There's something about the beginning of Acts 11, where Peter relayed to the Jews what had happened in Cornelius' house and I just got this revelation and insight from the Holy Spirit.
“It was the beginning of the spread of ‘The Good News’ to the world.”
Yes! From the start, God chose the Jews, but it was because of Abraham and his relationship with God! It was never the people themselves but the plan God had for the entire world eventually. It was a story being written and that was just the beginning.
The evolution of the world till date has been intentional. I personally believe in a God that is intelligently assessing and working with the best case scenarios. But, I also believe in a God who knows ALL THINGS. Who knows the end from the beginning and has a plan for every possible outcome.
Right from the garden, down to the flood. The preservation of Noah’s bloodline. Abraham!
And that story from the beginning of time is still ongoing. The title of that story I believe is titled:
‘The Reconciliation of Man to God’!
When I read earlier in Acts about God saving Paul, it reminded me of that verse in Isaiah 6:8, when
‘The Lord asked, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”
God is still looking for messengers. God was looking for messengers even in that time to go to the rest of the world. Who would dare to do that? Who would carry this matter to the ends of the earth? And God found Paul. A man dedicated to going in the opposite direction, not just to the Jews now, but to the Gentiles also. He removed the veil on his eyes and heart, and entrusted him with this mighty ‘Good News’. Paul, of all people.
Not even the Jews who had already been saved. Not even the apostles. Because God saw that Paul could be trusted with taking the message out of Judea to the ends of the earth. He needed someone brave and bold enough to not be restricted also by the Jewish laws and do what was necessary to ensure this ‘Good News’ got all the way to Asia!!!
God has been unveiling every single chapter of this already written story for a while now and we are fast approaching the end of the story.
Have you heard of this phrase, ‘The Only True Way’? Do you know ‘The Only Way’? Do you know about ‘The Truth'? Do you know who is called ‘Life’?
No one goes to the Father except through Him. The only sure way to eternal life? This way is a person. This way is God in flesh. According to Acts 26:23, “...he would be the first to rise from the dead…” The only man who not only died and resurrected, but never died again, and in doing that defeated death forever!
His name is Jesus Christ! The son of God! A Nazarene. Born in a Manger. The reason for the season (every Christmas), and every season. Forever.
A conversation was had between God and His Son in Matthew 26, from verse 36.
Jesus told his disciples in that moment, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death….” The saviour of the world was in agony. A deep rooted agony over the pain and literal trial He was about to face.
In verse 39, He prayed:
“....My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
He left and came back to pray the prayer again in verse 42:
“My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”
This was repeated in other gospels like Luke 22:42, and Mark 14:36.
A prayer by God's only begotten Son.
He prayed against the whole turmoil, and even His own death.
He prayed to God! The One who says “Ask and it shall be given unto you….”
My pastor pointed out during our annual programme in 2024, that this was the first and only time God did not answer His Own Son. I remember he used an analogy the Holy Spirit had shown me previously.
Remember in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, when Iron Man asked Dr. Strange if there was a chance they could win the fight against Thanos, and Dr. Strange told him in all the 14,000,605 times he saw, they were victorious just once. And when the moment came, just like in the realistic case of Jesus Christ, here on this earth, Dr. Strange did not respond but only indicated 1 finger as a response. God did not answer the only prayer Jesus prayed to His Father, in that moment also!
For the first time in Jesus’s life, God kept quiet and did not respond to His Only Begotten Son, because it was the only chance we had. He is, was, and will be our ONLY CHANCE.
I learnt this perspective from my Pastor on the first night of our annual program, Reboot Camp 2024! I'll attach the link here for you to check it out. (Reboot Camp Evening Session: Day 1).
He said and I paraphrase: God did not abandon His Son and not answer the prayer His Only Begotten Son cried out to Him with sweat like droplets of blood for Him to be just a way! Never! The God of this Universe! Does not abandon His children. He does not leave them hanging. Jesus’ dying for us!!! Was, Is and Will Be The Only way! He Is The Only Way to eternal life!
People search for immortality. They do whatever it takes to stay alive here on this earth, but that was never the plan. The earth is rotting away and this too shall pass. What matters is life after death, the true immortality people seek exists after death. That was the plan from the start. We die to live. We live to die and never die again.
What's the purpose of being a Christian? A believer? A lover of God and a follower of Jesus Christ. He was, and is the only way to defeat death and its hold on mankind. He is the only way to pass on to a life after this one, into a glory unlike anything we can ever imagine. He is the only way to receive salvation and a reconciliation back to God!
Why is this important? Because we have good news, THE GOOD NEWS! This good news, this salvation we scream about everywhere and every day. In Acts 11, and also in Acts 8 and 9, Saul who later became the Paul we know, was found by God. That was the beginning of the fulfilment of what God had planned from the beginning. Jesus Christ had fulfilled the prophecy from Genesis where God told the serpent that he will bruise man's heel, but the man will crush his head. It was now time for the fulfilment of another prophecy, this time, around the replacement of the heart of stone to a heart of flesh (Ephesians 36:26). The pouring out of His Spirit on ALL flesh (Joel 2:28, and Acts 2:17). It was time for the world to hear this good news message!
My Pastor always says, if you still think colonialism was the first time the message of Christ came to Nigeria, Africa as a whole, you need to brush up on your history. This message of Christ has been in the world far too long for colonial masters to try to lay claim to it. They didn't bring the good news to us, God did! And He orchestrated it from the start! Acts 10:15. God's message to Peter. Acts 10:28, Peter finally understands the message.
Acts of the Apostles 11:18 - ‘When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”’
Guess what?!
Acts of the Apostles 11:26 - “When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”
The Jews were not the first to be called Christians! Christianity was born with Jesus Christ and He chooses who is His! It’s not a religion, but an acceptance of a saviour who was born on a starry night in a manger for the salvation of the world from sin and death!
Dunsin Oyekan: The Future:
All the nations of the world will sing
Jesus is the Lord
All the nations of the world will sing
Halle Hallelujah
I have seen the future
Revival is here
I can see the whole world
Worshipping the Lord
Jesus like a banner
Raised up in the sky
Every tongue and nation
Bowing to the King
Can you see it?
I CAN SEE IT!
-
The Holy Spirit
Happy New Month. This post is long overdue, but better late that never!🤭