Acts 11:19-21 :

They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Even though the Jewish Christians were forced out of Jerusalem and even outside of Israel, they continued to only preach the Gospel to other Jews. When some of them decided to speak to Jewish Greek-speakers (the Hellenists), they discovered that the “hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” These people were still not Gentiles, they were just less Jewish!

As a Christian, I am constantly seeking the Lord to change my ideas and conform them to His. Even though these Christians had the Holy Spirit and were believers, they still didn’t shake off their own idea that only Jews should hear about Jesus. Could we have this same problem in our own minds today about other issues? I think so. We are all influenced by the cultures that we grew up in. We need to conform our minds to the word of God and learn how to move away from our own ideas. Fortunately, this is a process. God didn’t expect people to suddenly change all at once. God is loving and patient with His children.