A Visible Grace: Acts 11:23
How can we know when God has moved? If you showed up at the Red Sea and needed to cross, like Israel did on their way out of Egyptian bondage and God parted the sea so you crossed on dry ground, you would know God had moved in a miracle! He moves in other ways too, so how can we tell when God has moved?
The early Christians were scattered around the known world due to the persecution that arose after Stephen was martyred. Some of those believers who scattered came into Phoenicia, Cypress and Antioch and spoke the Gospel message only to Jews. Some of the men went to Cypress, Cyrene and Antioch and preached the Lord Jesus to Hellenists. Hellenists were Greek Speaking Jews scattered around the world who were not considered real Jews by the Hebrew speaking Jews.
A large number of these Hellenists came to the Lord! Word of their conversion to Christ got back to the church in Jerusalem. The leaders of the church in Jerusalem sent a man named Barnabas to Antioch to check this conversion out and see if it was the real deal. We pick up this history in Acts 11:23, “When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad and exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.” (ESV)
It’s interesting to me Barnabas arrived at Antioch and encountered these Hellenists who had been converted to Christ and he saw the grace of God! How do you see the grace of God? When you see that people are transformed by Jesus after they come to Him you see the grace of God acted out in real life! When bitterness and faultfinding are turned to love and encouragement in someone’s life you’re seeing the grace of God being acted out in real life! It becomes a visible grace.
I think of the demon possessed guy who was running around in the tombs of the area known as the Geraseses. He was shrieking night and day and couldn’t be controlled by shackles and chains! He self-mutilated with rocks and brought havoc on the surrounding area. He literally was living in the graveyard running around naked! Jesus told the demon to come out of the man and the demon asked for permission to go into a herd of 2,000 pigs. Jesus allowed that to happen. All two thousand pigs ran down the bank into the lake and were drowned!
Jesus asked the unclean spirit his name and he said it was “legion” because they were many. The man was possessed by many demons! A legion in the Roman army was comprised of 5,000 soldiers. It could well be this poor guy was possessed by 5,000 demons! He was involved in out of control evil because of thousands of demons living inside his life!
The people of the area saw this man when Jesus was finished with him and found him clothed and in his right mind! Jesus told him to go back to his home area and tell everyone what the Lord had done for him. His life was radically changed by the intervention of Jesus. He was living out a visible grace! When Christ intervenes in a person’s life with a new birth today and transforms that person you can literally see grace, that gift of transformation from Jesus that’s underserved!
I know about all this in a personal way! About the time I turned 16 years old I got a car and a part time job, dropped out of sports, and started what I call party time. I was kicked out of high school four times. First, I wouldn’t get a hair cut in 1965. When I came back later the same year, I punched the choir teacher. I was kicked out for checking out of school to go to Ham’s Billiard Parlor to play pool. Later I was kicked out for ditching too much.
From the age of 16 to 22 I drank and caroused as a way of having fun! This resulted in a great deal of nonsense, fights, girlfriends and so on! I say that I was kicking and a gouging in the mud, the blood, and the beer, as the song says.
After getting out of the Army at the end of 1971 I surrendered to Jesus as Lord in January of 1972. For more than 48 years I’ve chosen to walk with the Lord. I get up every day and talk to the Lord in a time of disciplined prayer and study the Bible in a discipled way so He gets a chance to talk to me. The more you communicate with Jesus the more opportunity He has to do a work in your life and GRACE you! He has graced me! Don’t think I’m saying I’m perfect. I’m not and I need Him more than ever!
When I got out of the Army, I used the G.I. Bill to get through college and earned my degree in 1976. My wife and I have been married over 47 years. We raised two children who walk with the Lord. I pastored churches for 30 years and even wrote a book.
I hope I’m not tooting my own horn! I hope I’m tooting Jesus’ horn and making Him famous! He has graced me, and I can see his grace in my life! What I want is for others to see His grace and allow it to call them to Him!
Has Jesus graced your life? If not, surrender to Him and let Him grace you! When He does, he will make that grace visible. Let other people see that grace and it will call them to Jesus.
When grace is visible, we will know God has moved!