²¹ They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord,in whom they had put their trust. (Acts 14:21-23, NIV)

This may be the most significant passage I have come across so far in our journey through the New Testament. (It’s early, so I know I will find many more.) Yet, the  sense of why I have been led to take our church on this journey is encapsulated here fairly well.

We need to understand the faith so much better as believers. Our American Christianity is watered down and weak. We rebuke hardships, and here is a passage that ties in hardships with entering into the Kingdom of God!

The cultural shift needs to be a wake up call. We must be more committed to faith. We need a higher commitment to prayer and fasting. We need to understand what it is to be the “minority report” in a culture and still live in the power of the Spirit.

As an old African American preacher said one time, “Son, when the Lord sends tribulation, he expects us to tribulate!”

We need to hear the voice of the Lord. We need to hear the voice of his WORD once again.