A Word in Season: Opportunities and Obstacles (1 Corinthians 16:9)

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In 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 8, the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that he intended to wait in Ephesus until Pentecost.

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In verse 9 he gives them the reason, or reasons, why that should be the case. First of all, for a great and effective door has opened to me.

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I think every preacher of the gospel would like to be able to give that kind of report, and it shows that it's, in itself, not a bad thing to be motivated by.

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Paul is staying in Ephesus because a great and effective door has opened to him.

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Because there are opportunities to preach. Because when he preaches, people are engaging with what he says.

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Some of those who hear are not just hearing, but believing. They're bowing the knee to Jesus Christ.

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They're being baptized and entering into the kingdom of God visibly. The church is growing in Ephesus.

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There are wonderful works of God that are being done. Things seem to be going well.

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The gospel is advancing in this great city. Your pastor,

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I think, would love to be able to say the same thing. To write a newsletter with that kind of line, or to phone a friend who asks how things are going, and rather than the usual, well, we're plodding on, he says, well, a great and effective door has opened to me.

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I have opportunities galore. The vista is opening up before me.

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Everything seems to be beckoning me forwards to be able to invest more and serve more and do more.

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And so often, when I preach the word of God, publicly or privately, it's being eagerly received and having this wonderful impact.

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Well, so far, so good and so truly noble. Success often encourages the heart of a true

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Christian to see the gospel go forward in that way. But you'll note that that's not the only reason why

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Paul stays in Ephesus, nor is it the whole picture of what's happening in Ephesus.

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A great and effective door has opened to me, yes, and there are many adversaries.

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It is striking in the Christian life and in Christian ministry how often blessings and blights seem to go together, when things seem to go well, when

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God genuinely does favour his people, when God smiles upon the labour of his servants.

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It's not that that then is all seamless and easy. In fact, very often, those are the very times or seasons when it seems as if Satan is at his most fierce.

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When he sees the kingdom of light breaking in, that's when he rallies the forces of darkness and assaults the ministers of true religion, assaults the church of Jesus Christ, seems to gather together his forces in order to do everything that he can to overcome.

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And that in itself could be considered a great discouragement.

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But for the apostle Paul, it's another reason to stay in Ephesus, and it belongs together with the great and effective door which has opened to him.

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He anticipates that where there is progress, there are likely to be enemies, that where there are opportunities, there will also be obstacles, and that perhaps the greater the opportunities, the greater the obstacles.

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The more he seems to see of the gospel advancing, the more fiercely will the enemies of the gospel contend against him.

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And things have not greatly changed. Even though we might not use the same richness of language, perhaps we should more often, that a great and effective door has opened to us, nevertheless, it's often the case that where there are particular opportunities, where there are distinct blessings, where things seem to be going well in so many ways, at the very same time there are distresses, divisions, dissensions, assaults, there are various ways in which

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Satan and those who are in some way influenced by him, or perhaps very much a part of his kingdom, they are doing all that they can to undermine and pull down the work of the kingdom.

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So as you think of your pastors, as you think of the deacons of the church, if you think of the labors of the saints that you know, if perhaps you're considering your own efforts at the moment, let us not be discouraged by the opposition, let us be properly encouraged by the opportunities, and let us stay where we are, where the opportunities and the obstacles coincide, to serve our