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Mark 1:1-8: It’s never about me.

“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,the Son of God, ² as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And this was his message: ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’ ” NIV UK

I call Mark’s gospel the ‘action Man’ gospel. It is action packed – fast moving, pacy. It presents Jesus as a Man of action. It was probably the first gospel to be written, and owes much to Peter’s eye-witness account. It is shorter than the other gospels and contains more story (narrative) than teaching (discourse). Reading the opening verses, these words seemed to leap out of the page and grab me by the lapels: ‘’…as it is written…And so…’’ (2,4). That gave me pause to reflect:

• If God prophesies, it will happen;
• If He promises, it will be kept;
• If He warns, it should be heeded;
• If He commands, we must obey;
• If He declares that something wonderful will happen in a ‘’wilderness’’ (3), it will happen in ‘’the wilderness’’ (4).

Each day, as you read God’s written Word, look for the ‘’And so…’’ What am I to believe because of this? What ought I to do? Where is the practical application for me? In which direction does it lie?  It seems to me there is the ‘’And so…’’ for preachers in this short paragraph about John the Baptist. Keep the spotlight on Jesus. Lift up Jesus in your preaching. Glorify Jesus. It is never about you; it is always about Him. If it were about me it would be bad news! To speak about Jesus, however, is ‘’the good news’’ (1). We are not worthy of the privilege of serving Jesus, but it is ours.

You may feel that God has called you to a ‘’wilderness.’’ Your place of ministry seems a barren, unpromising place. But read your Bible. God has done some remarkable things in deserts. It’s amazing how new life flows in the most arid of places when the Name of Jesus is uplifted. Well, what a great start to this gospel. It’s all about Jesus.

Acts 28: 17–31: The end of the beginning.

^“17 Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: ‘My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. ¹⁹ The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. ²⁰ For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’  ²¹ They replied, ‘We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. ²² But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.’  ²³ They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. ²⁴ Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. ²⁵ They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:                                                                                                                               ²⁶ ‘“Go to this people and say,                                                                                                                  ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;                                                                     you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.’
²⁷ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.”                                                                                                     ²⁸ ‘Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!’  ³⁰ For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹ He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ – with all boldness and without hindrance!” NIV UK

It is with a feeling of sadness that we come to the end of the book of ‘Acts.’ It is such a spiritual tonic. However (and I’ll return to this thought in a moment) there is a sense in which this book will never come to an end before Jesus returns. A famous missionary statesman would often say, when he got up to speak, ‘Please turn to Acts 29.’ After a moment or two, he would follow this up by saying, ‘You are Acts 29!’ So if this is the end of ‘Acts,’ it is really only the end of the beginning.

The final frames of the film show Paul once again trying to reach the hearts and minds of fellow Jews. Once again the outcome is a divided response. Once again there is an emphasis on the outward movement towards the Gentiles, and a clear expectation that this will prove fruitful. In fact, we see something of this in the final two verses.  Here’s a thought: Is your home a place of welcome? Do you try to use it to share the love of Jesus with people who don’t know Him?

As we say ‘farewell’, for now, to this wonderful book (for we will all surely return to it again and again) consider these words from F.B. Meyer: ‘Thus, abruptly, does this fifth Gospel close. It has been well said that a close so abrupt suggests a continuance and a sequel. The curtain of silence falls when Paul’s life is not brought to a close, and his work at Rome is still in process; and does not this indicate the design of the Holy Spirit that we should believe that the book of the Acts of the Apostles is never complete, but is really conterminous with the present age? Thus every generation of life adds its own gold link to the chain…uniting in one glorious succession all in whom Jesus continues by the Spirit to speak and work.”

When the late Bishop of Ripon read of the labours and sufferings of John Williams in the South Seas, he laid down the narrative, exclaiming, ‘’This is the twenty-ninth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.’’ May we not rather say the five hundredth or five thousandth? Between the stories of Paul and of John Williams, you must insert thousands who have been recorded of God’s remembrance given angels alone, as well as those which are filling our shelves with missionary romance and biography, more interesting than novels, more wonderful than dreams.’ ‘Devotional Commentary,’ p.413.

PRAYER: Lord, please let me play my full part in the on-going story of your church

Acts 28:11-16: ‘And so we came to Rome.’

^“11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island – it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. ¹² We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³ From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they travelled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. ¹⁶ When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. ” NIV

What a simple, little phrase: ‘’And so we came to Rome’’ (14). It had been a torrid journey, fraught with danger and difficulty. Yet God had providentially cared for His ambassador, and everyone else on the ship. If God intends a destination for you, you will get there, no matter what storms you may encounter on route. Ultimately, of course, all believers will finally be brought safely home to heaven, though we may have to traverse many a rough sea before we arrive.  God’s care for Paul continued. Although the Alexandrine ship, on which he travelled the final leg, had pagan gods as a ‘’figurehead’’ (11), there is no doubt as to Who was the Captain of Paul’s ship, and the Master of His destiny. It is ‘’the living and true God’’ (1 Thessalonians 1:9) who gets him there safely; and once He is there, He again providentially orders his circumstances (16). (I believe He was also arranging the movements of Roman soldiers who needed an appointment with Paul! Who was most captive, and who was most free in that situation, I wonder?!!)

There is something wonderfully refreshing and encouraging about encountering fellow Christians (15), and perhaps never more so than when you run into them in a foreign land. Recently, Jilly and I were on holiday in the mediaeval hill-top village of St. Paul de Vence, near Nice. Nothing brought so great joy to our hearts on that trip than to meet with a group of Christians one Sunday morning: ‘’As for the saints in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight’’ (Psalm 16:3).

‘Even an apostle needs to be encouraged at times, and the saints who met Paul did just that. The group at Appii Forum travelled about ten miles farther than the other group. How far would you go to encourage a fellow believer?’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word,’ p.728.

PRAYER: Lord, I know how much a word, or deed, of encouragement can do for me. Please enable me to be an encourager of others – not waiting to receive, but looking to give.

 Acts 28: 1–10: A trip to Malta.

“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. ² The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. ³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.’ ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.  ⁷ There was an estate near by that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. ⁸ His father was ill in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. ⁹ When this had happened, the rest of those on the island who were ill came and were cured. ¹⁰ They honoured us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.” NIV

‘Let us shake off temptation. We cannot prevent its attacking us, but we need not take the viper into our heart.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary,’ p.502.

I’m sure this trip to Malta was not on Paul’s itinerary when he departed for Rome, but the Lord clearly had work for him to do there, and something remarkable happened on the island. I have a Maltese friend who loves his homeland, and he has shown me photographs of what is believed to be the shipwreck site. The people of Malta showed the people from the wreck ‘kindness with a plus in it’ (2). They saw their needs and did what they could to meet them.

I can’t help but smile at the fickleness of human nature though, even amongst such a wonderful people (3-6). One minute they thought the worst of Paul; the next, they might have been tempted to worship him. Human opinion can change like the direction of the wind.

‘Paul’s unfailing influence for good shows what a blessing even one Christian man can be wherever he goes, if he lives in the power of God.’ F.B. Meyer (as above).

 Acts 27: 27 – 44: The prophetic in the public arena.

^“27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic^[a] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. ²⁸ They took soundings and found that the water was forty metres deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was thirty metres deep. ²⁹ Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. ³⁰ In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. ³¹ Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.’ ³² So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.  ³³ Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food – you haven’t eaten anything. ³⁴ Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.’ ³⁵ After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. ³⁷ Altogether there were 276 of us on board. ³⁸ When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.  ³⁹ When daylight came, they did not recognise the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰ Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. ⁴¹ But the ship struck a sand-bar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.  ⁴² The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. ⁴³ But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. ⁴⁴ The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.”NIV

F.B. Meyer notes that in this chapter Paul emerges as ‘the commander of the entire company.’ Devotional Commentary p.501. In this section we find that the soldiers and the other passengers owed their lives to Paul’s discernment in seeing what ‘’the sailors’’ (30) were up to. Note that Paul said to Julius and his company: ‘’Unless these men stay with the ship you cannot be saved’’ (31). He didn’t say ‘’we’’, he said ‘’you.’’ He was absolutely confident regarding what God had said to him (23, 24). Paul operated in the prophetic gift in ‘the public arena’, you might say. It’s not just for church services and prayer groups. What we clearly hear from God will sometimes require vocalising out on life’s rough seas; in settings where the audience will not always be friendly.

Paul’s concern for all his fellow-travellers is touching (33, 34). Fourteen days is a long time to go without food, and they must have been bone weary. His simple offering of thanks to God ‘’in front of them all’’ (35) is inspiring. He was not ashamed. His godly example, demonstrating trust, sent ripples of confidence towards everyone on board. So can one faithful Christian exercise the most remarkable influence, even in less than pleasing circumstances.

God intended that Paul should get to Rome, so along the way He ensured that His man should be providentially cared for (42, 43). Is it not enough to know that we are in God’s Hands? We can relax there, knowing that nothing can harm us without His permission.

PRAYER: Lord, I am so grateful to know that I am in your Hands. Thank you.

Acts 27:13-26: Who’s in charge around here?

^“13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. ¹⁴ Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the ‘North-Easter’, swept down from the island. ¹⁵ The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. ¹⁶ As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, ¹⁷ so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sand-bars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor^[a] and let the ship be driven along. ¹⁸ We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. ¹⁹ On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.  ²¹ After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: ‘Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. ²² But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. ²³ Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me ²⁴ and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” ²⁵ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. ²⁶ Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.’” NIV UK

‘God tells the man who cares.’ A. W. Tozer.

‘Who’s in charge around here?’ In this section, it looks and sounds like Paul is. It’s not the centurion or any of the ship’s officers who speak the authoritative word; it’s the apostle. He puts the trumpet to his lips and sounds the clearest note.The man or woman who walks with God is more likely to understand the times, to know what is going on, than anyone else. While , and fears the storm, the Christian can stand firm and stable on the rocking deck and speak from God. Faith believes what God says (25).

‘How calm faith makes us! We can sleep soundly amid the roar of the storm, and dream of angels when our hearts are stayed on God. His messengers can cleave their way through the murkiest skies and most drenching storms, to succour those who need help.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.501.

Tom Wright makes the point that there is an implied contrast with Jonah, who had to be thrown overboard with the rest of the cargo because he was running away from God. On the other hand, Paul, like a group of disciples earlier, found himself in this boat because he was following Jesus (Matthew 8: 18; 23; Acts 27:24). He was obedient.

Listen to Paul’s words in (23): ‘’…the God whose I am and whom I serve…’’ This is true of every Christian. We belong to God twice – by creation and redemption. By virtue of belonging to Him, we should serve Him. It is our duty as well as our joy.  Paul’s vision is the turning point in this incredibly vivid description of a storm at sea. Up to this point, everything is dark (20), but from now on a light shines, but as Tom Wright says, it’s only visible to the eye of faith. He also goes on to say this in his commentary on ‘Acts, part two’, p.230:  ‘’There are many Christians who have been taught that once they have faith everything ought to flow smoothly. Acts replies: you have not yet considered what it means to take up the cross. If the gospel of Jesus the crucified and risen Messiah means anything at all, it means that those who carry it will have it branded into their own souls. The idea of the church as a little ship was probably not invented at this stage, but Luke was there already. The storms do not mean that the journey is futile. They merely mean that Jesus is claiming the world as his own, and that the powers of the world will do their best to resist. Those who are caught up in the middle of it all must recognise the cross for what it is, and claim the victory already won in the unique events of Calvary. ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must appear before Caesar.’ ‘’

PRAYER: I pray dear Lord that I will walk so closely with you that I can speak an authoritative word, and be a calming presence amidst the fierce storms that rage.

Acts 27:1-12: The majority are not always right.

“When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. ² We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.      ³ The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. ⁴ From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. ⁵ When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. ⁷ We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. ⁸ We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.            ⁹ Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.^[a] So Paul warned them, ¹⁰ ‘Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.’ ¹¹ But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. ¹² Since the harbour was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbour in Crete, facing both south-west and north-west.” NIV UK

Note a number of things:

• Luke had obviously rejoined Paul for this journey. They had been temporarily separated by Paul’s imprisonment, but Luke now describes the voyage saying ‘’we.’’ He was on board for these journeys. ‘’Aristarchus’’ was also with them (see Acts 19:29; 20:4; Col.4:10);
• The kindness shown to Paul by the centurion, Julius: ‘It was a most merciful Providence that placed the apostle with such a man. He showed exceptional kindness in releasing Paul on parole at Sidon, that he might visit his friends and no doubt provide himself with basic necessities for the stormy and hazardous winter voyage.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary,’ p.501;
• The first ship was not going all the way to Rome, so they boarded another vessel at ‘’Myra.’’ It had come from the Egyptian port of Alexandria and was on its way to Rome. This ship was loaded with grain (38). In those days, most of Rome’s wheat and corn came from Egypt;
• It was very dangerous to sail on the Mediterranean Sea in Winter, and signs had already proved ominous (7-9).It was already October. We know this because the ‘’Fast’’ (9) was the Day of Atonement, and it’s been calculated that in that year (thought to be 59 A.D ) it fell during the first week of October;
• Paul, as an experienced traveller, advised the centurion not to travel any further but to wait until the end of Winter, but his counsel went unheeded: ‘The man who knew God was wiser than the men who knew the sea.’ F.B. Meyer. We read that ‘’the majority decided’’ (12), but the majority are not always right. They went by logic, deciding that the harbour at ‘’Fair Havens’’ was small and unsuitable for spending the winter there. At first their decision seemed to be vindicated (13) but early appearances can be misleading. A storm was brewing;
• We know from the gospels that if Jesus is on board the ship, we need not fear the storm. As we will see, Jesus was on board

 Acts 26:24-32: The logic of faith.

^“24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. ‘You are out of your mind, Paul!’ he shouted. ‘Your great learning is driving you insane.’  ²⁵ ‘I am not insane, most excellent Festus,’ Paul replied. ‘What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶ The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.’  ²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’  ²⁹ Paul replied, ‘Short time or long – I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.’  ³⁰ The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. ³¹ After they left the room, they began saying to one another, ‘This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.’  ³² Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.’ ” NIV UK

The outcome of this interview could not change the fact that Paul had appealed to Caesar, so his case was out of Festus’ hands. Nevertheless, the key players in the scene had to agree that Paul was innocent. We must not miss the point, though, that Paul was going to Rome because it was the will of Jesus (Acts 23:11).  Although Festus could see that Paul was innocent, it didn’t prevent him from feeling that the apostle had ‘a screw loose’ (24); and Paul has not been the only Christian to be so accused through the centuries. Yet there is a logic to the Christian faith. There is solid evidence for it. You don’t have to commit intellectual suicide in order to be converted. Christian faith is reasonable, intelligent faith, and we are surely right to follow in Paul’s footsteps and ask people to consider this.  Paul could appeal to Agrippa’s knowledge of the Old Testament. There is something powerfully persuasive in seeing how numerous prophecies have been fulfilled in the life of this one Man, Jesus.He could also appeal to the fact that in his day there were thousands of people who knew about Jesus and what had happened to Him: ‘’it was not done in a corner’’ (26).

Some people, when challenged about their personal response to the gospel, evade the question, and come back with an insult, or a joke, or a red-herring, and so on. Agrippa tried his hand at mild humour. He didn’t answer Paul’s question, but he had a jocular one of his own: ‘’Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’’ (28).  Without joking, Paul effectively said, ‘Yes.’ His prayer for Agrippa, and everyone else in that room was for them to be converted (29). Prayer and evangelism go hand in hand. Let’s ensure they are ‘married’ in our experience.

PRAYER: Lord, I see that Paul was unashamedly sure of his ground. Thank you that I can be too

Acts 26:16-23: Eye-opener.

“16 “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” 19 ‘So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen – 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.’NIV UK

Paul’s ministry was supernaturally empowered.

God never calls without also equipping. It is good for us that it should be so, otherwise we would never get the job done.

This was Paul’s primary assignment:

‘’…to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’’

Paul’s mission would require miraculous power. He had to go and preach, but if God was not at work through him, no lives would ever be changed.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul presents the big problem for all who preach Jesus Christ as Lord: ’The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.’’ As he goes on to say, it takes God shining His light in these darkened hearts to give ‘’…the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’’ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
So how important it was for Paul to be able to say:

‘’But I have had God’s help to this very day…’’ (22).

Paul’s ministry was also Scripturally based.
He argued that, like his opponents, he fully believed the Old Testament. The essential facts about Jesus were in there all along – for those who had eyes to see (22, 23).
Paul’s ministry was Sovereignly directed.
‘We must not disobey the heavenly visions that visit us. When Paul in his dream beheld the beckoning Macedonian, he made a straight course for Europe. Sometimes, in obeying, the first appearances are discouraging, as when the missionaries on landing at Philippi met only a few women beside the little river, but the final results will justify the first stepping-out of faith.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional commentary’, p.500.

PRAYER: Please help me, dear Lord, to energetically pursue my calling, trusting fully in your power to bring about the changes I could never make happen.