The Seed will Sprout

 

When the early European settlers went to South Africa, they set up the Dutch Reformed Church, which basically dominated the landscape. The colonizers associated with the Dutch Reformed Church. Then the German Moravian church sent a missionary to South Africa. On July 9, 1737, a young Georg Smith arrived in Cape Town as a Moravian missionary to work with the indigenous Khoi people. He settled in the “Valley of Grace”.

The clergy of the Dutch Reformed Church expressed disapproval with Moravian missionary. This forced Georg to abandon his work and depart from South Africa. He had been there for only a short time and had only one convert, a poor woman called Vehettge Magdalena, when he was driven from the country. Georg never returned to Africa; He returned to his homeland thinking he had been a failure. Georg died shortly after returning home. He died on his knees praying for Africa.

From Georg’s diary, we learn that Magdalena was a bright and eager learner. The young missionary had taught her to read. Before his departure, he had given her a New Testament.  When Georg left Magdalena took over; she served the small congregation for years, reading the New Testament to them. It is said that Magdalena would gather converts beneath a pear tree, where she would lead them in prayer and read passages from the New Testament. Through the years, she prayed diligently for God to send new Moravian missionaries to the “Valley of Grace”.

 

Finally, on Christmas Eve 1792, three missionaries from Germany arrived to continue Smith’s work. When they arrived, Magdalena was an old woman. She proudly asked a young Khoi girl, whom she had taught, to read a passage from the New Testament. A hundred years after George Smith brief mission work in South Africa, it was discovered that some thirteen thousand converts had sprung from the ministry of a man who thought he had been a failure.

Acts 13 records Paul’s sermon in Pisidian Antioch during his first missionary journey. In the sermon Paul argues that God had given his promise to send a Savior to his chosen people, Israel. He had kept that promise by sending Jesus in fulfilment of the prophecies given hundreds of years before. The fact that the Jewish leaders rejected and killed Jesus did not thwart, but actually fulfilled, God’s promises.

Paul told his audience that “through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). They were trying to gain God’s acceptance through keeping of the Law of Moses. But Paul states that right standing with God can never come through the law. “No one will be justified in God’s sight by works of the Law” (Rom.3:20).

You do not obtain a right relationship with God by simply doing good. The “righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom.3:22).  Romans 10:9-10 states that “if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you will be saved”. And, “If we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1).

Paul says “everyone who believes is justified from all things” (Acts 13:39). Justification is a legal verdict where God declares a sinner righteous because of their faith in Christ. God pronounces the believing sinner righteous through the righteousness of Christ. Justification settles our standing before God before sanctification, the lifelong process of becoming more like Christ, can begin.

Everyone who believes is justified .The inclusivity of "everyone" highlights the universal offer of salvation, transcending ethnic, cultural, and social barriers (Rom. 10: 13).  The phrase “justified from all things” indicates the comprehensive nature of the justification. It suggests that all sins, regardless of their nature or severity, can be forgiven. No sin or stain lies outside the reach of Christ’s cleansing (Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:7,9 ; Col 2:13-14).

Paul concludes his sermon with a warning “take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you (Acts 13:40). This is a quote from Habakkuk 1:5. The term "scoffers" refers to those who mock or dismiss God's message.

Habakkuk the prophet foretold a shocking impending judgment that God would bring on the people in his days, if they did not take God’s message seriously. The Israelites failed to take God’s warning seriously primarily because they refused to believe that a holy God would use a brutal, pagan nation to punish His own chosen people. Their disbelief was deeply rooted in overconfidence, false security, and spiritual blindness.

God told Habakkuk “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false; Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Hab. 2:3). The judgment Habakkuk warned about fell on unbelieving Judah; Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (2 Kings 25).  Paul appealed to his audience to heed the warning and avoid the fate that befell those who ignored the prophets.

Paul said “take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you”. 2 Peter 1:19 says “the prophets spoke with divine authority; their words remain active. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable and you will do well to pay attention to it”. Hebrews12:25 warns “if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?”

To this very day God is at work and you can be certain that his plan will surely come to pass. It might take long, but make no mistake about it; It will happen as he wills. Many of our preaching today lack warnings. We do a good job telling people all the good things that will happen when they believe, but we do not always do a good job warning them what will happen should they reject God’s gracious offer of salvation through Jesus.

In Acts 13: 42-53 we see a variety of responses to Paul’s sermon. The same message was presented to all, but people responded in various ways. Jesus prepared us for this with the parable of the sower (Matt.13). In verses 18-23 Jesus explains the parable. He says “when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.

Some hear the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Someone hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But some hear the word and understands it. They produce crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

So, what were the responses to Paul’s sermon? “As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:42-44).

Paul’s message sparked significant interest; they were invited to come back on the next Sabbath.  When the congregation was dismissed, many followed Paul and Barnabas demonstrating eagerness to hear more of the message. Word spread so widely that on the next Sabbath nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. The “whole city” indicates widespread interest and impact of the Gospel message.

When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 13:45-47).

Jealousy here is not a mild irritation but a consuming envy. Rather than rejoicing that people were eager for God’s word, the hearts of the Jews were seized with the fear of losing status and control. Unable to refute the gospel with honest inquiry, they resorted to slander. Jealousy can lead us to oppose God's work. We must guard our hearts against jealousy and seek to celebrate others' successes.

Paul and Barnabas chose to remain steadfast in their mission, even when faced with opposition. They refused to be intimidated; they spoke boldly despite rejection. We should be prepared for both acceptance and rejection when sharing our faith. Like Paul and Barnabas our focus should be on faithfully proclaiming the Gospel, trusting in God's sovereignty over the results.

By rejecting the gospel the Jews did not consider themselves worthy of eternal life. God has granted Jesus authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those who believe in him. ^“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent “(John 17:1-3). God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11-12).

The Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:49-52). Paul and Barnabas, facing rejection, performed the very act Jesus prescribed - shaking the dust from their feet (Matt.10:14).

Paul and Barnabas had fulfilled their responsibility to give the people the gospel. The people’s response was now between them and God. Paul and Barnabas did not argue on indefinitely or wallow in discouragement; they moved on. Jesus told his disciples “when you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matt.10:23).

Despite facing opposition and persecution, the disciples experienced profound joy. This joy was not merely an emotional response but a deep-seated sense of fulfilment and gladness derived from faith and the presence of God. James 1:2-3 says “consider it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”.

The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Joy accompanies the Spirit’s presence. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). The kingdom of God is … righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Paul’s prayer for the Romans was “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom.15:13). 

Paul’s first recorded sermon (Acts 13:16–41) is similar to Stephen's sermon (Acts 7). Both sermons retell Israel's history to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, and both climax with a stern warning about rejecting Him. As a young man Paul (Saul) had observed and listened to Stephen’s sermon (Acts 7:58). Acts 8 records the outcome of Stephen’s sermon: A great persecution broke out, the disciples were scattered and Saul began to destroy the young church (Acts 8:1-3).

The fruit of Stephen’s sermon  may have appeared negative and painful to his contemporaries. But today we can see that Stephen’s sermon was neither a tragedy nor a waste of time. Somewhere in that crowd a young man was listening to him, possibly appearing disinterested or irritated. The young man would later become the greatest apostle of all time. Many years after Stephen’s “untimely” death Paul would almost repeat his sermon with great results.