Enduring Opposition

Good morning, everyone.

It's amazing how God works,

!

And they were the same words that we sang as we came over to Hong Kong.

I mean, if you really think about those lyrics,

I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.

And not just believe in Jesus.

We've always talked about that.

There's a difference between believer of Jesus and follower of Jesus.

He's called us to follow him.

We believe and have eternal life and won't perish,

but we should follow him.

But so many of us in the church are stuck at that stage of believe him, right?

信頭和門頭和分別

And so how can we be followers of Jesus?

I've decided to follow him, no turning back, no turning back.

And as I was praying this morning, I was looking through Acts.

You know what?

This whole series on Acts has been doing something to me.

Because I look at the way these people are responding,

and I'm just like, I'm not there.

I look at Philip in Acts 8, where he goes.

He's kicked out of his own home in Jerusalem.

He goes to Samaria, where he shouldn't really be going,

and continues to spread the good news.

And then his church's ministry builds,

and then boom, the Spirit says,

you, go into the desert road and hang out there for a while.

Meet an Ethiopian and run beside the chariot.

And he just does it.

He leaves his thriving ministry and he just goes.

I'm like, man, I don't have that.

Saul, just going on his way to drag people to prison, to kill them,

ends up meeting Jesus, gets blinded,

and completely does a 180 and goes the other way.

Peter, in Acts 10,

doesn't really want to hang out with the Gentiles.

Not him personally, I guess, in some way,

because he's built up that way.

He's been taught all these years to stay away from those people,

and yet in a prayer he says, boom,

the Holy Spirit says, go, you must go and reach these people,

and he does it.

And to see, how they react is just so different to how I react to things.

And last week I shared with you,

talk about homework,

and after,

last week I shared with you one of my favorite books,

which is the boy, the mole, the fox, the horse,

and one of the quotes I gave was,

one of the greatest freedoms in life is how you,

anyone,

react.

How you react tells you where you're at.

Husbands, if I may extend a little bit of sincere advice to you,

how your wife reacts

to the seemingly most small and trivial things,

but in the most strongest kind of way,

will tell you where she's at,

will tell you that she's bad.

Not about the thing that she's reacting to,

but about many other things

that she might be thinking of and remembering.

How you react tells you where you're at.

I find myself,

Christina and I have this terminology,

it's like, how big is your inner space right now?

Because if your inner space is large,

and you come home from work,

and you have a large inner space,

it means you can tolerate a lot.

So you can see the toys on the floor,

you can see this there,

and your husband left the toothbrush on the wrong side of the sink,

all these kind of things,

you have a large inner space,

you can tolerate it,

and you can react in a kind, friendly, gracious way.

But when you come home and you have a small inner space,

then the smallest thing,

the air conditioning not being on at the right temperature,

will trigger you into a different space.

How you react tells you where you're at,

and thank you, Queenie.

So I quoted that book last week,

and then she, so kind,

said that, told me about his second book,

the sequel that's come out,

which is The Boy, the Mole,

The Fox, The Horse, and The Storm.

So it's taking a lot of self-control for me

to have this right here,

and not want to read it immediately.

But highly recommend,

and if you need to know where to find it,

Queenie is the person to go to.

How you react tells you where you're at.

How you react and how you respond to the gospel

will tell you how you respond to the mission.

Some of us are struggling with responding to God's call

to go, to scatter, to share the good news.

Why?

Because I think maybe we haven't responded accordingly

to the gospel itself.

I think we haven't really truly understood

what the gospel actually means.

We haven't truly understood that this is genuinely good news.

We don't realize that we are actually living in bad news,

and because we don't truly understand the gospel,

we're not reacting to that appropriately,

and therefore we're not responding to the call

of the mission of God appropriately.

Does that make sense?

And you see here in the book of Acts,

people are constantly just reacting in a way

that I look at this and go,

I don't know if I'm reacting this way.

Last week we talked in Acts 13 about the Holy Spirit.

No one else, not some uncle with a great eyebrow idea,

the Holy Spirit himself,

whilst the church are praying and fasting,

he says, set apart these two people to go on this mission.

I don't know.

If I was sat in that prayer meeting,

and I heard the Holy Spirit say,

these two people are going to go and do this thing,

I would be like, well,

that's going to be a really important thing.

That thing is going to take off,

and it's going to succeed,

and it's going to be great.

But what happens?

Mixed results.

Mixed results.

Some people like it.

Some people don't like it.

Sometimes I find,

even when it comes to ministry,

I'm doing these things,

I'm like, some people like what we do,

and some people don't like what we do,

and then I find myself reacting in ways that I'm like,

I don't think that's how Paul and Barnabas would have reacted.

That's not how Peter would have reacted.

Why?

Because Christ is enough for them.

Nothing else.

He is all they need.

The question that we're going to look at today is,

how are we actually reacting to different things?

More specifically,

I shared a little bit with our leaders last night,

which is,

how do we react to praise and criticism?

Because in this next chapter is this fascinating thing,

where within the one chapter,

Paul and Barnabas are told that they are gods.

And in the very next passage,

they're stoned nearly to death.

Isn't that crazy?

It tells you a little bit about just the fickleness of the human heart,

and how people could just turn on you.

They'll crown you one moment,

and then cancel you the next.

But how do we respond to either of those things?

It will tell you a lot about where you're at.

How I react to different things will tell me where I'm at.

And so we're going to read Acts 14.

I've invited my dear friend Matthew to come and minister to us

with reading the word of God to us.

So can I invite you to stand for the word of the Lord?

Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

Alright, Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

Now at Arconium, 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 sided with the apostles.

When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and the Jews

with their rulers to minister to them and to stone them,

they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe,

cities of Lyakonia.

To the surrounding countries.

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,

seeing that he had faith to be made well,

said in a loud voice,

stand upright on your feet.

And he sprung up and began walking.

And when the crowd saw that Paul had done,

they lifted up their voices,

saying in Lyconian,

the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.

Barnabas, they called Zeus and Paul Hermes.

But he was the chief speaker.

Sorry, because he was the chief speaker.

And the priest of Zeus,

whose temple was at the entrance to the city,

brought oxen and garland 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 to the crowds,

crying out,

Men, why are you doing these things?

We are also 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 heavens and the earth,

the seas and all that is in them.

In the 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 those words,

they scarcely restrained the people

from offering sacrifice to them.

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium

and having persuaded the crowd,

they stone-palled 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 the city,

they had made disciples,

many disciples,

they returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls of 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 Italia.

And from there,

they sailed to Antioch,

where they had 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 the Lord has done for them

and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles

and they had remained no little time with the disciples.

This is the word of the Lord.

Praise be to God.

Please take a seat.

Thank you, Matthew.

You did well with all those hard words.

Whenever it's hard words,

I always like to make sure someone else reads it for me.

So you did really well.

How do you react when things are going well?

Like when work is going well,

when someone says,

hey, well done, well done.

You did a really good job there.

How do you feel?

And when someone says,

oh, it's not so good.

How does it feel?

Last week I talked about Acts 13.

Some people were so ecstatic and happy about the sermon.

They came and said,

please come back.

Thank you for the few of you

who actually listened to my subtle cry for affirmation.

Janice, I remember you.

Thank you for coming to say that my sermon was good.

You didn't invite the whole city to come back though.

That's what I hold against you.

But how do you feel when people do these kinds of things?

I find it's really interesting.

I mean, I'm not saying you should do this.

Please don't do this.

If you, a hundred of you come up to me

straight after this sermon and go,

well, James, that was such a good sermon.

By the way, and people like J1 know this,

if you come and tell me that that was a good sermon,

what's the next question I'm going to ask you?

Well, I was like, why did God speak to you?

What did God speak to you about?

Don't just come and tell me that it was good

and that you liked my jokes

and my passive aggressiveness.

But tell me why it was good for you in terms,

because the only way it is good

is if God speaks to you.

That's it.

If you take something away from God,

that's why it's a good sermon.

A mentor of mine,

she doesn't care when she goes to speak.

She has no,

she has complete disregard

for how people felt it went.

She doesn't even ask about it.

You know, sometimes we do this.

We do something,

well, hey, how was it for you?

And you're kind of fishing for compliments.

Like I played basketball with Trevor

yesterday morning

and he could have come up to me and say,

hey, how was it?

How do you think I played?

He doesn't fish for compliments

because I wouldn't give him any.

But we do that, right?

But these guys,

just zero,

zero regard

for how people are responding.

They know that one of the greatest freedoms

that we have

is how we react to the gospel.

But how other people respond,

none of our business.

None of our business.

I can come here,

I can preach the word of God,

I can stay as faithful as I can to the text,

I can speak to the people

that I think is what you need to hear,

and then I should be able to be at a point

where I don't need any compliments,

I can just let go.

God has done his work,

I can move on.

That, though,

is predicated on how I'm responding

to the gospel,

to the good news of who I am.

In my Bible study group this week,

I'm going to put him on the spot,

Nathan does these great reflections

when he looks at scripture.

We've been going through the book of John

and one of the things he said,

and actually we're going to hear him

speak a little bit next week,

him and Jay actually,

is actually he realizes

sometimes he doesn't respond

to Jesus' sacrifice

in the most appropriate way.

We kind of just take it for granted.

Someone died for you, Teresa.

Whoa, what?

And we say, yeah, cool, cool.

It's a cool story.

But he actually died for us

because he loved us.

We didn't have to do that.

He took the place on the cross

where we should have been.

And if you don't let that

seep into your heart,

then you won't really respond

in the appropriate way

to who Jesus is

and to what he did.

And you won't really live out

the way that he wants you to live.

These guys.

So they start.

They go to Iconium

at verse one and two.

Now at Iconium,

they enter together

into the Jewish synagogue.

Remember, that's their MO.

They go to the Jews first

and then they speak.

And a great number of both

Jews and Greeks believed,

yes, the ministry is growing.

They're doing well.

They're good at doing

what they're doing.

The ministry is growing.

But then the very next verse,

but the unbelieving Jews

stirred up the Gentiles

and poisoned their minds

against the brothers.

There is always,

there is always opposition.

As you share the gospel,

there will always be people

who say no.

There will always be people

who say I disagree.

There will always be people

who say I don't really care.

I'm not that interested.

And yet,

they just keep going.

It's funny.

That happens.

So people are being poisoned

against them.

So they remain for a long time.

In case you haven't noticed,

a long time in the book of Acts

could be a long time.

We're talking actually

since Paul's conversion

in Acts 9 to now,

it's probably been about 10 years already.

There's been a few chapters for us,

but it's been 10 years for him.

So in light of that mixed success,

that mixed response,

they decide we're going to stay.

We're going to stay

and we're going to keep teaching.

But the people of the city

were divided.

Verse 4.

Some sided with the Jews

and some with the apostles.

Isn't that interesting?

That in a room like this,

there would have been a group of people

who say,

I agree with what they're saying.

This makes sense.

And there would have been another group

that would be like,

nope.

And actually,

Greek culture at that time

would be a lot of discussion

and philosophical debate.

So there would have been people

who say,

I disagree.

And they're actually talking

about these things.

It would have been a pretty tough crowd

to be in.

And yet,

they decide to stay

continuing to engage.

And then what happens

after that is,

well,

they try to kill them.

Let me just stop there

for a second.

As we're wondering,

how do I scatter?

How do I go out

and go to my office

and share the gospel?

What happens?

What's the worst that could happen

is what I want to ask you.

Like someone would look at you

and go,

oh,

okay.

Who was it?

Shigala last week said,

Shigala is just that person

who talks a lot about Jesus.

That's the worst that could happen

most of the time.

Right?

That's it.

These guys got stones

thrown at them.

Stones.

Has anyone had stones

being thrown at them before?

Stones.

And yet we're scared

of the smallest thing.

We're scared of just someone

going,

oh,

you're weird.

We're scared of someone

saying,

oh,

don't talk to them.

Don't invite them

to that thing

because they're a Christian.

Happens every time

when I,

okay,

so I admit

I don't look like

your typical pastor,

especially in Hong Kong.

I'm about 20 years

too young.

It's really funny.

Bless her.

This lady

in my apartment block,

we went into the lift together

and she started to say,

oh,

what floor do you live on?

I haven't seen you.

I've been here 20 years

and this is my first time

seeing you.

I'm on the second floor.

She's like,

oh,

I don't say

for people outside

they don't.

I'm like,

she's like,

oh.

I was like,

at ease,

your sins are forgiven.

I'm like,

I'm like,

of course,

on the basketball court

where I don't always

play with holy

and righteous people

like Trevor.

I play with all kinds

of different people

who use all kinds

of different language

and I've shared this all

and sometimes

I play with them

for many years

and they use

many kind words

and many unkind words

to themselves

and to everyone else

and as soon as they find out

I'm a pastor,

I shouldn't have sworn

when I was playing.

I was like,

it's okay,

it's cool.

I sometimes swear

in my head

and then ask

for forgiveness afterwards.

We can't control

how people really

respond to us

but we can control

how we respond

to the gospel

and there's really

only one way

to respond to the gospel.

This is good news

and I must share it

with you.

I don't know

whether you're going

to take it or not

and I know

because I can see

the best,

the most prolific

church planter

in the history

of the church

got a divided response,

got a mixed response.

So if we even

go into our office,

go into our family,

go into our friendship circles

and go,

hey,

I might even be able

to only just get one person

to have a decent conversation

with me,

then that's it.

I'd encourage you

that would be

all that is enough.

Now,

after that,

verse 5,

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 they fled.

So they did leave.

Sometimes it's okay to go

and sometimes it's okay

to stay.

You see this in the book

of Acts

where some people

are called to leave Jerusalem

and some people

are scattering and staying.

All that really matters

is actually wherever

God tells you to go,

you go.

Now,

and I did say last week

that actually,

more often than not,

he tells you to leave

your comfort zone.

He rarely,

rarely ever tells you,

hey,

just stay at home.

Continue to watch Netflix.

The show's really good.

Stay on that couch.

It's so rare.

And if you've heard

that call from God,

please come and talk to me.

That's a good call.

I'd like to share

in that call.

But on the most part,

whether it's Jerusalem

or Samaria,

whether it's

to stay or to go,

discomfort is part

of the package.

Just FYI.

So,

they leave

and they go to another place.

Verse 8,

now at Lystra

there was a man sitting

who could not use his feet.

That was an understatement.

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.

So,

this has happened before.

Jesus had this happen.

Peter and Paul

had this happen.

Where there's a guy

who knows

of his own weakness,

knows how helpless

he is,

is looking and going,

I want that power.

I need that power.

That's all.

That's the only thing

I can hope for.

And then Peter

and Paul,

sorry,

notices and says,

hey,

stand up.

And this miracle happens

in front of everyone's eyes.

And then the response

is something new.

So,

we carry on here.

And when the crowds,

verse 11,

saw what Paul had done,

they lifted up their voices,

saying in Lyconian,

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

of the city,

brought out oxen and garlands

to the gates

and wanted to offer sacrifice

with the crowds.

Their impact,

their teaching,

that moment there

where they brought that guy

up to his feet

was so incredible.

Something that people

had never seen before.

They're like,

that is a god.

And they try to,

they start to worship him.

They get all the wild adulation.

Now,

there's a little bit

of context here,

actually.

Bearing in mind,

they've just stepped

into a very pluralistic society.

Okay?

The gospel is going out.

It's not in Jerusalem anymore.

It's not with the Jews anymore.

It's with people

who believed

a whole ton of different things.

And one of them

is just actually

the Greek legend.

The legend would go,

and actually the people

listening and seeing this

would have known this,

that actually Zeus and Hermes

had actually become humans

and walked among the people

of this town.

This is the legend.

Okay?

So they would have all known this.

And that time,

they all walked

and no one would let them

into their houses.

They were not welcomed

by this town,

apart from one modest

elderly couple.

So what happened

is these two gods

ended up basically

killing the rest

of this town,

but giving this couple

a palace to live in.

And so that's how

the legend would go.

So now you know

that story.

Now you know

what they were thinking.

They see these two men

perform this miracle.

What's your response

if you were them?

This is part two.

This is the sequel.

We best learn

because we don't want to die

and we really want a palace.

Let's worship these two.

These two.

That line there,

and later we'll come back to it.

The gods have come down to us

in the likeness of men.

Sometimes when people

see us doing things

that are,

oh, that's really impressive,

we get the praise,

almost the adulation

that maybe even

Paul and Barnabas

get here.

But their reaction,

their reaction

says everything.

And I sit here and go,

I don't know

if I would have

the same reaction.

What's that reaction?

Verse 14.

But when the apostles,

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?

So their response

to this wild adulation

was to tear their clothes,

which,

stay calm.

This isn't happening today.

But they would do this

because they're saying,

they're distressed,

they're devastated.

This is not the point

of why we are here.

You've missed the point.

Can you see how precious

it was for them

to share only one name,

the name of Jesus?

And so the moment

they saw that people

were led astray,

almost by this act,

they were just devastated.

They would tear their sackcloth,

is the term that would

be used here.

And they were just

completely shocked.

I wonder whether actually

our response

when we get praised

actually is nothing

like this either.

Sometimes when we get praised,

what happens

when someone tells you,

when someone tells,

Sam doesn't do this,

he's actually

a fairly humble guy.

When I tell Sam,

that was the best

piano player, right?

And then Sam

just does his thing

just kind of,

but others are like,

but we've also seen,

I mean,

we're all Chinese people

so it's a safe space

where we all play the piano.

You play really well.

They say,

oh, you're so good

on the piano.

It's like,

oh, no, no, no.

Not really.

I'm terrible.

False humility.

No, I'm terrible.

Terrible.

Only got 96% in the test.

They are genuinely devastated

that people had missed the point.

How do we respond?

And maybe if I have time

at the end,

I don't know if we will,

I'll come up with a few tips

that I've learned

over the years

of what we should do

when we respond to praise.

But for now,

let's keep to the passage here.

You see Paul and Barnabas,

they're just deflecting.

This isn't about us.

Now, these are courageous people.

You wouldn't think gentle

and humble immediately

when you would have looked

to these two people

because they were pretty brave

to do what they do.

Bearing in mind,

people had just tried

to stone them.

Okay?

So these are pretty brave

and courageous people,

yet there was a humility

that was so fierce

that was underlying.

Reminds me of John the Baptist

in John 3.

Just the way he talks,

wearing the clothes

that he wore,

living out in the wilderness,

shouting the way

he would have done.

And he's like,

it's not about me.

He must increase.

I must decrease.

I'm filled with joy now

because the main character

is here

and the main character

isn't me.

My joy is complete,

is what John the Baptist

would say.

Paul and Barnabas here

know that actually

no human can bear

the weight of the glory

that is only reserved for God.

Don't,

do not,

please do not

even think that I'm God.

I've met him

and I was blinded by him.

Don't associate me with him.

I am not him.

What does John the Baptist say?

I can't,

I'm not even allowed

to untie Jesus' sandals.

Is that ridiculous?

When you catch sight

of who God is

and you react

appropriately

and accordingly,

it will change

the way you react

to praise and criticism

on earth.

It will completely

change it.

And then he jumps

into a sermon,

a very short sermon.

There's four verses,

which maybe some of you

are hoping mine

is a very short one too.

And so,

actually this is a different

kind of sermon though

because up until now

Peter's sermons

and Paul's sermons

were to the Jews.

So what they would do

is they would cite

the Old Testament

and they would say,

hey,

you guys know the scriptures.

You know Psalm 2

and you know Psalm 16.

You know that he said

that Jesus,

that actually God,

we're waiting for the Messiah

who is God's son

and he won't die

and he will save us all.

And so he's citing things

that they would know.

But this sermon is different.

This is the first time

he tells a sermon

to a group of people

who don't know

the Bible,

the Old Testament.

And he goes on

a completely different tangent.

He goes in a completely

different direction

which tells me one thing.

When you speak to people

about the gospel,

you do need to speak

in the language

that they understand.

You do need to speak,

most importantly,

to where you think

is the heart of the problem.

As leaders yesterday,

we were talking about

just the idea of false narratives

that we have all experienced

in our lives,

whether from childhood,

just this one voice

that we've heard someone say

at some point to us

that's just been ringing

in our ears this whole time,

whether it's,

I am not enough

or whether I am alone,

whatever it is.

We need to be able

to listen out carefully,

genuinely caring

for these people,

going,

actually,

what is it that's really

holding on to you?

Paul seems to know

because he jumps

into this sermon

and maybe I'll read it first

and then I'll break it down afterwards.

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.

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.

Such a different kind of message

to one we've just

been more accustomed to now

as we've been looking

through the book of Acts

because what Paul knows

he's gone into new territory here.

He's not talking

to the Jews anymore.

He's talking to a bunch

of Gentiles

who believe in all kinds

of different gods.

It was a pluralistic society

because it was basically

anyone can believe any God

because there will be

different gods,

one for fertility,

one for farming,

one for money.

So he's saying,

hey,

don't hold on

to those things.

He's like,

why are you thinking

that I'm God?

I'm just like you.

I am just like you.

I am just the same as you.

We are of like nature

with you

and we bring you good news.

You should turn

from these vain things

to a living God.

He realized

the biggest problem

in their lives,

in their hearts,

were idols.

What's an idol?

What's an idol?

Jay,

on our call recently,

you quoted,

paraphrased Keller's quote

on what an idol is.

Do you remember

what it is?

What is an idol?

It's when your mind

automatically wanders

somewhere

when you have nothing

else to think about.

That thing that your mind

goes to,

that essentially

is the thing

that you care

the most about.

That is your idol.

Paul knows

that they have idols here.

Why do you think

they responded to them

in such a way?

Is it because

they genuinely

wanted to worship

these two gods,

Zeus and Hermes?

No.

They wanted the things

that come from

these two gods.

They wanted to not die.

They wanted to not be destroyed.

They wanted the palace.

This world is driven

by idols

and he knew about

the idols in those days.

I quote Keller

all the time

because Keller,

I think,

is one of those pastors

in the modern day

who was so good

at speaking

into the context

of cities

and context

of looking at the cities

and going,

these cities are all

made or filled

with idols.

What are the idols?

Idols are the things

that control you,

that you worship.

Now, of course,

we live in a pluralistic society

here.

Just go up the roads

to,

what road is Union Church on?

Kennedy Road.

Has anyone been

to Union Church?

Beautiful,

beautiful building.

What's across the road

from Union Church?

The headquarters

of the Freemasons.

Another beautiful church

just down the road

that way

towards Wan Chai,

Methodist International Church,

MIC,

on Queens Road.

Queens Road.

If you keep walking

down towards Queens Road

to the end

of that Kennedy Road,

what is it?

Just this beautiful

Sikh temple.

We live in a place

where people

have all these

different kinds of gods

and obvious ones

with beautiful temples

but very subtle ones

that don't have temples

but have shiny buildings

all surrounding

in Central

and Quarry Bay

and Taiku

and Kowloon Bay now.

Money.

Capitalism.

That's an idol.

Beauty

is an idol

in some cultures.

Has politics become

an idol

in some places?

These things

that our minds

just effortlessly

wander to

when we have

nothing else

on our minds.

That is your God.

That is

our God.

And Paul says,

hey,

don't hold on

to those vain things.

Why?

Because those vain things

have no...

They won't help you.

But you and I both know

we love holding on

to those vain things.

They're the things

that give us comfort.

They don't have to be

super sinister.

You don't have to go

into a Satan

worshipping temple.

You just need to

doom scroll

on YouTube.

That's enough.

We can zoom.

We can just scroll

ourselves to death.

And that is our idol.

John Calvin says

that the human heart

is a factory

for idols.

We just create them

constantly.

We churn them out.

And you see,

it's interesting here

because Paul calls it out

but in a really gentle,

loving,

positive kind of way.

He's saying,

hey,

don't focus on these

vain things.

They're not going to

come out any good.

And it's really interesting

because we are all

on this rat race.

We've all heard about

the rat race.

We're trying to climb

this ladder.

Those of us sat here,

more than likely

is that you know

that this rat race

doesn't head anywhere.

And we see time

and time again,

people who reach

the top of the ladder,

they end up falling off

and they realize

nothing's there.

And so it's just crushing.

And all of us

at the bottom of the ladder,

we actually know this.

And yet somehow,

we subconsciously

still keep climbing the ladder

because we still have

those idols in our hearts.

And so you see,

Paul's saying here,

don't follow them.

So in a negative way,

what he's actually saying is,

hey,

there is a futility

as you follow these idols.

And they won't lead you anywhere.

They are vain things.

But in a more positive sense,

he's not just rebuking them

for their idols.

He's actually pointing them

to the living God.

And he's saying,

hey,

I know you are chasing

these things

and they are vain.

And I am not it.

I am not he.

But the living God.

And it's really interesting

how he basically emphasizes

this living God

is he talks about something

called,

what I think is called

common grace.

He's saying,

actually,

you've known this God.

You have experienced this God.

Why?

Because you've experienced rain.

You've lived on this earth.

You are living and breathing

because of this God.

The fact that you are living

is because there is a living God

that is sustaining you.

He says,

I have good news for you

that you should turn

from these vain things

to a living God

who made the heaven

and the earth

and the sea

that is all in them.

Yet he did not leave himself

without witness.

How is he proving

that he's here and he's good?

For he did good

by giving you rains from heaven

and fruitful seasons,

satisfying your hearts

with food and gladness.

He's feeding you.

You are the reason

why he's alive.

Paul is pointing them

away from the futility

of idolatry,

away from the vain things

that are meaningless

that won't actually satisfy you.

And he's saying,

there is a living God

right here,

right now,

who has been providing

for you all along.

That's a positive message.

That's the good news.

Of course,

he doesn't just finish there.

He continues likely

to talk about

why is it so offensive

because this good God

actually,

you talk about,

hey,

you think I'm God

that came in the likeness of men?

Well,

actually,

funny you say that

because there was God.

There was a moment recently

where God really did come

and become the likeness of men.

He really did move

into our neighborhood

and he really did come

and show you

how good he truly is.

And his redemptive work

reaches its divine climax

in Jesus.

That's the good news.

That is the good news.

He reminds them

of his humanity,

actually.

He said,

hey,

I'm just like you.

You may have just seen me

do this

when I'm actually

just like you.

He actually appeals to them

saying,

hey,

you and I

are not different.

I think that's beautiful

considering what he just did.

He's like,

we're the same.

You could do this too

because it's not me

that's doing it.

It's the power

that's working through me

that's doing it.

How exciting is that?

So he reminds them

of common grace.

He shows them humility.

He calls them away

from the vain gods

to this living God.

And you think,

oh,

what a great message,

Paul.

They finally get it.

And actually,

Luke says here,

verse 18,

even with these words,

they scarcely restrain

the people from offering

sacrifice to them.

So basically,

they're saying,

okay,

okay,

cool,

cool,

cool.

I get it.

I get it.

I get it.

Okay,

is this God here?

He's the one who gives,

he's the reason why we're alive.

That's good.

But actually,

we still want to worship you.

Would you take my yuju

and let me worship you?

And we're kind of just

sat there going,

well,

guys,

how stupid can you get?

He's made it so clear to you

that he's not God.

He's made it so clear to you

what grace really is.

And he's made it so clear to you

about who Jesus is.

And yet,

here you are still

worshiping him,

still trying to appease them,

trying to give them

everything that you have

so that they will give you

even more,

like that old,

modest couple

in the legend.

And just before

I go too far in going,

they are so stupid,

I'll ask you the same question.

How stupid are you?

How long have you been

in church

listening to the gospel

of Jesus?

The good news

of grace

that is undeserved,

that there is nothing

that you need to do

to make God love you more.

And there is nothing

that you can do

that will cause God

to love you less.

And yet,

you and I,

still trapped

in the same places

of bondage

where we are thinking

we have to prove ourselves,

we have to show

that we are good Christians,

when there is no such thing

as a good Christian,

only a Christian

who recognizes

that they are bad

and they are in need

of a savior.

How long have we sat

and listened to messages

about the gospel,

the good news,

but not really let it

seep into our hearts?

And so we still focus

on how do we become better?

How do we serve more?

How do we become enough?

How do we belong?

Do you still have that?

I still have that,

which makes me

just as stupid

as these people here.

Because I am still

trying to appease God

with my sacrifices.

And God is saying,

it is not about

your sacrifices.

It is like my daughter

Alicia

continually trying

to draw me

the best picture

that she can draw.

She is unable

to draw me

a picture

that I will not like.

Parents,

do you agree?

when your kids

come up to you

with a picture

that you have no idea

what it is?

Oh,

so beautiful.

What is it?

But am I proud?

Yes.

Thomas Merton says,

the very desire

to please God

is what pleases God.

You being willing

to believe in Him.

That God,

I am nothing.

That in you,

I have everything.

That is the only thing

that we need.

That is the only message

He wants to tell us

and yet time and time again

we keep thinking,

what can I do?

What can I do

to be better?

Or,

I can never be good enough.

I think it is just

the same here.

So then,

they move on.

Verse 19,

but Jews came from Antioch,

so things are going

kind of well,

I guess,

but the people

still aren't getting the point.

But then,

it gets worse.

Verse 19,

but the 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.

I mean,

that's just such a casual line

there,

verse 19,

supposing he was dead.

That means,

he was left for dead.

That means the stones

actually hit him.

And that means

he's actually lying there

and they thought,

okay,

we've done it,

we've killed him.

Isn't the crowds,

seriously,

at this point,

you're like,

okay,

some of you really got it

and then another of you

could just be turned

just in an instant,

going from crowding

to cancelling

just like that

and hurling stones.

But what's Paul's reaction

to this near-death experience?

It's just as ridiculous

as him being told

that he's a god.

Verse 20,

so they suppose he was dead,

his disciples,

well,

they all drag him

out of the city.

Verse 20,

but when the disciples

gathered about him,

he rose up

and entered the city.

Hold up.

Paul,

they tried to kill you,

you're lying on the floor,

bruised and bleeding,

they drag you out of the city,

we're trying to hang out

and just see

if you're still alive.

By some kind of miracle

is all I can really assume here.

At some point,

he manages to come back

to consciousness,

stands back up

and the next thing you do,

are you kidding me?

Is you're going to run

straight back into the city

and continue to spread the gospel.

In face of the most extreme

kind of persecution

and criticism,

he runs straight back

to the problem,

which is the exact opposite

of what I would do.

If you come and say,

hey James,

that message wasn't

really too good.

Yeah, I thought this was wrong,

this was wrong,

this was wrong.

Yeah, I'm probably going to

try and avoid you next week.

I'm probably going to,

I can see them.

Paul runs straight back in

to the place

that tried to kill him.

How we respond

tells us where we're at.

How we respond to criticism

tells us where we're at.

How we respond to praise

and compliments

tell us where we're at.

And we've all been there,

probably,

where a hundred people

tell you that you're really good,

but all it takes

is that one person

to say,

meh.

They don't even have

to say anything.

And suddenly you think

of all these other things,

they're things that they're

trying to be critical of,

right?

And it ruins everything

and you forget

the 100 compliments you get

because you're only

focusing on that one.

And that's what

Tim Keller says,

if you live for praise,

you will die from criticism.

If you live for praise,

you will die from criticism.

If you let praise

inflate you,

when criticism comes,

it will crush you

and it will tell you

what your idol is.

Your idol is self-worth.

If everyone tells you,

every time someone tells you

something that you've done well,

it puffs you up,

it makes you think,

I am so worthy.

I am as a God.

But the moment

someone tells you

something bad,

you're like,

I am worthless.

If you live for praise,

you will die

from criticism.

But if you have

the heart of Paul

and Barnabas,

despite the praise,

despite the criticism,

they run straight back in

to do whatever

the Lord called them to do.

That is it.

There's something else

that I find really interesting here

and those of you

who may be in ministry,

I know that Young Life

talks a lot about this,

is how do we raise leaders?

How do we have it

so that it's not just

about us doing everything?

And it's fascinating

because in the next few verses,

you see that actually

one of Paul's greatest traits

isn't actually his preaching,

isn't actually his courage.

It's the way he raises

up people around him.

There are disciples

that are surrounding him,

gathered about him.

He rose up and entered the city.

And by the way,

if I was one of those people,

I'll be saying,

Paul, let's not do that again.

Like some of those stones

that they threw at you,

they nearly hit me.

Can we not go back in there?

Let's just move to the next place,

just like we did earlier

in the chapter.

Let's show people

that it's responsible

to stay safe.

I would have been

one of those people.

I'd say,

that's not a good idea.

And yet he raises disciples

who just had so much faith,

they were willing to follow.

Verse 21,

and when they had preached

the gospel to that city

and had made many disciples,

note,

they had made many disciples,

not disciples of Paul

or Barnabas,

but disciples of Jesus.

More and more people

were willing

to not just believe,

but to follow

in the footsteps of Jesus.

Now,

of course,

following Jesus is hard,

which is why

at another point

in 1 Corinthians 11,

Paul says,

hey,

imitate me

as I imitate Christ.

If you can't quite see Jesus yet,

like I've seen him,

don't worry.

Look at me.

Because I am so confident

that in my own gaze

is focused on him.

If you follow me,

you'll end up following Christ.

How beautiful is that?

And so you have these leaders

that he raises

who are then strengthened.

So he goes there

and he goes to,

returns to Lystra

and to Iconium

and to Antioch

and then he does a few things.

Leadership development

right here.

One,

he strengthens the souls

of his disciples.

He encourages them

in their faith.

He reminds them

that actually,

in order to get into the kingdom,

there will be trouble.

So please don't be shocked

when you spread the gospel

because just like me,

you might be stoned

or at the very least,

you will have divided response.

That's okay.

And then he appoints

and commits elders

and he prays for these people

because he realizes

his job

is not to build

his whole empire.

His job is to simply

do whatever the Spirit asks him

and what the Spirit is doing

is raising people.

That's our prayer here.

That's our prayer

and I've cited a few times

what we spent some time

as a small group of leaders

yesterday.

That's,

that's the heart.

That you wouldn't come in here

week in,

week out

and you think,

okay,

well I'm here to just

hear a sermon,

sing a few songs

and then leave.

But that actually

you would be ignited

and that I could disappear

and then you would do

whatever God's called you to do.

And if this closes down tomorrow

but you have received

from the Lord

what he's,

the next marching orders,

the next instruction,

that that is,

that is it.

That's all that's needed.

Christ says enough for me.

everything I need

is in you.

I have decided

to follow Jesus.

No turning back.

The cross before me.

The world behind me.

And so he appoints

these leaders

and he goes.

But just for a second there,

just imagine the emotions

of the people

who are getting prayed for.

These leaders

who have chosen

to follow Paul.

They know

that he was just stoned

and left for dead.

at some point

they'll know

that actually

their leader

has been killed.

Just imagine this.

Imagine here,

here we are living

in a place

where actually

you being here

is actually

quite dangerous.

And imagine then,

I say imagine

but I also want us

to know

deep in our hearts

and souls

that this is happening

in places around the world.

Okay?

So this is not

just a hypothetical

mind exercise.

This is actually happening.

Imagine you've been coming

week in, week out

and you're wondering

okay, I believe in Jesus.

I'm going to try

and follow him.

And the next week

you show up

and I'm not here

because the authorities

have taken me away

and I'm actually,

I've gone.

What's your next reaction then?

Well you,

I've not passed away yet.

Maybe I'm in prison