Acts 13;44-52 v 52 “And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”
Almost the entire city came out to hear them (Paul and his companions) preach the word of the Lord. Some of the Jews were jealous and argued against Paul. The Lord gave us this command when He said,” I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the furthest corners of the earth.” When the gentiles heard this, they were very glad. The Lord’s message spread throughout the region. Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and leaders of the city. Paul and Barnabas were run out of town. They shook the dust from their feet. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Two things are happening in this passage. The word of the Lord is being preached and spread so that non-Jews, Gentiles, heard the word, were glad and were filled with joy and the Holy spirit throughout the region. For those that preached the message life was not so joyful, they were run out of town, rejected by their own Jewish people, so they shook the dust from their feet and moved on to another town.
We can learn from this today the importance of preaching to a variety of people because you never know who has been chosen to believe. Who will be glad and filled with the Holy Spirit! It might come as a cost to us personally, the loss of friendships, or having to move to another town. But the Lord is always with us and our job is to spread the good news to those who will listen!
Prayer: Heavenly Father give us the courage to speak out in your name to a variety of people and help us adjust if we are required to move on. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
CrossWalk 