FAITH IN THE WORD OF GOD AND FAILURE TO GIVE GOD THE GLORY - Acts 14:-8-18

Acts 14:8–10 “And at Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man listened to Paul as he spoke, who, when he fixed his gaze on him and saw that he had faith to be saved from being lame, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.”

I want to remind you what Luke said in vv. 5-7 that after there was an attempt on the lives of Paul and Barnabas by the Jews, Gentiles, and city rulers at Iconium, Paul and Barnabas fled once that discovered their lives were in danger and went to Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and continued to preach the gospel.

Our text in v.8 tells us that there was at Lystra a cripple man sitting. This would be third time Luke records in Acts a cripple would be healed in Acts, the cripple beggar who had been lame from his mother’s womb in chapter 3, and a parallelized man for 8 year in chapter 9. This cripple man Luke describes in 3 distinct terms about his condition to highlight the magnitude of this cripple man’s condition and for us to grasp the profoundness of the miracle God would perform for this man. First Luke states that the man had no strength in his feet, he was lame since birth, and he never had the ability to walk.

Now Lystra was a Roman colony, a Gentile population with no Jewish synagogue. So Paul had no synagogue to preach the word of God. This left him no other choice but to take his preaching to the streets. The people there spoke both Lycaonian and Greek, Paul who spoke Greek was preaching the gospel in the streets and this man listened while Paul was speaking about Jesus Christ. The word listened is an imperfect tense verb, which indicates that this man was continuously or frequently listening to Paul. Church be determined to share Christ wherever you are at because you never know who is listening.

Notice the text in v. 9 says that Paul fixed his gaze on this man and saw that he had faith to be saved. Here we see the inner working of the Holy Spirit in the cripple man who by hearing the word of God had faith to be healed, Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

and Paul who saw that the cripple man had faith to be healed.

Some translations say he had faith to be made to be made whole. or faith to be healed. What type of faith did the man have? As one text reads he had the type of faith that belongs to salvation. This cripple man had the type of faith for both physical and spiritual healing.

In Matt 9 the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He tells her, Daughter, take courage; your faith has saved you. At once the woman was saved from her hemorrhage.

In Mark 10, Jesus tells Blind Bartimaeus “Go your, faith has saved you, Immediately he regained his sight.”

In Luke 17 the lone leper who came back and fell down before Jesus to give God glory for his healing, Jesus tells him “Stand up and go; your faith has saved your.”

Paul reaction to this man’s faith

Acts 14:10 “said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.”

Paul didn’t command the man to pay him money for healing like today’s modern day false faith healers.

Paul by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the power of God, says with a loud voice, tells the man to “stand upright on your feet.” The word stand is an imperative verb, it’s authoritative command that needs to be done immediately. And with no assistance this once crippled man “leaped up on his feet that at one time had no strength, this man who had been crippled from his mother’s womb, who never walked, began to walk. This shows this man had faith that God was able to heal. Notice God healed him completely not partially. Unlike what false faith healers do today who claim to heal those in wheel chairs they struggle to get up and they can barley walk. This man began walk, imperfect tense, which lets us know that he kept on walking, maybe in circles, and up and down the street shouting I can walk… I can walk. And everybody saw he was healed. If you never had the ability and you got healed you would do the same thing, you would be walking in circles and up down the street. If God has done anything to you should walk up down the streets and tell them what God has done for you. Now miracles are not normative, it doesn’t mean that miracles do not happen, they occur according to God’s will. Now some will say that they have not seen God do a miracle. Let me tell you that if you had faith in God’s word to be saved, you’re proof that God did a miracle in you. It is a miracle that he changed you from a sinner to saint saved by grace, changed you from someone who was once alienated from God, to someone who has been adopted into family of God, you ought to get up and walk and tell someone what God did.

Not all miracles will produce faith in God

Acts 14:11–13 “And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Ly-khay-o-nian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and was wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds.”

When Paul had summon the cripple man to stand up right on your feet with a loud voice that drew the crowds attention and when the saw that Paul had caused the man to leap to his feet and walking they raised their voice in their own language, not to the God of heaven and earth, but directed at Paul and Barnabas, saying the gods have become like men and have come down to us. And they started to call Barnabas Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

This is the historical reason for their lack of faith in the true God and called Barnabas and Paul Greek gods. There was a Roman Poet by the name of Ovid who wrote that gods Zeus and Hermes came to Lystra in the likeness of men and while there they asked for food and a place to stay. The people of Lystra refused them. But there were a poor married couple name Philemon and Baucis who allowed them to stay in there cottage. At some point both gods took revenge on those who had refused to take them in and drown them with a flood. Sparing the married couple for their hospitality they made them a priest and priestess and turned their cottage into a temple. And after their death the gods turned them into trees.

These people of Lystra that raised their voices at Barnabas and Paul thinking they were gods, didn’t want to make the same mistake of angering them as their ancestors once did. When they saw the miracle Paul had done, they believe that Zeus and Hermes had returned in human form and called Barnabas Zeus because he was older than Paul, and called Paul Hermes who was messenger of the gods, since Paul was the chief speaker.

Neither Paul or Barnabas caught on what was going on because of they didn’t understand their language. But all that will soon be revealed to them.

Acts 14:13 “And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and was wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds.”

Word of the miracle must have reached the pagan priest of Zeus who came from the temple that was just outside of the temple, he came to offer a oxen that was dressed up for the purpose of making a sacrifice with the multitude to Paul and Barnabas. See miracles don’t always produce faith in God. How many people have you known that had a sickness but were healed and their miracle didn’t produce faith in God, but they said they thanked the doctor and not God. Or the person who survived and walked away from a terrible accident that miracle didn’t produce faith in God, they just said they were lucking. Even some survived a shootout and that miracle didn’t cause them to have faith in God, but they bragged on themselves and said they ran and hid and didn’t get shot.

The right reaction from Paul and Barnabas

Acts 14:14–15“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, proclaiming the gospel to you 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.”

Unlike Herod, who ignorantly enjoyed being called a god and paid for it by a horrible death (12:21-23). Paul and Barnabas when understood what was going on they were horrified at the fact that they were seen as gods and they tore their garments, in the OT Jews would tear their garments to indicate that a blasphemy had been said against God (Matt 26:65).

Paul and Barnabas knew that only God is to receive the glory. And they started running among all these pagan people, crying out to them saying why are doing these things to us? We are not gods, we are just men like you, we are human beings, we didn’t come to praised as gods, we came to proclaim the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain, worthless non-existent gods, and turn to the living God. And since these pagan Gentiles didn’t know who God was. Paul and Barnabas appeal to them using general revelation from God’s creation, In hope that they would turn to the very God who made the heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. God alone is to be worshiped by he alone is the giver of life. How dare pathetic lowly people who go about turning up their nose at the living God who has given them the life that they pridefully believe it is theirs. God can snatch their life away in a nano second. Hebrews 10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” God is the only God to be worshiped.

Acts 14:16–17 ““In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.””

God had allowed previous generation to be led by the sinful nature, to do what they felt was right in their own way, he didn’t intervene in their sinful ways, but God didn’t leave Himself without witness, they could not plead their innocence, they were responsible in knowing right from wrong, because God had left them a witness, His creation, so they were without any excuses.

We read in Romans 1:19–20 “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

God has been good Paul says, “He did good and gave you rains from heaven, those rains provided fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness. The goodness of God is poured out on the just and the unjust. He supplies us with everything, rains, crops, food to eat, clothes to wear, and causes happiness, all that we receive comes from a good and holy God. The same God who gives is the same God who can take away. Knowing that all things come from God should cause everyone to come and glorify the God of heaven and worship him and believe in Jesus Christ.

Acts 14:18 “And saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.”

Paul and Barnabas have torn their clothes and with great words they pleaded with the crowed people at Lystra not to look at them as gods, and with every ounce of strength they tried to restrain them from making an offering to them, and turn to the true and living God, who gave them life and sustains their life by giving them rain for their crops and animals, fruitful seasons, food to eat and joy, but this crowd wouldn’t stop their sinful ways and failed to give God the glory.

My question to you today will you be like the cripple man who believed the word of God and was saved and healed and leap up with joy or will be like these ungrateful pagans and fail to give God the glory for giving you life, sustains your life, healed your body, provided you a roof over your head, and food on your table. The same God who gives is the same who can take away. Don’t take God’s grace and mercy for grant by failing to give God the glory.