Paul--On Ministry

I was reading a story in the books of Acts (14:8-18) the other day about the difficulties Paul faced in ministry. This story took place in the city of Lystra where Paul and Barnabas were working together evangelizing the region. On one occasion, they came across a man with weak feet and they healed him. Little did they know what chaos would follow this kind act! As we would say in America, "No good deed goes unpunished."

So let's first take a look at the crowds. The crowds were astonished, and began to bring their sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas, referring to them as the gods Hermes and Zeus. It reminds me of a motion-picture comedy in a way. But when we think about it, it is not so funny. Here Paul and Barnabas were trying to serve the Lord, and the result was something entirely pagan! Do you think they thought to themselves, "Maybe we should not have done this?"

On the otherhand, Paul and Barnabas' response is very educational. First of all, instead of trying to directly point to God's power in the healing, they point to God's everyday provision to mankind in the form of food, rain, and even the giving of experiences which fill the heart with joy, as evidences of God's existence. It seems that Paul and Barnabas were trying to establish God's existence as outside of the realm of nature, or themselves. But also, they were quick to guide people's thinking away from the spectacular, to a deeper faith in the things perhaps we take for granted each day. How interesting! In a time when people look to the spectacular or to miraculous signs to authenticate faith, do we miss the type of faith God wants us to have? And even think about religious leaders who had rather point to how God uses them, instead of pointing to God alone and challenging people to see and believe deeper than the spectacular.

The Crowd's Response once again, was to bring sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas! Paul and Barnabas had tried to persuade the crowds to follow the one True God, and the crowds were still trying to sacrifice to them. What else could possibly happen?

The next thing that happens will just blow your mind. The Religious Leader's get involved by turning the crowds against Paul and Barnabas. Paul is stoned (with real rocks!) and left him for dead outside of the city! While you would think people would be a little more respectful or grateful, here the people are trying to kill the person they just exalted as a god! Perhaps Paul's speech worked and they decided they must not be anyone special if they are pointing to God outside of themselves. Crowds tend to follow leaders full of charisma, or leaders from whom they can gain something, or even the most politically correct at the time. So we cannot use the crowd's mentality to gauge the effectiveness of our ministry.

Paul's response is to leave for awhile and minister in other regions. But, he comes back to encourage the disciples. And he makes a comment to them saying, "Through many difficulties we walk on this Kingdom journey." Again, Paul's response shows how he has come to trust in the Lord even though his ministry seems to fail on the large scale. WE could all look at Paul's experience in Lystra and think, what a disaster! But Paul does not seem to view it that way. He focuses on encouraging the ones who are the true disciples. These are the ones who will face similar difficulties as part of ministering to pagan crowds. We all tend to evaluate the success or failure of ministry, when maybe our focus should only be pouring ourselves into evangelism and into the lives of those who are true disciples. And maybe we should spend less time evaluating situations that seem chaotic. Pleasing a crowd may not be the ministry God wants us to perform.

Applications
First, I think Paul had as his priority, to point people to God and not himself. He desired people to come to a simple but profound faith--to see God's existence in the everyday as opposed to having the people seek the miraculous. His focus on building-up the disciples helped him overcome the difficulties he faced in the secular and "religious" realm.

Second, I am always amazed at how the religious leaders of Paul's day were so political that they either failed or refused to see where God was working. They opposed the ones who were really called by God to share the Gospel and disciple. I have to ask, how could these religious leaders be so blind? Let us never stand in the way of those God is using to build the Kingdom!

Third, let us not grow weary at looking for results in the big and large, only to find that we are getting only pagan results! At times we might be tempted to think we are riding a bike with flat tires. That is to say, we are working very hard in the Kingdom, but not getting anywhere fast. I think Paul and other people through-out the centuries could feel that they were pouring themselves out, only to find their cups empty. And yet, Paul's focus was on the disciples. He knew they were the ones who needed encouragement to stay strong no matter what happened on the outside. Whether it be the crowds or misguided religious leaders opposing the work of the Kingdom, stay strong and encourage the brothers and sisters in the faith.

And finally, let us be as those who believe in the profound God, who provides for us daily and fills us with many joys in life. The Old Testament writers often reminded the people to remember the God who brought them out of slavery, especially when they were going astray! But in the New Testament, the focus changes to believing in God even in suffering wrong because our ultimate victory is the cross and the resurrection!

I myself have experience a wide range of things both chaotic and good in regard to ministry. I think we often gauge ourselves by the American or business standards of success, so that if anything goes wrong or if chaos is present we think there must be something wrong. But sometimes success comes wrapped in packages of chaos. We must never forget that if the early apostles experienced difficulty in sharing the gospel, so will we. It is part of the Kingdom work. Through many difficulties we journey on this path.

Tammie Friberg, executive director