Everyone Heard the Word of the Lord

     Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

The founder of One Mission Society was a man named Charles Cowman. Once Jesus got hold of Cowman’s life, he had a passion to make Christ known. He was strongly motivated by Mark 16:15 where Jesus instructed his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Cowman wanted every person to hear the Good News. One of the greatest achievements of this founder of OMS was to organize a “Great Village Campaign” that took the gospel to every home in Japan between 1912 and 1918. Cowman knew the love of God for every person and so he worked to make sure every person heard the Good News of salvation in Christ.

Sadly, even today with all the technology we have, it is rare that every person in a province, district, or country has heard the Good News of salvation in Christ. But the book of Acts tells us about one remarkable two-year period in which a whole province heard the word of the Lord. Paul was in Ephesus in what today is the country of Turkey. Acts 19 tells us he was teaching in the synagogue about the Kingdom of God. Listen to Acts 19:9,10:

“But some of [those at the synagogue] became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So, Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”

What? Paul teaches in a lecture hall for two years and everyone who lived in a large Roman province hears the word of the Lord?  How did that happen? The text gives us three clues.

Clue number 1: God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.  This surely got the attention of many people who would not have otherwise listened to the Gospel.

Clue Number 2: Paul had disciples with him as he taught and ministered in the lecture hall. Disciples are not just learners; they are apprentices. Disciples do what their teacher does. Paul argued persuasively about the Kingdom of God and so did they. Paul led discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, and no doubt, his disciples, his apprentices also led discussions about Jesus in other parts of the province of Asia.

Clue number 3 that helps us understand how every person in a province heard the word of God: The disciples, like Paul, were filled with the Holy Spirit.

What about you? Will you take up the challenge to help every person in your county or district or province hear the Word of God? Will you follow the examples of the Apostle Paul and Charles Cowman? If you long for all your neighbors to hear and understand the Good news, meditating on Acts 19:1-11 would be a good way to start. Be filled with the Holy Spirit; pray for the sick; equip and release disciples. Trust God for a great and wide impact from your Gospel ministry.

I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #AllHeard #Apprentices