Acts 14 - Part 2

Thank you, Wes and company, for teaching us new old songs and for leading us consistently with old songs.

! Interestingly, there's this distinguishing factor between old songs and new songs and new songs have words in them.

! But there are some good writers in them.

We sang a song this morning by a friend named Matt Papa.

That is a good new song that sounds like an old song because it's rich and deep.

Thank you guys for all the work you do in that.

Acts chapter 14. Last week we began a study of chapter 14 of Luke's second volume.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

His first volume is the Gospel according to Luke.

Are you familiar with that, I believe?

This is his second volume of work.

It's most commonly referred to as the Acts of the Apostles.

We so often just call it Acts, but your Bible probably says in the front, the Acts of the Apostles.

And I don't think that's entirely wrong, but I do think it would be more aptly called the Acts of the Risen Jesus Christ.

Luke's first account is the Acts, the Acts of the Risen Jesus Christ.

When Jesus ascended, he sent the promised Holy Spirit that abides in all of those who call on his name.

And he acts by the agency of that Spirit in the lives of his followers.

So as we observe the Apostles, first Peter as the primary character, now Paul as the primary character.

We see Jesus Christ himself working in and through the lives of his people.

Throughout the book of Acts, we see the repetition of the phrases full of the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit throughout Luke's record.

And at the very end of chapter 13 in verse 52, you'll note it says,

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

I think that Luke intends for this to be a bridge for us from the activity in chapter 13 into the activity in chapter 14.

And I asserted the following to you last week, if you were here, of course.

Folks, the primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.

I'll repeat that for you.

The primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

It's not the Spirit doesn't glorify himself.

The Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ.

The exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.

and the primary means that he uses to accomplish this,

so the Spirit is working for the exaltation of Jesus Christ

and the salvation and perfection of his people,

the primary means he uses to accomplish this

is the word of God believed and spoken by the people of God.

For the sake of time this morning,

I will not be able to reestablish my proof for that statement.

We spent most of last Sunday doing that.

But I do not want you just to take my word for it.

Please ever take anybody's word for something.

Such a vast, massive statement such as

the primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ

and the salvation and perfection of his church.

And the primary means that he uses to accomplish this

is the word of God believed and spoken by the people of God.

It's essentially a summary statement of the person

and the work of the Spirit of God

don't just take my word for it.

Study the Scripture.

Go back on our church's website and listen to last week's sermon

when I make the case for that from the Bible itself.

I really believe this will serve you well.

If you're a follower of Jesus Christ,

you need to give careful consideration

to what it means to be filled by the Spirit.

There's much teaching out there about what that means.

There's much erroneous teaching.

There's much contradictory teaching

about what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

If we are followers of Jesus Christ,

he's been given to us as a gift.

And so we need to understand what that means.

Do not neglect the third person of the Trinity

as a worshiper of God,

nor the empowerment that the Spirit of God brings.

Your life will be more fulfilled,

will be more set on purpose

if you'll understand the empowerment

that the Holy Spirit brings.

Our text today and into next Sunday as well

serves this end

by giving us a picture

of what it looks like

to be filled with the Spirit.

So these activities that Paul and Barnabas are about,

the things that we can observe from this text,

are the result of

them being filled by the Spirit.

So what does it look like

to be filled with Spirit?

It's not exhaustive,

but it gives us some clues.

It gives us some filters

to run our own life through

and to understand better

what it means

to be filled with the Spirit.

So,

I'm going to read all of Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

This is our text.

Last week,

this week,

next week I believe we'll finish it.

So follow along with me.

Acts chapter 14,

Acts 14 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 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.

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 of the city

were divided.

Some sided with the Jews

and some with the apostles.

When an attempt was made

by both Gentiles and Jews

with their rulers

to mistreat them

and to stone them,

they learned of it

and fled to Lystra and Derbe,

cities of Lyakonoa,

excuse me,

Lithuania,

and to the surrounding country.

And there they continued

to preach the gospel.

Now 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,

said in a loud voice,

stand upright 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 Lithuanian,

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 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.

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?

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 seasons,

satisfying your hearts

with food and gladness.

Even with these words,

they scarcely restrained

the people

from offering sacrifice

to them.

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 up

and entered the city

and on the next day

he went on with Barnabas

to Derbe.

When they had preached

the gospel to that city

and had made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra

and to Iconium

and to Antioch,

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.

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.

Then they passed

through Pisidia

and came to Pamphylia.

When they had spoken

the word in Perga,

they went down to Italia

and from there

they sailed to Antioch

where they had been

committed to the grace

of God

for the work

that they had fulfilled.

And when they arrived,

they 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

and they remained

no little time

with the disciples.

Beloved,

this is God's word

to us.

It was written

for his glory

and our good

and we would all

do well

to listen to it

in order to believe

its promises

and obey its commands.

Now,

the structure

for our study

of Acts chapter 14,

Acts 14 · chapter mention

I wrote around

seven points.

I'm going to give

those to you

but we will repeat them

so please don't

be in a panic

if you're a note taker.

The person who is

filled with the Spirit,

number one,

is fruitful.

Number two,

is opposed.

Number three,

speaks boldly.

Number four,

acts humbly.

Number five,

develops disciples.

Number six,

is committed.

And number seven,

loves fellowship.

Now,

last week,

we managed to make it

through the first point.

I had intended to get

through the first four.

We made it through

the first one

and that is

that the person

who is filled

with the Spirit

is fruitful

and by that,

I mean

that the person

who is filled

with the Spirit

is multiplied,

is a multiplier

of disciples

of Jesus Christ

as they proclaim

the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

I mean it in the

Mark chapter 4

Mark 4:20

verse 20 sense

in the good soil sense.

Those who are of

good soil

bear much fruit.

So,

they're reproducing

the person

who is filled

with the Holy Spirit.

And again,

I would encourage you

to go back

and listen

to that sermon.

Today,

I'm going to work

to present

the next three points

and then we'll finish

next Sunday

with point five,

six,

and seven.

This morning,

it's quite possible

that I'm going to

present these three points

to you

with a great amount

of brevity.

We'll see.

Of course,

as we always do,

on Monday

of this week,

I was playing

with my boys

in a tree,

which is just a thing

you shouldn't do

when you're about

to turn 37.

And I took a short

but very hard fall

out of said tree

and I'm pretty sure

I cracked two ribs.

So,

it's been a very painful week.

You may note me already

getting short of breath.

It's because I'm trying

to breathe and talk

at the same time

and it's a little hard

right now to do that.

A community group

on Tuesday,

I set my coffee down

to my right

and I was trying

to reach for it

and I couldn't quite

reach for it.

And we're talking

and I'm trying to reach

for my coffee

and I tried to cross over

with my other arm

and I couldn't quite get it

and pretty soon

I noticed that everybody

was kind of chuckling

at me

and we had stopped talking

and Phil,

bless him,

was sitting close by

and said,

do you want me

to get your coffee

for you?

Yes, please.

I'm feeling much better

this morning

but my head,

to be entirely honest,

has not been in

points two,

three,

and four

of this text

very much

this week.

Praise the Lord

and His providence.

Last week,

I prepared to preach

through point four,

only made it

through point one

and then fell out

of a tree.

So here I am

with my notes

essentially from last week.

And so we'll get into this

and just see how the Lord

blesses our time together.

I pray that He will.

So,

our first point for today,

point number two,

the person who is filled

with the Spirit

is opposed.

If you've been with us

during our study of Acts,

this should be no surprise

to you.

The gospel of Jesus Christ

has been

and will be

accepted by many

and has been

and will be

rejected by many.

And that rejection

takes many forms.

It often takes the form

of direct opposition.

Beloved,

we should never forget

that our Lord

was crucified.

God,

the one whom we say

we follow,

who sets an example

for us

in all of the ways

that we're meant

to conduct our lives,

Himself

was persecuted.

He was opposed

to the point

of death.

Jesus said in

John chapter 15,

John 15:20

verse 20,

Remember the word

that I have said

to you,

a servant

is not greater

than his master.

If they persecute me,

they will also

persecute you.

If they kept my word,

they will also

keep yours.

And we have witnessed

this reality

in the book

of Acts.

Jesus is now

ascended.

He has sent

the Holy Spirit.

He's extended Himself

into the people

of God.

And we have observed

together

this opposition

to the gospel

of Christ.

Many accepting,

many following Jesus,

many rejecting.

Chapter 4 of Acts,

Peter and John

are arrested

for preaching

in the temple.

Remember,

they stand trial

in front of the Sanhedrin.

In chapter 6,

Stephen,

a deacon of the church,

is arrested

for contending

for the faith

with proselytes

from the synagogues

in Jerusalem.

In chapter 7,

Stephen is the

first Christian martyr.

In chapter 8,

a great persecution

begins.

You may remember

that it's Paul,

then called Saul,

who leads that charge.

And the church

in Jerusalem

is scattered abroad.

God flings open

the gate

for the gospel

to go forth

to the nations

of the world.

In chapter 12,

James is martyred

and Peter is imprisoned.

Once again,

miraculously released.

chapter 13,

Paul and Barnabas

are opposed

by a false prophet

named Elimus

on the island of Cyprus.

And at Antioch

in Pisidia,

Paul and Barnabas

are driven

out of the district.

You can see that

in chapter 13,

verse 50.

They're driven

out of the district

and then we see

that the disciples

were filled with joy

and with the Holy Spirit.

And so,

we find ourselves

in chapter 14

in the city of Iconium.

Unbelieving Jews,

verse 2,

stirring up the Gentiles

and poisoning their minds

or it could be translated

embittering their minds

against the brothers,

setting them against them.

And then in verse 4,

we see of chapter 14

that the people are divided,

some siding with the Jews

and some with the apostles,

some rejecting

and some accepting

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And then in verse 5,

we see that there's

an attempt made

to stone them,

to take them out

and to throw rocks at them

until they die.

And we see the prudence,

not the cowardice,

but the prudence

of Paul and Barnabas

as they flee

to Lystra and Derbe,

the city of Lithuania

and to the surrounding country.

Right?

So opposition.

Right?

They're met with opposition.

Acceptance,

but also opposition

as they preach

the good news of Jesus.

And then in Lystra,

so they go out from there.

Verse 19 you see,

but Jews from Antioch

and Iconium

have followed him now

and they've persuaded

the crowds

and they go through

with this act

of stoning Paul

and they drag him

out of the city

supposing that he was dead.

Now,

I don't want to spend

any time

except for this little bit

that I'm going to.

Some would suggest

that Paul was in fact dead

and that he was raised

from the dead.

I don't think so,

but that's okay if you do.

I think that he was

so beaten down,

so stoned

to the point of death

that he seemed dead

and that then God

gives him the strength

to get back up

in verse 20 we see.

So he's stoned here.

Great opposition,

a persecution

against the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

After being stoned,

the disciples come around.

He gets up.

What do they go do?

Immediately they go off

to Derbe

to preach the gospel.

Verse 21,

they preach the gospel

in that city,

being Derbe,

and made many disciples.

What do they do?

They return.

This is fascinating to me.

They return to Lystra

and to Iconium

and to Antioch,

the places where

all of these things

had happened.

And they strengthen

the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them

to continue in the faith

and saying,

the primary way

in which they're

encouraging them

to continue in the faith,

strengthening their souls,

that through many

tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God.

This is the way

they're saying

into the kingdom of God,

to be hated

like our Savior.

Many will accept

but many will reject.

Paul writes later

in his pastoral epistle

to Timothy,

a young pastor,

2 Timothy 3,

2 Timothy 3:12

verse 12,

Indeed,

all who desire

to live a godly life

in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted.

Our religious freedom

will spare us

some types of persecution.

American Christian,

this is true.

Some types of persecution.

Praise God for that.

I am thankful

for our religious freedom.

I am thankful

for the way

in which we're allowed

to gather this morning.

This is not

5.30 a.m.

underground,

in the dark,

sneaking in, right?

That's a good thing.

It's a blessed thing

that we're able to do this.

Our religious freedom

will spare us

from some types

of persecution.

But our religious freedom

does not stay

the promises of God.

Those who desire

to live godly

in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted.

If we are filled

with the Spirit,

if we're seeking

out opportunities

to share the gospel

of Jesus Christ,

and we are in fact

sharing the gospel

of Jesus Christ,

some will accept it

and some will reject it.

And that rejection

will take the form

of opposition.

Why will the gospel

be opposed by some?

Why will it be opposed

by some?

The very hardness

of their own hearts.

Some people do not

want to hear

that they are

self-worshippers,

that they are

enemies of God,

that they have turned

from Him

and in every way

said they hate Him.

They don't want

to hear it, right?

Your preaching

brings condemnation

on them

and they do not

want to hear it.

They do not want

to give things up

for the sake

of following Jesus.

They are very happy

with the way

their life is going.

To forsake

their own being

for the sake

of following Christ.

They don't want

to hear that message.

Paul writes

in 2 Corinthians 2,

2 Corinthians 2:14–16

verses 14-16,

But thanks be to God

who in Christ

always leads us

in triumphal procession

and through us

spreads the fragrance

of the knowledge

of Him everywhere.

I think that's

a wonderful metaphor.

The fragrance

of the knowledge

of Him

everywhere.

Verse 15,

For we are the aroma

of Christ

to God

among those

who are being saved

and among those

who are perishing.

We are ambassadors

for Christ.

And Paul's using

this metaphor

of spreading

fragrance of knowledge

being the aroma

of Christ

both to those

who are being saved

and to those

who are perishing.

We're presenting

Jesus Christ

to those

who believe

in Him

and Jesus Christ

to those

who will reject Him.

Verse 16,

To one,

a fragrance

from death

to death.

Those who would

reject the message

of Jesus Christ.

Dead people

not accepting

the message

of Jesus Christ

remaining dead

people.

To the other,

a fragrance

from life

to life.

And then Paul

asked the question,

Who is sufficient

for these things?

Surely we are not.

We must be

filled with the Spirit

to present

such a message.

So the person

who is filled

with the Spirit

is opposed,

will meet

opposition

even as they're

being fruitful.

Thirdly,

the person

who is filled

with the Spirit

is bold.

in the face

of opposition,

knowing full well

that we will

either meet it

or we have

already met.

Opposition

to the Gospel

of Jesus Christ.

The person

who is filled

with the Spirit

is bold.

I am

in awe

of the boldness

of the early

apostles.

We just try

to put ourselves

in their shoes

and walk

through the situations

that they're walking

through.

I fear

that very few

of us

would have

responded

in the same

way

that they do

in our text

today.

Man,

I would like

to say,

oh,

me too.

I would have

done the exact

same thing.

My suggestion

is that if I'm

filled with the Spirit,

I would.

If I have the Word

of God

richly dwelling

in me,

if my eyes

are set

on heavenly

things,

if I'm looking

and living

to eternity

and I'm not

concerned

about the here

and now

that I would

do this,

so often,

so often,

I fear,

I would have

tucked tail

and run.

It's because

of opposition

in verse 3.

They remained

for a long

time.

Notice that.

Verse 2,

the unbelieving

Jews stirred up

the Gentiles

and poisoned

their minds

against the apostles.

And so,

what's said

in verse 3?

So,

they remained

for a long

time.

In direct

response

to the

unbelievers

stirring up

people,

trying to

change their

minds and

bitter them

towards the

gospel of

Jesus Christ,

Paul and

Barnabas

stay.

And verse 3

says,

they spoke

boldly

for the Lord

and the Lord

bears witness

to the word

of His grace,

granting signs

and wonders

to be done

by their hands.

They remain

on in a

hostile environment

for the sake

of the church

of Jesus Christ.

Then,

because of

further

opposition,

verse 7,

so we know

there's some

further opposition,

there's a plan

now to stone

them.

They learn

of this plan,

verse 5,

to mistreat

them and

to stone

them.

They learn

of it and

they flee.

Out of prudence

again,

not out of

cowardice.

It's time

to move on.

It's time

to go

to another

place.

A quick

side story

about one

of my

favorite

missionaries,

a guy

named

John G.

Patton,

was from

Scotland,

went to

a place,

in his

day was

called

the New

Hebrides,

a little

group of

islands

in the

South

Pacific.

It's

now called

Vanuatu.

So if you

have any

interest in

this,

look for

Vanuatu.

He went

to the

New

Hebrides

and the

people in

the New

Hebrides,

now Vanuatu,

were cannibals.

So he's

given all

this warning,

this wonderful

quote I've

read to you

some years

past,

an elder

of his

church,

trying to

convince him

not to

go,

because he'll

be eaten

by cannibals,

and he

says back

to him,

well someday

you'll be

eaten by

worms,

whether I'm

eaten by

cannibals or

you by

worms,

we'll both

find our

bodies in

the same

state.

Wonderful

quote.

He goes

to this

place,

loses his

wife and

his newborn

son to

disease,

I think it's

malaria,

early years

that he's

there.

He's on

this little

island,

has one

convert,

the man

who's

this

convert

will stand

over him

and protect

him with

a musket

while he's

studying,

so that as

these cannibals

come and try

to attack

him,

he's given

some warning,

shots go off

into the

jungle and

they run

back away.

There's

accounts of

him wrestling

with the

chief,

physically

wrestling with

the chief

of these

people and

lecturing him

for how

evil he is

for trying

to come

and eat

him.

And this

time on

this island

finally comes

to a head

where essentially

all the tribes

of this island

have decided,

they have decided,

they're going

to kill

and eat

John G.

Patton,

and he manages

to flee off

the island.

He manages

to get

passage from

a ship

off of the

island,

and he goes

home,

and at home

he is

chastised

for being

a coward.

This man

goes to

this place,

gives of his

life to go

to this place,

loses his

family in

this place,

and I would

suggest,

out of an

act of

prudence,

leaves the

island,

goes back

home where

he goes

and recruits

and then

goes back

to Vanuatu,

the New

Hebrides,

and he's

said,

you should

have stayed

and been

a martyr

for the

cause.

It wasn't

cowardice that

caused him

to run,

it's certainly

not cowardice

that causes

them to run

here,

but rather

prudence,

because what

do they go

do?

Verse 7,

John G.

Patton goes

home,

recruits

missionaries,

goes back.

What do they

do?

They continue

to preach

the gospel.

They don't

cease preaching

the gospel

because of a

threat against

them,

they continue,

they just

go to another

place,

and they

continue to

preach the

gospel.

We've seen

this boldness

other place

in the book

of Acts.

Peter and

John,

before the

Sanhedrin,

in chapter

4,

I mentioned

to you

earlier,

they're

charged not

to speak

or teach

in the name

of Jesus.

Now,

the Sanhedrin

was the

high Jewish

court,

right?

This would

have been

a big

deal.

71 men,

it's a big

deal that

you're standing

in front

of this

group.

They're

charged not

to speak

or teach

the name

of Jesus

in Acts

Acts 4:19

4,

verse 19

and 20,

but Peter

and John

answered

them,

whether it

is right

in the sight

of God

to listen

to you

rather than

to God,

you must

judge,

for we

cannot but

speak of

what we

have seen

and heard.

What boldness

when they

are released

and they

rejoin their

fellow disciples

later in

chapter 4,

they pray

together.

And they

do not

pray that

the opposition

will stop.

Why?

Because they

know that

this is the

way that

the kingdom

of God

is coming.

Because they're

aware that

the promises

that Jesus

made to

them,

that they're

not greater

than the

Master.

They know

full well

that the

world hated

him and

therefore the

world would

hate them

as well.

They don't

pray that

the opposition

will stop.

What do

they pray

for?

Further

boldness.

Further

boldness

in the light

of opposition

that we

would be

more

bold.

And they

granted it

and they

speak the

gospel at

the end

of chapter

4 with

even greater

boldness.

Look at

verse 20

in chapter

14 of

Acts.

because of

more

opposition.

Because of

more

opposition.

Paul,

Barnabas,

Paul's

stoned,

rises up,

goes to

the city

of Derbe.

When they

preached the

gospel of

that city,

made many

disciples,

they return.

And this

just astounds

me.

They return

to Lystra,

to Iconium,

and Antioch.

These are

the three

cities they

had just

been in.

And these

are the

people from

these cities

that had

stoned Paul.

They presumed

to death.

And they

went back

in great

boldness,

strengthening

the soul

of the

disciple,

encouraging

them to

continue

the faith,

and saying

that through

many

tribulations

we must

enter the

kingdom of

God.

What gives

the people

of God

such

boldness

in the

face of

such

opposition?

This is

no light

thing.

This is

not your

friends in

your psychology

class making

fun of you

for being a

follower of

Jesus.

And you

know you

got to go

back on

Thursday after

that hard

Tuesday class

where they

thought you

were a

weirdo for

believing the

truth of

the Bible.

This is

hard opposition.

Pursued,

stoned to

death,

presumably,

dragged outside

and left

for dead.

He goes

back to the

same places.

What gives

boldness?

Men,

such

boldness.

If you've

got the

theme in

your head,

they're

filled with

the Spirit.

They're

filled with

the Spirit.

What does

it mean to

be filled

with the

Spirit?

What is

it producing

in us?

How is

it?

Is this a

magical feeling

they have that

they're going

to go back

into these

places?

Say to

you,

no,

it's not.

It's that

the Word of

Christ dwells

in them

richly.

The Spirit

of God

is using

the truth

of God

to compel

them to

go back

to these

places.

Truths

like this.

January 1st

this year,

this was at

least part of

the text

that I preached

on.

Truths

like this,

Paul writes

Romans 8

35-39,

Who shall

separate us

from the

love of

Christ?

Shall

tribulation

or distress

or persecution

or famine

or nakedness

or danger

or sword?

As it is

written,

for your

sake we

are being

killed all

the day

long.

We are

regarded as

sheep to

be slaughtered.

It's these

types of

truths,

right?

Who can

separate us

from the

love of

Christ?

And because

Christ loves

us, we

love what

Christ loves.

And he

loves the

believers in

Lystra and

Iconium and

Antioch.

So we're

going to go

back and

we're going

to strengthen

them.

This is

what's

compelling

them to

go back.

Verse 37

of Romans

8,

No, in

all these

things we

are more

than conquerors

through him

who loved

us.

For I am

sure that

neither death

nor life

nor angels

nor rulers

nor things

present nor

things to

come nor

powers nor

height nor

depth nor

anything else

in all

creation will

be able to

separate us

from the

love of

God in

Christ Jesus

our Lord.

Beloved,

we need to be

compelled by

the truth of

who God is

to us in

Christ to

great boldness

in the face

of opposition.

So the

person who

is filled

with the

Spirit

is bold.

Fourthly,

and lastly,

the person who

is filled

with the

Spirit

acts

humbly

or is

humble,

if you

prefer.

Apparently I

do because I

changed my

notes halfway

through.

The person

who is filled

with the

Spirit

acts

humbly

or is

humble.

And there's

this really

kind of

amazing

account of

what happens

in Lystra.

A different

thing here

than happens

in other

places where

the gospel

is proclaimed.

They go to

Lystra and

they're preaching

the gospel of

Jesus Christ

as they're

going along

and they

encounter a

man.

A man who's

been crippled

from birth

the point

of Luke's

account is

that this

man was

never able

to walk.

It wasn't

some show

that they

put on.

He genuinely

was not

able to

walk.

From birth

he was

crippled.

By the

miraculous

power of

God,

he's raised

up to

walk again.

All of

this,

I talked

about this

a lot

last week,

is done

to affirm

the message

of Jesus

Christ.

It's always

meant to

exalt

Jesus Christ,

miracles of

this nature.

But there's

this peculiar

response from

the people

in Lystra.

When the

crowd saw

what Paul

had done,

they lifted

up their

voices,

saying in

Lithuanian,

the gods

have come

down to

us in

the likeness

of men.

We see

that they

call Barnabas

Zeus and

Paul Hermes

because he

was the

chief speaker.

And the

priest of

Zeus,

whose temple

was at

the entrance

to the

city,

this is

verse 13,

brought out

oxen and

garlands to

the gates

and wanted

to offer

sacrifice

with the

crowds.

So the

result of

Paul's

healing,

we must

understand,

was rooted

in a

local folklore.

So this

odd response

was rooted

in a

local folklore.

For them,

it wasn't

odd at all.

In John

MacArthur's

commentary on

this text,

he wrote

this,

there was

a tradition

in Lystra

that the

gods,

Zeus and

Hermes,

once came

to earth

incognito.

When they

arrived at

Lystra and

asked for

food and

lodging,

everyone

refused

them.

Finally,

an old

peasant named

Philemon and

his wife

Bacchus took

them in.

Their

inhospitable

neighbors were

drowned in a

flood sent by

the vengeful

gods.

Philemon and

Bacchus,

however,

saw their

humble cottage

turned into a

magnificent temple

where they

served as

priests and

priestess.

So this is

the folklore

of the town.

And here

come these

two men,

Barnabas and

Paul,

performing this

miracle.

This man who

could not walk

is now able to

walk.

And this is

why they

responded in

that way.

Barnabas likely

gets to be

Zeus because

his stature was

probably one of

greater prominence.

The text tells us

Paul Hermes because

Hermes was the

messenger of the

gods and he's the

chief speaker.

There's some

extra-biblical

accounts which

likely could be

believed,

some descriptions

of Paul.

Paul was kind

of an odd,

short-balled,

unibrowed man.

Not a pleasant

looking man at

all.

So Barnabas gets

the honor of

Zeus in this

case.

Because the

people were

speaking

Likuanian,

this is important,

Luke reports

this for us,

because of this,

Paul and

Barnabas had no

idea what was

going on.

That's why he

records that for

us.

They're not

sure what's

happening.

Why all the

hubbub about

this healing?

Verse 14,

Luke writes,

but when the

apostles Barnabas

and Paul heard

of it.

So now people are

speaking to them

in a language that

they understand.

They understand

what's happening.

They think that

we're Zeus and

Hermes.

They tear their

garments and they

rush out into the

crowd crying out.

Tearing their

garments was a

common sign of

revulsion at