WHEN GOD SHOWS UP
Text: Acts 14:1-7
Introduction
1. Illustration: Early in my ministry, my mentor was a Pastor named John McEwen. At the time, Tina and I were attending his church, and there had been some trouble in the church. One day, I went and sat in his office and told him that I was dumb founded that he was having trouble, because I thought he was the perfect pastor. He looked at me and said, “Brother Mark, there are always demons to slay!”
2. His point to me was clear and Biblical. We are in a spiritual warfare, and our enemy is relentless.
3. However, we are empowered and armed by the Holy Spirit. But that power and armor are useless if we don’t use them.
4. Read Acts 14:1-7
Transition: First, we must realize we are…
I. Empowered By the Spirit (1-4).
A. Lord Proved Their Message
1. After being chased out of Antioch of Pisidia, the team of Paul and Barnabas moved on to Iconium. In vv. 1-2 we read, “The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. 2 Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.”
a. Luke begins by making a reference to what had happened in Antioch of Pisidia. He says, “the same thing happened in Iconium.”
b. In other words, there was great response to the gospel, but there was also opposition to the gospel.
c. This tells us about the reality of doing ministry. God will open people’s hearts to respond to the gospel message, but also the devil will fight against us.
d. That is what happened in Antioch, it happened in Iconium, and it would be a recurring theme of their ministry together.
e. It is a part of life as a Christian, and a way of life for us as a church.
f. We can see this tension from v. 1 to v. 2. In v.1, they preached with great power and a great number of both Jews and Gentiles became believers.
g. However, in v. 2, some of the Jews rejected the gospel and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.
h. Every time there is a positive response to the gospel, the devil will try and mess things up and throw a wrench in the works. I’ll go so far as to say we should expect it!
2. But God always shows up when we need him. In vv. 3-4 it says, “But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.”
a. It’s amazing, that despite the opposition, “the apostles stayed a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord.”
b. They were not about to give up, and they wouldn’t allow the devil to stop their ministry.
c. I love what Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-11, “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”
d. He tells us to be strong in the Lord and to stand against the strategies of the devil. Just because the devil fights against us doesn’t mean we give up; it means we fight back!
e. When we fight back, we can be assured that the Lord will show up.
f. That’s what happened with Paul and Barnabas; the Lord showed up! Luke says, “And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them the power to miraculous signs and wonders.”
g. This should cause us to think back to Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
h. When we fight back the Lord shows up and he gives his stamp of approval to our ministry by doing signs and wonders.
i. He gives us miracles to prove that he is working in our midst. All we need to do is stand and God will show up!
B. Weapons of Our Warfare
1. Illustration: A "stronghold" is a mind-set that holds you hostage. It makes you believe that you are hopelessly locked in a situation, that you are powerless to change.
a. That’s when you hear people saying, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” The only reason you say, “I can’t,” when God says, “You can” is that Satan has made himself at home in your head and you are allowing him to stay rent-free!
b. In computer terms, he has you operating by the old information that was on the hard drive of your mind before you became a Christian!
2. We need to come to grips with the concept that we are in a spiritual war, and we need to fight that war with spiritual means.
a. “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:3-5).
b. When you are in a physical war, you fight with physical weapons like machine guns, artillery, and tanks.
c. But we are in a spiritual war. So, we need to fight with spiritual weapons.
d. “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:13-17).
e. We cannot fight this battle in our flesh, we must fight in the spirit.
f. In addition to our weapons, we need to be aware and watch for the enemy and his tricks and recognize them for what they are.
g. Our God will show up and fight for us, but we need to be ready to follow his commands.
Transition: In addition to being empowered by the Spirit, we also need to be…
II. Led By the Spirit (5-7).
A. The Apostles Learned of it.
1. We need to not only be Spirit-empowered, but we also need to be Spirit-Led. In vv. 5-6 it says, “Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. 6 When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia—to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area.”
a. One of the things I’ve learned about the devil over the years is he never quits! Even if he loses the battle, he will not stop fighting.
b. I remembered years ago seeing a bumper sticker that said, “Lee surrendered, I didn’t!”
c. Even though he is defeated, and the Holy Spirit beats him time after time, the devil is going to keep fighting.
d. In this instance, the Holy Spirit had empowered Paul and Barnabas, and great numbers of people believed, but the devil didn’t give up. A mob of Gentiles and Jews tried to stone them to death.
e. But...Paul and Barnabas found out about it. How did they do that? Luke doesn’t tell us specifically, but if we read between the lines, we can see that the Holy Spirit revealed it to them.
f. Whether he did it by direct revelation, he sent someone to tell them, or they overheard it, it was all through the Holy Spirit.
g. The Holy Spirit is always our ace in the hole. He guides us, directs us, and protects us.
h. In John 14:25-26 it says, “I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
2. They are then directed by the Holy Spirit to go to Lystra and Derbe. Luke tells us, “And there they preached the Good News.”
a. Paul and Barnabas, led by the Spirit, go to the towns of Lystra and Derbe.
b. There they preached the Good News.
c. This shows us that if we follow the Spirit’s leading, he will open new doors for us, and enable us to continue in the ministry that we have been called to.
B. Follow the Spirit’s Leading
1. Illustration: Another Pastor tells this story. He said, “Last year I attended a miracle league softball game that my granddaughter Addie was playing in. It was amazing to watch all the children with disabilities play ball. Many of the parents would tell the kids when to swing the bat to help them connect with the ball. As one little girl hit the ball I watched in amazement as her mother ran backwards as fast as she could in front of her daughter telling her where to run. As I watched I realized that the runner was blind but wasn’t running by sight but by sound. What an amazing thing to watch. I watched as she rounded the bases and made it all the way home. Wouldn't it be great if Christians didn’t depend on sight but the direction from the Holy Spirit! If we follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, he will never lead us wrong, but all the way home.
2. We must always follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in everything we do.
a. “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Gal. 5:25).
b. This means follow the Spirit’s leading in our personal lives.
c. This means to follow the Spirit in our family’s life.
d. This means to follow the Spirit in our church.
e. Everything we do must be by the Spirit’s leading.
f. That means to ask him in prayer.
g. That means to have the Spirit speak to us through the Word of God.
h. That means to have your Pastor and brother’s and sister’s you trust to pray with you for the Spirit’s leading.
i. The Holy Spirit will never lead you astray.
Conclusion
1. We need to be empowered by the Spirit, and we need to be led by the Spirit.
2. What’s the point preacher? We live in both a physical realm and a spiritual realm. So, depend on the Spirit to empower and lead you in all aspects of your life.
