KEEP ON GOING! By Pastor Fernando

SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:9-11

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." ¹¹So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

OBSERVATION

There is a very important reason why God wanted to speak to Paul. He was traveling from town to town, being faithful preaching the Gospel, many people were being saved, but the opposition and the frustration was also increasing. His life was spent between the synagogues and court rooms, between teaching God's Word and running from his accusers. While in Corinth, the reality of the ups and downs of his life was making a toll in his heart. He became afraid and was discouraged. At that point God comes through to deliver a message that felt like an oasis in the desert. And Paul stayed faithful to the Lord and continued his assignment in Corinth for a long time.

APPLICATION

Doing the work of the ministry, serving God and his people, is not always a rewarding experience. Every rose has its thorns. There is a lot of people changing their lives and coming closer to God. But there are many others that continue stubbornly conformed to this world. What keeps me up at night is the opposition of the forces of darkness to our ministry. Just like Paul, there are moments when discouragement settles in and fear starts to feel comfortable in my heart. For some reason we have an unrealistic expectation that the work of the ministry is always smooth, with no opposition, and no hard work. On the contrary, serving God is about getting involved in a spiritual warfare. It's hard work. It's supposed to be challenging because it causes us to depend on God and not in our own strength.

That's why God wanted this encounter with Paul to be registered forever in the Holy Scriptures. His message to Paul is the same message to us. He is with us all along the way! There is no reason to fear. He cannot give up. We need to keep moving forward. We are planting seeds by faith. We do not see the results yet. But the harvest is coming. We need to stick to our spiritual guns and continue serving Him, serving the church, serving the people that are far away from Him, and advancing His kingdom together.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your promise to be with me every single step of the way during this journey. There are times when I cannot feel you, but by faith, I acknowledge that you are always working the night shift. All our sacrifices, all our efforts and hard work are not in vain. At the right moment, you will bring forth a harvest of blessing and a reward for the tough times. Let us continue serving with boldness, with sacrifice, giving all of our hearts, throwing ourselves over the line in order to see your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Use our church, use our ministries, use our people to bring glory to your name. You are with us. Amen!