Acts 14 Paul and Barnabus Has Struggles and Victories

Aren't you glad the Word of God is powerful! It hasn't changed either. It is just as powerful today as it was when Luke wrote this wonderful book of Acts. God hasn't changed. He still delivers, heals and works wonders in the Earth. I am so thankful. We are in Acts 14 today. In this chapter we some of the struggles that Paul and Barnabus faced. But because they based their faith in Jesus, they had more than struggles. Let me show you a vivid picture that unfolds a magnificent promise in Isaiah 55:10-11 Here's the picture. Isaiah 55:10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, You've seen the process, you know it's true! Here's the promise. Isaiah 55:11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.   Paul and Barnabas saw God's promises being fulfilled in their ministry again and again! They experienced many glorious victories, but they had to persist. It wasn't "Easy Peasy"!  Let me show you what I mean.   Acts 14:1 At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.    Struggle 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.    Triumph 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.   Struggle 4The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.  5But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,    Triumph 6 they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,   Perseverance  7where they continued to preach the gospel.   8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.    9 This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed.    Has that ever happened to you? I mean where God lets you see faith in a person's face and you just know that person was about to see a divine intervention of God! It is a beautiful and life changing thing. I've seen faith, I don't know how to describe it, but I've seen faith in people. I vividly remember times when I've been teaching on the Holy Spirit that I knew that they were going to be filled with Precious Holy Spirit, I saw faith. Paul saw the receiving kind of faith on the lame man as he preached.   Triumph! 10 In a loud voice Paul called out, "Stand up on your feet!" And the man jumped up and began to walk.   Don't you love this! Can you imagine how wonderful it felt to that dear man to be able to walk. Nobody prayed for him, he was just hearing the Word. There is more power in the Word of God than we realize!!! We can trust it. It is reliable. Our God still performs miracles!   What is happening here? This is unbelievable! Struggle! Acts 14:11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.   Never forget-  "Public opinion is a weather vane—spinning wildly with the slightest change in the wind."   Struggle! Struggle!!! 19 Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.   Sometimes the real Struggle is WHO are we trying to please? People?  God? Don't let the voice of the crowd dictate what you do or how you view success! The crowd will worship you one day and kill you the next!   Paul wrote to the Ephesians 1:10 at a later time "Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."   Let's shift our focus to the power of God that shows up when we persevere 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up  and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.   I don't think this is a glimpse of a quick recovery. The Bible doesn't give us a lot of details, but I believe these followers of Jesus, gathered around a bloody and battered man. Maybe some were knelling; some were standing aghast at what they saw. The Bible doesn't tell us whether they prayed or cried. It says, "He got up. Went back into the city. Left the next day for Derbe. Which isn't a trip for a wounded man. I believe God healed Paul. Scripture doesn't say, but what we know is he was relentless. He persevered even when he was stoned by a crowd that loved him one day and hated him quickly thereafter!   James 1:2-4 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   Father, we whine too much! Forgive us!! Forgive me. You said for us to consider it pure joy when we encounter trials. You said it would develop perseverance that when finished would make us mature and complete, lacking nothing. Help us to believe your word, even hard verses like this. Give us a shift in our thinking because we want your glory to rest on our lives. In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.   Want To Be Stronger?   Join me every Saturday for faith-filled encouragement, inspiring articles, and helpful resources delivered right to your inbox. I'd love to connect with you! 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