← ArchiveActsSunday, June 16, 2019DateJune 16, 2019Speaker—TextActs 14Passages in this sermonActs 140:30Acts 14:1–73:39Acts 14:13:51TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Music.0:29Good morning. If you have a copy of God's Word, I encourage you to turn to Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14 is where we're going to be at. We are in a sermon series through the book of Acts. And so we are here at chapter 14. You also should have received a handout on your way in this morning. If you've served with me in the worship ministry, you know that I love my fill-in-the-blanks. I love my handouts. I think it's a great way for us to unpack the text and to really dive deep.0:58And so I hope that's a resource for you. You know, as a culture, we love the underdog story, don't we? We love to see the hero and the odds stacked against him. And it's like, man, can this guy really survive? Can this guy pull through? And then in the 11th hour, the hero survives and he thrives and he makes it.1:23And I think a story like that was brought to light about five years ago. It was first a book and then it was a movie. And it was, you may have seen it, it's called Unbroken. And it's the story of a World War II American soldier, Louis Zamperini. And he was an Olympian, but he also was serving his country and he was in a bomber jet and he was flying over the Pacific Ocean.1:45His plane got shot down and so him and his troops crash land in the open water and they inflate this temporary raft. And they're trying to fish off this thing and they're trying to evade sharks. And they spend 47 days in the open ocean. And at the end of that time, they see this ship out in the distance.2:14They're like, "Finally, we're saved, we're free!" It was an enemy warship. And they become POWs and they have to survive these POW camps. But through this time, through this season of struggle, Louis and his men remain unbroken. And so, the big idea of encouragement that I have for you this morning, Christian, is stand firm, be unbroken, and stand firm in the gospel.2:38Because Jesus is better and Jesus is worth it. Let's pray. We'll dive into the text. Father God, we thank you for this morning. God, we thank you for your word and how you've revealed yourself to us through your word. God, I pray that it would work in our hearts.3:06God, that we not bring our own preconceived notions. But God, that we would submit to your word humbly. And God, not just hear it, but be changed by it. Strengthen us this morning. And God, help us to fix our joy and our attention and our affections on you. Because you are better and you are worth it. In Jesus' name, amen. So, we're in Acts chapter 14.3:36Acts chapter 14, verses 1 through 7. Acts really is a template for most of Paul's missionary journeys. And in verse 1, we see the gospel proclaimed. The gospel proclaimed in Acts 14:1. So, Paul and Barnabas are traveling together. Let's read the verse together. 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.3:59And in this verse, we see two things. We see, first, the grit of Paul and Barnabas. We see the grit of Paul and Barnabas. Well, why do you say that, Dan? Thank you for asking. In chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas had traveled to a town about 80 miles away from Iconium.4:25And they went to the religious center and they were preaching Christ and they were preaching him crucified. And the religious leaders of that area hated Paul and Barnabas. So much so that they wanted to kill Paul and Barnabas. So they pushed him out of town. I don't know about you guys, but if that were me, I'd be like, all right, that's been fun. Let's wrap it up. Let's go home.4:55I'm done. But Paul and Barnabas were convinced and they were committed because they knew Jesus was better and Jesus was worth it. So we see the grit in the determination of Paul and Barnabas. We also can infer from this verse that Paul and Barnabas taught the unwavering truth of the gospel in a way that made sense to the people through the power of the Holy Spirit.5:12Well, what's the gospel? Many of us know, but it bears repeating. We are all broken, sinful people. I am a broken sinner. You are a broken sinner.5:41And because we are sinful people, we are deserving of the full wrath of God. We deserve to spend an eternity in hell. And there's nothing we can do to change that on our own. We can't give enough money to the church. We can't attend enough services. We can't walk enough little old ladies across the crossroads to get to Fred's. There's not enough things that we can do to earn our salvation. And God saw our helplessness and saw our hopelessness and he came to earth fully God, fully man.6:11And his name was Jesus. He lived a sinless life and he was tempted in every way that we were, but without sin. And we deserve to die, but God died in our place. And three days later, he rose again. And if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we can be saved.6:32And this is the message that Paul and Barnabas are preaching and teaching. But they're doing it in such a way that made sense to people. So these are two different people groups. We have the Jews and they have their own story. They have their own culture. They have their own background. And so Paul and Barnabas are custom fitting and tailoring the message to make sense to the Jewish people.6:58And people are being saved. And then they have the Gentiles. And the Gentiles have their own story. They have their own background. They have their own culture. But they knew, Paul and Barnabas knew, that they are completely different. So they custom fit and tailored their message for the Gentiles. They preached and made much of Jesus. And they did it in such a way that made sense to the people.7:26And they did it through the power of the Holy Spirit. Well, how do we know that? Because people were being saved. We know that the Holy Spirit draws many to himself. And the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. And people choose to receive Christ. And Paul and Barnabas, if they were relying on their own strength, they were not going to be preaching the gospel. But they were empowered and emboldened by the Holy Spirit. So we know the Holy Spirit is working. So before we even get deep into this narrative, there are two things that I want us to consider as a church.7:55Number one, how can we think contextually? How can we think contextually so that Jesus can be made famous in St. Clair County? Contextually means, how can we make it make sense? How can we make the gospel make sense for our people? What preferences do I need to set aside? Do we need to set aside so that Jesus can be made famous here in Moody and Odenville and the surrounding areas?8:22How can we think outside the box? How can we think creatively to reach our neighbors, to reach our friends, to reach our coworkers with Christ? And the awesome thing about Bethel, we have a rich heritage of thinking creatively. We have a rich heritage of thinking outside the box. But as cultures change, let's recognize that and let us encourage and let us preach the unchanging truth of the gospel in a way that makes sense to our community.8:47But also, something that we need to ask ourselves are, are we trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit? Are we trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit? So often in America, we live in individualized societies, right? We have our backyard fenced in.9:14We have our own stuff. We trust in our own power. We trust in our own provision. Just leave me alone. Let me do my own thing. But when we're saved, we're called into a new family. We're called into a new kingdom. And we're called to trust the leading and will of God. So let us not run ahead of God and ask whatever we're doing that God would bless it.9:37But let's walk in step with the will of God. Let's honor and make much of Jesus in his name. So in verse 1, we see the gospel proclaimed. In verses 2 and 3, we see the battle for the truth. In verses 2 and 3, let's look at the verses together. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.10:05So they, Paul and Barnabas, 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. So in verse 2, we see the Jews respond in hatred. The Jews respond in hatred. Unbelieving can also be translated as disobedient.10:34So the Jews heard the gospel. They heard the truth of Christ. But instead of committing their lives to Christ, they chose to disobey. How did they disobey? They're stirring up the culture. They're stirring up the people. They're inciting a rebellion. They're basically trying to have this mob mentality. Well, how are they doing that? They're poisoning the minds of the Gentiles.11:01Another translation says, "In bitter." So they're pouring all of their hate, all of their anger, all of their malice into the minds and the hearts of the Gentiles. And now the Gentiles are taking the message of Paul and Barnabas personally. And the Gentiles are beginning to hate Paul and Barnabas. And this shows a really, really true hatred. Because the Jews traditionally wouldn't associate with Gentile people.11:27Jews thought the Gentiles were unclean. They thought that they were pagans. They didn't want anything to do with the Gentile people. But the Jews hated Paul and Barnabas and their message so much that they said, "Alright, whoever's going to listen, we're going to get them together, and we're going to push these guys out of town." Well, in the text, how do we see Paul and Barnabas respond?11:55Paul and Barnabas responded with boldness. Paul and Barnabas responded with boldness. And we see this gospel-shaped boldness actually in our culture today. You may have seen it last year on national news. A guy by the name of Andrew Brunson. He was a Southern Baptist missionary. And he was serving in Turkey. And he was preaching Christ in Turkey. And he was doing a lot of great things, but the government hated him.12:24And the government actually arrested him and put him in jail. So he spent two years in a Turkish jail. And they were trying to trump up the charges on this guy. And they were essentially saying that he was inciting a rebellion against the Turkish government. So they were trumping up the charges, and they wanted to give him three life sentences in solitary confinement.12:46So not only was he going to be away from his friends, away from his family, he wasn't going to see anyone for the rest of his life. And that was what he was facing, because he was preaching Christ. And he was honest, and I was able to hear his testimony. He was struggling. He was depressed.13:14At times, he was suicidal. He wanted to denounce his faith. He wanted to just let go and not trust in God's provision. But he stopped. And he knew that God was still faithful, that God was still with him. And he said that he danced before the Lord in his jail cell. And he started singing praises, and he started singing prayers to help him process this, to help him think through the truth of the gospel, that God was with him and God would deliver him.13:34And eventually, through that season, God did deliver him. Andrew was able to come stateside, and now he's sharing his story with others. But we see this boldness that Andrew had in God's faithfulness in the text. Let's read verse 3 again.14:01So they, Paul and Barnabas, remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord. So they stayed in the midst of sheer hatred, in the midst of sheer just anger. Paul and Barnabas stayed with those people. This wasn't out of a stubbornness. This wasn't out of a, hey, we're going to change your mind, and you guys are going to believe what we believe. No. This was a passion for the gospel and a compassion for people.14:30And the Lord, they knew that the Lord was with them, that the Lord was for them, that the Lord was guiding their steps. And God chose to show his faithfulness by granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. So God did miracles through them. And whenever I study the Bible, I always ask questions.14:55Because I'm like, that doesn't make sense to me. And I wrestle with different thoughts and try to make it make sense, right? And this was one of the questions I had. Hey, why don't we see miracles often in our part of the world? I mean, they're all over the pages of the Bible. Why can't we see those today? And as I'm wrestling with that, as I'm thinking through that, the Holy Spirit brought to mind the story that I heard.15:19So I had the great joy of going to a conference a couple of years ago. And the keynote speaker was David Platt. And he, at that time, was the president of the International Mission Board. And he was sharing the story of some missionaries who went to Southeast Asia. And so these missionaries went. And they were an unreached people group who were practicing occult practices, who were literally worshipping false idols.15:44And so these Christians shared Christ with the natives. And the natives received Christ. And they became Christians. Well, for a season, these missionaries left. And they said, hey, we're going to come right back. And when they did, the people had gone back to worshipping idols. And the missionaries were a little deflated. And they're like, hey, what's going on, guys?16:13Like, what happened? Well, whenever they converted to Christianity, their village leader died. So they associated the death of the village leader to their conversion. And so they said, hey, we can't follow this. The missionaries were discouraged. But they said, all right, well, you know what? We're going to pay condolences to this family. We want to still minister here. So they went to the house. And there lay the body of the dead leader.16:42And around the body was the family. And so the missionaries expressed their condolences and said, hey, we want to encourage you guys. And then they prayed for the family. And they said, Lord, may your mercy and may your glory be shown to these people. And I kid you not, after they finished praying, the dead person, the dead leader coughed. He coughed, he opened his eyes, and he sat up.17:10And that is the power of our God. That is the power of the God that we serve, that he can make dead men rise. So I guess the question that we have is, hey, why don't we see that in Moody and Odinville? Like, what's going on? Why can't we experience that? And so as we look at miracles, let's think about them biblically.17:35And may God guide our steps. So as we think about miracles, first we have to think about the purpose of miracles. Number one, does the miracle confirm the gospel or the word of God like how we saw in that story? Number two, does it heal and help someone? Number three, does it remove barriers from ministry?18:01And ultimately, the umbrella is, does it bring God glory? And this isn't an exact science. And God may sovereignly choose to let us suffer. But we know, we know, we know that we serve a faithful God. And when we come to him in faith, he will provide because he is good and he is powerful. So we can trust in his provision. We also have to check our motives.18:31If we're coming to elevate our own platform, if we're coming to quell some skeptic in our life, or if we want to be entertained, we shouldn't expect God to honor ungodly motives for a miracle. But we know that our God is good and our God is faithful. So that's a lot of good information, Dan. So what do I do with that? How do I apply that to my life? So there's two things I want us to consider as we wrestle with this text this morning.19:00Number one, how can we promote unity here? How can we promote unity here thinking back to the Jewish people? You know, when we become Christians, we have two natures in ourselves. We have our old nature, our sinful nature, our broken nature. And then we have a new nature. And so often our old nature tries to inform our thoughts and our minds. And it loves to spread disunity and discord and hate in the church.19:29But may we be known and may Bethel Baptist Church be known as a church that loves the gospel, that loves each other. So let us think, how can I promote unity here? What are the words that I need to say or not say to encourage and build each other up? But also, for someone here this morning, there is hope in your darkest journey.19:55You know what? Maybe you're sharing Christ or you're trying to live out your faith and you're being persecuted at work. Or maybe you are going through a struggle and you took all of your faith to get here to this facility. Or maybe you just got a lot of worries that you're looking at in the week ahead and you're like,20:21"Man, how on earth am I going to deal with all this?" Know that God's with you. He's for you. He hasn't left you. He's not going to abandon you to your own devices. He's not going to leave you out on your own. God is walking with you. And even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. For God is with us. And if He is with us, then who can be against us? So trust in His provision.20:49Trust in His goodness. Trust in His mercy. Because He is good and His faithfulness endures forever. So know that. In your darkest season, there is hope. And when the Lord is on our side, what can man do to me? So in verse one, we see the gospel proclaimed. In verse two and three, we see this battle for truth.21:16In verses four through seven, we see the tipping point in the gospel above all. The tipping point in the gospel above all. Let's read it. "But the people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and21:42to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lyconia and the surrounding country. And there, they continued to preach the gospel." So these Jews that hated Paul and Barnabas, they hated these men so much that they got enough of a majority, enough people to gather around them and to listen to them.22:06And they got enough leadership to justify their actions. An attempt is another translation can be rush. So they were going to rush these guys and they were going to murder these guys. And they were going to stone these men. And so they had this plan devised and Paul and Barnabas heard of it. And they wisely and prudently chose to leave.22:33And so an encouragement that we can have from this passage that I just want to remind you of. Number one, there's hope in your darkest journey. But also consider this, there's hope after a season of struggle. So you may be in a time where God is testing you. You may be in a time where your faith is trying to be strengthened through adversity. But know this, there's going to be a new season.23:02And the God that walks with you right now will walk with you in a new season. And that doesn't mean you're going to be exempt from sorrow. That doesn't mean you're going to be exempt from struggle. But we know that God is faithful and he will walk with you through all seasons of life. And so we read the story and it just kind of feels anticlimactic, right? Like if we're honest, like if this was a movie, it'd be really lame.23:29Like, we have these guys who are just like in it. They have grit. They're ready. And they're, they're preaching the gospel. These people hate them. But hey, you know what? Jesus is better. Jesus is worth it. We're going to still preach Christ and him crucified. And then they leave. And it feels like they're kind of just like running away with their tail between their legs. It's like, did they, did they lose?23:56This just feels anticlimactic. Let's read again verse seven. And they continued to preach the gospel. No matter what these people threw at them, no matter what they heard, no matter what level of hatred that they endured, they knew that Jesus was better and Jesus is worth it. As the worship pastor here, songs help me remember truth.24:24And so as I was reading this, the song that came to my mind was the great hymn of the faith. There is a fountain filled with blood. And as a way to remind ourselves of the truth, let's sing that together. Let's sing one of the verses. "Ere since by faith I saw the stream, Thy flowing wounds supply.24:49And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die, and shall be till I die, and shall be till I die.25:08And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die, and shall be till I die, and shall be till I die."25:35Jesus is better. And he is worth it. And you may be here this morning, and this is kind of your restart.26:04And maybe you're kind of kicking the tires on the Christian faith. And you're like, "Is it really as great as you're cracking it up to be?" And it truly is. I'm not saying that the Christian life is easy. I'm saying that Jesus will sustain you, and that there is a peace that surpasses understanding. There's a joy in Christ. So I would love to talk more about what it means to be a Christian this morning with you.26:30If you say, "Hey, Dan, I have a lot of questions. This whole Christianity thing can't be solved in a couple minutes." I encourage you. Fill out the Connect card and put it in the bucket you're going to see on your way out. Let's talk. Let's grab coffee. Or maybe you're here this morning and you said, "Man, I resonate more with the Jewish leaders than I do with Paul and Barnabas.26:54I need to confess, and I need to focus my mind and focus my joy and attention on Christ." Do that. Maybe you're going through a struggle right now. Maybe you're going through adversity right now. Maybe you're going through persecution right now. Know that God is faithful and trust in his provision.27:23Wherever you're at this morning, respond to the word of God. Don't just hear the word, but be changed by it and that we may be more conformed to the image of Christ. We'll have counselors available. I will be available. I love to pray with you. Let's pray together. Father God, we thank you.← Previous in ActsSunday, June 9, 2019Next in Acts →Sunday, June 23, 2019More sermons on Acts →
