Acts 13:44-52 

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,     that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” ⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.⁴⁹ The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Many cause-oriented groups exert much effort labouring toward peace. Every individual, family, congregation, or nation desires to have peace. Even groups of terrorists or religious extremists want to have peace among them.

We all desire peace, but on earth, it’s temporary because every now and then there will always be discords, misunderstandings, or disagreements that lead to unrest.

Did God promise ultimate peace on earth before Christ 2^nd coming? While waiting for the coming of Christ Jesus, will there be complete peace?

Only when we allow the Holy Spirit to bear fruit of peace in our life, that, we can truly experience real peace and joy, even in the midst of life storm.

The 1^st century disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit but they faced animosity, persecution, and contradiction coming from God’s chosen people.

1.  Contradiction

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

Paul and his mission team proclaimed the word of the Lord because the synagogue leaders and the people requested them to continue teaching. While many of them were interested in learning, the Jewish people contradicted and abused Paul verbally; they insulted or used offensive slur.

The Jews were God’s chosen people; they contradicted Paul because of jealousy. Shouldn’t the Jewish people be happy that God’s word has been preached?

Jewish people who are not Christian have sets of ideas about who God is. Anything outside their belief of God is not acceptable; that includes Christianity.

⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 

The Jewish leaders together with well-known citizens of the city contradicted, persecuted, and forced Paul and Barnabas to leave the city of Pisidian Antioch.

It’s a reminder: “persecution” is a signature, a mark of Christ’s disciples. If you are persecuted because you are following the will of God, praise God and thank Him because you are considered worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Praising God in the midst of persecution is not something to force your self to do. In the midst of persecution, you don’t deliberately praise God, but deep inside your inner being, a small voice is singing “Hallelujah!” surpassing anxiousness. That’s a great indication that the Holy Spirit has produced fruit in your life.

⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Paul did not stay much longer after they were persecuted; they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they went to the next city where the Holy Spirit led them.

What would you do if you’ve been laid off from your good-paying job? What would you do if you did your best but still failed your exams? What would you do if you have a big family, suddenly, your spouse died?

Widow

A widow whose husband has died recently has more children than she can support with her salary. Aside from to her children, her elderly parents live with them, too.

She cried night and day for the misery she was experiencing. Then, she met a Christian who invited her to church. She came to know the Lord Jesus through the evangelism team of the church and together with her children they regularly attend the church.

She confessed that the church became her second family. The church gives much encouragement to her to continue trust God.

Psalm 146:9, says, “⁹The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow…”

The church consists of dramatic stories on how God has transformed lives. All genuine believers have dramatic stories worth testifying about God goodness.

It is really tough to appreciate difficult situation; nobody wishes to have problem. But when the disciple is grateful about struggles, God’s grace is at work.

Anyone can claim, “I am a Christian!” but genuine and true conversion is practically confirmed by having fruit of the Spirit during furious storm of life.

2.  Conversion

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Paul and Barnabas were filled with the Spirit; the Holy Spirit filled them with courage and words to tell the persecuting Jewish leaders. By God’s grace, when the Holy Spirit dwells in our life, there is power and enthusiasm to witness, to speak boldly before hostile audience.

When we receive power from the Holy Spirit and we witness, expect someone to contradict but God converts those He has chosen to believer in Him.

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 

Paul might have hoped to convert some Jewish people, nevertheless, the Gentiles were converted which only confirmed his calling as an Apostle to the Gentiles.

We also have our own preferences; we choose those we wish to evangelize. We desire that our close relatives or family members should be the first to believe in our testimony, yet, only a few of them believe, why?

Why is it that those who we want to witness to are harder for us to convert?

God does not want anyone to perish but He has chosen those who enter heaven. Our main concern should not be results but to be more active in witnessing.

Sons of God

In Genesis 6:1-2, “¹ When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose…”

Bible scholars suggest that those so-called “sons of God” were the fallen angels who came to earth and married women they wanted. If it was so, and it happened before, it is not far from reality that those fallen angels are still active in impregnating women they choose.

Would it be practical to conclude that there are people who are utterly wicked? Have you ever met someone who is really unreasonable, difficult to deal with? Have you been in a dispute where you know you were right yet the other party decided not to ignore or reject your good points?

It is foolishness to argue with someone who does not want to listen.

Paul reminds us in Ephesian 6:10-18 of what we should do… ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

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