Acts 14:2-3 (KJV) All About Obeying

Acts 14:2-3 (KJV)
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

I don’t know how long a long time was that Paul and Barnabas abode there in Iconium. It doesn’t seem like it could have been as long as he spent in either Corinth or Ephesus.  It was obviously longer than he spent in Thessalonica. What I do know is what kept him there and I do know what didn’t cause him to leave.

• He stayed to speak, “in the Lord.”
• He would not leave because of trials or lack of success

Paul saw himself as a tool in the hands of the Lord and, with only a few exceptions where his humanness is evident, Paul’s testimony is that of a man who did what a God led him to do, where God led him to do it.

He would not leave when the Spirit of God compelled him to stay. He would not stay when God’s Spirit bade him to leave.

• It had nothing to do with the whiteness of the harvest
• It had nothing to do with the hardness of the soil
• It had nothing to do with either the ranting of his enemies or the pleadings of his friends

Paul was all about obeying the Lord.

This in no way means that a Paul had no love for his friends, converts and brethren in the faith.A cursory reading of the New Testament will reveal a huge heart for the believers.

Neither does it mean that Paul had some sort of fatalistic view of life…“If God wants me alive nothing can kill me and if God wants me dead nothing can save me.” He clearly took measures to protect himself when those measures were:

• Called for, 
• Appropriate and 
• Available 

He was every bit as human as any of us. He simply yielded himself to God’s service as it was revealed through His Word and confirmed by his church.

Any of us can do the same.

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Acts 14:2-3 (KJV) All About Obeying

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