Life for the early church changed pretty rapidly after Stephen’s execution. Jesus had instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost but he also told them that the Spirit would empower them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. So far, they really hadn’t left Jerusalem and so God sovereignly uses the suffering and persecution of his people to “nudge” them along in fulfilling their commission. Notice Acts 8:1 – And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (ESV) Hmmm. Interesting how God’s purposes are never thwarted, even in the face of what appears to be, from our perspective, defeat.
Acts 8:30 – Do you understand what you are reading. After successful mission work among the Samaritans, Phillip is sent by the Holy Spirit to a remote place and comes upon a single chariot with an Ethiopian in it, reading from Isaiah 53. Providence has orchestrated this meeting: perfect timing, perfect location, and perfect text! Two key points are obvious here. First, merely reading the scriptures is a useless exercise unless they be studied and understood. Emotion and experience are inadequate foundations for a faith that perseveres in the face of opposition. Second, God often orchestrates appointments like this. We might strike up a conversation with a stranger who just happens to be facing circumstances that cause them to be open and interested in the gospel. You and I need to be careful not to ever take God’s Word for granted. We shouldn’t read it like a classified ad but like a love letter, eagerly anticipating hearing from God. We also need to be alert and open to the divine appointments God provides for us to speak about Christ and the hope we have in him.
Acts 9: Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. (CSB) Saul had been persecuting the church and was prepared to enter Damascus with letters from the Jewish leadership to arrest all the Christians. We can imagine that Saul saw himself as the prevailing conqueror, with authority to detain the saints and crush the church. Instead, Christ met him, humbled him, and he was brought (led) into the city as a blind captive of Christ. Saul would later identify himself with his Greek name, Paul, and further self-identify as a slave of Jesus Christ. His life is a perfect example of the principle that usefulness in the service of God may require some hard lessons in humility, weakness, and dependence on the Lord. As James reminds us, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Saul’s conversion account records the circumstances of sovereign preparation for effective service to God. When we get honest with ourselves, we may fear what it would truly take to make us humble. We need to ask God to show us our weakness and to cause us to see his strength working through us as sufficient. In this way, we will be made bondservants of Jesus for useful service to our Master.
Acts 10 is a key turning point in the early church, for it is here that God shows the church that his salvation through Christ is to be offered even to the Gentiles.
Acts 10:45 – The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. (CSB) In response to Peter’s sermon in Cornelius’ house, the Holy spirit fell. Jewish Christians observed the same phenomenon that they had experienced on Pentecost now happening to the Gentiles. In conjunction with Peter’s vision of the unclean food, the message is clear: salvation in Christ is not meant for Jews only but for the whole world. Peter and the rest were amazed that God would save the Gentiles. We too may be surprised at the people God chooses to draw to himself. Even if we don’t think we are so restricted in our thinking, we may find our personal presumptions and expectations busted wide open when someone very different from us is saved by grace. Truly, the ground is level at the foot of the cross! May God not allow our personal prejudices to limit what we thing he can do or who he can save. When we see someone who is a “hard case” and think to ourselves that they are beyond saving, may we be reminded of the extent and power of God’s saving grace.
Blessings!