Come To Jesus~ Acts 13:13-43

Have you ever been around a group of people who had seemingly no purpose, no direction, and no vision for the future? That is what the religious crowd had become in Paul’s day. They were like a pile of dead dry wood, a tinder pile awaiting a spark.  The embers of hope, purpose, and vision had long since burnt out. How could they last much longer Judaism was dying out as creation made room for the Savior of the world.

Luke provides for us the accounts of the first missionary team and their first journey. In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas embark on a difficult mission. John Mcarthur describes their journey in his commentary as being arduous. He writes,

 “The road from Perga to Pisidian Antioch, some one hundred miles away, was difficult and dangerous. It wound its way through the rugged Taurus mountains, clinging to cliffs that ascended to dizzying heights. Travelers also had to cross the turbulent and flood-prone Cestrus and Eurymedon rivers. The Taurus mountains were notorious for the robber bands who infested them. Those bandits, who had plagued Alexander the Great and Augustus Caesar, were still unsubdued in Paul’s time. When Paul wrote, “I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers” (2 Cor. 11:26), he may well have had this journey in mind.”

Paul and his companion are taking the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to the most remote parts of their world. They risked it all to carry Christ’s message to those in need of hope. Upon arriving at their destination they found a group of people hungry to hear of their message of hope.

Pisidian Antioch

In the Synagogue, After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the temple officias and the people were desperate for some real hope. The law was given so that we may see our need for the Grace and sacrifice of Christ. The stage of man’s heart had been set. For what the Law and the prophets could not do, Christ had indeed competed. The people grew hungry for hope.

The Holy Spirit sovereignly arranged the circumstances, opening wide the door for Paul to proclaim the gospel. He stood up, and motioning with his hand to get the audience’s attention. In like manner, the Holy Spirit sovereignly arranged the circumstances, opening wide the door for us to share of the hope locked inside our hearts. It is for this reason that Peter urges us all to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15)” We are to be ready in season and out of season, ready to walk through the doors of divine opportunity.

Men have long wrestled with the question of where (if anywhere) history is going. Is there a purpose, goal, or culmination to history? Or is it merely a succession of sunrises and sunsets, a meaningless series of swiftly flowing years leading nowhere?

Viewing history as purposeless appeals to sinful people, since it grants them freedom to do as they want with no fear of accountability to a divine moral judge; for if there is no God we are permitted to live any way we choose. However this is not reality, the Spirit draws the hearts of all mankind. We have been created without excuse. Even the heaven declare the greatness of God.  Our own laws and prophets are covered in the fingerprints of God. All of which lead to the overwhelming reality that we could never keep the letter of any law. The good news is that God has fulfilled the covenant of the law and it could no longer satisfy. Just as the wise King wrote: 

He [God} has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.(Ecc 3:11).  

Therefore, we must view Jesus as the culmination of history, the fulfillment of prophecy, and the justifier of sinners. He is my source of hope, life, and of a future. Apart from the saving grace of Christ I have nothing. I have great hope in Him, I am truly satisfied with Jesus he is my hope and stay. What about you? Are you living an aimless, wander life void of purpose and security? Do you find yourself feeling as if your whole life is like the tossing waves? When you thin of your future does it frighten you? Do you have a peace a security about where you shall go after this life is through?

If you said no to any of the above: Come To Jesus! Come To Jesus and find hope, security, and purpose, Come to Jesus and find salvation. Most importantly, Come to Jesus so that you may live!