Acts 11:19–30; 12:25–13:3 What happens when the Gospel reaches the least expected? Unlikely people become world changers through Christ. Unlikely DiversityThe Gospel embraces the unlikely. Unlikely UnityThe Gospel unites the unlikely. Unlikely MinistryThe Gospel pursues the unlikely. Takeaway: The Gospel is for every unlikely one of us.• “People sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred nor their clamor for an invincible Savior, and so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies. After that dance, the stars weren’t little anymore. Christianity helped Africans to become renewed Africans, not re-made Europeans.” —Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity?
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Acts 11:19–30; 12:25–13:3 What happens when the Gospel reaches the least expected? Unlikely people become world changers through Christ. Unlikely DiversityThe Gospel embraces the unlikely. Unlikely UnityThe Gospel unites the unlikely. Unlikely MinistryThe Gospel pursues the unlikely. Takeaway: The Gospel is for every unlikely one of us.• “People sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred nor their clamor for an invincible Savior, and so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies. After that dance, the stars weren’t little anymore. Christianity helped Africans to become renewed Africans, not re-made Europeans.” —Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity?
A Weird Prologue
The story begins with the sons of the prophets, a humble community serving the Lord. When a borrowed iron axe head falls into the Jordan, Elisha miraculously makes it float. Though small and strange, this miracle shows that God cares deeply for the problems of ordinary people—even when those problems don’t affect history. God delights to bless and intervene, no matter how insignificant our crises may seem.
A Blind King
The king of Syria repeatedly tries to ambush Israel’s king, but Elisha warns him each time. Frustrated, the Syrian king suspects betrayal, until he learns that Elisha, God’s prophet, reveals his plans. Blind to reality, the king foolishly attempts to capture Elisha. His blindness highlights not physical sight but a failure to grasp God’s power and sovereignty.
A Blind Servant and a Blind Army
Elisha’s servant panics when they are surrounded by the Syrian army. But Elisha prays, and God opens the servant’s eyes to see an unseen angelic host of fiery chariots all around. Elisha then prays for the enemy to be struck with blindness, leading them into Samaria. This demonstrates that God’s power invades the ordinary through prayer and that true sight requires faith.
Another Blind King
The king of Israel, Jehoram, is eager to kill the captured Syrians. But Elisha commands him instead to feed them and send them home. Though Jehoram sees his enemies delivered to him, he is blind to the deeper truth—that YHWH alone is worthy to be obeyed and feared. By showing mercy rather than slaughter, Israel gains peace, revealing God’s heart for nations and His ways that are better than ours.
Application:
God cares for you. He cared about a lost axe head, about kings, armies, and even enemies. Nothing is too small or insignificant for His notice.
God is capable. Whether crises are small or international in scale, both are equally manageable for Him.
This world is a lot stranger than we think. Like Elisha’s servant, we are often blind to the unseen spiritual reality around us.
Our prayer life should reflect all 3 of these realities. Pray as though God cares, as though He is capable, and as though His solutions may be unexpected or unusual.
Takeaway: God’s power invades the world of the ordinary because of the prayers of His people.
The Moody Church Sunday Morning Podcast
Acts 11:19–30; 12:25–13:3 What happens when the Gospel reaches the least expected? Unlikely people become world changers through Christ. Unlikely DiversityThe Gospel embraces the unlikely. Unlikely UnityThe Gospel unites the unlikely. Unlikely MinistryThe Gospel pursues the unlikely. Takeaway: The Gospel is for every unlikely one of us.• “People sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred nor their clamor for an invincible Savior, and so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies. After that dance, the stars weren’t little anymore. Christianity helped Africans to become renewed Africans, not re-made Europeans.” —Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity?
