Eig Blog

The world is upside down. Our world in which we live is spiritually (as well as morally and in many other respects) upside down. What does this mean?   Since the fall into sin by our ancestor Adam and Eve, the result of mankind’s actions is the opposite of what God desires. The world does the opposite of what God commands us in His Word. Since then, things have been “turned upside down”. There is disorder, a spiritual, moral, and social chaos. It seems that we are going further and further than God commands us.   Isaiah 5:20 says: ” Woe to those who call evil good     and good evil, who put darkness for light     and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet     and sweet for bitter! How to solve this problem? God’s answer is the gospel.

We are not saved just to live our lives before the world by showing Christ. We must also preach, teach, share, talk about Christ in multiple ways and forms.   That is the topic of this morning. We want to see Paul’s example as an example, a model of what it is to live, to embody the gospel and in the same way to share it with others. We will see that his life, like Silas, lived the truth of the gospel, but at the same time preached the gospel. Both elements go together. Both are necessary.   Today we hear many who preach and do not live the truth of the gospel. We also know that Satan has false ministers, false brethren, and they preach a false gospel and don’t live the truth.   On the other hand, there are timid Christians who hide and feel sorry for them, afraid to share the gospel. This is not of God.   And then there are people who are example for us. This week we experienced a horrific assassination of a Christian who embodied the Gospel and was actively sharing it without fear. It cost Charlie Kirk his life. This young man has shared the Gospel with so many other young people and we are just beginning to see his impact. I had no idea how wide and far was his impact. But it is no surprise because God will use any of us when we are committed to living and sharing the Gospel even in difficult times.

In this passage we look at how God sovereignly guides Paul at the beginning of his second missionary journey to Philippi. In that city Paul preaches and God sovereignly transforms a woman named Lydia.   That is the topic of this morning. The sovereignty of God. God’s sovereignty over our plans involving God’s mission—sharing the gospel of salvation to others—how God touches the hearts of those who do not yet know Him. God’s sovereignty over our plans involving God’s mission—sharing the gospel of salvation to others—how God touches the hearts of those who do not yet know Him.

Christ’s church has grown from being formed mainly from Jews to Gentiles of all walks of life.  Yet, the church has maintained is unity in the Gospel.  But it is not free from conflict especially with the cultural and religious backgrounds between Jews and Gentiles and how they relate to the Gospel of grace. Many Jews, especially Pharisees, who had believed in Christ continued to abide in the Law thus mixing grace and works of the Law. This led to legalism which we see happening here in Acts 15. Thus it was necessary for the mother church in Jerusalem, the Apostles and elders to deal with this matter. This happened around A.D. 49

This event is also important because it sets the mid point of Acts both structurally and theologically. After this event, Acts will focus on Paul and on the church, apart from any relationship with the Jerusalem church.

The apostles were missionaries because they too were sent by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8). The word “apostles” means “sent.” They went, carried, and died carrying the message of Christ to all the world.This means that, if you are a believer, he has sent you to be a witness, to share the gospel with others, to be his missionary where you live, where you work, where you spend time.I am a missionary here in Washington. God called me to leave California to go to East Texas to Oklahoma and now here to share the gospel and make disciples. God allowed us to serve Him for ten years since we left California.This is not to say that there are no “vocational missionaries” who do this work full-time. There are, but what missionaries do is not exclusive to them. It’s something that all of us must do.

This author mentions three things that the missionary does:

1. Communicate (proclaim, preach, teach, instruct) the Good News that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior to those who haven’t heard or accepted it.

2. It communicates a new way of living in Christ (directs others to salvation in Christ, baptism

3. Integrates new believers into a new community (the Lord’s Supper, social and moral transformation in their way of life, love, discipleship)

Based on this, we see that this aligns with what the Lord’s Church are called to do. This is what our mission is as well. The goal of our growth as disciples of Christ is to enable us to do the mission of God anywhere we are, here or anywhere in the world.In this chapter we find the first official missionaries of the church who go to reach the unreached.From here on, chapters 13-28 focus on Paul the missionary from 42-62 A.D.

For years and centuries, the enemy of souls has sought to manipulate the minds of mankind so that they worship and honor creatures more than the Creator. (Romans 1:25) The Apostle John in his first epistle chapter two verses 16 writes to us that the pride of the world does not come from the Father. (1 John 2:16) Today we must be aware that the enemy comes with the same intentions of confusion and manipulation, but with different strategies. When our Lord Jesus Christ was in the wilderness, the enemy came to Him and offered Him the kingdoms of the earth and Jesus. Using the Word “it is written,” confronted Satan and temptations. The moment and time in which we live today is manifested with a generation that moves with shows, lights, and smoke screen. (Luke 4:5; 7) People in their existential need, empty hearts, who are not satisfied with anything, in short, far from God, are continually looking for the next icon to whom to give glory rather than give it to the Creator of all. Through the Word today we will see how Paul and Barnabas focus on their call to share the gospel, how they respond to a need, and see how the apostles handled the situation at the time when the people tried to worship as gods. In other words, how the people confused the messenger with the message.   The question we must answer is why they confused the messenger with the message. Why couldn’t they see it? How does this apply to us when we are the messengers or, when we are the ones who receive the message?