Acts 14:8-8: God is training and deploying His special forces.

 

The kingdom of God is at hand. Every kingdom has special forces.

 

Navy SEALs - The United States

Special Air Service (SAS) - Britain

Sayeret Matkal - Israel

Alpha Group - Russia

Snow Leopard Commando Unit - China

Joint Task Force 2 - Canada

 

Prerequisite to walking in the supernatural power of God

 

1. The Power of Faith: Readiness for Engagement

This miracle highlights the importance of faith as a prerequisite to experiencing God's supernatural power. The text notes that Paul "saw that [the crippled man] had faith to be healed." Paul had faith in God and saw faith in the cripple. It was this faith that enabled the miraculous healing to take place. Faith is a crucial component in walking in God's power, as it demonstrates our trust and dependence on Him rather than our own abilities.

 

2. Humility: Avoiding Self-Promotion

However, the response of the crowds reveals another important prerequisite - humility. Instead of giving glory to God for the miracle, the people immediately began to exalt Paul and Barnabas as gods, calling Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes". This prompted the apostles to quickly reject this deification, tearing their clothes and declaring "We also are men, of like nature with you."

 

Philippians 5:11

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

As the passage shows, when the focus shifts from God to the human instrument, it can quickly lead to idolatry and a distortion of the true purpose of the miracle.

 

3. Proclaiming the Living God: Redirecting People to True Worship

In response to the people's misguided worship, Paul and Barnabas seized the opportunity to proclaim the true and living God. They urged the crowds to "turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them."

 

This highlights another key prerequisite - a clear understanding and proclamation of who God truly is. Rather than allowing the people to continue in their idolatry, the apostles redirected their attention to the Creator God who is worthy of all worship and devotion. Walking in God's power requires a solid commitment to honouring Him alone.

 

4. Reliance on God's Provision, Not Human Effort

Finally, Paul and Barnabas emphasised that it is God who "did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." This points to the importance of recognising God as the source of all good things, and not attributing them to human effort or ingenuity.

 

Walking in the supernatural power of God requires a posture of total dependence on Him, rather than self-reliance or the pursuit of personal gain. As the passage shows, the apostles were quick to deflect any praise or worship directed towards themselves, instead directing the people's attention to the true and living God.