1 Staying on Mission, No Matter What November 16, 2014 Acts 14 Matt Rawlings Acts 14:1-28 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. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 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. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel. 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he sprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest 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. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 "Men, why are you doing these things? 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. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he 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." 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them. 19 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. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 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. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples. 1
2 We love stories of bravery and stories of good overcoming evil. We love stories of the underdog overcoming all obstacles and challenges to defeat the enemy. That is why many people love the story of the Lord of the Rings that was written by JRR Tolkien and released in three volumes. It is the tale of Frodo Baggins, a small hobbit, who, along with a bunch of his friends is given a great task a long and grueling mission to take a ring of power by which one could rule others - but instead of using the power for himself, he is to say no to temptation and take the ring to the gates of the enemy and cast it into the fire of the Cracks of Doom to destroy it and defeat the great enemy Sauron. The three books that Tolkien wrote are a very long account of bravery in the face of danger, of resolve to carry out a noble mission despite opposition and trials. We love it though, because it espouses what we want to be and what we need to be in the face of opposition and the darkness that opposes us. It also is inspiring to see a fellowship so committed to their cause and each other that they not only defend each other, they help each other succeed in their mission. It is a story of bravery, a story of resolve of dedication and commitment. It is compelling. But it is fiction. We live in real life. The kind of place where difficult things don t seem so noble. Where trials and opposition don t feel like a glorious battle and where victory sometimes is lonely. But we don t have to throw away the notion of bravery on a mission. We just need to see it lived out in real life and that is exactly what God has given us in this account in Acts, where Paul and Barnabas are on a mission. They are on a mission to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to establish local churches, where people can grow in Christ. The story of Paul and Barnabas is a story of triumph in the midst of trials. It is a story of acceptance and rejection at the same time. We know in our own experience, that so often, life is a mixture of ups and downs, of trials and triumph, hand-in-hand. And I believe that God has given this account to us, so that we can be encouraged and have faith that God is at work in the midst of trials. And we also have this account so that we see that we are called to live on mission. We are called to live for something bigger than us but something that requires all of us. We are called to God s grand purpose of calling a people to Himself and making followers of Jesus who live for Him in everything. Main Idea: Our mission is to make followers of Jesus who live for God in everything. 1. Followers of Jesus live bravely on mission Paul and Barnabas had personally been transformed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Paul was once a legalistic Jew who hated Christians. But he had been so gripped by the grace of God in saving him and forgiving him, that he was compelled to live his whole life out on the mission to tell others about Jesus. Paul and Barnabas were living on this mission to make Jesus known now and they are in the midst of a missionary journey to proclaim Jesus to anyone who would listen. In the first verse, we see that, Paul and Barnabas, as they are traveling the well-known Roman road of commerce, called the Royal Road, enter into the old city of Iconium, that was somewhat isolated from the region. Iconium was a city situated high on a plateau over the plains of what is 2
3 today modern Turkey. It was a city that was governed by a local council that viewed themselves as above the Roman representative. When Paul and Barnabas went into the synagogue to preach, they spoke so convincingly and so effectively that a great number of both the Jews and God-fearing Greeks believed in Jesus. They are single minded in their mission to declare the good news. But, verse two tells us that even though some received their message, others did not. They met with opposition alongside of acceptance. And this is a pattern that Luke writes of often in the book of Acts. Luke lays out a repeating pattern in the book of Acts of preaching, and then many respond; then opposition surfaces, despite the word and acts of the messenger; and then the preachers are forced to flee, where they continue to preach in a new setting. I think the reason that Luke shows us this pattern is so that the readers understand that they are to continue on in the face of opposition. We are called to be committed to living on mission when it is hard and when it is inconvenient. And we need to know that as we too proclaim the message about Jesus, people may respond, but we will also face opposition, no matter what we say. It isn t a sign that something is going wrong. Then, we may have to take our message elsewhere but we shouldn t get discouraged when things don t seem to go as well we are to continue on with our mission, trusting in God to use our efforts. God is like the Greatest of All Generals overseeing an entire war and we are like the lowly private in the field, who can only see our own battle. We don t understand how our contribution makes a difference but God does and He is orchestrating all things towards His great and final end and He not only knows how it all fits in, He is working in and through us and using our proclamation to carry out His purposes. Luke wants us to see this and he wants us to see that wherever the gospel mission is carried, we will face opposition. So, he tells us in verse 2 that the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. The original wording implies that they were refusing to believe and obey they were not allowing themselves to be persuaded and were resisting belief in Christ. And these Jews who were actively resisting belief in Jesus were not only resisting belief they were opponents of the good news about Jesus and sought to convince others not to believe as well. They were enemies of the gospel and they were inciting the people against Paul and Barnabas and instigating or stirring up the people so that they wouldn t believe. The minds of the people were poisoned against the brothers so that the people were embittered. Now, notice in verse 3 though, that the disciples didn t leave town because of this. Instead, it says, so, they remained for a long time. There were some who believed and because the unbelieving Jews were trying to embitter them against the gospel, the disciples stayed and spoke boldly for the Lord. When they faced opposition, they didn t assume that it was a sign from God that they should leave. And as they stayed and spoke for the Lord, God bore witness to the Word of His grace by granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. God is interested in the Word of His grace being proclaimed. God cares that people pay attention to the Word of His grace. And God desires that people come to hear and believe in Him through the Word of His grace 3
4 But in the mystery of divine sovereignty, God allows human opposition. And it says that some of the people in the city sided with the Jews and some sides with the apostles, so that the people of the city were divided. Luke is showing that some in the city favored the Jews and some favored those who were sent with the gospel message. This is a conflict between more than mere humans though it is the contrast of the light of the Gospel against the traditions of men. It is often the same conflict we face. This was not a peaceable disagreement on the part of those who sided with the Jews against Paula and Barnabas. Those who were against Paul and Barnabas made an attempt to mistreat and stone them. The population had resorted to mob violence and the townspeople were so enraged by the message and saw it as such a socially serious threat that they wanted to kill Paul and Barnabas. But they learned of it ahead of time and they fled to Lystra and Derbe, which were about 18 miles south and 55 miles southwest of Iconium. Lystra was on the imperial road but it was far enough away and enough of a backwater to be a safe place to go. It was known as being a backwater kind of town, where the people were not exactly pro-roman government. Kind of like Pumpkintown or Pickens for us. But interestingly enough, Timothy, who would later become Paul s protégé was from Lystra. There is a time to stand your ground and then there is a time when it is foolish to stick around and you can be more effective for God by fleeing to where you can proclaim His name safely. And the apostles did just that. They weren t being cowardly by fleeing being killed by stoning. They were on a mission and their mission wasn t done yet. So, they were being wise to carry out their mission in the outlying cities and countryside. They didn t stop even though they weren t well-received. 2. Followers of Jesus live boldly for God s glory, no matter the cost Paul and Barnabas didn t seek their own glory they didn t seek the easy path. So, they go into Lystra still preaching the Gospel and glorifying God. Luke shares the account of a man there who had been crippled since he was born. He was unable to use his feet and he had never walked a day in his life. And as Paul is speaking out in the open, he notices that this man is listening closely to him and it seems that he wants to be healed he is looking at Paul expectantly. So, Paul prophetically realizes that the man wants to be healed and knows that this man has faith to be healed, so he stops speaking and says very loudly, so that everyone can hear, Stand upright on your feet and then the man springs up and starts walking. Our youngest girl, Eva, just turned one year old a couple of weeks ago. At nine months old, she began trying to pull herself up and a month later, she was able to pull herself up onto her feet and stand on her own, while holding onto something. She has been standing up and trying to walk for a couple of months now. Just the other day, she took 8 steps toward me the most she has done so far and we all cheered. We keep practicing with her too but she isn t quite ready to balance and walk on her own. And it is a mixture of muscle development that still needs to happen, a lack of coordination and a lack of confidence that are holding her back still. But this man, crippled from birth, who never learned how to walk or developed any muscles necessary to walk; who never learned coordination and balance and had no reason in himself to be confident, suddenly is healed completely. The miracle is really remarkable. Not only are the man s feet restored, he is able to spring up and walk right away. And the people in this small town, who likely all knew who the man was, understood how incredible this was. 4
5 This was no mere magic trick these were men who had real power. And since the accounts of the Greek gods often were told in those times, of a stranger appearing and staring and then suddenly speaking in a loud voice, the people assumed that the gods had descended in real life, just like their stories. But before in their stories, in the tale was told that in their town, they didn t recognize the gods Zeus and Hermes. And Zeus and Hermes had sought refuge in a thousand homes but no one would show them hospitality, except for a poor, old couple, who gave them all they had to eat and welcomed them freely. So, the story was told likely by the Greek priest that the gods made their cottage a temple and then flooded the town to wipe out those who didn t show them hospitality. So now, these people of Lystra, knowing the stories, want to make sure that they don t invoke the anger of the gods and so they start shouting that Paul and Barnabas are gods they don t have any other category. When they saw what Paul did, they started yelling in their own language of Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" And Luke tells us that they thought Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and Paul was Hermes, who was the chief messenger or speaker for the gods. For a moment, you might think it is funny but it isn t, because they were serious. They were so serious that they were worshipping Paul and Barnabas as gods, instead of seeing that they were preaching about the One true God. But this isn t something we are immune to we can often subtly worship the messenger instead of the message and one who the message is about. We aren t immune to worshipping our favorite preacher or writer or Christian entertainer. We have to ask ourselves, are we worshipping ourselves, or other people, or God? And the priest at the local temple of Zeus started to bring out some oxen to sacrifice to them as they put garlands around their necks, honoring them as gods. Now, Paul and Barnabas most likely didn t speak Lycaonian, so they didn t understand what the crowds were saying right away, but as soon as they figured it out and probably heard it from a translator, they are distraught. And they rushed out into the middle of the crowds to stop the people and they tore their clothes. Now, in that day, clothes were very valuable and you couldn t just go get a tunic off the shelf at the local stuff-mart. Clothes were made by hand and on looms and an outer tunic was very labor intensive to make and so would have been expensive. Since most Israelites then relied on a largely agrarian society, they probably had a very limited wardrobe. So, when they tore their clothes, they were expressing deep grief and making a visible sacrifice of sorts, as they ripped an important and expensive possession to demonstrate their sorrow. Paul and Barnabas are upset their whole mission is to glorify God and make the good news about Jesus Christ known, so that people would be reconciled to God. For them to be mistaken as gods would be a failure and to accept such acclaim would be blasphemy. So what if they could get acclaim and avoid stoning by accepting the worship and then later pointing them the right way that would have been a temptation. But they couldn t receive worship by men when only God is to be worshipped. So they go into the crowd and cry out, telling the crowds that they are really men and that they came to bring good news. And then, notice that Paul contextualizes the Gospel message to them. He explains just what God is involved and points to the One true God. He wants to make sure that God Almighty gets the credit. He says, we are just men bringing you the good news that you can turn away from the vain idols of the Greek gods that are not really alive, and now, 5
6 you can turn to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. Paul is making sure that people don t worship him but that they worship God. Paul isn t anything. Paul can t save anyone. Only God can save. Only God is anything ultimately and so Paul points them to God as their only hope and help. Paul explains that they are accountable to God as the Creator and sustainer of all life. He wants to show that there is only One God and God is the One who satisfies them and is appealing that they inherently know this from God s general revelation of Himself in creation. But he is stopped short. Even though Paul explained who they were and what their mission was, he still had a hard time persuading the crowds still and he just barely kept them from sacrificing to them. But it didn t last long, the crowds were incredibly fickle. One moment, they want to treat them like the gods they worship and make sacrifices to them and hang garlands of nobility on them. And the next thing we see is that the crowds become persuaded not only to stop worshipping Paul, but to silence him. Somehow, Jews from Psidian, Antioch and Iconium found out where Paul had fled and since they couldn t carry out their plan to discredit and kill him there, they came to Lystra and convinced the crowds that Paul was a threat and they stoned him. Ironically, Paul the Jewish pursuer of Christians to kill them, is now pursued by Jews, as a Christian to be killed. Paul was stoned and he is critically injured. He is likely unconscious, with ugly wounds and bleeding badly. He was so bad off that they think he is dead and so, they drag him out of the city a common practice for criminals, where they would leave a body to decompose or be carried off by wild animals. But Luke tells us in verse 20, that when the disciples came out to his body, he wasn t dead. We don t know what happened. The disciples likely weren t with him as he was getting dragged out of the city by the crowd it would have been too dangerous. But when they got to him, he somehow rose up and he went back into the city for the night, likely to rest and be treated and then he went on to Derbe. It is like the story told by David Howard in his book, The Power of the Holy Spirit. He tells of a pastor Lupercio Taba, who was ministering in a city in Columbia, South America. One Sunday, as Lupercio was preaching a man appeared at a side window of the church and pointed a pistol at him and told him to stop preaching. The whole congregation saw the man and everyone dove to the floor and many ducked under their seats. The pastor kept on preaching though and the man decided to shoot him. The man fired four shots. Two shots went into the wall behind the pastor, narrowly missing his head on either side. Two shots went on each side of his body, under each arm and lodged into the wall. But Luperico kept on preaching and the man didn t know what to do, so he dropped his gun and ran. The pastor kept preaching. Nothing kept the apostle Paul from preaching either even though the stones hit and likely maimed him, his life was miraculously spared. He was living boldly for God s glory no matter the cost. Paul is undaunted by his brutal stoning. He is undaunted by opposition. He went and preached the gospel in Derbe and they made many disciples there. Then, Luke writes matter-of-factly that they went back to Lystra, where he was stoned, they went back to Iconium where the Jews who wanted to stone him and instigated the stoning in 6
7 Lystra were from and then he went back to Psidian Antioch. He would have been well-known in these towns and recognized by many, since the crowds had come out to see and hear him. But Paul and Barnabas return. That is astounding isn t it?! Why in the world did Paul and Barnabas go back? No one would have faulted them if they went elsewhere preaching the Gospel and went back to their sending church of Antioch in Syria another way. Everyone would have understood. But not Paul. He had a God-given vision and he was on a God-given mission. Then, we see that Paul didn t live for himself, he cared for God s people 3. Followers of Jesus care for God s people Verses 22-23 say, strengthening the souls of the 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. Paul was motivated by a desire to do a few things. They returned to strengthen the souls of the disciples. They were encouraging them to continue in the faith. And the way they were encouraging them was to encourage them to continue on in the faith, knowing that it is through the path of tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of heaven. This word for tribulation that Luke uses, means literally a pressing together to put pressure on and it was used as a metaphor for oppression, affliction, tribulation and distress. Telling someone they must go through tribulation or distress, affliction and oppression isn t something that someone might think of as encouraging off the bat is it? But it is encouraging. You see, the Bible doesn t paint a false picture of life. And it doesn t paint a false picture of the Christian life. Jesus went through tribulation and distress and suffering to accomplish His father s will. So will we, as His disciples, go through tribulation as the path to the kingdom of God. It is encouraging because we might otherwise be surprised or expect that something is wrong when we encounter tribulation for God s sake when we are doing what is right when we are obeying. Often, as Christians, we can have this kind of karma mentality that if we do what is right and if we obey God and live out the Gospel if we are faithful to our mission as a church, then things will go well for us and that we won t endure periods of oppression or affliction or distress. But that is not the Bible s message. The message of the Bible is that we don t have to fear even when we encounter tribulation or distress or nakedness or sword or peril, because we are secure in Christ and nothing and no one can ever separate us from His love. So, in the midst of tribulation, we can have confidence and surety that God loves us and nothing can separate us from Christ. So, it is encouraging to know that tribulation is not a sign that God doesn t love us. Affliction and oppression and distress are not indicators that God is displeased with us or that he doesn t love us or that He is punishing us or being mean. No, the path of tribulation is the path to the kingdom of God. That doesn t mean we go looking for tribulation and it doesn t mean that we should just endure it if there is a means to get out of it. Paul got out of stoning in Iconium and he fled and that was a good thing. But he was stoned in Lystra when he couldn t avoid it without sinning against God and recanting the Gospel message. And his stoning was part of God s plan too. Paul didn t get 7
8 stoned by the people because God was displeased with him or because Jesus didn t love him and was punishing him. He was tortured by stoning within an inch of his life as part of God s plan for him to enter into the kingdom of God. And you know, I bet Paul grew as a disciples of Jesus as a result of being stoned. I bet he trusted in God more. I bet he saw that God was in control of his life and not any man or lynch mob. Ultimately, man could only kill him but that was in God s control too and no one could take his soul. Suffering and tribulation have a way of purifying our faith and strengthening our faith in God on the other side of suffering. We learn about God and His goodness and faithfulness from our low times. We learn what we are living for and what we need to give up. We learn that our future in God is secure no matter what may happen. We learn perspective too. As disciples of Jesus, we can be encouraged knowing that although we will suffer tribulation, no one can take our joy away from us. Because one day, we will be with Jesus and we can have faith and be encouraged that Jesus has overcome the world. Paul was only telling the disciples what Jesus Himself had said and Paul was encouraging the disciples in all of the churches to not be confused or discouraged by tribulation. Instead, we can be encouraged if we suffer for His sake and the Gospel, knowing that He is pleased with us and loves us and isn t withholding what is needed, even if we think we need something else. So, they returned to strengthen the souls of the disciples, to encourage them and lastly, they were busy appointing elders in every church. Paul and Barnabas knew that the new converts needed help. They knew they needed to be strengthened and encouraged and they knew that they needed a local church and elders to help lead those churches. Paul s passion was not just to preach the Gospel and then leave people to figure out and walk out the Christian life on their own. And he was passionate about local churches and risked his life to help establish them, because he knew that the local church is where people are strengthened and encouraged and where the great commission is carried out. Local churches are where baptism and the Lord s Supper are observed together. Local Churches are where people are regularly encouraged and strengthened through the proclaiming of God s Word. Local churches are meant to be a place where care and serving and growing in likeness to Christ are happening and worked out on a daily basis. The church is where people are taught to obey all that Jesus commanded His disciples. And the church is the Bride for whom Christ gave everything. Jesus died for the church and Paul sacrificed for the church because it is the place where God works out His purposes in the earth, and makes Himself known and cares for His people. Paul was passionate about proclaiming the Gospel message and he was committed to establishing local churches. Later, as we see in Philippians 7, churches established and appointed their own elders, but Paul was setting up a structure of leadership for them to begin with, since they were new in the faith and wouldn t have known to do so on their own. After they appointed elders in every church, they prayed and fasted and committed them to the Lord in every church. Then, and only then, their first missionary journey was complete. After that, they head home to Syrian Antioch and they declared all that God had done and then they stayed in their sending church for a while likely another two years or so. They recounted how 8
9 God had made a way for them to carry out their mission. In the face of opposition and tribulation, they lived bravely on mission, they lived for God s glory and they cared for God s people and they spent their lives for what mattered most. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. -Theodore Roosevelt, "Man in the Arena" Speech given April 23, 1910 We all face trials and triumphs in life. May we never give up. May we always trust in God to sustain us and give us His grace, like He did the apostle Paul. May we too live boldly and bravely on the mission that God has called us to, living for His glory and caring for His people. After all, Jesus gave up everything so that we might have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with Him. And this message is worth giving everything we have. Potential Application Questions: 1. When you recount your own personal conversion by Jesus Christ, how does that motivate you to live for Him? 2. How can you pursue seeing yourself as a follow of Jesus and living for God in everything every day? 3. Most of us are not called to quit our jobs and go live like a missionary. In fact, most of us should assume God intends for us to live on mission right where we are. When you review how you are spending your time, energy and talents, how are you living on mission where He has called you? 4. We can all live for God on the mission He s called us to in every area of life, (like school, work, caring for others, family, etc.). How can you help cultivate a mindset that living for God in the mundane things of life is really what it means to live on mission? 5. Who would we like to actively pursue with the goal of sharing the good news of Jesus with them? (Could be our children, co-workers, siblings, neighbors, etc.). 6. What things distract you from living on the mission that God has given to us all, to make followers of Jesus who live for God in everything? 7. What tribulations, (distress, trials, opposition), do you encounter that can tempt you to think that God loves or cares about you less? How does seeing the examples of Paul s suffering and reading the reminder that, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God, help you remember that tribulations are a part of God s plan for us? How does this help assure you of God s love for you? 8. Where are we living for our own glory and the praise of people? How can we live for God s glory and not our own? 9
10 9. As a follower of Jesus, we are called to care about the things Christ cares for. Since Christ died for His Bride, (the church), and continues to care for the church, how can we care for His bride better? 10. Paul and Barnabas risked their lives to go back to the churches that were established. Two of the main reasons they did this was for, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith. Where and how can we personally seek to strengthen and encourage others in the church better? What do we need to risk and overcome to do this? 2014 Redeeming Grace Church. This transcribed message has been lightly edited and formatted for the Website. No attempt has been made, however, to alter the basic extemporaneous delivery style, or to produce a grammatically accurate, publication-ready manuscript conforming to an established style template. 10