Transformation's Obstacle

Acts 25:20

And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.

Festus revealed the greatest obstacle a believer has in trying to make a difference in people’s lives. He told Agrippa that Paul declared his testimony to him and why he was being held as a prisoner, but Festus said, And because I doubted of such manner of questions. Doubt was the cause that kept Festus from having his life changed. He would not listen to Paul’s testimony. It was Festus’ doubt that kept him from realizing that what Paul was saying was true and that Paul’s way of life was the most blessed way of life.

The believer’s job is to somehow turn the doubt of those who don’t believe what we believe into belief. This is a great task because doubt and unbelief are the greatest enemies of faith. However, as great an enemy of doubt or unbelief is, the believer has a greater power working within them. 1 John 4:4 declares this power in the believer when it says, Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. Let me share four things you must do to overcome transformation’s obstacle that hinders those who doubt and don't believe.

First, you must believe there is no obstacle too big that God can't help you overcome. If you doubt, you will not turn doubters into believers. You must believe that there is no case too hard for God. Let me remind you of a few verses. Jeremiah 32:17 says, Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Luke 18:27 says, And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. You must believe that God is powerful enough to help you influence those who have doubt and unbelief so that they will believe.

Second, you must have compassion on those who doubt and don't believe. Jude 1:22 reminds us, And of some have compassion, making a difference: Compassion keeps you from giving up on people. Compassion moves you to do what it takes to meet the needs of those who don't believe. You will only see the lives of those who don't believe transformed by having a great compassion for them, a compassion that will move you never to give up on them.

Third, you must do the miraculous to see the lives of those who don't believe transformed. Throughout the Scriptures, you will see when the unbelievers saw the miracles performed is when they wanted what those whom God used in their lives. Nobody will ever want something you have if you don't have God performing the miraculous through your life. You will never see the miraculous in your life if you don't attempt great things by faith. People will want what you have if you have something they want, and most people want to see the miraculous in their own lives.

Fourth, you must have the power of God on your life if you want to overcome transformation’s obstacles. There is something about the power of God that people cannot resist. You can do the works of God in the flesh, but anybody can do that. However, a person with the power of God on their lives can be used to influence the hardest of cases. Stephen had God’s power on his life, and that power influenced Saul, the hardest of cases. Get God’s power on your life and God will use you to turn those from unbelief to belief.