Pushed to Next Level
1. And Saul consented to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
4. Those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went.
Acts 8:1, 4
When Did Trouble Become Normal?
This health crisis has many thinking that “this must be some kind of mistake” or that “this cannot be happening.” We can not only say that these things are happening, we can go further to say that God had all these things planned from the beginning. Trouble has always been a part of God’s miracle plan. It has always been normal for those who are on the Lord’s side to have some ups and downs.
When Jesus was born, He faced trouble just because He was born into this world. As a matter of fact, the Prophet Isaiah had tagged Jesus as “a Man of Sorrow and acquainted with grief” centuries before He was born. Trouble was not the exception, it was the normal. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, despite the fact that He opened the eyes of the blind, cast out demons, fed multitudes with a few fish and a little bread, Jesus dealt with trouble. As a matter of fact Jesus warned His Disciples many times that they would be hated, persecuted, lied on, lied about, and lied to all because of their relationship to Him. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me … rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
It was one thing for the Church to know the prophecy and quite another thing to be living in the reality of the prophecy of trouble. After all, the Church at Jerusalem had seen tremendous growth. Thousands had given their lives to Christ. Miracles were being performed and things were going well. Just when all seemed to fit into place, persecution arose. As a matter of fact, a new wave of trouble started with the stoning of Stephen the Deacon. Why would God allow Stephen to be stoned? Then, as if that were not enough, On that day a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Can you imagine, all of a sudden everything changes, and trouble becomes the new way of life? Wow!
Before you say, “I don’t see how trouble is going to work out for good,” just remember that it was God’s plan for the Church to reach all Jerusalem and then extend into Samaria and all Judea. Guess what happened? The Church was being scattered into Judea and Samaria. Coincidence? No, trouble. I’m certainly not suggesting that trouble is a pleasant experience. I am saying, the trouble should not keep us from rejoicing. Our praise should be greater than the pain of the persecution. Our praise should motivate us to persevere in the faith. Our praise should be strong enough to fight off the infection of gloom. Our praise ought to be able to overpower the negativity of depression. Our praise is not about our environment but about our destiny. Our praise is built on our peace. Our peace is built on our hope. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and His righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus Name. Trouble might be around me, but I’m glad trouble is not in me. Two cannot sit on the same throne. Jesus has filled my heart and that leaves no room for trouble.
Steps to God’s Next Level
As I studied this passage there were three notable points that sprang out of these verses. First, God sends problems to get us started. Opportunities are born out of problems. It is sad to say, but it is true that we are people who love comfort. Many of our prayers are devoted to the eradication of problems rather than integration of our problems. Rarely do I pray for God to use my problem; most of time I pray for God to get rid of it. In Acts 8:1, we see God creating opportunities from the problems. On that day a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Great persecution on the Church was definitely not a good thing, but God used it to scatter His Church into Judea and Samaria. The volunteers were not signing up so God drafted them for the assignment.
Notice also who took advantage of the assignment to be scattered. The verse says “except the Apostles.” The leaders were still hanging around Jerusalem doing Church stuff while the Church was being scattered. Where did all the members go? They were pushed to new opportunities in Judea and Samaria. Judea I can accept that, but I have problems with Samaria. I thought Jews had an utter distaste for folk from Samaria. But this was different, they were scattered, and they had to go.
The second powerful truth that we find in these verses has to do with how God uses New Opportunities to push us to the next level. Problems may change your locations but they must not change your identity. Acts 1:4 emphasizes the point that the Judean and Samaritan culture did not alter who these believers were. Those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went. When the believers arrived at their new assignment based on their new opportunity that they were pushed into, they did not start doing what everybody else was doing. They did not start talking and living like everyone else. They did not join in on the chorus of “fitting in” or “going along to get along.” No. These folks that were scattered from Jerusalem “preached the Word wherever they went.”
I don’t know whether you have noticed it or not, but this current pandemic and health crisis has everyone upset. The entire world has been turned upside down in a matter of weeks. Folks are asking how are we going to live in this “new normal” in our world? But my focus is on the Church. I am not sure how the world plans to respond, but I know the Church must respond. How will we use this current health crisis to get us to the next level of Church operation? I can first tell you what is not working. Our regularly scheduled service is not working now. Our special programs to raise money is not working now. Our “four-wall” normal operations is not working in this current time.
We have been pushed out to something else. We may come back to the physical building but we can not come back with the old attitude. God has pushed us to the next level. Please understand that we did not invite “corona-virus” to affect the way we operate. It was forced on us. But if we don’t use this crisis as an opportunity to see God’s plan and God’s mission, we will waste the “opportunity of our generation.” Who knows if we were not born for such a time as this? As I observe how the early believers took advantage of their scattering, I see an opportunity for the Church of today to take advantage of their adversity.
This brings us to the final point. Our God who pushes us to the next level has also prepared us for that level. Let’s recap. 1) God is using problems to push us to the next level. 2) God is creating opportunities for His Church at the next level. 3) God has also prepared His Church for the next level. In other words, we have already or should have already learned things at the former level to apply to where we are currently. We did a lot of talking at the former level about the “Goodness of God,” “God is Good all the time,” and “Awesome God.” Now God has said, “I need you to take that message from here to there.”
Those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went. There is our point of reference. Wherever we are, we must give to others what God has prepared for us to give to them. If ever there was a time for people to know about how good your God is, that time is now. Remember, you said that God was Good all the time. You are at the next level now, it is time to demonstrate it through your living message.
The Book of Genesis tells us the interesting story about a young lad by the name of Joseph. Joseph was the favored son of Jacob. He wore a coat of many colors and would often boast how his brothers would bow down to him. Then one day, he was moved from the level of talk to delivery. Sold by his brothers, Joseph went from favored son to slave. What did Joseph do? He kept believing in God and kept practicing what he had been taught about his God. He moved from that level to the next level. Problems would move him to the next level, but that created new opportunities. Until one day, through all of his troubles, he reached the place where God wanted him. He was at the level of prime minister of the land of Egypt. God used him mightily to save not only his people, but people throughout that world. What will you do at your next level?