ACTS: Trusting in God’s Timing

 Scripture: Acts 13:18 "It took about 40 years, as you well know, for us to get through the wilderness, and the Lord was faithful.

 

 

Paul, Barnabas, and John left the island of Cyprus and sailed up to the southern shores of Turkey where they continued their pattern of visiting the synagogues each week with the message of good news. Even though they were in the land of the Gentiles, they were going to the synagogues and speaking mostly to those of the Jewish faith.

 

 

Acts 13:13 Paul and those with him set sail from Paphos and landed in Perga, a town in Pamphylia. John left them at this point and returned to Jerusalem. 14 The others continued their journey to the town of Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day, entered the synagogue and joined in the morning reading. 15 The synagogue officials noticed they were present and after the readings of the Law and the Prophets, they invited them up to share something to the people.

 

It must have been obvious to the leadership of the synagogue that Paul and his companions were from out of town. They apparently also saw that these men had some training. They might have just been courteous and willing to let the visitors say something of benefit to the hometown people. What they received from Paul and his companions was more than they would have expected. One of the greatest moments in life is when another person asks you to explain to them about what you believe.

 

I always feel a bit inadequate when I am “put on the spot” and have to come up with great theology when I least expect it. Pulling together the thoughts of a sermon or an article is so much easier for me, less terrifying, than having to talk with someone about what I believe. Once I get to talking, that all changes. But overcoming the anxiety and coming up with the first words to speak, that is difficult for me.

 

But I have found, the Holy Spirit is the one in charge at a time like this. What I say, when someone else is listening, is not as important as what they hear, and I have no real control over that, but He does. I can tell you about the numbers of times that people have reminded me of things that I said, even 15 years earlier that impacted their life, and I cannot remember ever saying what they heard. All praise goes to the Holy Spirit who gives me words to speak and also helps the other person hear what they need to hear at that moment. Have you ever thought about what you might say if someone were to ask you to “talk about what you have gained from knowing Jesus?” (1 Peter 3:15)

 

Paul, when asked to speak at the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, jumped right in and spoke to the people. He started with a compliment about their devotion to God and some common ground he had with the people, the history of their race, and then quickly turned the discussion to faith in Jesus. We might want to take a cue from Paul, when it is time to talk about our faith, start with a compliment to the people, and something we have in common with them.

 

Acts 13:16 Paul took advantage of this invitation and said, "I know you fear God, so listen to what I have to say, "The LORD set aside our forefathers, and has made us a great people. We became large in number while still in Egypt and in His time, He led us out of that land. 18 "It took about 40 years, as you well know, for us to get through the wilderness, and the Lord was faithful. 19 "Then He guided us into battle with the land of Canaan and gave their land to us as our inheritance over the next 450 years. 20 "You remember the history; we accepted the judges the Lord send to us up until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 "At that time our ancestors asked God for a king, and so God gave us Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin and he served us for 40 years. 22 "Then came David the son of Jesse, of whom the Lord said, 'I have found a man after My own heart who will do My will.'

 

It is important for us to not put a time constraint on God. It took over 400 years to get the forefathers into Egypt and then when it was time for them to leave that land, God had Moses come on the scene, as a baby. It was another 80 years before Moses came back to Egypt to confront Pharoah and lead the people of Israel out of the land. Forty years wandering in the wilderness. Google Maps says it is 351 miles from Cairo to Jerusalem. At 20 miles a day, walking, it would take 18 days. It took the children of Israel forty years. And then it took another 450 for the people to occupy the land and make it theirs. From that information, do you think God is in a hurry?

 

Why does God take so long? Peter says, “Don't forget this truth, my friends, one thousand years in our time is but a day to Jesus. He seems to drag His feet when it comes to our needs, but He is not acting slowly, He has a different agenda than we do, He is patient, hoping that all will repent, and none will perish.” (2 Pet. 3:8,9 EBV) One of the hardest lessons we have to learn is that God is not ignoring us or our request, He just knows that we are better off if we work on His timeline that on our own. Anxiety is an indicator for us that we have started to focus on our wants and how we can make them happen in our efforts and we are not waiting on God, His timing, and His purpose.

 

The people of Israel became frustrated with God’s leadership of the country and they decided they would be better off with a king. So, they received a King; first Saul, then David. And it was through Moses and again through David that God revealed to the people of Israel that a Messiah would be coming in the future to bring additional blessings onto God’s people and to the rest of the people of the world.

 

Acts 13:23 "And according to the promise that we all know well, the Lord has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. 24 John came before Him preaching a baptism of repentance so that all the land of Israel could choose to turn back to the Lord. 25 "And John set our eyes on Jesus, by saying, 'Don't look at me to be the Savior, but turn to the One who will come after me, I am not even worthy to untie His sandals.' "

26 So, listen, those of you are from Abraham's family, and others who fear God, this is the message of salvation.

 

Paul now has their attention. He complimented them and said they were clearly god-fearing people, and then he reminded them of the common ground of their history as God’s people. Now it is time for Paul to tell these people about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

Acts 13:27 "The people in Jerusalem and especially the leaders, did not recognize Him as the Messiah, nor did they remember the words of the prophets even though they read them every Sabbath. They actually fulfilled the prophecies by putting the Savior to death. 28 "Even though they had no reason to request His death, they encouraged Pilate to have Him executed. 29 "They proceeded to act out all that was written of Him in the Scriptures, and then they took Him down from the cross and placed His body in a tomb. 30 "God brought Him back from the dead; 31 and He appeared to His disciples for more than a week. These are the people who now tell the story of Jesus to everyone. 32 "We now want you to know this good news for it is the promise given to our forefathers, 33 and God has now fulfilled His promise by bringing Jesus back from the dead. The Psalmist says, 'You are my Son whom I have begotten.' 34 "He has been brought back from the dead and will not decay, as do others who die. God said, 'On You will rest the holy blessings of David.' 35 "And in another Psalm, 'The Holy One will not rot in the grave.' 36 "We all know that David served God in his time, and then died, and was buried, and left in the grave; 37 but the Messiah, God kept from decay, bringing Him back to life. 38 "So, I want you to know how this Jesus brought to everyone forgiveness of our sins, 39 and any person who believes in Him is freed from all things that the Law of Moses could never free you from. 40 "I want you to pay attention to this message because the Prophets had some cautionary things to say to those who do not believe, 41 'Take notice, those who scoff at My Word for you will perish; I am doing something in your days, a work that will be hard to believe even when someone tells you all about it.'"

 

Paul understands that the people would have difficulty comprehending what he is talking about. But he reminds them how crucial it is for them to pay attention. He even brings in support for his urging by saying that the prophets are on his side. He could get away with quoting Scripture as a reason to believe him because the people were Jewish believers. That may not be the case for you. You might be talking to someone who has not Scriptural background and does not have a basic trust that the Bible is God’s Word to the world. When we share our faith with others we need to be aware of ways we can support our sharing with truths they believe in.

 

Acts 13:42 When Paul and Barnabas were done speaking, the people gathered around them and begged them to come back the following week to tell them more. 43 At the end of the service many of the people, both the Jews and those who feared God continued to follow Paul and Barnabas and sought to learn more. They were encouraged to live according to a life of grace from God.

 

Paul and Barnabas hung around Pisidian Antioch for another week and made their way back to the synagogue on the following Sabbath. And to their surprise the crowd was much larger than the previous week. This brought to Paul and Barnabas some good things because of the hunger of the people to hear the message. But it also brought tension.

 

Acts 13:44 The following week, almost everyone in the city had come to hear them continue teaching about the Messiah. 45 The local Jewish leadership became jealous of the attention being given to Paul and Barnabas and began saying that their words were not true and that they were speaking evil against God. 46 But they said to the leadership, "The Word of God has come to you first, but because you see yourselves as not needing what God has to offer and you reject our teaching, we will begin sharing our message with those who will listen. 47 The LORD has sent us with a calling, 'I have called you to be a light to the nations, so you can bring the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

 

Acts 13:48 When the people in the crowd who were not of the Jewish religion heard what Paul said, the exploded with great joy and began to give praise to God. Many turned that day to faith that Jesus was the Messiah and had the words of eternal life. 49 Thus the Word of the Lord started to spread throughout that region.  50 So, the tension began. Some of the leadership along with the prominent people in the city initiated a campaign against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of the district. 51 They stood at the outskirts of the city and symbolically shook the dust off of their feet as a protest against the leadership and they continued on to Iconium to share the message with them. 52 However, the disciples they left behind were filled with the Holy Spirit and found great joy in Jesus.

 

God is gracious to us. He led Paul and Barnabas away from this city. But the people who had believed the words of Paul and accepted Jesus as the Messiah were strengthened by the work of the Holy Spirit and they were not left teacherless. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is present in our lives to clearly guide us in our understanding of the Scriptures and to help us grow in our confidence to follow in the ways of Jesus each day of our lives.

 

May you be blessed in the name of Jesus, with opportunities to share your faith in Jesus with others, with words to speak, and with a confidence that God’s timing is so much better than our own.

Edd Breeden