29 August 2010
THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT
09/02/10 10 Filed in: LEADERSHIP
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”--Acts 17:6 (NKJV)
The first century believers turned their world upside down. I’ve been spending time this year looking through the Book of Acts, seeing how the early believers turned their world upside down and wondering how we can too. So how did they do it and how can we do it?
The book of Acts gives several insights into what empowered God’s people to do great things. Clearly they were filled with the Holy Spirit--turning the world upside down was a God-thing. They also were constantly together--they didn’t try to do it alone. There was a spirit of tenacity-- they knew how to shake off adversity--even the worst situations. The way they handled conflict also spurred them on. But there was another significant characteristic of the first century followers that spurred them on to turning their world upside down. Acts 11 outlines that key:
“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God,
but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.
And many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people.
(It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”
--Acts 11:19-26 (NLT)
Acts 11 is one of those fairly obscure but amazingly significant turning point chapters in the Bible. In this passage Christianity changes from a Jews-only sect to a worldwide movement; it transforms from a Jerusalem thing to an everywhere thing; from contained to viral. The author, Luke, notes that it was here in Antioch that Christianity really got it’s liftoff--the believers weren’t called Christians in Jerusalem, it was in Antioch that things exploded. Read More...
The first century believers turned their world upside down. I’ve been spending time this year looking through the Book of Acts, seeing how the early believers turned their world upside down and wondering how we can too. So how did they do it and how can we do it?
The book of Acts gives several insights into what empowered God’s people to do great things. Clearly they were filled with the Holy Spirit--turning the world upside down was a God-thing. They also were constantly together--they didn’t try to do it alone. There was a spirit of tenacity-- they knew how to shake off adversity--even the worst situations. The way they handled conflict also spurred them on. But there was another significant characteristic of the first century followers that spurred them on to turning their world upside down. Acts 11 outlines that key:
“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God,
but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.
And many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people.
(It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”
--Acts 11:19-26 (NLT)
Acts 11 is one of those fairly obscure but amazingly significant turning point chapters in the Bible. In this passage Christianity changes from a Jews-only sect to a worldwide movement; it transforms from a Jerusalem thing to an everywhere thing; from contained to viral. The author, Luke, notes that it was here in Antioch that Christianity really got it’s liftoff--the believers weren’t called Christians in Jerusalem, it was in Antioch that things exploded. Read More...