“Paul’s First Missionary Journey: Part Two”
From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts
December 18, 2011
Acts 14:1-28
Our sermon series is on the book of Acts. We’re calling it “From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania.”
And we haven’t gotten to Pennsylvania yet!
But we have gotten out of Jerusalem.
In fact, we’re on a journey right now. We’re on Paul’s First Missionary Journey.
That great church in Antioch in Syria has sent Paul and Barnabas out on a gospel mission.
They went from Antioch to Cyprus. Two cities on the island, Salamis and Paphos where they encountered and defeated the Jewish sorcerer Bar-Jesus.
Then they went across to Perga and then to Pisidian Antioch where they were busy sharing the gospel.
The word of the Lord spread there and many (especially Gentiles) believed in Jesus but they also encountered persecution and decided to head out of town to the next big city called Iconium.
Iconium is a pretty big city. It still is today. They call it Konya today. K-O-N-Y-A. It’s still on the map. You’ll notice that it’s in the province of Galatia.
So our book Galatians that the adult Sunday school classes have been reading was probably read right here in Iconium.
And that’s where our story starts today.
In today’s chapter, we’re going to see four major things that describe the second half of the first missionary journey, and I think we can learn from all four.
#1. Division.
#2. Confusion.
#3. Opposition.
#4. Completion.
Now, I’m not saying that every short term missions trip is going to have these four features, but I think that all of us in gospel ministry–and that should be all of us here–should be ready for all four.
There is something to learn here for each of our lives.
Acts chapter 14, verse 1.
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.”
Now, my word for this section is division.
#1. DIVISION.
You can see it right there in verse 4. “The people of the city were divided.”
That should not surprise us, but it often does.
The gospel divides.
It’s good news! But not everyone thinks so.
Verse 1 says that Paul and Barnabas, when showed up in town went as usual to the Jewish synagogue.
Why did they do that? They did it because those folks were already about half-way there. They already knew the Old Testament, they just needed to know the name of the Messiah.
And verse 1 also says that they spoke so effectively that many got saved!
Yes!
But verse 2 says that there were Jews who refused to believe “and stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.”
Did that stop Paul and Barnabas? Verse 3
“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.”
That didn’t stop them at all. In fact, they got bold and God (note that it’s God who does it) enabled them to do miracles that confirmed the message.
But miracles don’t change everyone’s mind. They didn’t with Jesus, and they don’t with the apostles. V.4
“The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. [There is split down the middle of the city.] There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. [Mob violence. The martyring of Stephen all over again.] But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.”
Division.
Division can be a good thing. If everyone is going in the wrong direction, then a division where some (many?) begin to go in the right direction is a very good thing.
And that’s what happened here.
A church was born in the middle of that division.
And the world is still divided over Jesus.
The word is still divided over the gospel.
Verse 3 calls it, “the message of his grace.”
The gospel is the message that Jesus has sacrificed Himself to give us forgiveness.
And lots of people don’t like that message.
They’d rather try to earn their way.
They’d rather do it their own way.
They’d rather not entrust themselves to this Jesus guy.
The world is still divided.
When we share the gospel, we should expect division.
Jesus said that it would divide families....of course it’s going to divide cities.
And even though they had to hotfoot it out of town, they haven’t changed their message. V.6 again.
“But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.”
More miracles. Verse 8.
“In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.”
Praise the Lord!
But...#2. CONFUSION. V.11
“When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”
Whoa! Can you imagine?!
First, the miracle. Then the confusion.
And Paul and Barnabas probably can’t understand the local language, so they don’t know what’s going on.
This one guy had faith to be healed. He was believing what he was hearing about Jesus.
But most of the folks here can only see the miracle and put their idolatrous interpretation on it.
These guys must be Zeus and Hermes come to visit!
Can you imagine?
That’s confusion for you. V.14
“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ‘Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.’ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.”
Glad they didn’t let it go to their heads!
You know that would be a major temptation for someone in that position.
Think of all of the stories like this that you’ve see or heard.
Someone is mistaken for a god. What do they do? They play it up for awhile.
Being a god has its privileges.
But those stories never turn out well do they?
And that’s not why Paul and Barnabas have been risking their lives.
They’ve been risking it to bring the gospel. The good news. V.15
“We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn form these worthless” idols to the living God!
The answer to confusion is to keep sharing the truth.
Keep trying. Keep clarifying. Keep explaining the way it really is.
There is a lot of confusion out there about what Christianity truly is.
You probably get that all of the time when you’re talking with people.
Some people think that Christianity is about being good, doing good things, being a good person, being moral, going to church, making God happy by being good for Him.
He knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!
That’s not Christianity.
That’s confusion.
Christianity is about good news.
We have been bad, and Jesus has paid for it.
He died on the Cross to satisfy the righteous wrath of the Father against our sin.
And now He offers us forgiveness if we will turn from our sins and our idols, worthless things, and trust in Him, the living God.
And everyone knows that they need Him, but they suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That’s where Paul is going in verse 16 and 17.
He’s the “living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own [rebellious] way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
And you know it.
Every good gift is from him.
But people suppress that knowledge because they realize that if its’ true then they are accountable to the living God.
And they are. We are.
But more than accountable, we can be redeemed by Jesus if we turn from our sin and turn to Him.
That’s not confusion. That’s Christianity. That’s the gospel.
Keep telling people.
Now, you know that it can’t last. Crowds are fickle. One second, they are going to sacrifice a bull to you.
The next second (or at least after a little bit of time) they try to kill you. V.19
“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”
#3. OPPOSITION.
Of course, that’s putting it lightly. It’s really persecution.
They threw stones at him.
And they threw so many stones and so heavy stone and so jagged stones at him that they thought he was dead.
You see many in the world do not like our message.
It’s amazing that we don’t have that happening right now in the United States.
We have an amazing moment right now in history where we are free to share and believe the gospel message without much fear for our lives.
It’s not that way in many places around the world. We are living in an exception right now....right now.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy anyway. There is still opposition.
And there always will be. That was Paul’s message to the believers, after he got up and could talk again. V.20
“But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”
Did you catch that?
Where did he go after he got up?
Back into the city?
And then they went down to Derbe where they made more disciples.
And then they ... what?
They returned to Lystra again. And then Iconium. And then Antioch.
Didn’t they have trouble in each of those cities.
Yes, they did.
But the answer to opposition in gospel ministry is courage.
Even after being stoned, Paul goes back through.
Was he scared? Probably.
But he was also bold. And he knew that he had a job to do. V.22 again.
“...strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”
That’s the truth.
Some people with a big smile on their book cover tell you that following Jesus means everything working out great.
Paul said with his big bruised face, “We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Not that going through those hardships earn us a place in the kingdom. Christ did that.
But following Him will mean hardship, trouble, persecution, opposition.
Count on it. Strengthen yourself for it. Encourage others about it.
Take courage that means.
Paul and Barnabas don’t return the shortest way.
They backtrack along their route again all the way to Attalia and then catch a boat home.
I think that shows great love for the Lord, the gospel, and the church.
And it show courage.
Have you experienced opposition being a Christian.
It isn’t easy.
It’s not supposed to be.
“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
That’s the way it works.
Verse 23
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”
After making new disciples and planting new churches, they appointed leadership and then entrusted them to the Lord Jesus whom they had entrusted themselves to.
And then they headed home. V.24
“After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.”
#4. COMPLETION.
Mission accomplished.
From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania: The Book of Acts
December 18, 2011
Acts 14:1-28
Our sermon series is on the book of Acts. We’re calling it “From Jerusalem to Pennsylvania.”
And we haven’t gotten to Pennsylvania yet!
But we have gotten out of Jerusalem.
In fact, we’re on a journey right now. We’re on Paul’s First Missionary Journey.
That great church in Antioch in Syria has sent Paul and Barnabas out on a gospel mission.
They went from Antioch to Cyprus. Two cities on the island, Salamis and Paphos where they encountered and defeated the Jewish sorcerer Bar-Jesus.
Then they went across to Perga and then to Pisidian Antioch where they were busy sharing the gospel.
The word of the Lord spread there and many (especially Gentiles) believed in Jesus but they also encountered persecution and decided to head out of town to the next big city called Iconium.
Iconium is a pretty big city. It still is today. They call it Konya today. K-O-N-Y-A. It’s still on the map. You’ll notice that it’s in the province of Galatia.
So our book Galatians that the adult Sunday school classes have been reading was probably read right here in Iconium.
And that’s where our story starts today.
In today’s chapter, we’re going to see four major things that describe the second half of the first missionary journey, and I think we can learn from all four.
#1. Division.
#2. Confusion.
#3. Opposition.
#4. Completion.
Now, I’m not saying that every short term missions trip is going to have these four features, but I think that all of us in gospel ministry–and that should be all of us here–should be ready for all four.
There is something to learn here for each of our lives.
Acts chapter 14, verse 1.
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.”
Now, my word for this section is division.
#1. DIVISION.
You can see it right there in verse 4. “The people of the city were divided.”
That should not surprise us, but it often does.
The gospel divides.
It’s good news! But not everyone thinks so.
Verse 1 says that Paul and Barnabas, when showed up in town went as usual to the Jewish synagogue.
Why did they do that? They did it because those folks were already about half-way there. They already knew the Old Testament, they just needed to know the name of the Messiah.
And verse 1 also says that they spoke so effectively that many got saved!
Yes!
But verse 2 says that there were Jews who refused to believe “and stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.”
Did that stop Paul and Barnabas? Verse 3
“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.”
That didn’t stop them at all. In fact, they got bold and God (note that it’s God who does it) enabled them to do miracles that confirmed the message.
But miracles don’t change everyone’s mind. They didn’t with Jesus, and they don’t with the apostles. V.4
“The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. [There is split down the middle of the city.] There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. [Mob violence. The martyring of Stephen all over again.] But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.”
Division.
Division can be a good thing. If everyone is going in the wrong direction, then a division where some (many?) begin to go in the right direction is a very good thing.
And that’s what happened here.
A church was born in the middle of that division.
And the world is still divided over Jesus.
The word is still divided over the gospel.
Verse 3 calls it, “the message of his grace.”
The gospel is the message that Jesus has sacrificed Himself to give us forgiveness.
And lots of people don’t like that message.
They’d rather try to earn their way.
They’d rather do it their own way.
They’d rather not entrust themselves to this Jesus guy.
The world is still divided.
When we share the gospel, we should expect division.
Jesus said that it would divide families....of course it’s going to divide cities.
And even though they had to hotfoot it out of town, they haven’t changed their message. V.6 again.
“But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.”
More miracles. Verse 8.
“In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.”
Praise the Lord!
But...#2. CONFUSION. V.11
“When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”
Whoa! Can you imagine?!
First, the miracle. Then the confusion.
And Paul and Barnabas probably can’t understand the local language, so they don’t know what’s going on.
This one guy had faith to be healed. He was believing what he was hearing about Jesus.
But most of the folks here can only see the miracle and put their idolatrous interpretation on it.
These guys must be Zeus and Hermes come to visit!
Can you imagine?
That’s confusion for you. V.14
“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ‘Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.’ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.”
Glad they didn’t let it go to their heads!
You know that would be a major temptation for someone in that position.
Think of all of the stories like this that you’ve see or heard.
Someone is mistaken for a god. What do they do? They play it up for awhile.
Being a god has its privileges.
But those stories never turn out well do they?
And that’s not why Paul and Barnabas have been risking their lives.
They’ve been risking it to bring the gospel. The good news. V.15
“We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn form these worthless” idols to the living God!
The answer to confusion is to keep sharing the truth.
Keep trying. Keep clarifying. Keep explaining the way it really is.
There is a lot of confusion out there about what Christianity truly is.
You probably get that all of the time when you’re talking with people.
Some people think that Christianity is about being good, doing good things, being a good person, being moral, going to church, making God happy by being good for Him.
He knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!
That’s not Christianity.
That’s confusion.
Christianity is about good news.
We have been bad, and Jesus has paid for it.
He died on the Cross to satisfy the righteous wrath of the Father against our sin.
And now He offers us forgiveness if we will turn from our sins and our idols, worthless things, and trust in Him, the living God.
And everyone knows that they need Him, but they suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That’s where Paul is going in verse 16 and 17.
He’s the “living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own [rebellious] way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
And you know it.
Every good gift is from him.
But people suppress that knowledge because they realize that if its’ true then they are accountable to the living God.
And they are. We are.
But more than accountable, we can be redeemed by Jesus if we turn from our sin and turn to Him.
That’s not confusion. That’s Christianity. That’s the gospel.
Keep telling people.
Now, you know that it can’t last. Crowds are fickle. One second, they are going to sacrifice a bull to you.
The next second (or at least after a little bit of time) they try to kill you. V.19
“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”
#3. OPPOSITION.
Of course, that’s putting it lightly. It’s really persecution.
They threw stones at him.
And they threw so many stones and so heavy stone and so jagged stones at him that they thought he was dead.
You see many in the world do not like our message.
It’s amazing that we don’t have that happening right now in the United States.
We have an amazing moment right now in history where we are free to share and believe the gospel message without much fear for our lives.
It’s not that way in many places around the world. We are living in an exception right now....right now.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy anyway. There is still opposition.
And there always will be. That was Paul’s message to the believers, after he got up and could talk again. V.20
“But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”
Did you catch that?
Where did he go after he got up?
Back into the city?
And then they went down to Derbe where they made more disciples.
And then they ... what?
They returned to Lystra again. And then Iconium. And then Antioch.
Didn’t they have trouble in each of those cities.
Yes, they did.
But the answer to opposition in gospel ministry is courage.
Even after being stoned, Paul goes back through.
Was he scared? Probably.
But he was also bold. And he knew that he had a job to do. V.22 again.
“...strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”
That’s the truth.
Some people with a big smile on their book cover tell you that following Jesus means everything working out great.
Paul said with his big bruised face, “We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Not that going through those hardships earn us a place in the kingdom. Christ did that.
But following Him will mean hardship, trouble, persecution, opposition.
Count on it. Strengthen yourself for it. Encourage others about it.
Take courage that means.
Paul and Barnabas don’t return the shortest way.
They backtrack along their route again all the way to Attalia and then catch a boat home.
I think that shows great love for the Lord, the gospel, and the church.
And it show courage.
Have you experienced opposition being a Christian.
It isn’t easy.
It’s not supposed to be.
“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
That’s the way it works.
Verse 23
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”
After making new disciples and planting new churches, they appointed leadership and then entrusted them to the Lord Jesus whom they had entrusted themselves to.
And then they headed home. V.24
“After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.”
#4. COMPLETION.
Mission accomplished.
Time for their report. Verse 27.
“On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.”
The first missionary journey was a success.
It’s important to get a report back about how goes the mission.
Next August, I look forward to hearing back from our Serbia Missions Team about their experience. What they saw, heard, did, learned, and achieved. What God is up to in that part of the world.
Next month will be a month of missions reports here at Lanse Free Church.
We’re going to hear from several of our missionary families and missions organizations about their last term of service.
That’s important when a mission is completed to have a report.
The key focus of Paul’s report is that God has been at work, especially among the Gentiles. V.27 again.
“Reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”
Now, that’s going to raise a few issues which we’re going to see in a few weeks when we get back to Jerusalem in chapter 15.
But you and I should very happy about it.
Because the gospel has gotten one big step closer to Pennsylvania.
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