Carry the Good News to the People

Acts 13:16–49

The good news entrusted to Paul and Barnabas is the same good news Dani and Randy carry to Bolivia—and it is the same gospel the community of Helena, Montesano, San Antonio and every city in America needs.

Scripture

• “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified.” - Acts 13:38–39
• “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 13:47

Devotional

Paul and Barnabas arrive in Antioch and enter the synagogue on the Sabbath. Paul is invited to speak, and so he tells the story of God’s chosen people; from beginning to end.

He begins with Egypt. He moves through the wilderness, the judges, King Saul, and King David. But Paul is not giving a history lesson. He is going somewhere. The entire story of Israel is moving toward Christ Jesus – the long-awaited Messiah.

And Paul makes three things very clear:  God carries his people. God keeps his promise. And God sends the good news outward.

God carries his people

Paul says of Israel:

• “For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.” —Acts 13:18

The irony, God has put up with me for 50 years. The first six don’t count.

I love that phrase:  God put up with them.  Some translations say that God “cared for them,” and perhaps both ideas belong together. God cared for them while putting up with them.

I would call it toleration. Being considerate and understanding of someone’s circumstances.

Anyone who has raised children (created their ow people), led soldiers, served on a church committee—or simply spent time around human beings—knows those two things can happen at the same time! You care for people, and sometimes you put up with them. That is patience founded in love.

It’s SO not easy. So very not easy at all.

Can you relate, honestly? Has God put up with you? I suspect so.

God has endured a great deal of human shenanigans : our complaining, our spiritual shortsightedness, our repeated mistakes, and our remarkable ability to forget what he has already done for us.

Yet God did not abandon Israel in the wilderness. He carried them through it.

Dani and Randy know something about wilderness ministry. Political turmoil, instability, resistance, and discouragement can make serving in Bolivia very difficult. But the God who carried Israel carries his servants. The Lord who called them has sustained them and brought them safely home to us again.

So God keeps his promises

Paul then says:

• “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.” - Acts 13:23

Paul moves from Egypt to the wilderness, from the wilderness to the Promised Land, from the judges to the kings, from Saul to David—and from David to Jesus.

Jesus is the destination. Jesus is the end that begins something new, all things are made new.

He was rejected, condemned, and crucified. Human beings placed him in a tomb,  but God raised him from the dead. The tomb is empty. Jesus lives!

This is the heart of the missionary message:  Because he lives, you too can live a new life in Christ.

Y porque él vive, ustedes también pueden vivir una nueva vida en Cristo.

Missionaries do not go merely to carry Western culture, political solutions, or humanitarian optimism. They go with an announcement: God has fulfilled his promise in Jesus Christ. Christ died for sinners. God raised him from the dead. Forgiveness is proclaimed in his name. Everyone who believes is made right with God.

That is the good news.

God sends the good news outward

Paul finally reaches the great announcement:

• “Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified.” —Acts 13:38–39

Everything in the story leads here. What we could never accomplish for ourselves, God accomplished for us through Christ.

Dani and Randy offer a simple and humble service while carrying this greatest of all announcements. A person may come to have dusty shoes cleaned. The leather may be dry, cracked, or in need of repair. People may notice the outside of the shoe - but underneath there is a sole. And within the person wearing it is a soul that needs the cleansing and healing found only in Jesus Christ. Have you encountered people with a hole in their Soul?

The shoe-shining business creates a meeting place. Shining a pair of shoes begins a conversation. The conversation opens a door for the gospel. And the gospel points people to Christ.

That is how God’s mission often works: an ordinary act of service becomes an opportunity for extraordinary grace.

When some in Antioch rejected the message, Paul and Barnabas declared:

• “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 13:47

And the Gentiles were glad. They received the Word, honored the Word, and began spreading it throughout the region.

Nobody can stop the gospel.

It did not depend upon political stability, comfortable circumstances, impressive buildings, or a sophisticated résumé. It traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Antioch into Asia Minor, and eventually throughout the world. Today we see another chapter of that same continuing story: the good news being carried to the people of Bolivia, sometimes through something as ordinary as shining shoes.

God chooses. God rescues. God patiently endures. God keeps his promises. God sent his Son. Human beings rejected him. God raised him from the dead. And now God proclaims forgiveness to everyone who believes.

We do not all need to travel to Bolivia. But every one of us has been placed among people who need good news. The only question is whether we will faithfully carry it to them.

So today, let us listen to Dani and Randy. Let us encourage them, pray for them, and support their work. And let us remember that they are not bringing us a different story. They are showing us what the continuing story of Acts looks like in La Paz.

Through Christ, God brought the good news to us. Now, with joy and gratitude, we carry that good news to our neighbors and to the ends of the earth.

Brief Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for carrying us when we wander, keeping every promise in Jesus Christ, and entrusting us with the good news of forgiveness and new life. Strengthen Dani and Randy, protect their family, provide for their ministry, and prepare the hearts of those they serve in Bolivia. Give all of us the courage to carry the gospel wherever you have placed us. In the name of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.