Acts 14 - The Key to Effectiveness!

Read Acts 14

In Iconium

14 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,7 where they continued to preach the gospel.

Anyone who preaches or teaches the gospel wants to be effective. They want others to hear the message of Christ and be changed.  In the beginning of chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas speak so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believe.  I wonder how their preaching caused such great effectiveness.  The more literal translation would be they "spoke in such a way".  This leads me to me believe that how they said it was as important as what they said. Paul and Barnabbas spoke with conviction and power of the Holy Spirit. It was not mere words.   

Second, it says their "message of grace" enabled them to perform signs and wonders, which served to confirm their message.  What they "did" confirmed what they "said".  So often we intellectualize the faith and forget that it is not just the content of our message, but the power of the message to bring healing and deliverance.  Maybe the best thing a preacher could hear after a sermon is, "I experienced God's message grace through the message in a way that changed me!"  

Paul says in Romans 1, "I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation for all who believe, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile."  The word for "power" in this verse is the same word we use for "dynamite".  There is dynamite power in God's Word to change lives.  As I have heard some preachers say, "I just want to preach the Word and then get out of the way."  

Finally, we see the response of those who believed. They brought bulls and wreaths to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, as if they were gods.  When Paul and Barnabas hear this, they tear their clothes, rush in and say, "Wait we are only humans like you!"  I love that verse.  Paul and Barnabas knew they were only vessels of the message of God's grace. They were merely mortal.  God used them powerfully because they were willing to get out of the way and allow God's Word and Spirit bring people to faith. 

I think sometimes in ministry we put way too much stress on how WE can be more effective. I think we are tempted to worry more about our effectiveness than God's Word which is effective.  It is not our power that changes people's lives, but God's power working in us. We, like Paul and Barnabas, have the privilege of being God's conduit for the message of grace.  

Where might God be calling you to be a witness of God's "message of grace?"  Where might he confirm his message of grace through you by using His mighty power? As you pray about this don't feel the pressure to succeed or be humanly effective.  After all "we are only human"!