A gospel message great than gospel messengers

Acts 14:1–7 ESV

1 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. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 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. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.

What we have before us in the book of Acts is a history of the church, how it started and under what circumstances it grew.

If you remember last week we saw that even though Paul and Barnabas were well recieved at first, they quickly had people turn against them.

What we just heard read and what we will see is a similar pattern. They show up in a new town, go to the temple or somewhere they can preach, and people believe the gospel. After a while Jews lead other against them to kick them out. Rinse wash repeat...

But there is an addition to this in these stories that we need to take notice of today. Not since Luke was talking about Peter did we see any mention of miraculous things happening, until we get here. Once Paul and Barnabas go off to the gentile world to preach the gospel, then we start to see signs and wonders becoming more ordinary in their story.

In fact we are going to see them a lot with Paul, and it is becomes obvious through the rest of the book of Acts that Luke is establishing Paul as a parallel to Peter.

The foundation of the church comes through Peter, but the advancement of the church comes through Paul. I make mention of it now because we will see something later that should remind us of Peter. But for now let’s look a little closer at these verses we just heard read.

Acts 14:1 ESV

1 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.

They now reach Iconium, which means nothing to us, but this is another 80 miles away from where they just left. Remember I asked you last week to think about traveling on foot to these places, it wasn’t easy traveling.

What you should know is that this place is a greek city that is under roman rule in a region that will be better known to us as the province of Galatia… If that isn’t ringing any bells yet, this is the beginning of the church in Galatia which is where we will get the book of Galatians from in the NT.

Again notice that in the synagogue there are both Jews and Greeks. They are still going to the synagogue first before preaching elsewhere, to ensure that Jews have a chance to turn to Jesus, and yet they will not be limited to preaching to Jews only. These guys have made it clear that they are being sent to the Gentiles.

But like the last chapter things will not stay pleasant for them when they are preaching a message to Jews that is offensive. The difference is that there will be Jews who believe and those who do not.

Acts 14:2 ESV

2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

So these Jewish leaders are upset with Paul and Barnabas preaching the gospel, and they get the people outside of their Synagogue to hate these guys too.

Now most people, especially when preaching the gospel and wanting to make inroads to relationship with the people, would not want to stay very long if everyone is being hostile to them… But not these guys. They have traveled too far to give up when people talk bad about them.

Acts 14:3 ESV

3 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.

They stay for a long time… We are not exactly sure how long, but long enough for it to be reported as a long time. It seems to show the resolve they had in doing what God told them to do.

And then the story makes a great statement… It includes the Lord in this story by giving God credit for bearing witness to the preaching with granting them signs and wonders being done at their hands.

Notice that this does not say Paul did miracles and Barnabas produced wonders for the people to be impressed by… Rather it says the Lord bore witness, that God granted signs and wonders by THEIR hands. Signs and wonders are miracles and they are done when God decides to allow them. No human being can ever in their own will produce true signs and wonders in and of themselves.

So here we learn 2 things: God does miracles and they remained faithful to preaching the gospel, even if it meant they had to stay long.

Please also remember what the point of miracles are for.

Miracles validate the message

Miracles are not there, for people to be drawn to the ones by whom God uses to bring them. They are not so people can expect them all the time and they are not just because without a reason...

Miracles, signs and wonders are always used by God to arrest the attention of people to get them to listen to the Gospel. They validate the message of the gospel as being from God and of utmost importance. So will we see people believe the message because of this?

Acts 14:4 ESV

4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

See, even if the the preaching of the gospel is accompanied with signs and wonders, it does not guarantee that everyone will repent and believe.

Because miracles do not save anyone. And great preachers do not save anyone. Amazing worship services, where they play all the right songs that you know how to sing really well, and everyone is super passionate about it, do not save anyone.

God is the only one who can save someone and he has ordained the means of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to save people from their sin… But still not everyone, but those he has elected unto salvation cannot resist him.

And so, we have a city that has heard two of the best preachers in the early church, has signs and wonders done in front of them and had this go on for a long time, and still the people are divided.

Don’t be discouraged when not everyone you share the gospel with does not believe, it happens to all who preach the gospel.

Yet, for these guys, God graciously allows them to know what is going to happen and prepare.

Acts 14:5–7 ESV

5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Notice that they stayed until a plot was uncovered. First of all, how gracious is God to them in allowing them to find out what would happen.

Secondly, we find out that they choose to leave and go to other places. They had stayed there a long time and continued to faithfully preach the gospel but now they decide it is time to go.

And finally, notice that once they go, they never give up preaching the gospel. They will not give up or start preaching something different. This is why the Spirit fills believers…

God’s Spirit fills God’s people to preach God’s message

This is why preaching the gospel is so exciting. It is not normal or ordinary work for people. It is Spirit led work to preach a message that will save some. But it is never boring or pointless.

When we preach the gospel, we are doing a spiritual work even though it is natural words we are speaking. And somehow God empowers us by his Spirit inside of us to continue to stay the course and preach the gospel. So God’s people are empowered by God the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to preach God’s message: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Everywhere they went, this is what they did. No matter how much opposition they came up against, they continued to preach the gospel. And they never move on to preaching something else, because there is nothing more important for them to do.

And here is where things get interesting, as Luke starts to show how Paul is advancing the church in similar ways to what Peter did.

Acts 14:8–10 ESV

8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

Please notice that they are now in Lystra, they have traveled further and yet continued to preach the gospel. Lystra is a Roman province in the region of Galatia, and it will become an important part of their missionary journeys in the chapters to come.

This story becomes a parallel to what happened with Peter and John in Acts 3 at the temple courts. Same language of a man who was crippled from birth, Same language of the man fixing his attention on him or looking intently at him, and same language for the order to stand up immediately. And the result was the same, the man jumped up and began to walk around.

So, while this is a different person giving the command, it is essentially the same thing as what happened before. And while we have already covered the fact that miracles validate the message, there is something else I would remind you of.

This passage speaks of the mans faith that Paul saw he had, but this is where modern preaching goes all wrong and talks about the level of your faith. Modern preachers will try to get this to mean that he somehow had a lot of faith and so God healed him, which they then apply to their audience to mean the same. If you have a lot of Faith then God will heal you too.

But I would submit to you that this is all wrong, and here is why.

It is not about the level of your faith, it is about the object of your faith.

This man was not healed because he had so much faith, he was healed for two reasons...

First - God wanted to get the attention of the people that Paul and Barnabas were preaching too, so he healed this man that they all knew was born crippled.

Secondly - This man was listening to Paul preach the gospel. He was hearing of how to put your faith in Jesus Christ. We know they were preaching the gospel because that is what it said in verse 7, “there they continued to preach the gospel”...

Once Paul saw that this man was putting his faith in Jesus Christ, he gave the command so that all would see that their message was about a great God that is alive and real. And that is exactly what they saw, however those who saw this may not have understood the message because of their background, so they take things in a weird direction.

Acts 14:11 ESV

11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

Here is the big mistake people still make to this day… Did you catch it?

The crowds saw what Paul did… As if Paul did this thing. But what did Paul do? He simply told him to get up because he could sense this man was displaying faith in the message that Paul was preaching.

So they put more attention on the messenger than the message. Once they did that, they thought these men were some kind of gods that have come down to them, specifically the Greek gods.

When people put attention on the messengers over the message, they go off into bad or wrong understanding of God. They mix their own religion with what they see and try to make it fit together.

Acts 14:12 ESV

12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

Listen we can think they are crazy for this, but is it really any different from what people try to do now?

There are some Christian circles where they literally try to interpret scripture based off of what is happening in the world. they assign roles to people politically, and events publicly to things written in scripture before they even have a good understanding of the message of scripture. They do this because their religion is their world view and they try to make Christianity fit into the pre-supposed ideas they have around their world view.

These people just try to make sense of what is happening, and they are quick to think that Paul and Barnabas are gods who have specific roles. Paul healed the man so he is Zeus the powerful god, and Barnabas was apparently preaching a lot so he was Hermes who was a good speaker. They figured it all out, but it will only escalate even further when they convince people around them of their ideas.

Acts 14:13 ESV

13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

Look there are now crowds of people and the priests are ready to offer sacrifices to these guys. This is a chaotic scene no doubt. Things are getting out of control… But this is where true gospel messengers recognize that the message isn’t being heard. It isn’t about them being great, it is about a great message that we are all called to share. Watch what Paul and Barnabas do...

Acts 14:14 ESV

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,

So this may not seem to make sense to us, but this was them making a big statement. They would tear their garments to show that they are only human and not divine. They also used to do this as an act of Morning. When people die or tragedy happens, people would tear their garment as a public display of anger or hurt.

When they arrested Jesus the high priests did this same thing to show the distress and grief in what they were hearing...

Mark 14:63 ESV

63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?

This was a way of getting everyones attention to show extreme displeasure at what was taking place. Paul and Barnabas will not let these people continue to do this without them addressing it directly.

But look at the message they preach here...

Acts 14:15–17 ESV

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. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 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.”

Look at the message that these guys preach. It is so simple and yet so profound.

They stop these people and get them to acknowledge that we are all the same in substance. We are all humans. This is a vital part of preaching the gospel. It is one part that we would do well to remember too.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We preach a message that is universal for all to hear. All people are the same in substance and in their condition before God.

But this is where their preaching is adapted to their audience, a bunch of Pagans who did not know the word of God at all. So instead of quoting scripture to them, they make a quick point that we should all be able to share with people when preaching the gospel… The idea of turning from meaningless things to the eternal God.

The gospel message proclaims that life is vain while God is alive and eternal

This is what makes the message so much greater than the messengers, it is not ab out them, it is about God. So notice the contrast in the message...

One on hand vain things, opposed to the living eternal God. They are steering them away from the created things to see the creator. Telling them their value cannot be found in what is created but only in the living God. This is what they call good news.

But what is more than just a simple message is for us to understand that there is a difference between General revelation and Divine revelation.

Paul goes on to describe all the ordinary ways that God has made himself known and that they should be able to acknowledge… God made the heavens, the earth and the sea and all that is in them. He also has always let you know that he is there by providing good things for your life, like rain from heaven and food from the ground to satisfy you.

Matthew 5:45 ESV

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Jesus taught that it is God who allows even the evil and unjust people to benefit from his grace to us.

We call this general revelation, all mankind can see the stars and nature and have it proclaim to them that there is a creator. in fact this what Paul writes in Romans 1

Romans 1:19–20 ESV

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Paul points people to the fact that God is real and they are without excuse because of the general revelation of God in his creation. and yet he doesn’t leave it there, but then tells them the gospel in encouraging them to turn from the vain things in this life and turn to the living God.

In his preaching, Paul strips the pagan gods of their power in verses 16-17

Acts 14:16–17 ESV

16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 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.”

Paul is calling out their belief in these so called Greek gods from past generations, by saying they were allowed to do what they wanted because God is good.

He shows that the world is not the playground of Zeus or Hermes, but rather that the creation submits to an all powerful living God.

The gospel is a message that is unique from the messages in this world by making much of the one who created this world and not drawing attention to those preaching the message.

So here we have miracles that will validate the message, the object of faith in Jesus Christ being the flashpoint for signs of healing to be shown, and a gospel presentation that points people to turn away from vain things to the living God. And this is preached by men who are not only qualified to preach it but shown to be chosen vessels of God for such a mission. You would think that success is what will follow, right?

Acts 14:18 ESV

18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

And this is an important lesson for us all to see in scripture. You can have the best preachers and miracles can be genuinely happening to validate the gospel message, and still people will not see the truth or hear the truth. Why?

this is an important part of the message we must know...

John 6:44 ESV

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Jesus taught us that no one comes to God unless God himself is the one who draws them, period. So when people are preaching a gospel that not only doesn’t stay true to God’s word, but attempt to manufacture emotional moments and altar calls to get people saved, they are trying to do a work that God has not ordained, and so the church today can be full of many false converts.

There is a story of Charles Spurgeon walking down the street when a drunk man comes up to him and says, “Hey Spurgeon, look at me, I am one of your converts”… To which he replied, “Yes you are, but you surely are not one of the Lord’s converts.”

He was pointing out that unless the Lord does the work in converting a sinners heart, no man can do it even if he is known as the Prince of Preachers like Spurgeon was.

And so Paul and Barnabas can barely stop them from doing a detestable thing in offering sacrificing to them. And this must have bothered the people somewhat, but it isn’t until the enemy shows up from their past to cause problems form them that these people will even listen. They are too busy caught up in want to worship these guys. Look what happens next.

Acts 14:19 ESV

19 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.

Whenever I read stories like this one, it causes me to think, “Why are we so upset when things in this life are bad?”

Here is what I mean… Not that we shouldn’t be bothered by what we see happening in the world around us, but that these guys are going and preaching the gospel because God would ordain their lives to do just that. They are faithfully going and obeying, and yet God does not stop the enemy from showing up and attempting to kill them.

These people from the past towns they were in come ti this one too looking for them, and they turn people against them. But they do not want to just drive them out of the area, they want to kill them. And God knows this and yet seemingly does nothing about it… Which would awful if it weren’t according to God plan. But this is according to God’s plan.

Many times we do not know God’s plan for our lives and so we see trauma and tragedy as a curse from God or some reason we are not in his will, and yet this isn’t always true. For Paul this is exactly what God wanted to happen, and he told him as much… remember when he was blind and Ananias had to go pray for him? Remember what the Lord told him?

Acts 9:15–16 ESV

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

God’s plan for Paul was not only to be a great Apostle to the Gentiles in advancing His kingdom to the ends of the earth, but for him to suffer as well.

And it doesn’t make much sense when we suffer and we have been doing the right thing. And yet God shows us in his word that there are times when you can do the right thing and still suffer. But here is the thing, when those times come we can trust that God has a plan in all of this too. He would not pointlessly let his people suffer. It is always for God’s glory and our good. And we will see some time later that Paul’s sufferings not only glorify God but also make it the very thing by which others are willing to listen to him and accept him as a genuine Apostle.

But this suffering will not be an end and it will not cause him to give up...

Acts 14:20 ESV

20 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.

There he was almost dead, they thought for sure he was, until the other disciples came around him. Who are these other disciples?

These are all the new believers that did hear him preach the gospel and believed. There are new believers in this place and they rush to his aid. How beautiful is this.

Imagine how they must have felt when he got up, went back into the town and then left the next day to continue to preach the gospel somewhere else. And why? Why does he do that? Or maybe the question should be How… How can he do that?

Because it is never about a great messenger, rather it is always about the greatest message that motivates the messengers to work unto the glory of God… and so listen to Pauls words about this gospel in light of what you heard him go through...

Romans 1:16–17 ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

We may be ashamed of the things we’ve said, we may be ashamed of the things we’ve done, but we are not ashamed of the Gospel! It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes! And if we believe that, then we must live by Faith and trust God, no matter what!