A Deeper Sweeter Fellowship
Acts 13:49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit decided to throw His arms around these two men, pull them in close and encourage and strengthen them. He was with them as they were persecuted; they all went through that event together. Jesus was just as much a part of that rejection as Paul and Barnabas were. Paul and Barnabas got to experience what Jesus had already experienced before them and was now experiencing again along with them.
When we, as believers, allow ourselves to partner with the Holy Spirit, as did these men, we, too, can be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit should we ever be subjected to rejection and persecution because of what we stand for and declare to others. This deeper fellowship with the Holy Spirit is not based on how someone responds to our sharing the truth with them. It is based on us deciding to lock arms with the Holy Spirit and speak and do what He shows us is ours to do. It is the way we experience a deeper, sweeter fellowship with Him.
When I was a boy, one Christmas, my dad decided we would bless some neighbors from Puerto Rico who did not have much money or means. So we collected some old bikes, stripped them down, painted them, rebuilt them to be as new as possible, and gave them as gifts to the neighbors. While doing that, we talked, laughed, and imagined many things together. It is still a precious memory I carry of my dad. I felt so close to my dad during that mission moment with him. It was a deeper, sweeter bonding moment for me with my dad.
I love how Acts 13 reveals that our joy and being filled with the Holy Spirit never hinges on a good response from those we preach the good news to. We can be on a mission filled with opposition and still be overwhelmed with joy and be filled with the Holy Spirit just because we joined Him in a purpose He intended for us to join Him in. Like with my dad, it is in those moments that He wishes to reveal things to us and even show us things about ourselves we would not be able to realize apart from this experience.
God has a joy for us that is not contingent on things going ideally for us. It is ours as we partner with Him in the purpose He has called us to.
But how can anyone experience this rich, deeper, sweeter fellowship if they do not know what God has purposed for them?
I encourage you to become an avid witness to Jesus Christ. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you can experience a fourth man in your fires of opposition and rejection for taking a stand for Jesus. You experience that anytime you take a stand to speak and do what He has asked of you. He wants us to cast off the fear of man and grow in our witness of Him to others. He will never abandon us when we step out in faith in this way. It’s time for the church to regain its voice in this generation. Your testimony of Him matters.
