You can’t keep a good Gospel down
Acts 11:19-23
Introduction: Have you ever taken the time to think about how much the Gospel has endured since it was given to us by the Lord? Just in the twentieth century, dictators have denounced it, tried to burn and banned it from their countries. Atheists have said that by the twenty first century the gospel would not be recognized with any authority. In front of us today we have a copy of God’s word and within it the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our passage today takes us to a time in the early church when a massive persecution had taken place. We read of the results of that persecution, within this event God worked a miracle through men and women who loved Him and sought to serve Him. Today I want us to look at the Gospel and the effects it can have on our lives. Look with me this morning as I preach for a little while on the subject of “You can’t keep a good Gospel down.”
Persecution has been part of church heritage since its very beginning. Here Luke mentions the persecution that occurred from the martyrdom of Stephen and here we learn of its far reaching effects.
Every time there has been persecution of the church it has
resulted in the Gospel being carried a great distance. For instance
When
the Lord ascended into heaven He left us with the Great Commission He tells us
in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
(KJV)
Go the Lord tells us, well what happens when
we don’t go? The answer is God moves us, in this instance He used persecution
to scatter the church over a large area where they would share with other the
good news of Jesus Christ.
What will God have to do to get this
generation to share the Gospel?
When God moves His people to proclaim His message He includes everyone, He sent some to the Jews and some to the Grecians, Jew and Gentile no one was left out, everyone heard the Gospel. To be more specific we see in verse 21 that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Is the gospel being proclaimed today? Well the answer is yes and no. There are men and women who are preaching, teaching and living the gospel just as the Lord charged us to with the Great Commission. Then there are those within the church who talk a lot but are never see on the field, those who know what needs to be done but they never really have time to be there.
Gods’ word will be proclaimed, He will see to it. The church needs to understand something today; God will do and allow what He must to see the Great Commission fulfilled. That should get your attention this morning. Think about this, you and I have the opportunity to move about this land without any hindrances and we have places within our nation and even the region we live in where people live that have never heard about Jesus Christ. If we don’t take advantage of the liberty God has given us He may very well take if from us, allow us to be scattered in order to put the talkers in front of the listeners.
I am convinced that God allows certain things to happen in
our lives to stir us or to prepare us for a work that He has set us apart to
do. The scattering of the Church in
Today news travels at a very fast pace, within seconds we
can watch events take place around the world. It seems as though bad news,
gossip, lies and news similar to this travels at an even faster rate. However
once a story makes its way around people soon forget about it, we remember the
events of Sept. 11, 2001 but we have forgotten about the impact it had on our
lives. Most people have forgotten about the space shuttle Challenger and
The Gospel didn’t just make an impact it made a lasting impact. Once someone accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior there life is changed from the inside out forever and there is a love for the Lord burned into their heart that will last a lifetime.
The life changing, soul saving, God breathed Gospel of Jesus Christ has withstood the ages and is alive and well in the lives of born again Christians all over the world, today. How about your life, has it been changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are you born again, are you concerned about those who are on their way to hell today?
Is it preserved in your life?
Conclusion: We think about persecution being directed at people and it is people who suffer persecution, but persecution itself is directed to the Gospel. In John 7:7 we read “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” (KJV). God allows persecution to accomplish certain things in our lives. We also wrongly interpret persecution when we are undergoing other things in life. Maybe correction, maybe trials or tribulation, maybe God needs someone to be a Job or a Joseph as a testimony to others but not every difficulty in life is persecution. Even it is persecution isn’t about you, its about the Gospel, an attempt to silence Gods word. Is God’s word silent in your life are you persecuting Gods word? That’s a serious question but it can happen. Close as the Lord leads…