Let's Rock Our World

I've heard it said that wherever the apostles went there was either revival or a riot, and it's true. It’s amazing when you read through the book of Acts and see the kind of persecution the apostles suffered for the name of Jesus and for preaching the gospel. A closer look at several particular instances also reveals something quite interesting about the source of the opposition—they typically only resisted the new doctrine because of their own human shortcomings…

Just look at Acts 16:16-19. Here’s where Paul is in Philippi and heals a girl by casting a demon out of her. Now, you’d think there would be rejoicing for such a miracle, but unfortunately, the human spirit got in the way in the form of greed. Instead of rejoicing, they through Paul and Silas into prison as it reads in verse 19:

And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers

A similar situation occurred in Ephesus in Acts 19:23-28. Here a man named Demetrius stirred up the crowds against Paul, again because of greed.

24For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; 25Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 26Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

It doesn’t seem they were too worried about the great Diana until they realized they’d lose money in their trade of selling idols because of Paul’s teaching…

All throughout the book of Acts, we see this common theme—people attached the gospel and the messengers of the gospel because of pride, greed, jealousy, politics, and many other selfish reasons. Very rarely was the opposition sincere in their attacks, but typically had ulterior motives for not believing the gospel (i.e. they would lose their wealth, position, or status).

So we shouldn’t be discouraged when people don’t seem to want to hear about the salvation message today. We should pray and seek God’s direction in finding those who are hungry and willing to accept the gospel, just as they did in the book of Acts. After all, in the midst of all the turmoil, they had some of the most incredible revivals on record.

So let’s get out there and rock our world just like the apostles did, for even some of the naysayers recognized the power of the gospel in Acts 17:6 where they said, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.”

A Time To Pray

II Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

I don't think there's anyone who can debate the fact that we are in troubling times. Recession, depression, economic downturn, or whatever other colorful phrase we've been hearing over the last couple of years, it really makes no difference. The point is this country needs to turn back to its roots, the Judeo-Christian principles on which it was founded.

It's been the blessing of God that has allowed our prosperity over our history, and the implementation of Biblical principles that has made our nation strong. Ideals like freedom, individual responsibility, a good work ethic, and people working together for the common good are not newfangled or contemporary concepts, but tried and proven pillars on which a society can be built. And no surprise, each of these basic values, and additional ones, can be found in the Bible.

So what we need is a spiritual renaissance. As one of my former high school teachers used to say, "America needs a moral rebirth." At the time, I thought it was a funny little saying he always mentioned in our morning devotion, but now I see the magnitude of the need. Indeed, America and Americans need to turn back to God...

So who leads the charge? Should we look to our new President, Barack Obama, to start us down a path toward the revival across the land? Somehow I doubt it. What about our elected representatives in Congress? No, for some reason I believe they're just as lacking. So who can lead this country onto the right path?

The answer is the same as when the words were penned in II Chronicles. It's the people of God who must take up the banner and lead this country on the right course. "If my people," is what the Bible says. So we need to lead the way in prayer, in seeking after God, in humility, and in repentance. We can't expect the world around us to jump out there and steer us to the healing of our land. Indeed, the policies and "stimuli" that this world offers are simply more of the same old useless ideas that got us here, and will exasperate the problem further.

No, fellow people of the most High, those called by Jesus name and purchased by His precious blood. We must stand up and attend to the problem. We must begin to pray in humility. We must seek relationship with God and find His will. We must repent, for ourselves, our leaders, our nation. We must turn from our wicked ways (let's say our lackadaisical, stagnant, mediocre, ways). It's time to start praying, walking with God, and being on-fire, Apostolic (book of Acts) Christians...

I think if we will start doing this en masse, along with doing the human things we know to do like voting, getting involved with our communities, etc..., we can watch God turn these hard times around....