November
8 Bible Reading: Acts Chapters 7-9
WANTED: “PREACHERS to Spread the GOSPEL Everywhere!”
"At that time a great persecution arose
against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Therefore
those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." (Acts
8:1, 4-5)
Just before
Jesus ascended to heaven, He had commanded His disciples that they were to be
His witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but also in Judea, Samaria, and the ends
of the earth (Acts 1:8). However, the church did not leave Jerusalem even
though many years had passed. In fact, it
took the persecution (of Acts 8:1) to force the believers to obey the command
of Jesus (in Acts 1:8). Not only was persecution the means by which the
gospel spread to other regions in Palestine, but also it caused the gospel to go
to much further fields as well (see Acts 11:19).
From the human standpoint, it was a
dark day for the believers. Stephen, who was so fired up for Christ, was stoned to death. All the
believers were chased away like rabbits. But
from the divine standpoint, it was not dark at all. Although the
persecution was deadly, nevertheless, it accomplished the direct will of God. A
grain of wheat had been planted in the ground, and much fruit would inevitably
result. The winds of affliction were scattering the seeds of the gospel to
distant places, and who could estimate the extent of the harvest?
God always turns evil into good and
accomplishes His purposes. "And we
know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) The first
official persecution of the church drove the Christians out of Jerusalem, and
they preached the gospel everywhere they went. The death of Stephen seemed to
be a defeat for the church, but it resulted in some great victories for the
Lord. Wherever the believers went, they shared the gospel and many trusted in
Jesus as their Savior. Thus the gospel
was ‘viral’ in the way it spread from one person to another, and had now truly breached
the wall of separation between ethnic groups!
We should
note that the first century church finally obeyed the explicit commands of
Jesus Christ as it went out (Acts 8:1–4) just as Christ had gone (John 20:21); as
it sold its goods and gave to the poor (Acts 2:45; 4:34) just as Christ had commanded
(Luke 12:33; 18:22); and as it left father, mother, houses, and lands to go
everywhere preaching the gospel (Acts 8:1–4) as Christ had instructed earlier
(Matt. 10:37). They were even willing to die for the gospel as Tertullian wrote:
“The blood of Christians has become the
seed of the church”.
The great
evangelist D. L. Moody has once said: “I
live for souls and for eternity, I want to win some soul to Christ. If you want
this and work for it, eternity alone can tell the result.” We too must go
where God sends us, do what God tells us, and leave the results with Him. If we
are complacent and lethargic to spread the gospel in our known world, remember
that God may allow troubles to stir us from our cozy nest and force us to be
witnesses for Him. If we are silent today, remember that God can cause the
stones to cry out for Him (see Luke 19:40). Can
we be God’s mouthpieces today as we spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to people
everywhere we go?
