When God Shows Up Series

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!