When is a leader’s work most effective? When everyone is cooperative? Of course! When there is no opposition? Yes? No? Not really…
1 Cor. 16:8-9 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
Paul told the Corinthian church that he’s staying on in Ephesus because he had more work to do there. Not only work but effective work! Read Acts 19:1-20.
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
His effective work was not one of full cooperation from all the people in that place. He had many enemies – those who were against him, people who did not agree with him. There was even a riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41).
So with our daily walk as followers of Jesus, the way is not always smooth. Even as there are opposition and obstacles in the way, there is a need to grasp opportunity for effective work because the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and minds of people to receive the gospel. While Paul met opposition, still the work of the Holy Spirit is unstoppable.
Are you weary and down from all the opposition that you encounter even as you serve the Lord? Be not discouraged. See how Paul did great work and persevered in spite of great persecution. His goal is so that the word of the Lord would spread widely and people will come to know of Jesus – the Savior who loves and saves.
