to Antioch. I wonder what made them decide to travel to Antioch. Was it
because they had business there? Perhaps it was a favorite vacation spot? I
do not think it was any of these.
Antioch was the seed bed of immorality in
the Roman Empire. The Roman satirist, Juvenal, says about Antioch that her
gross immoralities were so poisonous that they had even made a negative moral
impact on the city of Rome 1300 miles to her west. Antioch was known for her
pagan worship temples and her open immorality.
I think this is how it happened. Some men
in Cyprus and Cyrene experienced the transformational power of the gospel in
their lives and they began to discuss where the gospel was most needed. The
very clear answer was. Antioch, the place where immorality reigns. So they
decided to up and move to Antioch for the purpose of sharing the gospel
there.
It is interesting that there is no missions
committee that is deliberating about where to plant the next church, no
market strategy developed about where we should go in order to get the most
results with the gospel. They had a life changing encounter with Christ and
that was all she wrote, from then on they were ruined men for the gospel.
They could not help but speak of what they had seen and heard and experienced
in Christ. So where was the greatest need for the gospel, why Antioch of course.
When they arrive at Antioch there is not
much of a Jewish population so they had no choice but to share Christ with
the Gentiles who lived there. But I want you to see that it was not because
they had no choice, they could not stop speaking about what Christ had done
so whoever was around them heard the news.
Now consider this, what happened as a
result of some men turning to Christ and leaving behind their comforts of
home and safety to live among a pagan people for the purpose of sharing
Christ? I want you to get this so read the next sentence carefully. "The
Lord's hand was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to
the Lord."
O people what would happen if we decided to
speak of Christ with everyone we encountered in a day? What could be the
outcome if all of those who called on Christ would seek to make his name
known throughout every day of their life? Could it be that perhaps the hand
of the Lord would be on those and a great number of people would believe and
turn to the Lord?
I would really like to find out what would
happen if we did just that? How about it? Say a good word for Jesus to
everyone you meet.
Seeking to speak of Christ to all I meet
today and everyday,
Pastor Phil
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