When God Shows Up!!

It is an amazing thing to see what happens when God shows up. The gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, lives are changed, souls are revived, and yes, people are healed by the only healer, Jehovah Rapha (The God who heals and rejuvenates). In Acts 19, Paul's method of preaching takes a turn as he begins to preach boldly. God is stirring in Paul's heart, and the result of that stirring is Paul bearing down on the gospel's message. Paul goes to a church in Ephesus and argues with those in leadership and with the congregation, but to not very receptive hearts. The following verses speak to this in Acts 19: 8 Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way.

They did not reject the message. They rejected the Living God!! What did God do? He led Paul to take all those who had believed and meet somewhere else and keep on preaching. God was moving in an incredible and visible way, and He wasn't finished in Ephesus. The place Paul moved to was The Hall of Tyrannus. Jews and Greeks' lives were changed, and Paul preached there for two years. Paul preached the Word of the Lord boldly, and God moved in an even more powerful way through His Word. It seems fitting to bring into focus the scripture found in Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

The Word of God began to cut and cut, and the result was a great time of revival and renewal that impacted that city, the province, and, of course, our world. Oh, Praise the Name of Our God. Preach His Word, and revival will come! As I have written before, Billy Graham, when preaching, would always trust the Word of God, and when he would say a scripture, he would say, "The Word of God says," and then go on. There is power in the Word of God, and Paul knew it, and he preached it and lifted it up, and God came through in a powerful way. Here is what happens next in Acts 19: 11 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. 12 When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

We have so cheapened the power of God through false prophets only wanting money and fame for what only God does that this scripture makes us pause and try to get our minds around it. When God moves, incredible things happen, but remember, God is the one who has the power, not us! When God gave Paul the power to perform miracles, that was the same power Jesus exhibited when He walked on this earth. The power was so evident that some men who were the sons of a chief priest named Sceva decided they would try to show this power by traveling town to town casting out evil spirits. They even said the following in verse 13 A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”

In verse 11 scripture says God gave Paul the power and that was it. Not the sons of Sceva. These men did not have any power, even referencing the name of Paul. When they tried to cast a demon out of a person, they commanded the demon, and the demon said "I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” The power can only be given by God, but even the demons recognize God in the power. That demon did not recognize God's power in those men, so the demon jumped on them and ran them out of the city naked and battered. In this spiritual battle, God does empower some to preach the gospel in great power; in that power, we see God's hand, which is incredible. Just don't assume the power until God gives it to us.

As a final note, realize that God has empowered all of us as believers to share the message of Jesus, and there is power in that message. That message is the priority, and God's Word cuts every time that message is lifted up and preached. So why not preach it? Some preachers want to share a "user-friendly" message that will be more palatable and current with more illustrations than scripture, and that weakens the power of the message. The conclusion: DON'T DO THAT!! If we try to insert more of our "thoughts" into the message, it weakens the message itself, so trust the Word, and the Word will never disappoint. Also, preach boldly, like there is no other hope. Because guess what? THERE IS NO OTHER HOPE!! Only Jesus!! You will see God move in an incredible way and that is the result When God Shows Up.

Vesselogical Out,

David Warren