GOD'S GRACE ON THE EARLY CHURCH
ACTS 12:19-24
ACTS 12:19-24 NKJ
19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
OBSERVATION:
One thing about the persecution of the early church, it certainly caused God's word to spread.
The early church was having a difficult time grasping that salvation was being granted to the Gentiles. Even with Peter's revelation that what God had cleansed was no longer common. That even the Gentiles could receive Jesus as their Lord.
In our scriptures for today, some believers had preached Jesus to the Greeks who had converted to the Jewish faith. And they were being saved. In fact, God was working with them. The phrase, the hand of the Lord, implies the work of the Holy Spirit. So, the Holy Spirit was working, and great numbers were believing and turning to the Lord.
This information reached the church leaders in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas. When Barnabas came, he saw the grace of God, and he was glad about it. Barnabas was a man who was not petty or small-minded. He was not protective of salvation belonging to the Jews only but rather was glad to discern that God was working in the Gentiles. Verse twelve sums up Barnabas. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. The bible does not throw out too many superlatives. We do not see men being exalted as great men or great preachers. So, when Barnabas is described as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, that's about as good as it gets.
Barnabas recognized God's grace and worked with it so that a great many people were added to the Lord.
APPLICATION:
Whenever we see God's grace working, we should be glad. When God's grace is at work, people will be added to the Lord. And that is really the bottom line. Not necessarily adding people to our church but adding people to the Lord.
When people at The Ark say Yes to Jesus, it's because of God's grace. When they say Yes to Jesus, they are added to Him, not to us. So as a church, anywhere we see God's grace in our area, state, country, world, we are glad. We are very glad to be a part of God's grace in a dark world. And our prayer is that we'll see many more added to the Lord.