Acts 8:1
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
The early church had seen great things happen, but they had yet to influence a world for Christ. The difference between the great works that happened in Jerusalem to the point when the church had turned the world upside down for Christ was the verse above. The greatest key to the church’s growth around the world was great persecution against the church. The key words are “great” and “against.” Yes, the persecution scattered these believers, but it was the fact that they were facing great resistance and they kept going is what allowed them to see God work in a greater way.
Great resistance is not a sign to throw in the towel and quit, but it should be met with greater resistance to do more for God. No church has ever seen God work mightily through them without facing great resistance. We want God to do mighty things through our lives without resistance, but any great work of God has always seen great resistance before the great miracle. The ministry of Jesus saw great resistance at every turn, but Jesus resisted greater by doing greater works. When the apostles faced resistance and were thrown into prison, they resisted the demand to be silent and continued to preach the Gospel.
So, you want your church or life to be used mightily by God? If you do, you must realize that you will face great resistance along the way. There is always great resistance before the miracle. If you quit when the resistance comes, you will miss the miracle that God was going to do had you not quit. Many churches surrender when resistance comes when they should do more for God to fight against the resistance. Many believers give up and stop doing what they should do when they face resistance because they don't like the pressure of what the resistance brought.
Let me remind you of what God says in James 4:7-8, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…. Notice, you submit yourself to God and resistance from the Devil comes. However, when you resist the Devil is when you draw nearer to God, and the nearer you are to God, the more you will see God’s power on your life to do the miraculous. When the church faced the great persecution that brought resistance is when they went every where preaching the word. Their resistance is what turned the world upside down and brought great joy to their lives, just like it will do for you if you resist by doing more for God.
Are you facing resistance today? Sunday school teacher, is your resistance that it seems your class is not growing? Bus worker, are you facing resistance in your area and seemingly not seeing any results? Preacher, are you facing great resistance in trying to grow your church? Believer, are you facing great resistance at home trying to get your family on board with you? Are you facing great resistance in life with health or trials? The answer to the great resistance is to resist by spreading the Gospel more. The great resistance that you face should be the alarm to do more for God. Resistance won’t come if you are not making an impact; therefore, you should realize that the miraculous is just ahead when the greatest resistance happens. If you keep spreading the Gospel despite the resistance, you will see miracles happen.