The Realities of Ministry

Introduction

Paul and Barnabas have been forced out of Pisidian Antioch and have now made their way eighty miles southeast to the city of Iconium

They arrive in the city and proceed to the synagogue where they will again preach the gospel.

We can see the pattern that is now beginning to develop as they preach the gospel, opposition is raised and then they are threatened with violence and forced to move on to preach the gospel again.

The reality is that ministry is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who will engage in gospel ministry must realize that it will not be easy but it is worthwhile!

We can see some of the realities of what to expect in ministry as we examine this passage of scripture.

From the ministry of Paul and Baranbas we learn that:

In the gospel ministry we should expect:

The Word of God Still Works (Vs. 1)

Paul and Barnabas, at this point in their ministry, could have decided it was time to make some adjustments to their ministry strategy.

They could have decided to move away from preaching and to instead deliver some motivational speeches.

They could have decided that maybe they needed to embrace the culture and begun to dress like and behave like those they were trying to reach.

You and I may not see multitudes come to faith in Christ, but if we will faithfully minister the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit we should expect to see results.

They could have decided it was time to bring in worship team to entertain the masses.

Paul and Barnabas did not always see such wonderful results but they knew that if they would continue to rely upon the power of God and continue to proclaim the Word of God that results would come.

Instead they decided that the Word of God preached in the power of the Holy Spirit was still the best way to reach the world!

Paul and Barnabas were not willing to compromise the methods God had delivered to them to see results they were convinced that the Word of God delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit was all that was needed to produce results.

In this instance a multitude believed and what joy it must have been to these two faithful servants to see such a tremendous response to the preaching.

Whatever ministry you are involved in be it teaching a Sunday School class, leading a children’s church service, working with children in FBI, etc… remember the Word of God still works.

Teenagers and children don’t need more entertainment they need spirit-filled men and women to deliver the Word of God to them!

Paul and Barnabas enter into Iconium intent on again going into the synagogue and preaching the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God and this time multitudes believed!

The problem is never with the Word of God. If we are never seeing results, it may be that we are trying to do ministry in our own power and this will never work.

Real ministry must be done in the power and influence of the Spirit of God if we expect to see real results. We have no right to expect results if we have ceased to follow the scriptural pattern for ministry.

Resistance is Still a Reality

As we serve the Lord we should also expect to experience resistance. There has never been an era in history when the Word of God has been preached in the power of the Spirit of God and there was no resistance to it.

In Paul’s day the resistance most often came from Jewish religious leaders, later it would come from the Roman government, the catholic church, a variety of world leaders, liberal politicians, atheistic scientists, etc…

The reality is that when we engage in ministry we should expect resistance! The gospel has always been a divisive force. - Christ divides

It would be wonderful if everyone that we shared the gospel with trusted Christ, if everyone we taught the Word of God to immediately received and applied it. This is simply not reality. There will always be those who resist the Spirit of God and the Word of God.

Don’t get discouraged because you encounter resistance. If you never experience resistance in ministry you are not doing it right!

All of the great heroes of the faith encountered intense resistance at times in their ministry.

Illustration- those who say you need to get with the times and give up that old King James Bible, those who say you need to throw off those old standards because we are “under grace”, those who say you need to forget about the idea that God created it all, science has the answer now.

How do we respond to the critics and the opposition? We don’t! We just keep right on teaching, preaching, and sharing the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God!

You and I do not have the power to win over every critic, to quiet every source of opposition nor are we called to do so.

You and I have been called to be spirit-filled messengers taking the Word of God to the world. The world’s response is not our concern.

Perseverance Still Pays Off

You and I must realize that ministry is a marathon not a sprint to the finish. Much of the results of our service to the Lord will only be revealed over the course of years of ministry.

Paul and Barnabas realized that in order to see lasting fruit in Iconium it was necessary that they would abide there for some time teaching and preaching the Word of God.

God gave affirmation to their work among the people of Iconium with signs and wonders only when they had remained there for a long time patiently speaking boldly in the Lord.

Don’t give up just because you do not see immediate results.

Illustration- preaching the youth meeting in Fritch, Texas

Those who resisted the Word of God had poisoned the minds of many of the people of Iconium, turning them against Paul and Barnabas and those who followed them.

This didn’t stop Paul and Barnabas from ministering there, instead they stayed the course and continued to labor among them. You and I must do the same.

Even when ultimately the resistance reached a fever pitch and Paul and Barnabas were forced to flee to avoid being stoned to death, they fled to Lystra and Derbe and “there they preached the gospel”

Much of the success of the ministry of the Apostle Paul and his companions was due to their ability to persevere. No matter the results, no matter the resistance, they just kept right on preaching and teaching the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God wherever they found themselves.

We must be convinced that the Word of God still works and we must determine to stay the course regardless of the results (or lack thereof) and the resistance we may face.