'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... They gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.' (Acts 14.3, 27, NIV.)
‘The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit, (Acts 13) - that is the example we must follow in our lives: be filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit! Acts 14 recounts the missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to various cities in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). In Iconium, they face opposition but continue to preach boldly, performing miracles that lead to some conversions. However, a plot to stone them forces them to flee to Lystra and Derbe, where they continue to spread the Gospel.
In Lystra, Paul heals a man, leading the locals to believe they are gods. When Paul and Barnabas try to correct this misunderstanding, the crowd turns against them, and Paul is stoned and left for dead. However, he survives and moves on to Derbe, where they continue preaching.
Afterward, they backtrack through the cities they visited, encouraging and strengthening the believers. They appoint elders in each church before returning to Antioch, where they report their journey to the church, recounting how God had opened doors for the Gentiles to believe.
The foundation of our faith is Jesus
In 2010 we held evangelism in Georgia. My grandson Danny, then in his 20s, flew out to attend the meetings. Under communism the practice of every form of religion had been suppressed. When the organising pastor, Oleg, found Christ in 1979, you could not get a Bible – only fragments and notebooks filled with Scripture written by hand. The pastor showed Danny precious hand-written Bibles and hymn books, some that were written by one devoted Pastor Georgi, whilst in prison for his faith! Danny held in his own hands and saw with his own eyes the reason why, when his own mother was just a girl of 16, I was arrested and locked up in a communist jail for Bible smuggling! Pastor Oleg told him, “We must never run from persecution, but from deception and lies that destroy our faith. The foundation of our faith is the Word of God. We regard men who went to prison, like our own Georgian pastors, like Pastor Georgi, and your grandfather David, as ‘heroes of faith’, an example of the faithful love of God from generation to generation.”
Whether you live as a Christian under persecution in the Middle East, in countries under Islam, or under communism, or whether you live in the EU under secularism – wherever you live – we are not children of this kingdom down here, we are already citizens of the Kingdom of God! Whatever your language, wherever you live, our hope is not here. All our hope is in Jesus! And when He comes back, He will bring, immediately, complete freedom!
The first disciples believed that after the Holy Spirit was come, within a short time, Jesus would come back… But Jesus said, “It’s not for you to know the time when I will return. But after the Holy Spirit is come, you will receive Power and you will be My witnesses. Preach the Gospel, heal the sick!”
Jesus is the healer
Our faith is not in things nor in people, it’s not in the preacher or the evangelist. Our faith has to be directly IN GOD and His promises! We have to emphasise this when we talk about faith. Too many people look to me, and think I’m some healer… No! God is the Healer. I explain this in every evangelistic meeting before I pray for the sick, “I am NOT a healing evangelist! Jesus is the Healer, He’s the One you have to ask!” And I teach them how to call on Him for their healing, and that’s why the miracles follow.
HAVE FAITH IN GOD! That was Jesus’ first response concerning the fig tree, but He continued and makes what even I consider to be an incredible statement: “Truly I say to you, WHOSOEVER shall say to this mountain – the Mount of Olives – be removed and cast into the sea – that’s down to the Dead Sea below – and shall not doubt but shall believe in his heart that those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he says!” We need to examine this.
It’s critical and key to the action which must follow faith. Explaining to the disciples why the fig tree is dead, Jesus says, if you will SPEAK to the mountain and COMMAND it to move, that mountain WILL MOVE! But it will ONLY do so if you DON’T DOUBT! Too many think they are speaking in faith – but they are NOT! You need to have an absolute certainty that what you say will happen, before you speak it. Obviously you question as to how that is possible, but that is what faith is, you can only speak to the obstacle if you have received specific faith for that purpose! On many occasions when I have seen phenomenal, absolutely incredible miracles, it has been a moment when there was not a shred of doubt – the Holy Spirit was so STRONG in me that I KNEW that what I said would happen! The condition is that you must have NO doubt, but you have to BELIEVE that the things that you say WILL happen.