Acts 14

I saw the start of a new series of Race Across the World.

!

I'm leaving TV.

The book of Acts is the Race Across the World.

The book of Acts is the story of the gospel going from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

The story of Acts is a tiny little group huddled together in a room at the start of Acts and at the end of Acts, a worldwide global movement.

It's a race across the world.

And the first series of the Race Across the World is this missionary journey of Acts 13 and 14.

It takes six minutes to read.

The journey lasted about three years.

46 to 48 AD.

Before Paul and Barnabas set out, there are no Christian congregations in Asia Minor.

Within a decade, there are Christian churches in every major city.

Come with me to the end of Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

And there's a summary verse.

And they report back at the end of this race across the world.

And they say, verse 26, where we sail to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they'd fulfilled.

And when they arrived, they gathered all the church together.

They declared all that God had done with them.

And how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Chapter 14 is God in action.

It is God opening a door of faith to those who are not Jews, to the Gentiles.

We have a picture here of how God opens the door wide for people like you and people like me.

How God sets an opportunity before his people.

But it is very different from what we might expect.

If God is really opening a door of faith, wouldn't you expect things to go really well?

If we had a missionary who came to us and said, well listen, and the door of faith is opening wide in this area of the world, we would expect success stories.

We would expect for things to come together.

For there to be some level of safety and security.

You would not expect all sorts of opposition and hostility.

But what we find in Acts 14 is very different.

Paul and Barnabas, remember, they are run out of Antioch.

Run out of Iconium.

They are stoned.

They are left for dead in Lystra.

Four years later, the apostle Paul is writing to his sidekick, Timothy.

To one of the young men who had come to faith when Paul preached in Lystra.

And Paul reminds him of this first visit.

He says, you followed my teaching, my conduct.

My aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and my sufferings.

All that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Acts 13 and 14.

All the persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

That is your picture of God opening a door of faith.

And there is an idea out there in lots of churches, and even in churches like this,

that if you follow the Lord Jesus, and if a church is obedient to the Lord Jesus,

then all its problems will disappear.

And what Acts 13 and 14 teaches us is the opposite of that.

Remember Paul and Barnabas, they're coming from Antioch in Pisidia,

and there's a map, there's two Antiochs.

There's Antioch on your right,

and there's another Antioch, isn't there, on the top left, Pisidian Antioch.

And Pisidia and Antioch is really this kind of trendy city.

It's the trendy place of London, wherever that is.

Greenford.

Hanwell.

It's where the media are, artsy people, influences, key people on the arts,

on the board of trade, and they've turned against Christianity and the gospel.

And yet the Christians, they remain joyful and full of the Spirit.

And what do you do when you've been thrown out of a city for preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus?

What do you do?

Do you go back to home base?

Do you lick your wounds?

Do you go back to safety?

Do you take a holiday on the med?

Do you rethink the strategy?

Do you think, let's take some of the nasty bits out of the gospel?

Let's not tell people about the wrath of God, or the judgment of God, or repentance.

Let's not do that.

Well, what do they do in chapter 14?

They take courage in their hands, and they do what is unsafe, and they do what is massively risky and unconventional.

There are three episodes in the chapter, and I want to look at one at a time.

Verses 1 to 7, they come to Iconium.

Can you see the risk of faith?

They do the same thing.

They go to this place, Iconium, and they do the same thing they did in Antioch.

They go to the synagogue, and they preach as they've done again and again.

Look at the emphasis.

What do they do?

Verse 1, they speak.

Verse 3, they speak boldly.

Verse 7, they preach.

How does the gospel go forward?

How do churches get planted?

God's word is preached.

That is the way that the risen Lord Jesus brings salvation to people, through a message, through the preaching, proclaiming of the gospel.

How many verses does it take for persecution to break out?

The answer is 1.

Verse 2, some from Antioch come, and people's minds are poisoned, and Christianity is seen as a pernicious threat.

So what do Paul and Barnabas do?

Verse 3, they remain there a long time.

They speak boldly for the Lord.

They bear witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

But the people of the city are divided.

The Christian message comes to a city, and the city is divided.

Some side with the Jews, some side with the apostles.

What's going on here?

God is showing stunning and remarkable kindness to the people of Iconium.

He's sending them, these messengers, these apostles, who are preaching to them the good news of the Lord Jesus.

He confirms the truth of which they're preaching by signs and wonders.

And God gives strength to Saul and Barnabas.

And when the tide changes, and suddenly things go against them, they don't suddenly run away when it gets difficult.

They don't lie down in front of the lies, but they speak openly, boldly, clearly.

Which means that clearly, there's some physical threat, isn't there?

You don't speak boldly, unless there is some threat.

And the gospel that they are preaching, we're told, is the word of God's grace.

And the Iconians don't deserve this.

But God, in his mercy, is offering to them eternal life through his Son.

And he's offering to them forgiveness of sins, and the hope of glory,

and the transforming presence of his Holy Spirit through the gospel, as he does today.

Wherever the gospel is preached, it is divisive.

The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, for some people, is like a breath of life.

It's like fresh, life-giving oxygen.

But to others, the gospel of the Lord Jesus is poisonous cyanide.

And it's the hearing of the gospel that always has this paradoxical effect on its hearers.

The gospel of the Lord Jesus always brings about unity, and it always brings about division.

And whenever God truly reveals his Son through the preaching of the gospel,

it creates unity and division.

It did in the life and teaching of Jesus, didn't it?

It did in the life and teaching of the apostles, and it will do so in your life and in my life.

The Bible is thoroughly realistic.

And division is not nice.

And division is a miserable reality.

It shows our terrible perversity.

That the gospel of God, which ought to be the source of such true unity and true joy,

becomes the object of such division.

But I want you to see that the division it causes doesn't show that Paul and Barnabas were defective in their work.

It wasn't that Paul and Barnabas needed to learn to speak in a more gracious, more relevant way.

Exactly the opposite is true.

Paul and Barnabas were being true to the word of Jesus Christ,

and that is why the division took place.

As a church, we cannot serve Jesus Christ,

and be at peace with the world.

Or as the apostle James says to each one of us,

do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity, it's war with God?

Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world,

makes themselves an enemy of God.

So when these threats rise to abuse and physical violence,

what do Paul and Barnabas do?

Do they flee?

Do they look for a quiet and easy spot?

Well, no, they continue preaching the gospel.

Verse 7, God is here opening a door of faith.

It's very interesting to see when the apostles stay in Acts,

and when they speak boldly,

and when they get up and move on.

And I think what governs their choices is clear in the second episode.

So let's look at verses 8 to 20.

8 to 20.

And the first thing that happens in Lystra is a repeat.

It's a repeat of what we've seen in Acts before.

This miracle is a carbon copy of the miracle that Peter did at the temple.

Do you remember when he was there with Peter and John?

Silver and gold I don't have,

but this is what I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Get up and walk.

The apostle looks at him, orders him up, and he leaps.

The reaction is very different here, isn't it?

In Jerusalem, Peter was arrested.

But in Lystra, can you see?

What's the reaction?

Well, they want to make Paul and Barnabas gods.

They want to make them gods.

I have never had that response to my preacher.

Geoff Thomas has been preaching the gospel for 60, 70 years.

60 years, we'll say.

I suspect he's never had this response.

Reuben might have, but I haven't.

They say, don't they, that gods have come down to us in human form.

They're called Barnabas Zeus, Paul Hermes.

The priests go off, they get cows and garlands.

You might think that's an unusual reaction.

But there's a legend in the area.

And the legend in the area is that decades before,

Zeus and Hermes had assumed human form.

They'd visited the town of Lystra, the people of Lystra.

They'd looked for hospitality.

And Hermes and Zeus came house after house,

and they were not welcome.

They received no hospitality.

They visited a thousand homes,

until finally one poor elderly couple brought them in,

fed them, and gave them hospitality.

And Zeus and Hermes then took them out onto their veranda

and destroyed all their neighbours with fire

and transformed their hovel into a local temple.

So you could see, at this point,

with that legend that has grown up,

that the locals are motivated towards hospitality.

Now, I imagine

that there are many church leaders

that would have loved this.

They would have loved to have seen this local religious expression.

They would have received the garlands

and overlooked the sacrifices

and gone home to their hotel that night

thinking things have gone very well.

There's things to learn,

but things are marvellous.

They write the email.

They send it off to their supporters.

They say it's remarkable.

But Paul and Barnabas,

they see the sacrifices

and they spring literally into action.

Verse 14,

they tear their garments.

Why are you doing this, man?

We are men of like nature,

like you.

We're just like you.

And we bring you good news

that you should turn from these vain,

empty things to the living God

who made the heavens and earth

and the sea and all that is in them.

You don't tear your clothes

unless you're in the presence of blasphemy.

And Paul and Barnabas do not say,

what you're doing is wrong.

Ah, ah, ah.

This isn't wise.

They tear their clothes.

More than that,

they rush into the crowd

and they physically try to stop the crowd

from offering sacrifices.

It's the second time

in the first missionary journey

that the gospel has come

into confrontation

with non-Christian religions.

And both times are really helpful to us

because they help us think,

how are we to think of other religions?

And the truth is this,

they are not neutral exercises.

Other religions are not harmless expressions

of a universal spiritual impulse.

According to the Bible,

they are futile

and they are blasphemous

because they steal glory

from the true and the living God.

And the apostle,

he's got no regard

for how ancient

and well-established

these beliefs are.

He regards the religions

as false,

empty,

spiritually hazardous.

And verse 15,

the aim of the gospel

is to turn people

away

from these vain

and empty things

to the living God.

It's not kindness,

is it?

To say,

keep going for a moment

with these vain

and empty things.

They're dead,

they're worthless.

They cannot bring you

eternal life,

they cannot bring you

forgiveness

and grace.

What you need to do

is turn away

from those things

and those rituals

to the transforming hope

that we have

in Jesus Christ.

And I think

what's really striking

about this episode

is we are given

a glimpse

into the heart

of Paul and Barnabas.

We are given

a glimpse

into this man.

What motivates

this man?

What motivates

Paul and Barnabas?

It is not so much

results

and it's not so much

numbers.

it's not even

so much

his love

for these people

that he's never met.

Those things

are present

but what burns

brightest

in the apostle's

heart

is a love

and a zeal

for the glory

of God.

And he cannot

bear it

and they cannot

bear it

when they see

God's name

soiled.

And he's

filled with

jealousy

that God

should be

treated as God

and his name

would be treated

as holy.

It's a personal

injury to them

when they see

God dishonoured.

And that's why

they do this

incredibly dangerous

thing.

And I'm aware

today

and we live

in a city

don't we

that is

rightly

nervous

of religious

fanaticism.

But we need

to remind

ourselves

that zeal

for the glory

and the name

of the living

God

is a defining

mark

of all

who belong

to the living

God.

Do you remember

what it was said

of the Lord

Jesus?

He said it

of himself

in the words

of the psalm.

He says

zeal for your

house

our Lord

consumes me.

The insults

that should

fall on him

fall on me.

So in verse 15

we hear this

first Christian

sermon

ever preached

to out and out

pagans

possibly illiterate

people

probably illiterate

people

who've never

heard of the

Old Testament.

They've never

heard of Jesus

Christ.

They've been

speaking of Jesus

but now they go

right back to

basics.

I don't have

time to go

through it fully

but look at

verses 15

to 17.

There's four

points to

this sermon.

He tells them

first of all

God is your

creator.

He made you.

He's transcendent

above all things.

Number two

he is sovereign.

God rules

every person

and every nation.

Thirdly

God has

revealed himself

and God

wishes

to be known.

And fourthly

God is full

of goodness.

Full of mercy

and full of

kindness.

and he

doesn't just

satisfy your

stomach but

he satisfies

your heart

with gladness.

It's a lovely

message isn't

it?

A lovely

message.

God made

you.

God rules

over all.

God has

revealed himself

and wishes

to be known

and God is

full of goodness.

What's the

response?

Verse 19

and 20

it's monumental

fickleness.

The same

people who

want to make

them gods

turn and

very quickly

try to kill

Paul

by stoning

him.

They think

he's dead

so they

drag him

outside the

city.

Somehow

Paul survives

and the

next day

he goes on

to preach

the gospel

in Derby.

I wonder

if you were

writing a

letter to

the folks

back home

an email

update

I wonder

if you

would say

God had

opened a

door for

the gospel.

We come

to the

third

point

and the

last

section

verses

21

to

28

is

very

important.

After

two years

of

pioneer

missionary

work

there's

one final

thing

to do

and that

is to

ensure

that the

door of

the gospel

remains

open.

Let me read

three of the

verses.

Verse 21

and when

they preached

the gospel

to that

city and

had made

many

disciples

they returned

to Lystra

to Iconium

to Antioch.

Can you believe

it?

They went

back to

these places

strengthening

the souls

of the

disciples

encouraging

them to

continue

in the

faith

and saying

that through

many

tribulations

to write

we must

enter the

kingdom of

God.

And when

they'd

appointed

elders for

them in

every church

with prayer

and fasting

they committed

them to the

Lord in

whom they

believed.

It's

interesting

isn't it

that when

we want

to bring

the gospel

to a

place

what has

often been

done

is they

have a

mission.

That's

what the

evangelical

church has

done.

They have

a mission

in an

area.

It's

interesting

that isn't

what the

apostle Paul

does.

He

establishes

churches.

At the

end of

two years

work in

Galatia

province

what does

the

apostle

leave

behind?

Churches.

Churches

are the

flower of

the gospel.

And not

missionary

organizations

not

parachurch

organizations

but local

churches.

And so

the question

that I'm

asking at

the end

of Acts

14 and

you should

be asking

too is

how on

earth can

these

churches

survive?

I mean

there's not

a believer

in Galatia

who's known

the gospel

for more

than two

years.

And these

new

congregations

they are

the definition

of fragile

and they're

facing bitter

and vicious

physical

opposition

and persecution.

How are

they going

to keep

going?

How can

Paul leave

them on

their own?

Surely he

needs to

establish a

head office

or something.

And so I

want us to

see as we

close

in three

ways

churches

that the

apostle

provides

for these

churches

to enable

that the

door of

faith

remain open.

Three

things he

does.

Three

gifts he

gives them.

Three

foundations

to make

sure that

churches

not only

survive

but

churches

thrive

and grow.

So here

are the

three

foundations

for growing

churches.

Number one

the

apostolic

teaching.

Notice

!

Notice

verse 21

and they

go around

and what

are they

trying to

do?

They're

trying to

strengthen,

encourage

and exhort.

And they

know that

the natural

drift of

their hearts

and my

hearts

is to

slide

back.

And they

know that

you and

I go

lukewarm

very,

very quickly

and so

what do

they do?

They

encourage,

they

strengthen,

they exhort,

continue in

the faith.

Do not

give up.

And through

the New

Testament

this

phrase

keeps

being

used

to

continue

in

the

faith,

the

tradition

is another

way of

put it,

the deposit,

the faith.

It's a

recognisable

body of

teaching.

We say

it in

the

creed.

What do

you say

to these

people who

have

received

this

teaching

and face

violence?

What do

you say

to people

who have

watched

the

Apostle

Paul

being

beat

into

unconsciousness?

Paul

says

verse

22,

through

many

tribulations

we must

enter the

kingdom

of

God.

And I

think that

really is

the summary

verse of

the whole

chapter.

Through

many

tribulations

we must

enter the

kingdom of

God.

Want to

see what

it's like

for a

door to

open for

the faith?

Through

many

tribulations

we must

enter the

kingdom of

God.

God.

If I

can put it

like this

there are

two sides

to following

Jesus.

On the

one side

God has

opened a

door for

us and

we will

enter

through that

into the

kingdom of

God.

The path

that you

walk as

a follower

of the

Lord Jesus

today and

the path

that I

walk

each day

takes us

a day's

march nearer

home to

the kingdom

of God.

And we

will be with

Christ and

we will be

with one

another and

there will

be no

pain and

no sickness

and no

death and

no sorrow.

And we

will see

him face

to face

with renewed

redeemed

restored

resurrection

bodies.

Every day

is a

day's

march near

a home.

It's a

path of

joy but

there's

another

side to

the path.

And that

path that

we walk

towards the

kingdom of

God it

is full

of well

you know

it's

done to

you trials

and tribulations

and setbacks

and sorrows

and difficulties.

And not

just one

not just

two but

many

tribulations

isn't it?

And do you

notice that

in Iconium

it's not

just the

apostle who

is the

target of

opposition

and persecution

verse 2

it's the

brethren

they face

the persecution

too.

The

Christians

in Iconium

who are

going to be

misunderstood

and mistreated

and in

verse 20

in Lystra

it's really

interesting

where they

drag

Paul's

body

out

it's

written in

such a

way

literally

that the

disciples

don't gather

round Paul

once the

danger

has passed

but at the

same time

as the

danger

after he

passes out

to kind of

literally it's

this picture

of a

protective

ring around

the apostle

Paul

and this

too is a

door of

faith

here is

the thing

what the

apostle is

teaching

them and

us

is that

these very

tribulations

through which

God is going

to bring us

into the

kingdom of

God

it is

glory

through

suffering

he's going

to bring us

to heaven

those who

have trusted

Christ

but the

path to

heaven

every single

one of us

faces sorrows

and difficulties

and I

don't know

what your

sorrows and

difficulties

and tribulations

and trials

are right now

for some

those

tribulations

will be an

opportunity

for massive

self-absorption

and bitterness

but for others

they are the

path

that leads

to joy

in heaven

he puts

it more

boldly

for some

these

tribulations

are a

path

for hell

and for

some

they are

a path

to heaven

this is

the apostolic

teaching

and it's

the foundation

of the

church

second

thing

I think

is a

little bit

surprising

and it's

this

the second

foundation

is pastoral

oversight

look at

verse 23

how do

churches

survive

well

verse 23

the apostle

appoints

elders

so that the

gospel will

continue being

preached

the apostle

does not

impose people

from outside

the congregation

they are

appointed from

within

he does not

appoint one

elder for one

congregation

it says in

every congregation

they appointed

elders

as corporate

leaders

some will

work full

time

some will

work part

time

the word

appoint has

two meanings

it means to

put your

hand up to

vote

and to put

your hand

down to

lay hands

on someone

so I

take it

what

Paul and

Barnabas did

they didn't

come into

the congregation

and say

well this guy

looks good

let's make him

an elder

can you see

there is

both

congregational

involvement

and there is

outside

authority as

well

which lays

hands on

them

later on

when Paul is

writing to

Timothy

he says

these are

the qualifications

that men

need when you

look to

appoint elders

they must be

people who

have

demonstrable

moral

integrity

they must be

people who

are loyal

to the

apostolic

words

they must be

people who

are able to

teach others

so I want you

to see this

church

government

matters

and I would

argue that the

form of church

government

matters

Paul leaves

the church

with apostolic

teaching

pastoral oversight

and the third

and final thing

here's the

most important

thing at all

he offers to

them the

protection of

God

can you see

what he does

he prays

and he commits

them to the

Lord

the most important

thing we can say

about the church

is that it's not

a human invention

every church

this congregation

has been created

by God

sustained

by God

ruled by God

through his word

and humanly

speaking

it is just

absurd

for you to

think that we

can continue

on without God

as it was

for these

congregations

and ultimately

their protection

and our protection

does not come

through legal

or structural

means

the gospel

moves forward

through tribulation

as the gospel

is preached

and Christians

encourage one

another

and strengthen

one another

to face the

suffering

and pray

for the

blessing of

God

so this is

what it looks

like

for God

to open up

a door

of faith

it is risky

it is unsafe

it is even

frightening

but it is

through many

tribulations

that we must

enter the

kingdom

of heaven

and the

church in

this country

particularly

in the UK

is very

cautious

and churches

like ours

have become

very risk

averse

and careful

and prudent

and I think

Acts 13

and 14

calls for

risk

and it

calls for

boldness

last Sunday

Christchurch

Lincoln

began

this Sunday

Grove Chapel

Camberwell

joined

next Sunday

there is a

new minister

coming to

Emmanuel Brentford

Ian Clements

and these are

really really

encouraging days

for us

but remember

Acts 13

and 14

at tribulation

trials

are coming

will come

have come

and the idea

that there is

going to be a

time when

everything is

going to be

safe and

secure

and then

we'll act

and then

we'll risk

well it means

that God

isn't actually

adequate for us

because it is

through many

tribulations

that we must

enter the

kingdom of God

so do not

be the spirit

do not be

surprised

do not be

dismayed

do not be

deterred

let's pray

thank you

Thank you.