God Bears Witness

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Please return to your seats when you get a chance, and we will continue our worship

this evening.

We will continue our worship this evening with the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Welcome to all of you.

My name is Sean.

I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church, and it is my joy and privilege to

preach God's Word to you this evening.

We have been going through the Book of Acts.

We took a two-week break from the series, and we are now returning to the Book of Acts.

We're in Chapter 14 today, so please turn with me to Acts Chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we incline the ears of our hearts to your Word, because we believe that

in it you speak to us, dress us as your people, because we know that it is able to make us

wise unto salvation in Jesus Christ.

And we pray that as we listen to your Word this evening, that you would so build up our

faith in your Word, it would make each of us bold evangelists, bold gospelizers, people

who share the good news of Jesus Christ with those around them with confidence that you yourself

will move in power.

And bear witness to your Word.

And we ask that you would exalt the name of your Son, Jesus, our Savior.

Magnify the grace and glory that you reveal to us in Jesus, that we might stand in awe of

Him, worship Him, and love Him more than we ever have.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Acts chapter 14, verses 1 to 28.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

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 Lycaonia,

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 Lycaonian,

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.

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.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Atalia.

And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God

for the work that they had fulfilled.

And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done

with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

And they remained no little time with the disciples.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

God has a funny way of telling us to do things that we are not able to do.

He tells us to join him in Christ's mission of seeking and saving the lost, but we are unable

to do so.

For he says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, by grace you have been saved through faith.

Ephesians 2:8

And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.

God tells us to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

But then in 1 Thessalonians 3 verse 12 says that it is the Lord who makes us increase and

1 Thessalonians 3:12

abound in love.

God tells us to work for one another's progress in the faith.

faith.

And yet we are told in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 14 that faith overflows to us by the grace

1 Timothy 1:14

of our Lord.

God tells us to impart his wisdom to one another, and yet Ephesians 1 verse 17 tells us that

Ephesians 1:17

it is the Father of glory who gives us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge

of him.

God tells us to work for one another's joy in the Lord.

And yet we are told in Romans 15 verse 13 that it is God who fills us with joy, with all joy.

Romans 15:13

In other words, all these things that God commands us to do, we cannot do by ourselves.

But he does this, he commands us in this way, not because he wants us to fail, but because

God intends to help us, because he wants us to join him in the work that he is doing.

As the 20th century evangelist Billy Graham once said, the will of God will not take us where

the grace of God cannot sustain us.

That's what we see going on here throughout the book of Acts.

Though the full title of the book is Acts of the Holy Apostles by Luke the Evangelist, it

may aptly also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

Because as the apostles are bearing witness to Jesus and to the Word, it's God himself who

confirms their witness by his own witness.

As we bear witness to him, God authenticates our proclamation.

And that's the main exhortation of today's passage, that we are to speak the gospel of

grace, trusting God to authenticate the proclamation of his word.

God does this through the witness of signs, which we see in verses 1 to 10, the witness of creation,

verses 11 to 18, and the witness of the suffering church in verses 19 to 28.

In chapter 13, if you recall, Barnabas and Saul, who were called by God to be missionaries,

were set apart and sent out by the church in Antioch.

This is the Antioch in Syria, which is different from the Antioch in Pisidia that's mentioned

throughout this chapter, chapter 14.

And here in chapter 14, they are entering Iconium.

Iconium is the ancient name of the modern city of Konya, which is a major city in Turkey.

It was a politically important city at the time.

And it says 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.

Paul and Barnabas, as was their custom, first entered the Jewish synagogue to preach the gospel

because they know that they already have a lot of common ground with the Jews.

And it says that they spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

So that means the manner in which they spoke was persuasive and winsome.

As we will see later in verse 27, the ultimate credit for this success in their missions work

belongs to God because they say that God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

They just look at what God has done with us or more literally through us.

But that doesn't mean that it doesn't matter how we minister.

It matters how we as God's people go about speaking the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We could be winsome or we could be abrasive.

We could be persuasive or we could be unpersuasive.

We could be well prepared or we could be ill prepared.

We could be humble or we could be arrogant.

God's sovereign work does not preclude human responsibility.

And it matters how we bear witness to Jesus.

That's why he says that they spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Paul and Barnabas were effective in their ministry.

And it says that not only the Jews but also the Greeks believed.

The Greeks likely refers to the God-fearers, the Gentile God-fearers, since they were speaking in the synagogues.

And you will find at times God-fearers there.

God-fearers are Greeks who worshipped the God of the Jews but who had not yet fully converted to Judaism.

These people were very responsive to the gospel.

But it says in verse 2,

The unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

The unbelieving Jews were contradicting and slandering the Christians among the Gentiles

in order to make them think badly about Christians.

This happens all the time in our context as well, doesn't it?

Whether it's in the news or other media, whether it's politicians or pundits,

whether it's friends or family members,

it is not uncommon to find people who have settled prejudices against Christians.

Sometimes their judgments are warranted.

They have seen hypocritical and terrible things done by Christians.

But often, or those who claim to be Christians,

but often their judgments are not warranted.

They are based on hearsay, generalizations, caricatures, suspicions, misrepresentations,

and at times based on downright falsehoods.

But nonetheless, they spread their judgments,

and in doing so they poisoned other people's minds against Christians.

That's what the unbelieving Jews in Iconium were doing.

And how did Paul and Barnabas respond to that?

It says in verse 3,

So, and this is surprising,

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.

This prevailing prejudice among them does not cower Paul and Barnabas into silence.

Instead, they dig in their heels,

recognizing that the newly converted Christians in the city need their support all the more.

And so they remained for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord.

And as they did that, as they bore witness to the Lord,

the Lord Himself bears witness by giving them signs and wonders.

Notice who's bearing witness in verse 3.

It's not Paul and Barnabas.

So they remained for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord,

who bore witness to the word of His grace.

The Lord Himself is bearing witness to the word,

to His word that Paul and Barnabas are proclaiming.

And He does this by granting signs and wonders.

Luke is careful to know throughout the book of Acts

that it is always God who performs signs and wonders.

It's never meant.

God works through men to perform signs and wonders.

Especially in missionary contexts where the gospel is new or foreign to the audience,

God Himself often bears witness to the word of His grace,

granting signs and wonders.

But it's not.

It happens here as well,

it tends to be very common in missionary contexts especially.

And with such signs and wonders,

you might expect everyone that was there to come to faith,

whose mind had been poisoned by the unbelieving Jews,

that you'd think that they would all change their minds,

but that's not the case.

We know this because people often say

that if they were to see miracles

like the ones written about in the scriptures,

that they would have no trouble believing in God.

But that's not true.

It says in verse 4,

But the people of the city were divided.

Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

Only some respond with faith to Paul and Barnabas' teaching,

even after God's witness of signs.

Others still don't convert,

still don't change their mind,

and remain in their unbelief.

And some of these who remained in their unbelief

were not content to just oppose the message.

They also sought to persecute the messengers.

It says in verses 5 to 7,

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 Lycaonia,

and to the surrounding country,

and there they continued to preach the gospel.

In Jewish context, as most of you know by now,

it's been going through the book of Acts,

death by stoning was reserved for blasphemers,

false teachers.

But the Jews, under Roman rule,

did not have the authority to mete out capital punishment,

so they had to get the Roman authorities involved.

But here, they partner with the Gentiles

and enlist the help of their rulers

in order to mistreat them and to stone them.

Paul and Barnabas, however, get wind of this,

probably from those who had converted

and knew about the plot,

and so they flee to Lystra and Derbe.

And because they just narrowly escaped

serious bodily harm and possible death by stoning,

and that was happening to them,

that kind of persecution,

because they were preaching the gospel,

you might think that they would stop preaching the gospel.

But it says they continued to preach the gospel

in Lycaonia and to the surrounding country.

Why is that?

Why is that?

That's because in chapter 13,

who called Paul and Barnabas

and sent them out on this missionary journey?

The Holy Spirit called them and sent them out.

God himself called them and sent them out

to preach the gospel.

So they could choose to go elsewhere

to preach the gospel,

especially if they know that they are under mortal threat,

but they cannot choose whether or not to speak or remain silent.

That's not an option that is open to them.

God has called them and sent them to speak the gospel.

God has called them and sent them out.

God has called them and sent them out.

God has called them and sent them out.

So despite the hostility and danger,

they continued to preach the gospel wherever they went.

No matter what kind of threats we face,

no matter what kind of setbacks we experience as a church,

as witnesses of Jesus Christ,

we too must continue to preach the gospel.

Verses 8 to 10 relate to us what happened

when Paul and Barnabas arrived in Lystra.

He says,

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.

This is an amazing account

of miraculous healing of a man lame from birth.

And it parallels closely the account in chapter 3

where Peter also makes a man lame from birth walk.

Lameness, especially one that's not due to injury

but from birth,

was deemed incurable by the best ancient physicians.

So this detail notes the severity of the man's condition

and the exceptional character of this miraculous healing.

Paul noticed the lame man listening to his sermon

and it says in verse 9

that he saw that he had faith to be made well.

God heals in response to the faith

of the lame man.

And so he tells him, commands him,

Stand upright on your feet.

And he sprang up and began walking.

Telling a lame man who has never walked in his life

to stand upright on your feet

is of course crazy and foolish in human terms.

But it makes sense in this context

only because God is at work

and God has revealed to Paul

he intends to heal this man.

And it says he sprang up and began walking.

It's a complete miraculous healing.

I mentioned when we were in chapter 3

that this was a fulfillment of the prophecy

in Isaiah 35 verse 6

Isaiah 35:6

that in the messianic age

that the lame man shall leap like a deer.

Jesus fulfilled that prophecy

and now the Lord Jesus continues

to make the lame leap like a deer

through the hands of his apostles.

And speaking of apostles,

note that in verse 4 and in verse 14

Paul and Barnabas are called apostles.

Which shows that traveling missionaries

other than the 12 apostles

were also sometimes called apostles

in the early church.

Luke normally reserves that title for the 12

but here in chapter 14

after Paul and Barnabas were commissioned

for their missionary journey in chapter 13

right at the juncture

where the focus of the book of Acts

shifts from Peter's missionary work

to Paul's missionary work

Luke intentionally attributes the title

apostle to Paul and Barnabas.

Similarly, he intentionally recounts

a miracle that is very similar

to the miracle that Peter performed

early in chapter 3

and I think he's doing this

all of this intentionally

as a way of certifying

to his audience

to his readers

to his hearers

that Paul and Barnabas

are genuine apostles

who preach the same apostolic message

of the 12 apostles.

We must remember that that is our call

also

to preach that same

apostolic message.

We do not have the option

of choosing for ourselves

what message to preach.

There are too many people

in the world

who claim to be Christians

or claim to be a follower of Jesus

and yet deny the very gospel

that Jesus himself entrusted

to his 12 apostles.

They should freely admit instead

that they are innovators

inventors of a new religion

rather than laying claim

on historic Christianity.

True Christians are disciples

of Jesus Christ

who preach the same gospel

that he himself entrusted

to his 12 apostles.

That's why Acts 2.42 said

that the early Christians

were devoted

to the apostles' teaching

and it is this apostolic gospel

that God himself authenticates

by granting signs and wonders.

In addition to the witness of signs

we see the witness of creation

in verses 11 to 18.

It says in verses 11 to 13

and when the crowd 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.

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 sacrifices

with the crowds.

Luke notes that

the crowds here

were not speaking Greek

but actually speaking Lycaonian

even though after

Alexander the Great

conquered this region

around 334-333 BC

Greek became the language

of the people.

Some of the indigenous languages

still survived for a time

and as you can see here

one of them was Lycaonian.

The Greeks mocked foreign speech

as sounding like

bar, bar, bar, bar, bar

and so that's why

they were called barbarians.

And they called all foreigners

barbarians

so Lycaonians were barbarians.

And soon thereafter

in history

the word barbarian

took on deeply pejorative connotations

because many prideful Greeks

viewed foreigners

as uncivilized

and uncultured.

But even while

the Greeks

made such distinction

the early church

did not make

only the Jews

and Greeks

the object

of their missionary efforts.

They went

to every nation

even to the so-called

barbarians.

So Paul says

in Romans 1 verse 14

Romans 1:14

I am under obligation

both to Greeks

and to barbarians.

In Colossians chapter 3 verse 11

Colossians 3:11

he writes that in Christ

there is not

Greek and Jew

circumcised and uncircumcised

barbarians

Scythians

slave free

but Christ is all

and in all.

We see this universal principle

at work here.

Paul and Barnabas

make no distinction

between Jew and Gentile

between Greek

and barbarian.

They preach the gospel

indiscriminately to all

because it's the only message

that saves.

Unfortunately however

the crowds in Lystra

conclude that Paul

and Barnabas

are gods

who have come down

in the likeness of men.

They are right

to conclude

that healing a man

who is lame from birth

is something that

only a divine being

can do.

They were correct

in their conclusion.

But they were wrong

to conclude

that it was in fact

Paul and Barnabas

themselves

who have done this.

We know from verse 3

that it was God

who was granting

signs and wonders

to be done

by their hands.

And it's this misunderstanding

that makes the crowd

hail Paul as Hermes

and Barnabas as Zeus.

These people worshipped

Zeus as the chief god

the sky father

as they called him

their highest god.

They believed

that Zeus gathered rain

and sent

gathered clouds

and then sent rain

and lightning

and thunder.

They also worshipped

Hermes

whom they said

was Zeus' son.

Hermes served

as the messenger

of Zeus

who traversed lands

of the living

and the dead.

And since they believed

that Hermes served

as Zeus' mouthpiece

they conclude

that Paul must be Hermes

because he is talking

the most.

There was a local legend

in that area

at the time

that two gods

had wandered

among people

in their region.

and the legend goes

that nobody offered

these two gods

any hospitality

until Philemon

and Bousis

an older couple

did.

Subsequently

the gods

rewarded the couple

and made them

priests

in the temple

of Zeus

and punished

the other people

who showed them

no hospitality.

This is a legend

that was circulating

at the time.

And considering this

it's easy to see

how this grave

misunderstanding

about Paul

and Barnabas arose.

the people

of Lystra

don't want

to miss

another opportunity

to show hospitality

to the gods.

And so they go

and fetch

the priest of Zeus

who brings oxen

and garlands

to the gates

to offer sacrifice

with the crowds.

Barnabas and Paul

are not happy

about this

of course

it says in verse 14

but when the apostles

Barnabas and Paul

heard of it

they tore their garments

and rushed out

into the crowd.

If they were charlatans

out for their own

glory and profit

they would have

basked in their

newfound glory

and fame.

But because

they were apostles

messengers

sent out

by God

accountable

to God

they are deeply

upset

and they show

their indignation

by tearing

their garments

they cry out

in verse 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.

We're humans

we're mortals

just like you

why are you

doing these things?

What they assume

of course

is the truth

that only a divine

being is

worthy of worship.

Human beings

are not

worthy of worship.

After communicating

this

Paul and Barnabas

tell the people

that they are

merely messengers

who bring good news

the news

that you should

turn from

these vain things

to a living God.

There's some

major implications

to what they're saying

because the implication

of course

is that the gods

that these people

of Lystra

worship

are not living.

They're inanimate

imaginary beings.

There is one

creator of the cosmos

and he alone

deserves to be worshipped

and so they're

correcting them.

I think if we're

honest with ourselves

we still have

this tendency

to deify

human beings.

Look at the Olympics

for example.

The Olympics

first started

in ancient Greece

as a display

of religious devotion

and worship

to none other

than Zeus.

Athletes

paraded

into the stadium

past the line

of priests

and frequently

dedicated their

performance

to their

respected

patron gods.

And then

winners

received

olive reeds

made from

trees

in a grove

that was

dedicated

to Zeus.

and these

winning athletes

thereafter

were revered

like

demigods

people who

had been

touched

by divinity

and have

transcended

the status

of mere

mortals.

The ancient

Olympic games

were abolished

in 393

by Theodosius

I

who was a

Christian emperor

who wanted

to end

the pagan

rituals.

It was resumed

in 1896

ironically

by another

Christian man

who tried

to Christianize

it

and sanitize

it

and give

people

opportunities

to develop

holistic

holiness

or whatnot

by exercising

and excelling

in physical

activities.

And nowadays

it's mostly

secularized

but it's

still kind of

like a secularized

civic religion

of sorts

with its own

ceremonies

rituals

oaths.

Sometimes

people use

adjectives

like divine

to describe

people's

performances.

And athletes

who are

particularly

dominant

in their

sport

are revered

almost

like divine

superhuman

figures.

This

phenomenon

is not

limited

to the

Olympic

athletes.

Other

famous

athletes

movie stars

etc.

are sought

out for

endorsements.

Statues

are made

of them.

People

pay homage

to them.

Stand

in all

of them.

And their

paraphernalia

are sold

for millions

of dollars.

Perhaps

this is not

surprising

because human

beings are

created in

the image

of God.

We were

created to

represent Him

and resemble

Him.

This is why

Jewish tradition

forbade the

visual depiction

of even

human beings

in art.

Even when

they were not

objects of

worship

because they

judged that

it came

perilously

close to

idolatry

considering

that human

beings are

made in

the glorious

image of

God.

But no

matter how

much of a

genius a

person might

be or

how seemingly

superhuman

their athletic

feats might

be, we

must remember

that they

are just

men.

Humans

like you

and me.

How many

of us, I

wonder, if

we were

afforded an

opportunity to

have dinner

with or even

just take a

selfie with

Alison

Felix or

Caleb Dressel

or LeBron

James or

Lionel

Messi or

Robert Downey

Jr. or

Scarlett

Johansson or

Ed Sheeran or

Ariana Grande

would skip

Sunday worship

in a heartbeat

to do so.

Do we

really realize

that when

we worship

we are in

the presence

of the

living God

who created

the heavens

and the

earth?

Do we

realize that

here God

personally speak

to us from

his word?

Do we

realize that

the very

spirit of God

fills us more

and more as

we sing

praises to

him?

Do we

God?

Do we

know that

how many of

us spend

more hours

and days

admiring

mere humans,

learning about

mere humans,

following mere

humans,

and watching

mere humans

than the

one true

God?

How many

of us aspire

to be like

them?

To be

famous,

to be

adored and

respected and

paid like

demigods?

It's easy

to dismiss

the people

of Lystra

as gullible

and superstitious,

but we

moderns are

actually not

all that

different.

Men,

why are

you doing

these things?

They are

mere mortals.

We are

mere

humans.

And here's

the good

news that

we should

cling to.

Instead,

we may

turn from

these vain

things to

a living

God.

Worship of

false gods

is vain.

It is

worthless,

useless.

They have

no power

to make

a lame

man walk.

They have

no power

to make

the sinner

clean.

They have

no power

to make

those who

are spiritually

dead alive

again.

Only God

can do

that.

Paul

continues

his message

in verse

16.

In past

generations,

he allowed

all the

nations to

walk in

their own

ways.

Prior to

the coming

of Jesus,

the various

nations

worshipped

other gods,

and God

certainly

didn't approve

of their

idolatry,

but he

didn't

interfere

with it.

He allowed

all the

nations to

walk in

their own

ways,

it says.

However,

now,

with the

coming of

Jesus and

the commissioning

of his

apostles,

those times

have come

to an

end.

Now,

we are to

make

disciples of

all nations.

Now,

all nations

are commended

to repent

of their

sinful ways

and turn

to the

only true

God.

Now,

we are to

be witnesses

in Jerusalem,

in all

Judea and

Samaria,

and to the

end of the

earth.

God

.

But even

in past

generations,

it says in

verse 17,

God 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.

Here,

Paul is

directly

confronting the

Lycaonian and

Greek traditions,

because they

believe that

Zeus provided

rain,

but Zeus is

no God at

all.

It has

always been

the Lord

God who

has provided

them rain

for the

earth,

and they

should have

known that,

Paul says.

For Zeus was

a figment of

the human

imagination.

He was a

God who

was created

in the image

of man,

not the

God who

created man

in his

image.

Paul argues

that God

has left us

a witness

in his

creation.

Farmers in

the ancient

world tilled

the ground

and planted

seeds,

but it was

God who

shone the

sun,

it was

God who

rained down

water,

it was

God who

made the

plants grow.

God has

woven into,

woven our

creaturely

dependence on

the creator,

he has woven

that reality,

that dependence

right into the

fabric of the

fabric of the

universe,

so that from

the beginning

our very

survival

depended on

things that

were outside

of our

control.

all creation

in this

sense bears

witness to

God,

tells us

about God.

Paul says

something very

similar in

Romans 1,

19 to 20,

he says,

for what can

be known

about God

is plain

to them

because God

has shown

it to

them.

For his

invisible

attributes,

namely his

eternal power

and divine

nature,

have been

clearly

perceived

ever since

the creation

of the world

in the things

that have

been made,

so they

are without

excuse.

The heavens

declare the

glory of God,

the sky

proclaim his

handiwork.

work.

There are

19

independent

fundamental

physical

constants that

keep the

world running.

That's about

all I know

about them,

so if you

really want to

know more

about them,

ask the

physicists

in our

church.

But the

speed of

light,

the

gravitational

constant,

the electric

constant,

if any

one of

these constants

were off

by even

one part

in a

million,

or some

of them

one part

in a

million,

million,

the universe

would cease

to exist

as we

know it,

and our

lives

would not

be

possible.

The

sovereign

God

has

fine-tuned

this

universe

so that

we might

live in

it.

All

creation

bears

witness

to God,

and yet

so many

people in

the world

live without

honoring

God as

God.

They

have

exchanged

the glory

of the

immortal

God for

images

resembling

mortal

men and

birds and

animals and

creeping

things.

Instead

of

worshiping

the

creator,

they

worship

the

creatures.

Instead

of

looking

to

God

as

their

provider,

they

look

to

the

products

he

has

made

to

provide

for

them.

Instead

of

looking

to

God

as

the

giver

of

all

good

gifts,

we

enjoy

his

gifts

without

acknowledging

the

one

who

has

graciously

given

them

all

to

us.

This

is the

folly

of

unbelief.

What

are

the

vain,

empty

things

in your

life

you're

tempted

to

turn

to

instead

of

turning

to

God?

In

what

ways

have

the

creatures

displaced

the

creator

in

your

life

as

the

central

object

of

affection

and

aspiration?

This

is

human

folly

that

is

difficult

to

tame

and

so

it

says

in

verse

18

even

with

these

words

they

scarcely

restrain

the

people

from

offering

sacrifice

to

them.

So

God

authenticates

the truth

of

his

word

with

the

witness

of

signs

and

with

the

witness

of

creation

and

we

also

see

in

verses

19

to

28

that

God

authenticates

his

word

by

the

witness

of

the

suffering

church.

Paul

and

Barnabas

just

barely

succeeded

in

restraining

the

people

of

Lystra

from

offering

sacrifice

to

them

and

worshiping

them

but

then

look at

what

happens

in

verse

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

the

crowds

that

not

long

ago

were

blaspheming

hailing

Paul

and

Barnabas

to

be

gods

are

now

persuaded

by

the

unbelieving

Jews

who

had

come

from

Pisidian

Antioch

and

Iconium

to

stone

Paul

which

is

the

punishment

reserved

for

blasphemers

how

fickle

people

are

this

is

why

we

must

ultimately

look

to

God

and

depend

on

him

and

not

on

man

the

crowds

that

turn

to

you

can

just

as

quickly

turn

against

you

apparently

Paul

has

sustained

significant

injuries

because

the

mob

leaves

him

for

dead

they

think

he

could

be

dead

but

God

did

not

have

it

in

his

plans

to

have

Paul

die

that

day

so

it

says

in

verse

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

it

seems

like

Paul

may

have

done

some

great

acting

possibly

he

was

surrounded

by

the

disciples

and

then

it

says

he

rose

up

and

entered

the

city

and

since

he

was

well

enough

to

travel

on

the

following

day

his

injury

probably

was

not

critical

and

of

course

what

else

do

you

expect

them

to

do

when

they

arrive

next

in

Derbe

it

says

in

verses

21

to

22

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

this

narrative

is

written

with

no

dramatic

flair

it's

just

straightforward

reporting

and

yet

I

find

this

account

so

moving

having

preached

the

gospel

in

Derbe

Paul

and

Barnabas

returned

the

way

they

came

back

to

Lystra

where

Paul

was

stoned

back

to

Iconium

and

to

Pisidian

Antioch

where

they

were

driven

out

by

hostile

crowds

why

did

they

take

this

risky

route

back

it

says

in

verse

22

that

they

were

strengthening

the

souls

of

the

disciples

encouraging

them

to

continue

in

the

faith

and

saying

that

through

many

tribulations

we

must

enter

kingdom

of

God

when

you

repent

of

your

sins

and

believe

in

Jesus

Christ

and

you

are

baptized

you

are

indwelled

by

the

Holy

Spirit

and

you

are

born

again

into

the

family

of

God

that's

what

it

means

to

become

a

Christian

but

just

as

a

mother

after

giving

birth

to

a

child

doesn't

say

my

work

is

done

good

luck

with

the

rest

of

your

life

but

instead

takes the

child

nurses

the

child

takes

care of

the