Gospel to this World

Some of you are being called to this hardest of all work. Look at Acts 11:19–20

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Quoting Scripture

“God will raise up the workers and send them out.”

Acts 11:21: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

Don’t be afraid. I am going to be with you. I am going to be with you.

The Hellenists in this context means Greek-speaking Gentiles. Until now, the gospel was spreading mostly along the mono-cultural lines of Judaism from synagogue to synagogue (with the exception of Cornelius in Acts 10). But in Antioch, someone broke through the barriers of language and culture and spoke the gospel to the Gentiles.

IS THAT YOU?

Is God stirring you, moving you? Would you consider giving your life to this? There is no other way for the church to fulfill her mission in the world. God will raise up the workers and send them out. What an honor we have to send them. And what an honor it would be if you were one of them.

“Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
The Good News: No one does anything alone. You can help friends and family get through life’s big and small obstacles, and they will do the same for you.

The Legacy of Antioch is that it was a mission church that became a sending church through the partnership of Barnabas and Saul, who in the end were sent out by the church to which they were sent. Once Bethlehem was a young, newly founded, Swedish Antioch. But now she is a 138-year-old passionate, sending, strengthening Jerusalem.

Many Antiochs to Come

And oh, how many Antiochs there are around the world yet to be created and yet to be strengthened, where we can send our Global Partners — our Barnabases and our Sauls and our unnamed men and women of Cyprus and Cyrene who cross the cultural chasms to reach the lost? Will you be one of them? Will you rededicate yourself to support those who go and to hold the ropes with rock-solid faithfulness?

The people I would like to call forward for special prayer and to make a public statement are those who are seriously planning or praying toward cross-cultural missions longer term (longer than two years).

The Legacy of Antioch  by John Piper. © 2015 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org