Acts 14, What Are You Willing to Go Through?

Acts chapter 14 hear the word of the Lord. 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 in Derbe cities of Lyconia 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 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 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 the 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 Italia and from there they sailed to Antioch where they had been commended but to the grace of God. For the work that they had fulfilled and when they had arrived and gathered the church together.

They declared all that God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles and they remained no little time with the disciples. Then the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his holy word.

The Cost of Popularity and the Temptation to Edit the Message

Well, what are you willing to go through? To get what you want. Long hours of studying or work hard training pushing yourself beyond exhaustion. Running miles and miles and 90 degree heat. If you had to move somewhere.

To make it so you had to move somewhere far away. Maybe some foreign place work every day 16 hours a day for years. If someone said to you. That's what you're gonna have to go through. To make it to finally achieve a comfortable life.

Maybe and you won't get there until maybe you're sometime in your 50s or 60s. Would you be willing to do that, what are you willing to go for? Opposition if you want to win some people are going to try to stop you.

Do you try anyway? Or do you wilt under opposition? You know the past couple of weeks. I've seen a few in NBA playoff games. I've seen the Golden State Warriors down by 18 in two games down by 17 and another.

Looking is that they're gonna lose. They're gonna lose this game for sure. But they went through being behind. Undeterred and in each game they climbed out of the hole and won. Are you willing to go through?

Maybe disapproval. You know if you say That whatever it is something something, you know. That these other people don't want to hear you will be disapproved of you will be rejected. You'll be thought of as if as a bigot a hater and intellectually benighted buffoon not to be paid any attention to.

Do you then hold back? Well, you know, maybe you know, there are such thing as manners not all opinions need to be shared. Someone said that opinions are luxury items. You can only have as many as you can afford.

If you're offending people because you just say obnoxious things. Like how much you hate their favorite football team or that their political opinions are stupid then you're just being obnoxious. Okay, you're not being persecuted for the faith.

You're just being a jerk, but. Are there some opinions some beliefs? Though that you will say even if it cost you dearly. You're willing to endure the disapproval. Or will you edit yourself? Censor yourself, you know hold yourself back.

You know communicators of all kinds they know what gets them better reactions. More positive reactions and what gives them more negative reactions. And if they're not willing to go through disapproval, they will pitch to those positive reactions.

They will edit themselves to take out the negative and add in more positive. How can I get more people to like me so they'll buy my book or come to my seminar or listen to my sermon? That question will drive them it will determine how they censor themselves.

So we have many churches today where the the message is often being determined by what will get the most approval. And you think about it an altar call is an immediate indicator. It's kind of like a poll the more people you can get to come forward the more successful you are.

The worst thing would be I would guess. You know to have begged for people to come forward for 12 verses of just as I am and still no one to come forward. I'd be awful, but it you don't want to go through that.

You don't want to go through being popular and rejected. You won't be standing up there. Please come just as you are, you know, you don't want to go through being Small numbers you want to have those big numbers that prove your success and you deserve the big dollars.

So you'll be tempted to edit the message. Won't you to take out a little something that you know is just is offending people. They're driving them away and you edit a little raise the incentives. Lower the cost if you come forward say this easy prayer, you'll be eternally secure.

You never need to doubt it. You never need to examine yourself. No matter how you live after this you can you have a License to sin and then you'll go to heaven and we even will even throw in a free burial plot out back while supplies last.

Right. That's what some preachers will say. If if people think they can avoid Resistance if you know, they just they can just earn popularity. They can skip whatever is hard. They'll edit out the rebukes of The popular sins, you know, there's some popular sins.

You're not supposed to rebuke. Sure, they'll let you know. They maybe even expect you to to scold a few sins. They'll give a license to hunt a few selected sense. It used to be sexual immorality and drunkenness.

You expected the preachers to just rail on that that's what they're there for to just call down fire and brimstone on sexual immorality or drunkenness, but not racism. Not teaching the kids by example that God comes after sports by having them out of church.

And traveling teams half the year don't don't touch that. They might as one mom of a traveling team kid once told me they might feel attacked and then they'll go elsewhere for generations preachers in this culture learn that they could succeed that they could drive that they could become.

Well-respected big shots if they only edited the message a little bit. How else do you think that racism and segregation? Live side by side in this culture in this area.

With churches.

For over a century. Well, they edited what they were saying, didn't they? They learned to censor the message to redact it, you know. Don't to black some things out so that they could preach about a Savior whose second greatest commandment was love your neighbor as yourself.

While they lived in the midst of a culture. We're legally hating your what some of your neighbors anyway was fine. And they preachers lived in that culture and oddly enough. They never mentioned it. Just yesterday. I learned about there was such a thing as they published during slave days.

What call a slave Bible. They had special Bible just for the slaves. They they edited this Bible guess what they took out anything that might make the slaves think that. Slavery maybe is not for them.

Philemon was cut out. You know where Paul tells Onesimus you should free your slave that kind of stuff. They edit it out. That's how. That's how racism slavery live side-by-side with the church in this area and they were rewarded for for editing the message and if a few oddballs.

Didn't go along. If they actually dared to name the sins that you're not supposed to name. Well, they were dealt with. So we shouldn't be surprised that now other sins some of the same sins that used to be popular.

You know some of the same things that used to be railed against now, we're told now it's now it's in poor taste to expose and renounce those sins. They might feel attacked. You know, they come in living with her girlfriend and you rail against sexual immorality.

They might feel attacked. Now it's different sins that are being edited out, but it's the same principle. Nothing really has changed. Just we've just switched. Sins is all we give the customer what he wants a positive affirming message.

That makes me feel good about myself that I can have the easy life now heaven later. No fuss. No muss that's what people want to hear and if they think they can they can have that and They don't have to go through anything hard.

They don't have to sacrifice anything. They don't have to suffer any afflictions. Well preachers will cater to that. But can you.

Can you?

Not go through resistance through disapproval and hardship. Can you? Bypass affliction. Is there a detour route? Past affliction on the way to heaven. Well, we see the answer to that here in three major parts first the resistance.

Second the revolution. Third the return. What are you willing to go through. First there's the resistance. Paula Barnabas there on we're in the middle here we started last week in chapter 13 on the what's called the first mission their first missionary journey and.

Before the end of chapter 13, they were pressured out of a city of Antioch another Antioch they started in Antioch in Syria and. And now just now they've been pressured driven out of an Antioch and now called Turkey.

The city in Antioch gets called the end of chapter 13. So they go next to they're turning east now. Kind of back in the way they came from but not they won't go that far back to Iconium. Not back to they're going to it for the first time.

Excuse me. They follow the same pattern that they followed before they have a they have kind of a routine a strategy that they're following. They go to the synagogue and they share the gospel and they get the same result as they have in the past first.

There's a lot of converts Who believe the gospel both Jews and Greeks Gentiles and so it's a mixed congregation from the start. And they get lots of also the same pattern they get lots of opposition. The unbelieving Jews don't like the competition they don't like the they don't like that Paul and Barnabas are winning people away from them to believe in the gospel and.

So in verse 2 they they poisoned the minds of People against the Christians. I was they slandered them. They made up stories about Paul and Barnabas and we're not told exactly what you can imagine whatever it was.

We know later that the Romans would accuse Christians of being cannibals. That's what they're doing in their secret meetings. They're cannibals, but since they talked about eating the body of Christ and drinking his blood in the Lord's Supper the Romans didn't get that it was Symbolic or maybe they did get it and they just didn't care.

They heard that Christians talking about their love feast with their brothers and their sisters. And then they accused them of having incestuous orgies. It didn't have to be true. Understand they're poisoning minds.

It only had to be effective. There are people today and you can meet them over the internet who don't use the internet to learn the truth. But to spread whatever slander it is. That they want to poison the minds of people against whatever they want to poison it against one anti-calvinist.

Just recently like a week and a half ago I saw claim that the reformer John Calvin had a man named Michael surveyed us a false teacher at a time. Had him burned at the stake. No, he didn't. I've heard that modern translations like the ESV which I read from earlier or the NIV have verses taken out of them.

No, they don't. I've heard that Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest has been quote taken over by leftist. No, it's not. People have an agenda and they will say whatever is useful.

To achieve that agenda. Here their agenda is to oppose the gospel to be the resistance to the church. So the people don't believe. They'll say whatever it takes to achieve that agenda. Here Paul and Bart must have a choice though.

Is there they're dealing with this campaign of poison minds against them. Now they've won it says a great number of believers and now they can keep them they can keep this great number and Then find out whatever it is provoking this resistance.

Why are these people against us? Maybe it's the stuff about Jesus fulfilling the law. Because they still want us to keep the law or that the name of Jesus is the only name by which we can be saved. That there is no other way.

Maybe it's the part about us being sinful by nature. That you that you bear bad fruit because you're a bad tree. What you need to do is to be made a good tree and you can't do that yourself. You must be born again.

And people don't like to hear that. They like to think they can save themselves find out whatever it is. That's causing this opposition. It's agitating the people that's making you unpopular. What's provoking the resistance what's causing you to be rejected.

Find out what that is and edit it out. Drop it, right. Just teach the popular parts be positive encouraging while eliminating everything that causes offense. That makes the people angry the opponents angry.

It turns people away. Why suffer disapproval? Why suffer rejection? Might go through resistance. Surely you can avoid it. Can't you?

Well, but they.

They don't do that. They don't edit it out anything out. They continue through the opposition the poisoning the minds against them continuing to give their opponents fuel for their fire stuff that. Whatever they were saying that couldn't make the people think that they're there's they're weird.

There's some kind of cult maybe that maybe it's their talk about the resurrection. Maybe it's their talk of the moral standards of Christians to be a Christian live a certain way. The sex outside of marriage is forbidden or against divorce that it was should be only for adultery in verse 3.

They remained at Iconium a long time through Resistance but refusing to change their message to suit the critics. They didn't change it at all they were speaking boldly for the Lord in the face of Resistance and the Lord gave Paul and Barnabas signs and wonders as to affirm the message.

But I didn't silence the critics. They didn't they didn't believe after that. They kept resisting. They kept slandering it kept filling the ears of whoever would listen to them with whatever they could fill it to make them suspect Paul and Barnabas and.

The result was that over time. The people there and Iconium were divided. There was no middle ground anymore. Everyone is on one side of the other some believe the Apostles and then some resisted them and hated them you either believe them or You've rejected them and finally the resistors concocted a plot to abuse and stone Paul and Barnabas.

But the word got out to them and so they figured well now it's a good time to move on to the next city Lystra and There they go in Lystra from from resistance to revolution. At Lystra one of the in the audience is listening to Paul.

One man there was a crippled man crippled from birth and Paul looked right ahead of him in verse 9. He saw saw somehow. That the that he had faith to be healed. He believed that Jesus was his Savior and his healer and so Paul shouted out stand upright on your feet.

And he sprang up started walking around. This sounds familiar, doesn't it? It's a lot like that miracle in Acts chapter 3. Where we're Peter remember that man begging crippled from birth also begging and Peter says I don't have enough any money on me.

What I have I give to you and in the name of Jesus rise and walk and he Same thing a man crippled for birth and and so just like we saw last week Paul is continuing the same message as Peter and now the same signs the signs of an apostle and When the people saw this miracle, they were amazed they shouted out in their native language Lycanian which Paul Barnabas apparently don't know.

They're not they're not speaking Greek speaking Lycanian whatever that is the gods have come down to us and the likeness of men. Paul Barnabas didn't know what they were saying. So no, they don't know what's going on at first.

They probably just assume the people are praising God for the miracle instead. Of course, they were praising them Paul Barnabas. They thought Barnabas was Zeus since Paul did most of the speaking. He was the messenger of the gods.

He was Hermes and Now these people had a Understand these people had a myth about their ancient history that Zeus and Hermes somewhat sometime way back. Had come to town to our little town here Lystra.

Disguised.

Incognito looking like regular men. Zeus and Hermes had had come here and had come to check out who here in Lystra is Hospitable and they found that no one would let them in. This is the way the myth goes, right?

That Obviously not true, but Zeus and Hermes came to town looking like regular men looking for hospitality. No one would let them in. No one would host them. Everyone was selfish and inhospitable and so Zeus and Hermes Destroyed their homes with a flood.

Okay, that's the myth they probably all the people there in that town I've probably grown up with that since their little children. They'd learn that in in in school and so now these two strangers come to town and Immediately, they heal this man that everyone knew had been crippled from birth.

Well, why they must be the gods and we sure don't want to make the mistake our ancestor did way back. They think they made them way back. And so they they're going to fall all over themselves to be hospitable to.

These two men who they think are Zeus and Hermes. So that's what's going on here and it helps of course that there's a temple to Zeus right there at the entrance of the city. So the priest of Zeus comes out and people donate some oxen.

There's garlands and they're gonna have a sacrifice to welcome and worship Zeus and Hermes. Only then do Paul and Barnabas catch on to what is happening.

Now.

What do they do? Well, they could they could use this. Couldn't they imagine if you're a part of Barnabas's situation. They're offering the sacrifices. They think we're gods. We should use this to our advantage.

Can they do that. They could accept it? They could turn it into a tool to win the whole town couldn't they. You know, what if they said? Thank you very much for the sacrifice. I really like barbecue myself.

It's really good for the respect. Thank you very much for the let's not call it worship, let's call it veneration and Now we've come. To tell you about an even higher God than us. What come to tell you about Jesus.

And now if you believe in us? Me Hermes and my friend here Zeus believe in the greater God the Lord of heaven and him we declare to you. Would that be clever that'd be useful. Save themselves some trouble.

Maybe perhaps they could even win the priest of Zeus with that tactic. Sounds smart to you. Well, the major debate on bringing the gospel to Chinese people is what to do with Chinese ancestral veneration.

Winning them away from Buddhism and Taoism. Isn't that difficult? I don't think it's but getting them to abandon ancestor veneration is a huge Hurdle. When Catholic missionaries first came to China many of them are at least the Jesuits anyway taught that they could assimilate Ancestor veneration they could just make it a part of Their version of the Christian life that asking people they thought asking the Chinese people to forsake the burning of Jostik's.

Offering food to their ancestors the hungry ghost offerings the funeral rites and the hell money and all that the ancestral tablet. Asking them to do that was was too much. It was asking for a revolution in their culture that they would resist.

So instead of acquiring people the Chinese people to reject it. They had tried to Christian eyes it and you can imagine from a Catholic perspective. Why that would be and why they would seem easy because after all burning Jostik's to the ancestors.

It's really not that much different than lighting a candle to the Saints. Catholics already had a category that they had made up not found in the Bible. But a category called veneration in which you can supposedly bow to an image and you can pray to it and whatever it stands for and offer candles and incense and they say well.

It's not worship. That's veneration. Why not then extend that same category of what can be venerated? Beyond the Saints beyond first Mary than the Saints extend it to your ancestors. It's quite easy. And so with that approach, but a compromising assimilating what in theology is called syncretizing.

Not not rejecting not replacing not demanding a revolution in the culture. Catholicism was growing and accepted in China. Just somewhat in the 17th and 18th centuries under the Qing dynasty with the Emperor Kong C Issuing an edict that it was to be tolerated and that Catholic churches were to be protected.

The evangelicals who came later about 200 years later like Hudson Taylor had a harder time. When they came because they would not compromise with ancestor of iteration like Paul here they want a lot of converts.

But they also sparked a lot of opposition. They were called often an ancestor denying religion. They made the choice stark you either worship Jesus or your ancestors. You can't do both in the long run.

That's the faith that continued to grow and still is continuing to grow. Here Paul and Barnabas could take that assimilation approach the syncretism. They could tell them. Hey, you could keep your Zeus and Hermes as long as you recognize that the Lord is supreme that Jesus is Lord.

You know, they could be like c -3po and the Star Wars Return of the Jedi ever seen that very mediocre film. Okay, necessarily recommending. It's kind of. But they could be like there that let's let the Ewoks think you're a god, you know Luke Skywalker tells c -3po.

They'll get us out of a jam if they do. Obviously Paul and Barnabas won't do that. There's no compromise with paganism or with ancestor veneration or even the short-term use of their superstitions. To make life more comfortable for them.

When they realize finally Paul and Barnabas realized that these people in this town are setting up a sacrifice for them in verse 14. Says that they tear their garments way of expressing just the outrage.

And then they ran into the crowds declaring the verse 15, you know men. Why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you. In other words, we're mortal. We're mere humans. We're sinners and we bring you good news.

That you should turn that is repent put away. Put the sacrifices to idols the the jaw sticks the hell money the food left to the kitchen God. Turn from that from those vain things. Vain means means empty.

Useless.

It's like shooting an arrow with the at the stars thinking you can hit the star. It's it's it's a waste of time. It's useless. Sacrificing the idols is a waste. Ancestor. Veneration is for nothing. Instead they say turn To the Living God.

He's not just a statue. He's the Living God. He's not a statue or a dead relative. Turn to a Living God who made the heaven the universe and the earth and the sea and all that is in them created everything that's a true God who's vast and infinite and creative.

In verse 16. In past generations He God allowed all nations like you people to walk in their own ways to develop your own mythologies and customs and funeral rites and sacrifices your own temples and all that stuff.

He You know, he lets you drift yet. Paul says he did not leave himself without witness. There was a witness to him. What's God's witness? To these pagan Gentile people.

What's the witness.

What is testifying to the existence of this vast? Infinite Creator God who should be worshipped rather than your vain things.

What's his witness?

Scripture.

But these people don't have scripture. They don't know it whether they've even heard of it. Maybe they've heard a little bit of it from Jewish neighbors but it wasn't part of their culture and The last chapter Paul preached to the Jews in a synagogue and he filled his message with scripture Quotes it often but now he's speaking to people who have no exposure to scripture.

They don't know it. Do they have a witness. What's their witness. Do they have something that tells them about God? Yes the witness of nature in verse 17 for he God Did good to you right by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons satisfying your hearts with food and Gladness.

God did that for you, even though you didn't worship him. You didn't you you sinned against him. He gave you all the good things of life that you have he's in control of them. And could have withheld them but he didn't he gave him to you.

That's the witness. It's what theologians called common grace. That is the blessings of nature that God gave commonly to all people. Nature is a witness to God both that he exists and that he's good. Many Christians don't today don't understand this that they talk and argue and try to evangelize as.

If God is not speaking to nature I think because they're used to a culture where most people know something about scripture and they can't imagine to how to now communicate with. People who don't know anything about it.

Many of them think it's odd if you try to use science to persuade non-christian people, which you actually can do easily for example. Well, so off my little bit of science. The first law of thermo thermodynamics Says that the universe has no capacity to create matter and energy.

It's the first law what a second law Shows us by implication anyway that matter and energy was created. The universe came into existence at a certain time. So that means think of those two things together.

The universe was created. But it has no ability to create. Therefore There must be a creator beyond the universe and this we call.

God.

That's arguing from nature like what Paul is doing here. If you're trying to win people who don't know of the Bible and don't believe the Bible. You really can't start with the Bible. You hope to get them to the Bible eventually.

But you have to start with something that they already know something they can see here. You know, look you've been given food. You've been given happiness. You've been given a good life. You've been satisfied.

God is in control of all that he gave that all to you and you so you're supposed to think so God has given them to me. I should worship him and Policy here that the true God the one creator. God did that not these empty myths not Zeus not Hermes, but even with that.

After all that they still almost the people of the town almost went ahead and offered the sacrifice to them. So Paul begins where they're at so they can understand it, but he demands a revolution in their culture your whole religion.

He's saying it is vain. It's worthless.

Turn from it.

To the true God. Well, they turned all right, but they turned against him the revolution. He called for now throw out the old religion. The revolution turned on him some of the same people who drove them out of the nearby Antioch the city in Antioch and Iconium come to Lystra where they had first here.

They had been hailed as gods and they poisoned the minds of the people. So they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city in verse 19 probably unconscious. Thinking that he had killed him and they intended to kill him and you know, let's think about it.

They were trying to murder him. Now imagine though that Paul has gone from being worshipped as a god. There's some popularity for you to being hated and stoned and dragged out of town unconscious. Do you wonder?

As he's being pelted with rocks whether he thought to himself. What did I say wrong? You know, what did I do wrong? But the crowds are fickle. Popularity is fleeting if you ask them for a revolution in their culture forsake your ancestor veneration or your Racism your slavery or maybe now your sexual immorality your moralistic therapeutic deism forsake your Individualism you're the captain of your own soul and no you don't have to submit to anyone if you if you ask for that kind of revolution in their life.

They might break out in a revolution. All right a revolution against you. Making the church or the preacher that was popular. Now declared an enemy of the people haters and bigots or a cult or whatever.

They want to say ancestor denying. It's a horrible thing. That so often now We measure the success of our churches and ministries by numbers by popularity. Not by faithfulness. But Paul has got to be bruised and gashed been knocked out been dragged outside of the city a Victim of their revolution.

They're turning on a dime from worshiping him to hating him. But as the believers around him. He gets up he even has the nerve to go back into the same town to spend the night there. Next is the return that was the revolution now the return starting at verse 21.

Paul and Barnabas make a return trip. Back to Iconium back to and they're gonna go originally back to where they came from to Antioch. They travel in the kind of hook this whole trip. If we have a map somewhere in your Bible, you can see they sort of a hook like it's like a sideways J.

First they they they went east and then they went north and then they curved around back. No back east first they went west and then north and east. Yeah like that. Whatever need a map. No map is worth a thousand words.

But anyway where they are they you could think logically. Well, you could just continue going east and you would be looping around and you could come back. To where you started to Antioch and you go through all new territory.

On your way back going home that way, you know and Paul likes to go to new places. But they also knew that they needed to go back to the believers that they had left behind in these in these towns. And so Paul and Barnabas aren't just evangelizing.

Individuals think of that here. They're they're not just content sharing the gospel of individuals. They say a prayer. They they say they believe they're not just doing that. They're planting churches.

Biblical evangelism is about growing local churches communities of believers. And so they go back where they came. Retracing their steps back to Lystra where Paul was stoned and to go back to the town where you were stoned in back to Iconium.

Well, they have been driven out by a threat of being stoned. Back to Pisidian Antioch and so forth back to every little town and they did it. It says to strengthen to confirm them to follow up the people who had believed and they encouraged them in verse 22.