Many adversaries

But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. – 1 Corinthians 16v8-9

I think it is a testimony to the veracity of the scriptures that the letters Paul wrote are personal. After preaching to the Christians in Corinth for several pages he told them what was going on in his life and ministry.

Here he mentions his ministry in Ephesus. Paul was not perfect, there were times his will seemed to get in the way and there was at least once where he left a ministry because he felt alone and missed his friends (more later) but here we see a case where Paul saw the open door as primary and the opposition as secondary.

Ephesus was a place of great idolatry. Not only was it a place of the worship of false gods, but it was a place where the opposition was real and open. The crowds opposed them and there were even riots in opposition to their work. However, Paul said, “I need to stay there till Pentecost because the door is wide open.”

We have seen a lot of opposition the last couple of weeks. The dollar is at record lows and falling, all kinds of personal situations are going on, and there is a spirit of heaviness and oppression. We had our lowest number of children in years at Kids Klub yesterday. I even broke my little toe last week and I still can’t really spend any time on my feet. The adversity is here in a very real and dynamic way.

However, one thing is true. The door is still open. No one is stopping us from sharing the gospel. People may not be listening much, but the door is still open.

Adversity is nothing new. The New Testament, church history, and missionary and other Christian biographies attest to that. We are not the first ones to face adversity, this is not the first time we will face, nor will it be the last.

One thing doesn’t change – God is just as faithful for us as He was for Paul’s missionary team in Ephesus.