Thriving in Adversity

 

By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Acts 12:20-13:3

 

Isaiah 54:17

no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

(ESV)

 

I collect coffee cups from places my family and I have traveled providing memories of my time at these places while I am drinking my coffee.  I was watching a commercial on TV and saw a commercial with a man drinking coffee from a mug that had 2020 on it and only one star.  I have to disagree with the commercial for I would not even give 2020 one star and instead would draw a red circle around the year with a red line through it. 

 

While we would all like to place 2020 behind us, we cannot do that and must go through it.  However, for God’s people, 2020 does not need to be destructive for no weapon formed against the people of God shall succeed.  2020 has had an impact on most of us but its impact does not need to be destructive and instead lead to the discovery of better and more efficient ways of doing what must be done.  For God’s people and the Church this includes taking time to pause and search our hearts and return to the missional focus called for by Jesus in Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15; and Matthew 28:19-20.  For the early Church, the persecution that started with the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7), and escalated with state-sponsored persecution (Acts 12:1-5) led to the expansion of the missional focus of the Church to people living outside of Israel. 

 

Like the early Church facing religious and state-sponsored persecution, the church today faces challenges from the government with the shutting down or potential shutting down of Church facilities.  Live streaming and the podcasting of services online have allowed the Church to continue teaching and worship from the pulpit with the ability to give online providing a financial channel for the Church to continue financially.  However, an online presence does not provide the needed fellowship of gathering together (Hebrews 10:25).  Acts 12:20-13:3 is a pivotal point in time for the early Church where it was able to thrive with the delivery of the message in the Word of God expanding despite increased persecution.  The Church functioning in the context of Covid19 and increased civil unrest can learn from the early church by understanding that,

 

1)      The enemies of God may have their time of success but will be rendered powerless (Acts 12:20-23) – The killing of James the brother of John and the imprisonment of Peter by Herod indicate a desire by Herod to eliminate the Church and the spread of the Gospel message (Acts 12:1-4).  However, the Church unleashed a powerful weapon on Herod, the power of prayer (Acts 12:5).  After the miraculous jailbreak of Peter, Herod retreats to the safety of his palace in Caesarea (Acts 12:6-19).  Herod then emerges due to a dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon where he offers an oration that causes the people to declare that his words were the words of a god and not a man.  Herod is immediately struck down dead because he did not give glory or credit to God.  The enemies of God may have their time of success, but God will make them powerless. 

2)      God’s Word will multiply and increase despite attacks against its spread (Acts 12:24-25) – Herod’s scheme to stop the Church and the spreading of the teaching about Jesus fails and the spreading of the Word of God continues and multiplies.  The scheme of Herod to stop the spread of the message of God’s Word not only failed but may have contributed to its spread and multiplication as men like Saul, Barnabas, and John/Mark continued to serve the Lord.

3)      God will call up and send out people to carry out His work (Acts 13:1-3) – The pivotal point in Acts 12:20-13:3 is the sending out of Saul and Barnabas from the Church in Antioch.  This marks the beginning of the spreading of the message of God’s Word beyond the borders of Israel as stated by Jesus in Acts 1:8.  As situations change, God will call up people to use in fulfilling his plan.  The question we all must ask is will we be willing participants in God’s plan. 

 

From this understanding of what happened in the early Church, the Church today can rest assured the gates of hell cannot stop the Church, neither can Covid19 or civil unrest.  However, just as the Church fleeing due to persecution led to the Word of God spreading outside of Israel, the shutting down of church facilities can lead to revival as the Church spreads through an online presence and believers have more intimate fellowship in small groups.  My prayer is that the Church will use what is happening this year as a pivotal point in preparing the Church, the bride of Christ, for his return and that the spread of the gospel message will bring others into a belief in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  May God bless everyone reading this post.