Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Paul and Barnabas had been told by the Jewish leadership and city officials to leave Antioch in Pisidia. Many Gentiles (and a few Jews) were giving their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Jews were furious!
People were turning from the synagogue and all its laws to faith in Christ and Him Crucified by the droves and they were losing their power and prestige more each day. This Christian movement had to stop so the leadership stirred up the women in the synagogue and the city officials and together they expelled Paul and Barnabas from the city. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. (Acts 13:50)
They left town alright, but their mission had been accomplished! Hundreds of people now believed in Christ and groups of these new Christians were meeting everywhere! New leaders in these Churches were rising up and Preaching the Gospel themselves. More and more people came every day and although Paul and Barnabas were no longer there in person, the Word of the Gospel of Christ was there and the Holy Spirit continued to draw people to the Truth.
Whether the Jews liked it or not, the Christian movement was well underway in Antioch in Pisidia and they could not stop it. It was a Great Awakening in that city as the Good News of the Gospel of Christ spread like wildfire!
Paul and Barnabas had struck the match and lit the flame but the wind of the Holy Spirit was blowing the fire in every direction all over Antioch. The people were excited and nothing was stopping this movement! God was in the middle of this and they knew it! They could feel the Holy Spirit moving inside them and they couldn’t help but share this with everyone they knew while the stoic Jewish leadership sat on the sidelines and watched with disdain.
When the Holy Spirit takes hold and starts moving in the hearts of people, there is no stopping Him! As Paul would later write to the Romans What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) If the Message preached is Christ and Him Crucified, there is no stopping it because this is God’s Good News for all people, everywhere.
How excited are you about what Jesus did on the Cross for you and what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life? You should be so excited that you cannot contain yourself! Get excited! Lift up the Name of Jesus! Tell people what He has done for you! Share the Good News! Let the Flame of the Gospel of Christ spread like wildfire across this country and around the world! Stop sitting on the sidelines with your arms folded across your chest. Get up! Get excited and get out there!
God wants to use you to…..…….turn the tide
I’m up! Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
