You Never Know
You Never Know
In Acts chapter 18, we find the account of the Apostle Paul in the city of Corinth. He converted many people to Christ and stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. When he first started in Corinth, Paul preached that Jesus was the Messiah in the synagogue (a synagogue is a place where Jews gather for worship and instruction). When the Jews rejected his teachings, he began preaching to the gentiles of Corinth. Evidently, though, his preaching had some effect on the Jews because the leader of the synagogue, Crispus, accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Paul baptized him.
This left a void in the leadership of the synagogue, so a man named Sosthenes became the leader of the synagogue. Sosthenes united the Jews against Paul, arrested him, and brought him before the district judge. When the judge rejected their case, the crowd that had gathered against Paul turned on their leader, Sosthenes, and beat him.
Nothing more is mentioned of Sosthenes in Scripture, until you get to Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. In the very first verse, Paul opens with “Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,” (1 Corinthians 1:1). Could this be the same Sosthenes that led the Jews to arrest Paul?
When you look at who Paul is writing to, the Corinthians, and that he mentions Crispus a few sentences later, I believe that you have to draw the conclusion that this is the same Sosthenes. Only now Paul calls him “brother”, indicating a change had taken place in Sosthenes’ heart. How awesome is the transforming power of God!
There are a couple of lessons here. First, your enemy today may be your brother tomorrow. Even though Sosthenes arrested Paul, the believers in Corinth didn’t turn their backs on him. Through their prayers, love and patience, Sosthenes came to faith in Jesus. The second lesson is simply to not give up on people who reject the Gospel. You never know what circumstances God will bring about in their life to bring them into His Kingdom. For Sosthenes, it took a beating at the hands of the people that he led. Don’t stop praying, don’t stop caring, and don’t stop sharing the Gospel. Be ready each day. If it doesn’t happen today, be ready for tomorrow because you never know.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
This Sunday is Baptism Sunday as we will have a baptism on the field outside of Ballentine Elementary School following the morning worship service. Please be in prayer for Dana Knott as she prepares to be baptized. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
In Acts chapter 18, we find the account of the Apostle Paul in the city of Corinth. He converted many people to Christ and stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. When he first started in Corinth, Paul preached that Jesus was the Messiah in the synagogue (a synagogue is a place where Jews gather for worship and instruction). When the Jews rejected his teachings, he began preaching to the gentiles of Corinth. Evidently, though, his preaching had some effect on the Jews because the leader of the synagogue, Crispus, accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Paul baptized him.
This left a void in the leadership of the synagogue, so a man named Sosthenes became the leader of the synagogue. Sosthenes united the Jews against Paul, arrested him, and brought him before the district judge. When the judge rejected their case, the crowd that had gathered against Paul turned on their leader, Sosthenes, and beat him.
Nothing more is mentioned of Sosthenes in Scripture, until you get to Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. In the very first verse, Paul opens with “Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,” (1 Corinthians 1:1). Could this be the same Sosthenes that led the Jews to arrest Paul?
When you look at who Paul is writing to, the Corinthians, and that he mentions Crispus a few sentences later, I believe that you have to draw the conclusion that this is the same Sosthenes. Only now Paul calls him “brother”, indicating a change had taken place in Sosthenes’ heart. How awesome is the transforming power of God!
There are a couple of lessons here. First, your enemy today may be your brother tomorrow. Even though Sosthenes arrested Paul, the believers in Corinth didn’t turn their backs on him. Through their prayers, love and patience, Sosthenes came to faith in Jesus. The second lesson is simply to not give up on people who reject the Gospel. You never know what circumstances God will bring about in their life to bring them into His Kingdom. For Sosthenes, it took a beating at the hands of the people that he led. Don’t stop praying, don’t stop caring, and don’t stop sharing the Gospel. Be ready each day. If it doesn’t happen today, be ready for tomorrow because you never know.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
This Sunday is Baptism Sunday as we will have a baptism on the field outside of Ballentine Elementary School following the morning worship service. Please be in prayer for Dana Knott as she prepares to be baptized. Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
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