Acts 19--New Opposition

Tongues, counterfeit and riots. This is good stuff. As the gospel reaches new corners of the world, we learn more about the power of the Spirit and the kind of impact it can make.

Consider this. There are people in this chapter who are healing people in Jesus name but do not even know him themselves. They are bearing fruit too! It works until a point. This is unique aspect of the work of the Spirit. God, the Holy Spirit is not confined to our faith and its particular strengths and weaknesses. God holds our world together in His providence and regularly is at work through unbelievers to bring greater order to this world. And moreso, there are times when he uses those who do not believe catalyze faith in others.

That means that there are those today who zealously work in the name of Christ but don’t ultimately put their own faith in Christ. Like the seven sons of Sceva, they can be quite fruitful. The key here is to see that the Spirit isn’t fruitful because it is at work in a particular person, though he does work that way. The key lesson is this. The Spirit is at work in a person who does their ministry in the powerful name of Christ.

Then there is the riot. What a mess? 25,000 people rioting over who knows what. This is a key lesson in the works of the flesh and the world. The truth had come to that town and had threatened its core industries. When the Kingdom of Darkness (be it in our lives, or in this world), one of its classic strategic responses is to create confusion. Here, emotion, industry and confusion spiraled upward until people were chanting angrily in support of their god against …well they didn’t know what. It was so wise for others to protect Paul from going to the riot—for if he did he would have placed himself as the clear target for their confusion.

When our enemy wants to get a foothold in our lives, he will seek to use confusion and emotion. Sometimes it is a plain attack, but often it is a counter-attack to what God is already doing. See the idols of the city were threatened. Our hearts and our flesh also hold onto idols that they hold as precious. In fact, John Calvin described our hearts as idol factories. Just as the heart of the city was thrown into confusion and anger, we should expect that when our idols are threatened, our hearts will experience confusion or anger. It is our flesh rebelling against the advance of God in our lives.

Acts 18--New Confidence

Blogger: Greg Lafferty

In today’s reading we witness Paul coming to the infamous city of Corinth. It had everything a missionary wouldn’t want to deal with, most notably ungodly wealth, rampant arrogance and shameless immorality. Ever try to share your faith with someone who was a rich, successful partier and proud of it? That heart can be a tough nut to crack.

And from the opening verses of Acts 18 we see this spirit had infected even the Jewish community, the people who should have known better. When Paul uses his typical reason and persuasion to show them Christ, they become abusive. Next thing you know Paul is out of the synagogue, away from the crowds, and talking to a lone Gentile named Titius Justus. Thankfully he and his family responded to the Gospel, but don’t miss the tension of the transition from a Jewish to a Gentile mission. It would have been so tempting for Paul to become intimidated and discouraged. He easily could have left the city for greener pastures.

What kept him going? What keeps you going when you’re rebuffed for sharing your faith? At bottom, it has to be confidence in God and the Gospel.

Consider Paul’s confidence. Before he even came to Corinth he decided not to compete with them in the areas of eloquence and worldly wisdom—two of their strong suits. Rather, he said, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul knew the Gospel was the power of God for the salvation of all who believed. So he didn’t lose heart just because a few people didn’t believe.

Second, God gave Paul assurance that other people would believe—many other people. In Acts 18:9 God says, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you…and I have many people in this city.” Point of fact: When God said this he didn’t have many people in Corinth. That is, he didn’t have many converts to Christ. But God had earmarked many people for salvation and knew how many would come to Christ through Paul’s ministry. And since the power of God is greater than human unbelief, these yet-to-become-believers were as good as His.

What confidence this gives, because we believe that everywhere, even in the hardest spiritual places, “God has many people in this city.” HE WILL OPEN HEARTS. Bank on it.