Acts 14

Verses 1 - 7

Missionary Journey continues in Iconium

missionary definition - main purpose is to tell people about Christ

preaching and signs and wonders

Jewish and Gentile converts but also Jewish and Gentile enemies (Jews as instigators)

lives are put in peril, so they flee

verse 8-20

in Lystra, a man lame since birth is healed when Paul tells him to stand up

so the people think Paul and Barnabas are gods

yet when Jewish enemies from earlier cities came through, the people of Lystra turned on them and they stoned Paul

Paul miraculously survives, and he goes back into the city, then the next day they leave for Derbe

verses 21-28

they preach in Derbe, and then travel back through all the cities they had preached to, to encourage the believers, and set up church leadership in each of those cities

traveled back to Antioch and gave a report

just two lessons tonight

Lesson 1 - There is power in the Word, but it must be activated by the faith of the hearer.

Romans 10:17 KJV 1900

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

you have to hear the word first, to get faith . . . but this scripture doesn’t mean as long as you hear it, you will automatically have faith

if that’s the case, I should have almost perfect faith, as much as I have been churching it over my 50+ years

no, hearing the word gives you an opportunity for faith, you have to take advantage of hearing the word

thy word have I hid in my heart . . . . (not just hear)

so again, “There is power in the Word, but it must be activated by the faith of the hearer”

Acts 14:8–9 NASB95

8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well,

How did Paul see that this man had faith? Gift of discernment . . . Paul could tell that this lame man really believed in what they were preaching

two people sitting in same church

two people logged onto same Zoom Bible Study

but one is blessed and the other is not

helped, changed

why?

one had faith in the word and the other did not

one activated the word that was spoken, the other did not

we like to blame the preacher, but sometimes its the hearer

When we say faith, when mean belief so strong that leads to action

Acts 14:10 NASB95

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

Paul had enough faith to speak . . . belief in action

the man had enough faith to try to stand up . . . (he didn’t look at Paul like he was crazy) . . . . belief in action, he jumped up/leaped up . . . seems he was ready

Have you activated the words you’ve heard through faith?

recent sermons:

Praise ye the Lord - praised God more?

A.S.K. - asking like crazy this week?

so much that others noticed? (praise, prayer requests)

just like in salvation, people might notice that you go to church now

if you haven’t you didn’t have faith

you might have even liked the sermon, appreciated the sermon, felt good on the inside

but that’s way different from activating the words of the sermon by faith

Activate the power in the Word

salvation - we activate the gospel. We believe in Jesus enough commit your life to Him

Lesson 2 - Serving God includes triumphs and tragedies, and trips (craziness).

triumphs: large number of believers, signs and wonders

tragedies: but also fleeing, being stoned

trips: but also being declared gods (don’t trust crowds)

what a report they had to share back in Antioch

at WMBC there have been plenty of triumphs, our share of tragedies, even trips (often involve misplaced religion). . . (lady testified that man was her husband and ran him off

we don’t need help with the triumphs, and trips are just trips, so let’s work on the tragedies . . . that part usually throws us off

Acts 14:22 NASB95

22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Paul and Barnabas tell these new christians, “This Christian journey is going to be hard . . . but continue in the faith, continue believing, continue trusting in God”

tragedy/hardship/trouble does not mean you are on the wrong path

does not mean that it is all downhill from here

does not mean that you heard God wrong

it’s part of our journey

you can ask God about being on the right track or not, but we often assume we are on the wrong track if two things go wrong

no, more often than not, you just need to continue in the faith

We must not forget this simple truth!

Group Work

hear the word, and begin to activate it’s power in our hearts

I need everyone on the call to do this, when I call your name, say . . .

Good evening, this is . . . . . despite your troubles, continue in the faith

Announcements

when you text through remind, I am the only person that sees it

Prayer Ministry: can be anonymous or put your name. if you don’t say keep this anonymous, I will assume that you don’t care if people know it’s you

Deadline for paying Church Family Reunion will be September 25th