Acts 13 opens with the Spirit of God and the church at Antioch setting apart and sending out Paul and Barnabus for what will become their first missionary journey. Together, along with an intern named John Mark, they sail to the Island of Cyprus to tell people about Jesus.Whatever they were expecting it does not go well. Paul begins by preaching in multiple synagogues but there’s no response. Not a single person turns to follow Jesus. They walk across 150 miserable, discouraging miles of island and still nothing except blisters and bug bites.

It’s not until there is nowhere else to go that things suddenly shift. The problem is, it goes from bad to worse. The only thing worse than, “I’m not interested,” is direct opposition which they meet in the form a demon-inspired sorcerer pulling out all the stops against them.

Thankfully, that’s not how the chapter ends. It turns out that no matter how many obstacles we meet, no matter how many failures we endure, no matter how fierce the opposition we face, the Spirit of God, through his church, is an unstoppable force. See you on Sunday!