Pastor: So we are making our way through Acts. We come to chapter 14, which is the halfway point for the book of Acts. And for some of you, that might bring delight, others sadness or a mix, I'm not sure if you're excited to get through it.
Pastor: Wanted to slow down. But here we are in the middle of Acts, chapter 14. I'm actually going to read the entirety of the chapter. It's 28 verses before I do. Let's go to the Lord in prayer, our Father. We thank you for giving us your word that you aren't silent. Lord, so often we want you to speak to us, to guide us. And Lord, here it is, right here in your word. Give us ears to hear it, eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, Lord, I pray that you will comfort your people, that you will spur us on, even as we do face suffering and tribulation. Let us look to you to remember who you are, to remember our Savior and Lord, I pray that you will strengthen your people and our faith today in Christ, and it's in his name we pray, Amen.
Pastor: People of God, here God's word for us this morning from Acts chapter 14. Now at Iconium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord who bore witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Jew Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derby cities of Laconia and in the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.
Pastor: Now at at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, and Paul looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, he said in a loud voice, stand up right on your feet. And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying, in the lyconian, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men, Barnabas. They called Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker and the priests of Zeus, whose Temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds, but when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd crying out, men, why are you doing these things?
Pastor: We are We also are men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them in past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful season, satisfying your heart with food and gladness. Even when these words, even with these words, they scarcely restrain the people from offering sacrifice to them. But Jesus, but Jews, came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose and entered the city, and on the next day, he went on with Barnabas to Derby, when they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch strengthening the souls of disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And they passed through Pisidia and they came to pamphilia, and when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to atilia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. When they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and now he had opened a door of faith of the Gentiles, and there remained no little time with the disciples. He was ears. Let him hear the Word of God. Please be seated. Well just a couple days ago, on Friday, know all of you were out and about celebrating Reformation Day. And. In honor of that, I'll start with a little fact of Martin Luther in 1521, you know that he stood before the Holy Roman Empire at the Diet of Worms charged with heresy. For his teaching, he was teaching salvation by grace, alone, through faith, alone, in Christ alone. And he was urged to recant, to turn back. But you know and his answer maybe, maybe you know it, he said, Here I stand. I can do no other God help me. Luther stood because he was convinced that God's word, that is scripture alone, taught the gospel, and that Christ must not be silenced, no matter the cost. And it was very costly for Luther, wasn't it to give up his life as he knew it to be on the run, as men hunted him, he would live much of his life in exile and in hiding. And if you look throughout history, you will see that those who seek to be faithful to the gospel to proclaim the truth of God's word in a bold manner. It's always divides. It always causes conflict those who believe the gospel. And if this is you, it will cause tribulation in your life. It will cause division in your life. And Jesus told you it would, if you remember when we were in Luke, back in Luke, chapter 12, Jesus said, Do you think I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on, in one house, there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother. Mother in law against her daughter in law and daughter in law against her.
Pastor: Mother in law, the unbending truth that Jesus Christ IS THE ONLY WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, and that no one comes to the Father except through him, it divides. It's divisive in Acts we see the gospel is proclaimed again. And whenever we have seen the gospel proclaimed faithfully and boldly in these various cities, there's been mixed reactions, and we see that again. But we have also seen no matter the response, whether favorably or unfavorably, to the Gospel, it does not prevent the disciples and witnesses of Christ from continuing on to continue to boldly proclaim the gospel, whether there is fruit or whether there's apparently no fruit, the gospel is proclaimed.
Pastor: And here we have again, Paul and Barnabas. They are relentlessly pushing forward through many tribulations, doing what they have been called to do, and what we have been all been called to do, though in different ways, as ministers and evangelists, but we have all been called to be Christ witnesses, and it will be happen through tribulation and through division, and so I that is the central theme of this text, and also to warn and prepare you, who are Christians, that if you are going to be bold for Christ and speak truthfully of the Word of God, expect tribulation, expect division.
Pastor: The world is not for you. The world is not your friend. They will seek to silence you. They will seek to put you down. They will seek to strip you of all that you have in your voice, so that Christ is not proclaimed.
Pastor: So be wise and be warned, but rest joyfully in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is using even us for the building of his magnificent kingdom. So here, as the text begins, we have Paul and Barnabas. They were in Antioch Pisidia, which, if you remember, is a different Antioch than Antioch Syria, which is where they were commissioned and sent from. They were in Antioch Pisidia. They had just preached again the gospel. We remember the Gentiles are begging for more. Let us hear it again. Let us hear it next Sunday and again and again. But we also have, we're told at the end of chapter 13, prominent women stirring things up. It's not just the men, prominent women here stirring things up, and the priests of the city, they raise up per. Persecution against the disciples of Christ, particularly Paul and Barnabas here, and they leave, and they come to Iconium, and they're at it again. They're in the synagogue because there's an opportunity there to preach, to share the gospel. And they are preaching Christ again, and the results are the same again, division. This time we're told that a whole city is divided.
Pastor: Many believe, but verse two tells us unbelieving. Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. Now how would they have poisoned their minds, not exactly sure, but I can guess that maybe they might have even started by saying they're preaching against Moses and the law. That was something that was often lodged at Jesus, that he's not following Moses and the law.
Pastor: Now, the Gentiles wouldn't really care about that, would they? They don't care about Moses. They don't care about the law. Well, maybe perhaps they say, we might tell them and poison their minds by saying, if you listen to these men, you will stir up things with Rome and Caesar will not like it.
Pastor: You're bringing trouble on yourself by listening to these men, or because of where they are, they might say, Zeus won't like it, and you're going to bring down fire bolts or whatever from Zeus right now, I also want you to remember the historical relationship between Jews and Gentiles. They are not friends. They don't like each other. In fact, they hate each other. They really had very little interaction with each other, except for some business dealings. Well, because of money, you know, if you can help each other get rich, well, we can be friends then. But other than that, we don't want to interact with each other. Now, these Jews, if you look at the text, are going out of their way to keep their enemies. That is the Gentiles from hearing the gospel. And we'll see in a moment that some will travel 50, up to 100 miles to keep the Gentiles from embracing the gospel. The gospel is divisive, isn't it? Why? Why is the gospel so divisive? Why does it cause such a reaction in a city that why would it divide a city? Why don't they just say, Well, that's good for you. You just do whatever you want over there, and we'll do whatever we want to do. That is not what happens, and that's not what the gospel calls us to anyway. It's not because the gospel is unclear.
Pastor: It's not an intellectual problem of understanding the gospel.
Pastor: It's very simple. It's very easy to understand. It's a moral problem, because there's bad news first before we get to good news, isn't there? The word of God comes to you and it confronts your heart, and it tells you you're a prideful person, that you're self righteous, that you're idolatrous, and it puts a spotlight on your sins and tells you that you are unclean and unholy, And the wrath of God hangs above you the gospel is not good news. If you think yourself to be a good person, it's bad news if you thank God that you're not like other men.
Pastor: And that's how many of Israel and even many of people in our day especially think of themselves, that we qualify somehow for the grace of God.
Pastor: Because fill in the blank. Why do you deserve the grace of God?
Pastor: Why? Well, many people will love to tell you why, because they're not that bad, and if you compare me before other people, well, of course, God should be gracious to me, and that's how many in this city and many in our city look at themselves before God.
Pastor: But the Gospel says, No, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None is deserving, none is righteous.
Pastor: All are condemned before God, and there is no amount of doing that will save you, no amount of talk of service, helping old ladies across the street, this or that that will save you, nothing that you do can save you, and you are condemned in your sins. And now what you see, the Gospel hasn't come to just make you a better person. It's come to redeem you, to save you.
Pastor: It comes sin. Simply by the grace of God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, to open up your heart, to open up your blind eyes, to unstop your deaf ears that you might hear of Jesus Christ, that you might hear what Paul will eventually say to the church in Ephesians, For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one might boast. See that is the gospel.
Pastor: It is Christ alone that must save you. You must embrace Christ alone, as we've already said, He is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE. And no one comes to the Father except through Him. The only way to be saved is through Christ. Believe rest, hold fast to Christ and be saved. But if you continue to worship or do anything else, or just try to be a good person.
Pastor: You will not be saved. Christ alone. Believe it, reject it and be condemned. Now, the expectation for you who do believe, if that is a message that you would share and hold fast, to be ready for the division. Be be be ready for the division if you hold fast to the Word of God, be ready for mockery, for insults, be ready for prison and even death. To be a Christian is costly. It will cost you your worldliness. It will cost you your fleshly desires, but you will gain everything. You will grant. Gain the Pearl of Great Price. You will gain Christ Himself, and that will this is what made the rich young ruler so sad. Do you remember he just he wasn't ready to give up his riches, his comforts, for Christ. And this is so much of the world, and even, yes, even in our own hearts, not willing to let go of the things of this world that we might gain Christ, as Iconium, is divided as a city that's divided. We're told in verse three that Paul and Barnabas, they continue to stay there for a long time, speaking boldly, continuing to bear witness to the word of that grace found in Christ, even when the opposition becomes too great for them. And Paul and Barnabas, they flee to Lystra and the derby. They are continuing in their mission, if you notice too, as the as the Tribulation and the oppression becomes great. They're not compromising the message.
Pastor: They're not restraining the message. They're not simply say, Well, I didn't quite mean it like that. Maybe you misunderstood me. No, they are bold in the truths of God's word, and if you're not going to hear it, we're now going to share it with someone else. But we're not changing the message.
Pastor: We're not compromising the message. We're going to make Christ known. We're not going to let anything else steal the glory of Christ. And they continue on, and they persevere.
Pastor: And I think that's a good challenge. And even prayer for our own hearts is, would I or would I shrivel up like the parable of the the seeds, where the seeds, the the the sower sowing into the different fields and and one of them, they sprout up but gets choked out by persecution and tribulation.
Pastor: Lord, don't let that be me. Let me be the seed that bears much fruit, even when the sun is hot against us. Now in Lystra, Paul performs a miracle. I'm not going to spend a lot of time here, but just to note that Paul's miracles, even it's mentioned earlier in the chapter as well, they're performing miracles, the miracles that Christ did, that the apostles did. And even Paul, and I think maybe just a note here, Paul, a lot of people might even question Paul, how is this guy an apostle? Well, his miracles are pointing to his authority as an apostle. Come coming late, right? But he did see the resurrected Christ, but the all the the miracles are pointing to the authority of their words being preached. Paul heals a man who's been crippled from birth.
Pastor: And it's a very similar miracle that Peter did, and also Jesus did. And this man immediately gets up, he leaps, he walks, he celebrates. And then what do the people do when they see the amazing and wonderful things of God? Well, Romans tells us they do not give glory to God or thank God. They exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. That's exactly what we see happen in this text. They don't thank God.
Pastor: They don't praise God for what the amazing miracle that just occurred in their presence. They give praise the false made up gods of Zeus and Hermes. They they believe Paul and Barnabas are gods come in human form.
Pastor: Also, this is really good tourism for the temple, by the way, if you're a priest, so you he's kind of excited to get let's get this let's get this sacrifice going. Because if people hear that, you know, Zeus has come to visit us, well, everyone's going to want to make a pilgrimage here to know that Zeus was here. So let's get this going. So we see this city, though, rather than repenting of their idols, which is, which is, Paul has been calling them to do they make, Paul and Barnabas, the idols another reformer, John Calvin, famously said, our hearts are idle factories. Now, it might seem silly that these people did this to Paul and Barnabas. How could they? How silly of them. But again, you and I are just like them.
Pastor: Hearts, idol, factories. Maybe we turn away from worldliness and money, but we turn to ministry success. It's measured in worldly measures of buildings and budgets and and body. And we just want people to know us, to make our church great, and everyone to know in Tampa, isn't isn't this such a great church?
Pastor: And aren't they just wonderful people? And it becomes about us, rather than the Lord Jesus Christ, and we've made ourselves idols, or we can turn from a lack of self control and bad habits and either substance abuse or sexuality, we turn from that, but then we turn to self righteousness. How could you do that? How could you remain in that and keep doing that and having those? How could you do that? I don't know. You see self self righteous idolatry in our hearts. We are so good at this turning from one idol to the next. That's what our hearts, apart from the grace of God, do, and we all need to think about the idols in our own hearts we need to repent of because they are all things in our lives that are seeking to rob Christ of His glory. Paul and Barnabas. Maybe not at first, because we're told that the people are speaking in the laconian language. They might not know exactly what's happening, but they figure out the people are trying to sacrifice to them, they tear their clothes, and that's a Jewish sign of having heard blasphemy that might be familiar when they what the Pharisees did when they hear what? Sometimes hear Jesus talks like he's blaspheming. He's saying he's the son of God, and they would tear their clothes, but Jesus was a son of God. He's speaking the truth, but here they are tearing their clothes because they're blaspheming. Don't worship us. And so what do you tell this group? What do you preach? Well, what do you say to them? Because in previous sermons, you know, they have outlined, essentially a survey of redemptive history. They reminded them, even as we looked at last week, all the promises of God, sampling all the promises of God through the Old Testament, you see how God has been so faithful, and God has planned from the very beginning.
Pastor: Was the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Christ, who is here? He's here. Do you see him? Do you hear he's here? But here we have a bunch of Gentiles who had known nothing of the promises of God. They hadn't heard it before. So what do you say?
Pastor: Where do you begin? Well, Paul begins, and he says, Listen, we are just men like you. We have the same nature as you do. Turn from these useless idols that is us and these other gods. They are useless like like Elijah.
Pastor: They're just, you know, someone's making a piece of wood. You make an idol with another, and you burn, then keep yourself warm with the other part of the idol. These are worthless idols. They do nothing for you, but turn to the living God. Well, who is that? Paul says, look around. Open up your eyes, the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them has been made by the true and living God. This is a psalm 19 summary.
Pastor: Creation is the very witness to you, the heavens are declaring the glory of God, but you just look around and you see how creation points you to the Creator. He provides for His creation. He talks about rain, a fruitful harvest, gladness, God always provides. And these are all, if you remember, summary sermons, because creation is not sufficient to save and but God provided again. He didn't just leave us in our sin and misery.
Pastor: He provided his son Jesus, who would take on the very wrath of God that you and I deserve. Life on the cross, He would then rise again from the dead on the third day, proving his victory over sin and death and Satan. And he says, turn from your idolatry.
Pastor: Don't turn to another idol, but to Christ. Be reconciled to God and live. Turn to Christ. And the people we're told can hardly restrain themselves from sacrificing to them, their message all the more, is like, I think we still should worship you guys. But no, he says, But now look what happens these Jews from Antioch, Pisidia and Iconium, again, they probably traveled 50 to 100 miles, some of them, they've traveled all the way here to be anti evangelists because they hate Christ, and so does a natural man, and they must have done a very convincing job to the city, because at one moment, we're told the people are Just they can't, almost help themselves to worship and sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, and then the next verse are like stone them. And that's what happens. They they want to kill Paul, and they think they have just put yourself in Paul's place, being stoned, being stoned to death, and then people thinking you're dead, and then just imagine now yourself. They're just they're dragging you out of the city, pulling from who knows where, and just dragging you out thinking that you're dead.
Pastor: That's the work of missions.
Pastor: Verse 20, the other disciples, they come around Paul. And I imagine they are thinking they are getting his body to bury him, but he gets up. And you know what I do, if I'm Paul, I don't go back in the city. But what does he do? He goes back.
Pastor: And I don't know why, but I also wonder too, maybe Paul sees himself in these iconians, people who hated Christ so much that he's will they're willing to put Christians to death because that's what that's what Paul did. But now he loves his Savior so much that he's willing to even go back from killing Christians now to be willing to die for Christ. We're told that they are kind of wrapping up their missionary journey as we turn here to the end of the chapter, verses, 21 to 28 they're making their way back now through all the cities that have persecuted them, and they're strengthening the disciples in them. And how did they strengthen the disciples, as they're visiting each of these cities where there's persecution? Well, they tell them to continue to endure. Be diligent. You are saved now. Do rest in Christ, but continue to use the means of grace that God's given to you in the word, the sacraments, prayer, fasting, the fellowship. Engage yourself in these things. Be vigilant.
Pastor: Remember we're battling the world, the flesh and the devil.
Pastor: Stay awake. Be watchful. Be warned. Verse two, this also again, this reminder we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. This is hard for us because we want our lives to be maybe I'll speak for myself. I want my life to be cushy and free from conflict. I It's probably one of my greatest desires. But the Christian life is not that it's a cross, isn't it? We're told to bear our cross daily. And we are weak, I am weak, and we need to cling to Christ. Here, we need to seek Christ. Here, we must be ready for difficulty ahead. Remember when Jesus is leaving and he says, I'm going to send you the spirit. How does he described the spirit. There's a lot of ways Jesus could have described the spirit, but how does Jesus describe the spirit? He says the Comforter will come. Why?
Pastor: Because we're going to need a lot of comfort. It assumes tribulation. It assumes difficulty and trials and sickness and death and pain and sorrow and and broken relationships. We need comfort.
Pastor: We need the Spirit of God, also at the book of Revelation as the men are been working our way through it. We're almost done.
Pastor: We're told that God wipes away every tear from our eye. Was a lot of tears, but they're all going to be wiped away. There's a lot of them, but they're all will be wiped away. And then the other way that they encourage the church is that they install and ordain elders. Elders are a gift for the church. The church needed leadership. It needed instruction. It needed under shepherds to help protect and nourish the sheep, to remind them of the truth of God in Christ. You know the other truth about Revelation, Christ wins, right? That's how the book is summarized. The end of the Bible, Christ wins, and even Paul will tell us these are light and momentary afflictions.
Pastor: Someone who has just been stoned, pretty much to death, they thought he was dead, will say it's light momentary. What?
Pastor: This does not seem light and momentary, but for the glory that waits for us in Christ, we're just vapors. We're just missed. We're here for a little while and then gone.
Pastor: Well here he gives us shepherds to nourish the people, to feed them. The Gospel is establishing these churches and all these towns, and now they make their way all the way back to Antioch, Syria, they completed their first missionary journey. It's taken them over 1000 miles all these different cities. And imagine the report that they tell them of the persecutions, the stoning, but the faithfulness of God through it all. And most of all, we're told that they rejoice because God has opened up a door for the Gentiles to believe that the promise of Abraham is being fulfilled. Right before their very eyes, the Gentiles, the nations, are being blessed. And you know what? God has opened up a door for you this morning that you too might believe, that you too might put your worthless idols aside, and that you might believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and embrace Him by faith alone.
Pastor: William Carey, he was an evangelist to India. He left England in 1793, and when he left to share the gospel in India, which is a very dark place, it didn't go well for him at first. Soon after arriving, their five year old son died.
Pastor: Didn't really have the medical care there in India, and it was very impoverished. The health conditions were not good, not sanitary, and their little five year old died, and his wife went into a very deep depression, understandably. So I think I would too. He says, the loss is heavy, but I have not lost my God. And he continued to preach there, and even for a while, not a lot of fruit, but eventually popping up throughout India, the gospel and little churches, and God was bringing in his people, even in a far distant land like India and so Beloved, let us not grow weary of doing good, even through many tribulations. We must enter the kingdom of God.
Pastor: So let us expect great things from God and attempt great things from God. That was one of the quotes from Carrie. Let us expect great things from God and attempt great things for God, trusting even that every trial you face, every tear that you shed, and every act of obedience is done for the glory of God and is being used that the Son of God might be known throughout the entire Earth. That's our calling. So, Lord, please help us. Let's pray Our Father. Lord, we confess we do not want to face tribulations and difficulties and divisions. We want people's faces to shine on us. We want people to like us.
Pastor: We want peace. We don't want conflict. We just want to be, you know, share our message and be satisfied. I've done that, and we've moved on. But Lord, we help us to be pleading, to be going to hard places, difficult places. Help us to love you, to look to see your face shining upon us. Give us wisdom and sharing the gospel. Give us opportunities to share the gospel. Help us to do it in a winsome way, in a loving way.
Pastor: Lord, be merciful to your people. In Jesus's name, we pray, amen.