Tuesday, Nov. 25

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Tuesday

Throughout the Bible we are continually reminded of the sovereignty of God. His rule, reign, and exercise of authority over all of creation can be seen throughout the events of history. Our world does not have a haphazard existence. Things do not just happen by chance. Behind the workings of history remains the master strategy of our great God. While man operates freely in humanity, God's sovereign providence stands over and above our actions. He works out His will through the actions of human wills, without violating the freedom of those human wills.  He accomplishes His purpose, as the prophet Isaiah reminds us, "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure."  (Isa. 25:1)

The first missionary movement of the church is just such a plan. Obviously, the church in Jerusalem found plenty of evangelistic work to do in its first few years after Pentecost. Travelers and religious pilgrims continually streamed into Jerusalem, which gave the church an open door for extending the reach of the gospel. But the command of Christ was for the gospel to be carried to the regions beyond Jerusalem. While I do not think we can fault the apostles and early believers for their staying in Jerusalem, with the best of intentions of evangelizing, the fact remains that they had not set forth on following the full extent of the great commission. They were having great ministry, but the Lord planned more for them.

Remember back with me to Acts 1:8 -  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Now consider Acts 8:1 - And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Hmmmm??  Is it coincidence that the scattering of the church took them to the exact places that Jesus told them they would go as His witnesses?

I believe we can learn an important truth at this point. Whenever Christians find themselves in the midst of busy and effective ministry, they must not simply assume that they are totally fulfilling all that the Lord desires of them. There may be other dimensions and other directions in which they must go forth. It is imperative that they remain sensitive to the teaching of Scripture and the clear leading of the Holy Spirit through the circumstances they encounter, so that they might fulfill the will of God in their lives.

The master strategy of our Lord will do whatever is necessary to bring His people into His will. This can be seen by the persecution that broke forth upon the church in such a way that the Christians were scattered into the regions outside of Jerusalem. God accomplished His will through the means of persecution. He causes "all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

Jeff Frazier