Advancing with Godly Grit – Acts 14:1-28Preached on 2/23/14

KBC, 40 min

I. INTRO: REAL PEOPLE, REAL STORIES

What pictures come to mind when you read the Bible—as we’re readong through Acts? Do you see colorful maps with big names on them; maybe zooming in you see stone roads and tight houses, and people going from place to place with waterjars or donkeycarts; or perhaps you picture cutout figures on a flanelgraph, making their journey across the board.

I’m often tempted to isolate the people we read about in these acccounts as past stories, and people of long ago; and many times it’s easier to settle for these stories being simply a thing of the past. But these are people, just like you just like me, traveling to real places to share the Gospel with others in need of a living Savior!

Paul’s BioTake Paul for instance. He was born on the southern edge of modern Turkey, named Saul. Nationality—Roman; religion—Jew. He went to school (so to speak), where his teacher Gamalial trained him as a Pharisee.1 Saul made a strict point to keep all the Jewish traditions, customs, laws, etc., and tried to get rid of anything in the way…including Christians. On one of his very trips to continue stamping out this opposition, God worked a worked a major transformation in his heart, and saved Saul, changing his name to Paul. From then on, this new life overflows from Paul and he begins his ministry for the rest of his life. Listen how one man in Paul’s time described him: “a man small in size, with meeting eyebrows, with a rather large nose, bald-headed, bowlegged, strongly built, full of grace, for at times he looked like a man, and at times he had the face of an angel.” This was Paul, in the flesh, a son of God…a real person.

And their journey could easily be compared to distances traveled within Texas. Take a look at this map SLIDE-1. This is the portion of their journey we’ll be looking at this morning—very similar if not the same map you have in your Bibles. SLIDE-2 If we took these same distances and merged it around the place we’re sitting right now, we could pretty closely represent their journey. Leading into ch.14, the disciples go ~90 mi E from Pisidian Antioch to Iconium—probably walking (or we could say, heading down the beaten I-20 trail and stopping off at Lindale). Then (similar to the ~18 mi from there down to Tyler) Paul and Barnabus made their way from Iconium to Lystra2. Finally, their last leg before returning along the same path was ~35 mi SE to Derby3 (the same distance from Tyler across to Henderson).

1 Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.2 NET Bible 1st Ed. Notes. sn 14:8.3 NET Bible 1st Ed. Notes. sn 14:20.

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II. PRESSING ONWARD: BOLD ADVANCES IN THE MIDST OF OPPOSITION (VV.1-21A)

So today we will continue and conclude this first missionary expedition of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14. Would you please turn there with me.

Just before this chapter, Paul and Barnabus fled for their lives from Pisidian Antioch from people that wanted to kill them… and it doesn’t seem that much changes as they go on. In fact their journey puts them on the doorstep of all sorts of continued opposition: threats, attacks of their character, plans to actually hurt them, repeated attempts to murder, the list goes on… So why continue? Why would they risk literally everything they had just to press on in this mission?

Godly GritI want to draw your attention to the central idea running through today’s text:

SLIDE-3 The brothers resiliently pushed on to preach the gospel,as an active overflow of their God-given faith and God-exalting vision.

These men were made of tough stuff. They had—you could say—a Godly grit. Now I am not referring to Paul’s menu along the way, nor am I referrig to the sand beneath his feet. The grit that these men had was a hard determination to keep on going, to keep on driving forward, even when the river was running against them in the opposite direction. When they were pushed down, they bounced back up. They were headed for the prize—for God! and wanted to make Him known at all costs.

A. ICONIUM: REMAINING TO SPEAK THE GOSPEL (VV.1-5)

Let’s look at our text. 1 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. Likely similar to how they had soken in chapter 13, proclaiming who God was and how he had shoen himself faithful throughout history to bring his people through (fix cliché). But focus is on results here, not message so much.

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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. Makes sense, right? Can you picture what this could have looked like from their position. After another day in the synagogue, Barnabus comes up to Paul, “Hey Paul, you know, we had a really good start here—I mean think of all the people we saw turn to our precious Lord. But these Jews are just crashing our work here again. And you can see the Gentiles; they’re starting to believe the stuff the Jews are saying against us. We’ve said our piece; we’ve shared the Gospel with them; I think we need to move on at this point and just let the Lord do His work.” But that’s not true. The situation is painted in v.2, the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers, and the conclusion immediately follows in v.3, so they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord. That’s grit!

On top of that, they were glad to stay! Look in ch.13, starting in v.49, at the sequence of events leading up to their stay in Iconium. They’re in Antioch, and the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. Then (v.50) the Jews initiated people to turn against Paul and Barnabus, and drive them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Their joy wasn’t based on their situation; it was based on the immovable faith God had given them and their vision of the kingdom of God advancing, that even when they were chased out, God’s work wasn’t put out.

And notice (back in ch.14) how God is described. In the second half of v.3 it says The Lord […] bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. God’s is the power behind His work and proves Himself faithful and stong over and over. He bore witness to the word of his grace, or he made his grace really clear and demonstrated it by showing the people signs and wonders: perhaps healing, feeding, saving. God left them without excuse that He was the God the disciples were talking about; He was real; He was alive!

Then we reach vs.4, and it’s not surprising that there is a division here as well, some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles, the Jews’ plan to mistreat the brothers was turned into action, and an attempt was made to stone them. At this point, the brothers do leave for the next city…but notice their mission doesn’t end; they don’t stop speaking the word. Look at v.7, and there they continued to preach the gospel. And their work really wasn’t even over in Iconium; they still had plans to return and disciple them. But so that they can be most effective in spreading the word, with the kingdom in view, they continue to advance.

B. LYSTRA: UNEXPECTED PRAISE, EXPECTED OPPOSITION (VV.6-20A)

So they walk south about 18 mi. to Lystra; Lystra’s a much more rural area than Iconium, and there isn’t as much Roman influence here, so Greek (which the disciples were speaking) probably wasn’t their first language, and there may have been a bit of a language barrier. As the brothers approached the city gates, they would have seen a temple for Zeus,

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the greatest of the gods! And nearby they see a man sitting down. His clothes were probably pretty tattered and his legs were scrawny as anything, because he had never actually walked. Listen to how much this is emphasised by Luke as he tells this story. v.8, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. This man wasn’t going anywhere; so quite frankly, he was a great audience. And it’s likely that there were several other people around, in the marketplace, walking down the street; however exactly it was, we know there were people around, so Paul began to speak. v.9, The crippled man 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. Wow! I love the extremes that God uses—still as a rock, not going anywhereand he sprung up and began walking (Observe the pattern again, just like in Iconium; first Paul speaks, God grants faith, and God demonstrates the word of his grace with signs and wonders).

Now before we continue; you have to know a bit more about the people here in Lystra. They held to a legend—and it’s been documented as something they actually believed4—that two of their gods, Zeus and Hermes, had once visited a valley right near Lystra itself. Zeus was the greatest of all gods, the most powerful one; and Hermes was his spokesperson if you will; he did the talking. According to this legend, once the two gods had come down, they went from door to door looking for accomodation, but everyone refused to take them in. Finally they came to a poor house, where an elderly couple, welcomed them for the night. The next morning, the gods took the couple up out of the city to a mountain, and when they looked back, they saw that the gods had flooded the city so that everyone drowned. Then they saw where their house had been; but instead of a small, simple house covered up by the water, the gods had turned it into a beautiful temple with a glittering gold roof.5 So for the Listrians, if for some reason the gods come down again, they’re going to do as much as they can to make them feel welcomed.

Let’s continue in v.11, 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 they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker—he did all the talking. 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.

Oh, Paul was so down to earth—he wanted so badly for them to see that he was a person too; and his vision was so focused on God, and he just starts preaching. But not in the same way he had in Iconium or Antioch. They were well versed in the Scripture. These people 4 in Metamorphasis, a book compiled by a poet named Ovid. Boice, J. M. (1997). Acts: An expositional commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 255. 5 Boice, 255. See also Bruce, F. F. (1988). The book of the Acts. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 274-275.

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wouldn’t be able to make those connections to know what Paul was talking about. He describes God like this (picking up at the end of v.15), “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.” This was a message they could grasp: the heavens, the earth, the sea: that was obvious to them—and this God made them. Past generations turning away from God…well they knew what the result was when that happenedthis God would just flood everything. Then v.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.” That was really different from their expectation of their gods, who they had to coax not to destroy them. …That’s awesome! Paul just preached the grace of God to a group of people that had never heard been told about him before. What a beautiful door he’s opened to talking about the Gospel!

Yet they couldn’t just go into an area and make quick converts; they had to spend time there, persistent in discipling them, pointing them toward a God exalting vision. And (v.18) even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

But surprise, surprise, the Jews come on the scene again. These trouble-makers headed over from Antioch and Iconium just to stir up the people here as well. Follow along halfway through v.19, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. That’s just half a sentence, but think about what’s being said. They stoned him. He would have been burried up to his waist, and then pelted with stones by a crowd of volunteers until obviously battered to death. It would have lasted round 10-20 minutes. 6 This isn’t something that was just done then either. It’s still done today under Islamic law and other places. The people standing around did suppose that he was dead—bloody face, not recognizable.

C. DERBE: RETURNING TO HIS FEET (20B-21A)Let’s continue, v.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… hang on, it feels like we skipped 2 chapters! One minute he’s presumed to be dead, then the next, he’s up on his feet, turning in for the night, ready for a 35 mi. hike to Derbe the next day! But “God had more work for Paul to do, so he did not die.” Some have said this idea in this way,7 “I am immortal until my work on earth is complete.” Determination, resilience, pressing on for God’s sake! That’s Godly grit!

John Wesley was a circuit-riding preacher. He rode from place to place on his horse and stopped off to preach in each. As the nature of his messages were usually on the evil and filth of man’s sin against the justice, righteousness, holiness of God; he wan’t usually well

6 Head, Tom. "Death by Stoning." About.com Civil Liberties. N.p., n.d. Web.7 Livingstone and Mather

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received. Many were ready to throw whatever they had at this preacher of righteousness—if not vegetables or other objects, then harsh words. On one occasion however, the people began to calm down after a day or so of preaching, listening more eagerly to what he was saying. This was a shock to him, and he was concerned; so after he had spoken, he removed himself and prayed to this effect: “Father, these people are not offended by your message anymore. Forgive me if I have compromised your Word of truth and thus appeased the fleshly desires of these men and women. Please confirm to me that I am still speaking truth.” At that moment, a brick flew inches away from his head; he turned around to see an enraged man, furious at him for what he had spoken earlier…so John knelt again and praised God for answering.

Why do we fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do? But Christ warns us whom we should fear: “fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear [God]!”8

In 1858, John Paton and his wife set sail to a group of islands. The island was occupied by unreached cannibals who had killed and eaten a couple of missionaries just 20 years earlier. In light of this many criticized the Patons’ for going, and on one account before leaving, a respected elder scolded them, "You will be eaten by cannibals!" To which Paton responded,

“Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms.

Countless stories could be told of men and women who endured one threat after another and put it all on the line for the glory of Christ, because they knew that God is sovereign9

III. RETURN TO ANTIOCH: STRENGTH AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE KINGDOM (21B-28)

Vv.21-23 wraps up everything.

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. That’s not generally what comes to mind when we think of encouragement. But it is much more than just a helpful word, or a get well soon card. It’s encouraging others—“giving-courage-to” others, by pointing them to a vision of the kingdom, a vision in which God is exalted high—rock-solid, immoveable, in whom we be stong and take courage.V.22 gives us beautiful illustration of the Christian walk

8 Cf. Lk. 12:4,5.9 Piper, J. "John G. Paton: You Will Be Eaten By Cannibals." Desiring God. N.p., n.d. Web.

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- Destination = kingdom of God- Path = through many tribulations- How to walk the path = continue in the faith

The brothers’ final step on their mission is to establish a church, with elders devoted to the Lord. 23 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. The elders needed this encouragement; they’re going to lead the body of believers, staying in the same places with the same troublemakers that Paul and Barnabus had. The are definitely going to face opposition.

Well the brothers made it home (vv.24-28), and were eager to tell their church all about what God had done! Let’s look again at the theme of this text:

SLIDE-3 The brothers resiliently pushed on to preach the gospel,as an active overflow of their God-given faith and God-exalting vision.

IV. CONCLUSION: HOW ARE WE TO ADVANCE?

Why can we advance with the gospel’s grit? Because we have an imperishable hope in the inhritance God has reserved for us in heaven God’s light will never go out! Yes, through tests; yes through trials; because in that our faith is proven to be more and more glorious, a faith that is evident to be rooted in him.

Risk is worth it!10 We have nothing to lose. But how big is our vision of God?

Many of you have burdens, and are tested daily; perhaps you are crying out in the midst of your trials. Let me close with the encouragement Paul writes in a letter to Timothy.11 Purhaps we can find ourselves in a similar position to Timothy here:

“10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”12

We can gladly boast in our weaknesses, so the power of Christ may rest upon us. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, we ought to be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, 10Piper, J.11 See also 2 Cor. 11:25; 12:10 for Paul’s reason in rejoicing in hardships of all sorts (including the stoning he faced in Lystra), or 1 Pet. 2:14 along the same vein.12 2 Tim. 3:10-17

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persecutions, and calamities. For when we are weak, then we are strong,13 for then it is Him alone.

I want you to advance with Godly grit!

Would you join me in prayer.

13 Cf. 2 Cor. 12:9b-10

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