Friday, January 29, 2016
VIDEO
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled
through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he
found several believers. “Did
you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard
that there is a Holy Spirit.” “Then
what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in
the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
As soon as they heard this, they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy
Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve
men in all.
Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached
boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of
God. But
some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the
Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took
the believers with him. Then he held
daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for the next
two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and
Greeks—heard the word of the Lord. Acts 19:1-10(NLT)
A defining characteristic of 18th century Methodism
was its’ circuit-riding preachers. John
Wesley sent Francis Asbury to watch over the spread of the movement:
In
1771, Francis Asbury answered founder John Wesley’s call to bring the Gospel to
America’s untamed frontier. For 45
years, the premier bishop of American Methodism travelled the back country from
Maine to Georgia.
Thousands
of miles. Through treacherous
conditions. Shunned by those who did not
want to hear about God. But, along the
way, Asbury saved souls…planted parishes…and mobilized ministers.
October
14th, 1803, Francis Asbury wrote:
“What
a road we have passed! Certainly the
worst on the whole continent, even in the best weather. Yet, bad as it was, there were four or five
hundred crossing the rude hills while we were. We must take care to send
preachers after these people.”
And,
Asbury sent saddlebag sermonizers across the land.[2]
Paul was a saddlebag sermonizer. One of my favorite sayings about Paul came
from a seminary professor (who probably stole it from someone else): wherever Paul went he started a revival or a
riot – sometimes both!
From the first century ministry of Paul, to the eighteenth with
Wesley and Asbury, and on down to where we are today, the Word of God will
produce revival and riot; it’s all up to the hearers.
Paul had the joy of seeing about a dozen men come to Christ
in Ephesus (and in all likelihood their families also). Then, for two years he stayed with them and
spread the word in the surrounding communities.
With the revival came the riot of resistance in the temple, so Paul
moved out.
John Wesley did that as well.
Wesley preferred the established church buildings and all the refinement
of liturgical ceremony and order. What
dashed that was the staid and stuffy resistance from his peers in clerical
robes. So, Wesley (like Paul) was forced
into the streets to preach to the people, and the movement was born.
What we should never forget is that the saddlebag sermonizers,
were never alone – the people went with Paul; the people welcomed the
circuit-riding Methodist preachers. And in
each case, the combined efforts of preacher and people bore fruit.
Francis Asbury wrote: “If I can
only be instrumental in the conversion of one soul in travelling round the
continent, I’ll travel round till I die.”[3]
This was the commitment of a movement.
For You Today
Are you
involved in a movement? Or do you put
your time in going to church?
[1] Title image: Rembrandt, via Wikimedia
Commons & Giovanni Paolo Panini, via Wikimedia
Commons[both Public domain]
