Mightily Grew the Word of God – Acts 19
“So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” — Acts 19:20
The missionary endeavours of the early church were continually greeted by both opposition and opportunity.
- In Acts 19, Paul meets 12 men who need to be discipled and grow in their spiritual understanding (v.1-7).
- Then he is able to speak boldly in the synagogue for three months (v.8).
- Eventually, many people start resisting his message, and so he meets with the disciples every day (v.9)
- He was able to continue this for two years which resulted in all of Asia minor hearing the gospel (v.10)
- God also blessed Paul with the ability to many miracles, yet this is imitated by false exorcists (v.11-17).
- Many people give up their involvement in “curious arts” (witchcraft and occult activity) (v.18-19).
So, you can see that all along the way there were challenges to overcome, but in the midst of it all there were great opportunities. Despite the opposition, Luke summaries this period by saying, “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
It is wonderful to know that God’s Word is not bound. No matter how much it is opposed, it can prevail and overcome all opposition. God blesses His Word and God blesses His gospel. We can trust in it’s might to do the work!