Trial Will Come

Introduction: Cody’s main idea from Acts 13 – A kingdom-minded church is led by the Holy Spirit on gospel mission. We saw this main idea birth out of Cody’s sermon which marks the beginning of Paul and Barnabas’s missionary journey. The Holy Spirit was instrumental and absolutely necessary for this missionary journey to begin, because the Holy Spirit had to empower it.

Cody had some great points throughout the sermon, and I’m not sure about your biggest take from it, but I felt pressed to consider how important it is that we are seeking the counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit in all of our lives as Christ-followers. Not just individually, but also in community as we see Paul and Barnabas demonstrate in Acts 13. As we seek to patiently wait to be led by the Holy Spirit, it will protect us from making emotional or selfish decisions. The other important factor in doing this as a church in community. In our day and age, it can be so easy to make decisions without asking our brothers and sisters in Christ to examine our thoughts and intentions, especially if the decision will be one that prompts life changes. Recently, my wife and I were walking through a difficult time being pressed by new trials and challenges brought on by the lockdown. We began talking about what can we do or how do we make our lives slow down right now? After sitting down with our pastors, Cody and Ryan, I learned that perhaps changing circumstances or involvement in things was not so much the answer, but rather, I learned that a big part of my stress and anxiety stemmed from my own personal refusal to accept the new challenges and trials we recently came upon. Instead of counting it all joy, as James teaches when we face a variety of trials, I was trying with so much might to force things back to the normal we had adjusted to and knew so well.

As Cody mentioned last week, we desire to be a church that raises up missionaries, ministry leaders, and other callings that may require us to send people out from our local family. This requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the collaboration of the church in prayer to rightly do. If such a massive and overwhelming task requires prayer, fasting, and collaboration as a church family, how much more will the daily stresses and life decisions require these things to? What a blessing we have in the Holy Spirit’s presence. And what a blessing it is to have one another. Thank you, Ryan and Cody, taking time out of your busy week to sit down and hear me and offer thoughtful feedback, questions, and encouragement. My wife and I have been so blessed because of it.

I share all this with you, because this introduction relates to the continuation of the story in Acts. Acts 14 is a continuation of Paul and Barnabas’s journey, and it is presented with victories, trials, and difficult decisions. I have tried my best to capture the overarching idea of this chapter, and I actually use Paul’s very words in Acts 14:22 – MIS: It is necessary for the kingdom-minded church to experience tribulations as they enter the Kingdom of God.. I love the word tribulations, because it captures so well the myriad of difficulties, divisions, sufferings, setbacks, and cultural rejections that the church may encounter. The key to actually experiencing these things is found in the adjective that describes the church – “kingdom-minded”. Simply put, being kingdom-minded is proclaiming, supporting, and promoting through word, deed, and life that Jesus Christ is Lord over all the universe, and the Bible tells the true story of the world. If you are kingdom-minded, you see the universal implications of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all the world. Our heart for the world should be for all nations to see and embrace Christ as Savior and Lord over all the universe. Anything less than this is to misunderstand what Christ commanded his disciples to do. If we aren’t a kingdom-minded church, we will merely build up a worldly kingdom that is the result of our futile, mortal, sinful hearts and minds, that will unfortunately lead many people astray into the depths of hell.

Understand that if the church was not kingdom-minded in the book of Acts, then they would not have experienced any of the difficulties we read about in here. The stoning of Stephen? Probably wouldn’t have happened because Stephen called out the high council of the Jews calling them murderers, stiff-necked, unregenerate people. If he wasn’t kingdom-minded, then he would have no reason to push them to examine their lives and consider that they murdered the author of life.

We obviously are not commended by Scripture to go and stir up persecution for ourselves and the rest of the church, but we are taught to be ready for it and not be surprised if it happens. So, in times of peace, we strive and beg God to give us grace to be kingdom-minded, so that if persecution arises in the United States, we are ready to stand firm on the Gospel of grace that claims that salvation is only found in Christ and Christ alone! If we can’t proclaim the Gospel in times of peace, we will most certainly shirk back when times of persecution arise.

MIS: It is necessary for the kingdom-minded church to experience tribulations as they enter the Kingdom of God.

We will walk through the four main scenes of this passage, pulling out observations from each, and then we will consider how the story fits together by offering implications and applications for the church today.

Acts 14:1-7 - Division in Iconium - 14:1-7 - The Gospel Divides – This chapter begins by telling us that Paul and Barnabas arrived in Iconium after leaving Antioch in Pisidia. If you can recall, Paul and Barnabas were pushed out of the city by officials, who were prompted by angry and jealous Jews. Now they are in Iconium, and as was his usual custom, Paul and Barnabas entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that led many Jews and Greeks to believe. However, unbelieving Jews began to poison the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers. In other words, the unbelieving, jealous Jews talked trash about Paul and Barnabas to the rest of the city. Paul and Barnabas actually stay in Iconium 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. As the division grows of bitterness and anger towards Paul and Barnabas, two sides develop. One side with the apostles, and the other siding with the unbelieving Jews. A plot arises to stone and mistreat the two men with the rulers of this area, but thankfully they learn of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe (cities of Lycaonia).

We see here in this part of their journey that the Gospel sometimes divides. Sometimes, so much division occurs that it is on a societal level. But, this can also take place on a familial level, too. Not as common in the U.S., but in other countries, allegiance to Jesus can result in being shunned by your family. Therefore, your shelter and support system are gone. Remember that the Gospel is an exclusive claim of Christ being our salvation. In the majority world, religious allegiance is a huge deal, and it can create divisions in the world. However, we can take great comfort from verse 52 in chapter 13 that God fills his people with joy and the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist writes in 34:9, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

Though the Gospel causes division and great loss, the Christian who experiences these things undoubtedly will find the sufficiency of having Christ as their comfort and joy. Not only this, but what great joy and comfort that the shunned new believer finds in the Lord’s church.

Implication: The Gospel will bring division in this world. How might we respond when we face this? But also, perhaps more relevant for most of us, how might we respond in prayer, love, and compassion for the brothers and sisters who are experiencing this today all across the world? One thing we know for sure that even in the face of division, just as Paul and Barnabas model for us here, we do not stop speaking the word of his grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 14:8-18 - Grief in Lystra - 14:8-18 - The Gospel is for all – After fleeing Iconium, Paul and Barnabas traverse their way into the region of Lycaonia. Throughout the surrounding country, Lystra, and Debre, Paul and Barnabas continued to preach the gospel. Luke chooses to zoom in on a scene that took place in Lystra, and I would say this is one of the most significant scenes in the chapter because it includes actual quotes from Paul, Barnabas, and the people of the city.

Paul and Barnabas are inside the city and they come upon a man with crippled feet, who has never walked from birth. After listening to Paul speak, Paul saw that this man was believing the things he was sharing. Scripture teaches that the man had faith to be made well. Upon seeing this, Paul commands him to stand upright, and the man springs up and begins to walk! A man that has been crippled from birth! This healing is obviously incredible, and it causes the crowds to begin worshipping Paul and Barnabas. They call the two men Zeus and Hermes incarnate, and they bring out sacrifices before them to give. What I hope that we can glean most from this scene comes from what Paul and Barnabas do in verses 14-17. Read these verses.

The idolatry of this world should grieve our hearts. Paul and Barnabas are pleading with the people of this city to turn away from these vain things to a LIVING GOD. Paul and Barnabas do not just respond with passivity, and they do not immediately move on. When we are a kingdom-minded church, we will grieve over the idolatry and false gods that the world worships. Not just in countries that worship statues and other manmade idols, but we grieve over the gods that our country worships here: the god of comfort, greed, ambition, and sexual freedom! Don’t let the label, “secular” fool you into thinking there are not false gods in the U.S. There are undoubtedly false gods here, and we would do well to open our eyes to the false sense of freedom that they offer millions of lost people.

This is a point of contention in our culture today. Paul and Barnabas plainly tell these people of Lystra that their worship is vain and wrong. Today, our culture teaches us that we should be respectful and mindful of other peoples’ religious views. Obviously, we never mistreat or insult anyone for their religious views, but embedded in this cultural mandate is to “not try and convince someone that their religion is wrong.” We can all feel this undercurrent in our culture, and it stifles many Gospel conversations for all of us. Consider these statistics from the Barna Group – a well-known research group that works for the informing and educating of the church. The Barna group did research on the following statement:

“It is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith.” U.S. Practicing Christians: 47% Millennials (84’-98’) Agree; 27% Gen X; 19% Boomers; and 20% Elders

These statistics teach us that practicing Christians are becoming more hesitant to urge others of other faiths to turn to Christ and trust in Him for their salvation. The narrative here is plain: turn and trust in Christ and forsake all other religions!

Some might say, even well-intending Christians, as long as someone who is religious and genuine in their worship, then God will show mercy on them, regardless if they know Christ. Typically, this mindset comes from the thought that people in other nations haven’t had a chance to hear the Gospel, but they’ve tried to be good people and genuine in their worship. While this is thoughtful, the problem is that there are no good people. Anywhere. No one is without sin, not even one. This is why we give to Christian missions! Because we firmly believe that Christ is the only way to salvation.

The other reason is that God has not left himself without witness! Read verses 17-18. God has not been silent to all the nations of the world. God has poured out his generous witness and glory to all nations for all of the history of the world through his blessings in creation, but our sinful broken flesh blinds us from seeing and knowing Him, unless the Spirit of the living God through the proclamation of the Gospel resurrects our dead hearts!

Brothers and sisters, it is not wrong to share the Gospel and pray for someone to turn to Christ out of another religion. It is one of the most loving things you can do, and it should be done with grace, honesty, patience, and love.

Acts 14:19-23 – The Gospel is Dangerous – In this scene, some of the unbelieving Jews from Antioch and Iconium come down to Lystra, and they convince the crowds in Lystra to stone Paul. Can’t you picture Paul in this moment? Perhaps envisioning Stephen, his now brother in Christ, being stoned as he looked on holding the coats of the people who killed Stephen. Because of their Gospel witness, Paul was stoned within an inch of death. They presume him to be dead, but after the disciples gather around him, Paul rose up and WENT BACK INTO THE CITY.

Don’t miss this. After Paul nearly lost his life, Paul and his disciples could’ve given up and gone back home. They were probably tempted to think, “Maybe God doesn’t want us here.” They went back into the city where some of the same people were that stoned them. Not only this, but they then went on to Derbe and made disciples there, and then circulating back through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia. Can you imagine the looks that these men received when they came back into these cities? They were probably spit upon, threatened, and who knows what other mistreatments came?

But this visit with the established church was necessary. There was eternal weight that rested upon Paul and Barnabas going back through these cities. These churches needed leaders and encouragement. Read verses 21-23. These men not only shared the message of facing tribulations, but they embodied it. Again, it should not catch us by surprise that they prayed and fasted as they appointed elders for the church. Still for us today, a relevant and pertinent practice as we navigate difficult and leadership decisions, just as we did for the deacons in the recent months.

In this passage, we see the importance of leaning into Christ during great stress, difficulty, and danger.

Acts 14:24-28 – The Gospel Should be Celebrated – Homecoming in Antioch – To finish this chapter, we see that this missionary group continued to speak the Gospel on their way back to Antioch in Syria. After they arrived, they shared the incredible things that God had done with them, and how a door of faith to the Gentiles was opened!

Don’t you love how chapter 14 ends? Luke had this way of writing that causes us to pause. It’s like an understatement: “They remained no little time with the disciples.” I think Luke writes this way to get our attention. Upon coming back, Paul and Barnabas spent a lot of time with the disciples at Antioch of Syria. This is one lesson I think that ties much of this chapter together, and it’s that discipleship and unity building take time. Unity and discipleship require more than attending worship on 1-4 Sundays a month. May it be said of us that the Christians of CHC spent “no little time” together.

Application:

1. Stress or great difficulty does not warrant the need to change your location, life circumstances, or direction.

As we see in Paul and Barnabas’s situation, stress and great difficulty were undoubtedly present. In your life, how do you respond to stress or trial? Obviously, Paul and Barnabas were in the context of being persecuted, but I think we can still find application in their attitudes and persistence as they faced tribulation.

Consider James 1:2-4 – When you face trials, count it all joy. Most often, our culture teaches you that you should change directions or your situation to inhibit the difficulty. Toxic work environment? Change jobs. Difficult boss? Quit your job and find one that appreciates you. Unplanned pregnancy? Let the doctors remove the baby like it never happened. The world teaches you to flee trial, but God says stand firm and remain steadfast! Count it all joy. Church, embrace your trials. Pour out your trials before our great God in tears, and ask for wisdom on how to live faithfully in them. Our world teaches you to lean another way, but our God says, “lean into me.”

Do not walk through trial alone. Walk in community and share with brothers, sisters, and your pastors. There are times when changing life circumstances are necessary if there is abuse or imminent physical danger, and you should never figure that out alone. But most of the trials we face, walk these out in community. Invite feedback from others so that they can look into your life and speak truths you may need to hear.

2. Learn and meditate over the entire Biblical story – it’s the true story of the world.

If we desire to grow in genuine love and brokenness for the lost world, just as we saw represented in this story, we have to know and marinate in the Biblical story. Read it. Talk about it. Ask questions about it. Meditate on the implications of it for the world. This will grow your brokenness and love for those who are far from Christ. Seek to know it so well that it’s woven into the fabric of your soul, and you constantly stand ready to speak it to someone who needs to hear the good news about Christ.

3. Celebrate and point out Gospel victories in the life of the church.

-Oftentimes, when we aren’t the ones being recognized, we typically don’t get excited about things that the Lord is doing.

-Remember, the words of John the Baptist – “Christ must increase, and I must decrease.” Be one who points out what Christ is doing in the lives of others and celebrate these things to the glory of God

-In other words, be a Barnabas – a man of encouragement that was known to lift others up and celebrate what God was doing in them.