MAIN IDEA: through whatever opposition they experience on earth, Christ's servants serve Him in dependence upon Him.
INTRODUCTION: desiring and anticipating the spread of the gospel. What might it look like?
1. PERSECUTION BY UNBELIEVERS 1.a. Even by some who were "good church members" of late, v50. 1.b. Even (especially?) by "devout and prominent women," v50. 1.c. Especially by "chief men," v50. 1.d. Especially through gossip, v50, 14:2. 1.e. Even unto death, 14:5.
2. PERSISTENCE OF BELIEVERS—PARTICULARLY PREACHERS 2.a. Remembering the greater Witness, v51. 2.b. Continuing on mission, end of v51. (cf. 13:5, 14, 24, 31, 32, 49; 14:1, 7, 21). 2.c. Persisting in excellence, 14:1. They "so spoke" ... "boldness" (v3, cf. 4:29–31, Eph 6:20) and also plainness (cf. 2Cor 4:2; Col 4:4). 2.d. Encouraged rather than discouraged, v3. "Therefore" they stayed. "Speaking boldly." (cf. v22!).
3. POWER OF GOD 3.a. Sanctification, v52. 3.b. God's power, not man's. v52 occurs in Paul and Barnabas's absence. 3.c. Great multitudes of all sorts believing, 14:1. The power of the One Who appoints to eternal life (cf. v48). 3.d. Signs and wonders, 14:3. Today, the sign and wonder is greater: a completed, preserved Bible; a preserved, faithful (to that Bible/defined by that Bible) church.
Conclusion: God Himself is the main character and feature in a revival.
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Pastor Hakim's family on his father's side was converted from nominal Coptic Orthodoxy to Reformed Presbyterianism, early in the 20th century. He is a third generation Presbyterian elder who grew up in Michigan but emigrated to the South to attend seminary at RTS-Jackson. After...
