THE GOSPEL AND COMMUNITY AGITATION/TRANSFORMATION (45 OF 56)
Scripture: Acts 19:21-41
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The Gospel and Community Agitation/Transformation (45 of 56)
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 19:21-41
Read Acts 19:21-41
A friend of mine in this church asked me last week which period of time I would want to live in if I could choose any period of time in which to live. I replied that I thought maybe the period of the early Church because it would have been so amazing to see the events of the book of Acts unfold. He then asked me if I thought I would have been a preacher had I lived back then...so I determined inwardly that I no longer liked this member!
I jest!
In all seriousness, that is a pretty tough question to answer, and a painful one. It is painful because it made me ask myself that question: ''Would I have been a preacher back then?'' If the question is, ''Do you hope you would have been a preacher back then,'' then the answer is ''Yes!'' I certainly hope I would have. But, ''Would you have been a preacher back then,'' is different. Would I have been the type of person - and am I now the type of person - who would be willing to suffer and die and stand in the furnace of the first century and preach the gospel of Christ?
Ouch! That will humble you to ask yourself that question!
The fact of the matter is that the first century Church faced unbelievable trials and persecutions. The type of people who walked with Jesus in that time were, by definition, sold out to Christ and His gospel. They had to be. We cannot really say if we would have been preachers at that time because we cannot imagine what that would have cost. I very much hope we would have been. I very much hope that all of us are walking with Jesus in such a way that you could pick us up, drop us in the first century, and we would not miss a beat. But is that so? Do we possess the courage and grit and determination it would have required to stand in the crucible of the first century and preach Christ?
The gospel at that time was often met with outrage a ...
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 19:21-41
Read Acts 19:21-41
A friend of mine in this church asked me last week which period of time I would want to live in if I could choose any period of time in which to live. I replied that I thought maybe the period of the early Church because it would have been so amazing to see the events of the book of Acts unfold. He then asked me if I thought I would have been a preacher had I lived back then...so I determined inwardly that I no longer liked this member!
I jest!
In all seriousness, that is a pretty tough question to answer, and a painful one. It is painful because it made me ask myself that question: ''Would I have been a preacher back then?'' If the question is, ''Do you hope you would have been a preacher back then,'' then the answer is ''Yes!'' I certainly hope I would have. But, ''Would you have been a preacher back then,'' is different. Would I have been the type of person - and am I now the type of person - who would be willing to suffer and die and stand in the furnace of the first century and preach the gospel of Christ?
Ouch! That will humble you to ask yourself that question!
The fact of the matter is that the first century Church faced unbelievable trials and persecutions. The type of people who walked with Jesus in that time were, by definition, sold out to Christ and His gospel. They had to be. We cannot really say if we would have been preachers at that time because we cannot imagine what that would have cost. I very much hope we would have been. I very much hope that all of us are walking with Jesus in such a way that you could pick us up, drop us in the first century, and we would not miss a beat. But is that so? Do we possess the courage and grit and determination it would have required to stand in the crucible of the first century and preach Christ?
The gospel at that time was often met with outrage a ...
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