From the desk of Lucius Sulla: This was sent to me by our friend Steve Gardner: DID YOU KNOW WE ARE CALLED CHRISTIANS BECAUSE OF SYRIA?! – An Interesting Perspective About The Country Of Syria, And What We Should Do About It! A lot of Christians are becoming aware of the prophecy of Isaiah 17:1 about Damascus, Syria but are unaware that SYRIA in found many other times in the Scripture! Especially interesting is the influence that Syria played in the early church and its years of development. The apostle Paul (called Saul before his conversion) was on his way to Damascus, Syria when he was confronted by the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:1-25) Of course, Paul went on to pen the greater part of the New Testament Epistles and did great missionary work. That’s worth noting…but read on… In Acts 11:20, it speaks of the missionary endeavor of “preaching the Lord Jesus” in Antioch, Syria, and “a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord”. Among that great number who believed were Gentiles (non-Jews). The impact of that outreach ended up becoming an established church in that region, where Paul and Barnabas taught for a whole year. Act 11:26 tells us that, “…the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Antioch, Syria actually became the headquarters of the early church, not Jerusalem! Isn’t that interesting? Hold on…there’s more! Then in Acts 13:1, we read of a gathering of the early church’s prophets and teaching leaders meeting in Antioch, Syria. As they were fasting and praying, the Lord directed these leaders to send out Paul and Barnabas on another mission outreach to take the gospel towards Europe. (Here’s where it get interesting…) That one commission, which came OUT OF SYRIA, (from the early church, after praying, fasting and seeking God), eventually led to the Gospel being brought to our European ancestors, who in turn brought the Gospel to America, which in turn has reached the entire world with the Gospel! THIS IS ONE MAIN REASON SATAN HATES SYRIA SO MUCH! Syria was one of the most importance places for the impact of the Gospel reaching the entire world! Satan is the epitome of one who holds grudges, and he will NOT forgive and forget! He wants to destroy the country that first housed the early church! He wants to torture and torment these people because of what they have done and could do for the cause of Christ! And this is why we should be praying for the people of Syria, so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can once again go forth throughout the people of Syria! We American Christians owe a debt of gratitude to the precious Syrian people. They have already been through so much in the last couple of years, with many stuck in the middle of a vicious civil war. If the enemy has his way, the country will continue to be ravished and destroyed, and when it is left in ruins, he will want the Muslim Brotherhood to take control the people left, and lead them to further destruction. This is such a shame. Let’s PRAY and DO all we can do to reach out to the very country that reached out to the world with the Gospel. In particular, we should be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in Syria that God would give them great courage and boldness in the midst of war and persecution. Pray for the missionaries and pastors who need strength as the lead their little flocks. Many need shelter, clothing, food and medical care as a result of this civil war. We need to pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ gets communicated clearly, powerfully, compassionately and consistently to the people of Syria. We should be praying that the eyes of the Syrian people would be opened so that they would turn away from Islam to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is well able to change their country. We need to pray for our own country’s leaders that they will have wisdom to know the right thing to do regarding our involvement in this situation. We are to pray that our leaders govern well, protecting life and liberty. And finally, let us pray that God will revive the church in America, and that we will own up to our responsibilities to live out this Good News to our world! Think about it! – John Muncy
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 12:20:53 +0000
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