14:1
“They spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed”. We must not forget the power of preaching, preaching the word of God is a powerful thing. Earlier we read that the word of God spread, when the word of God is faithfully preached we will find that power of the Spirit is there as well. And it reached both Jews and Gentiles, the word of God reaches all people.
14:2
We then see the other side of things. The word stirs up trouble as well, for those who are opposed to God will oppose the preaching of His word, and this is what happened. The Jews were jealous and stirred up trouble. They slandered Paul and his fellow disciples, poisoning their minds. When this happens today nothing new is happening. It is one of the tactics of th devil and always had been.
14:3
So what was Paul’s response in the face of opposition? To remain a long time. There is a time to stay and a time to go. They continued to speak the word of God boldly, and God enabled the disciples to do signs and wonders. Preaching the word and signs from God are meant to go together. Note also that the word was the word of His grace. This does not mean it was a soppy message. It struck to the hearts of people, and stirred up both faith and opposition, but the word of God is a powerful thing.
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