Saturday, July 10th
Read: Acts 13
Prayer and fasting aren’t exactly the most popular practices or disciplines in the Church today. In fact, few of us have been taught the life-changing, revolutionizing benefits of fasting even if we grew up in the Church. The early Christians believed in the importance of fasting. This belief is demonstrated in this chapter where they were fasting and praying to receive direction from God (vs.3-4).
It’s a good thing that the elders of the church at Antioch were fasting, praying, and waiting on the Lord. And it was even better that they were obedient to his directions. As a result of their discipline and obedience, Paul and Barnabas were dedicated for special service to Jesus and sent out by the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News. Their Spirit led life brought revolution wherever they went.
In verse 15 we see how the people asked to hear from Paul and Barnabas. It says in the chapter “those in charge of the service (at the synagogue) sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it!” Paul and Barnabas were welcomed and sought out because they were travelers. They were a source of encouragement for the believers and also received encouragement from the believers.
Because of the power of their message, large crowds were drawn to hear Paul and
Barnabas preach. They offered the message of salvation to the Gentiles (v.44). The message that Jesus died for the Gentiles as well as the Jews was a very new and challenging concept. The God of Israel also had a plan for the Gentiles. This was a revelation that made some Jews very angry and jealous. The Jewish leaders in the crowd were angered and incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas to run them out of town. Praise the Lord that the message was preached despite its unpopularity! Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet and continued to preach the Good News no matter the circumstances.
Process:
1. What areas do you need to improve on in speaking the Gospel? Try seeking the Lord about this, and remember what our brother in Christ, Paul, writes through God’s Holy Spirit in Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
2. Are you as bold as they were, to speak the message of Jesus despite what kind of persecution you might face? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.
3. Has the Lord revealed anything to you lately that you have not followed through with? Don’t worry—He is rich in love and patience. He also likes his children to be obedient. To help us with this, one thing to remember is what Jesus says: we actually love Him by obeying Him (John 14: 23 and 15:10) and we can ask Him for His help to do this, too.
CHALLENGE
Acts 13 marks the beginning of Paul’s first missionary journey. Therefore, the locations where Paul goes are very important. Read through Acts 13:1-41 and underline every geographical location. Then on the map titled Paul’s First Missionary Journey, trace where Paul goes on the journey. Tracing this part of his journey will be extremely profitable. Remember that where Paul traveled is modern-day Turkey.)