Jesus in His Church - Paul..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. As I said, we're going to be doing Acts chapter 14, but before we read the chapter, as we did last week, remember the verse that sets the framework for the book of Acts in chapter 1, in the book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, in which the Lord Jesus Christ testifies to his big-spirited disciples, of this framework of how the Gospel was going to be developed, to be brought to the nation. In Acts chapter 1, in verse 8, he says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.

And then he's going to give the geographical framework, if you want, the structure of how there will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth, to the outermost part of the earth. That is the promise that the triune God through his son, Jesus Christ, has given to us, but to the outermost part of the earth. And if we are saved, it's because this promise has been fulfilled, and it's been true, that the Gospel has arrived to the nations. Now, beloved of Christ, one of the very important things, important, the triumph things that we need to understand is that both geographically and and after to the Greek, or to the Gentile. So that's why we have geographical, from Judea, Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, to the outermost part of the earth.

That is, geographical refers to the Jew, and then to the Greek, which in the Bible also means the Gentile. But also, spiritually speaking, the gospel was to come, to the Jews, and then to the Greek. And what we have seen, and what I tried to mention perhaps very shortly last week in chapter 13, is that the way that the Gospel is going to arrive to the Gentiles, it is through way of judgment to the Jews. So they are going to reject the Gospel, they are going to reject the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the judgment that comes to the Jews, then the Gentiles will receive The Gospel. So that's an important distinction that you need to have in your mind.

One, geographically, that is that from Jerusalem to the outermost part of the earth, first to the Jew and then to the Greek, but also spiritually speaking, the Gospel comes to those who are the holders of the covenants or the promise, the sons of Abraham in the flesh, some of them most spiritually, the sons of the covenants, and then it will come to the outermost part of the earth, the Gentiles, who once were not a people, Peter says, or Hosea says, once they were not a people, but now they are a people, so spiritually speaking. And that happens through the judgment that comes to the Jews. Now, it's very important, because the apostle is going to, the apostle, or the author, better, of Acts, is going to use this language of judgment through the book of Acts. Judgment coming to the Jews, and then the gospel coming to the Gentiles. As a result of the judgment to the Jews, the gospel comes to the Gentiles.

So, for instance, in chapter 13, we write, it was necessary that the word of God be spoken first of eternal life to the Jews. That's judgment. And then, therefore, it will come to the Gentiles. And we concluded in chapter 13 that many Gentiles, as they were appointed to believe, they were saved. They received eternal life.

Now, this vocabulary of the Apostle Paul as he preaches is going to continue through the book of Acts, even until the end of the book in chapter 28, when you read from verse 16 to 28. He's in Rome, and then he's receiving these Jews. He preaches the gospel to them. they have not received the gospel, the Jews, even in Rome, and that the Gentiles will listen. So now, it's a little bit difficult sometimes to understand the apostle, because the apostle keeps saying that the judgment has already come to the Jews, and that therefore the gospel will go to the Gentiles, but he comes and repeats and repeats and repeats.

But anyway, he says that, but he keeps going to the synagogues to preach the gospel. So he continues to go to the Jews, to bring the Gospel, even though he says that they have been judged or that they have rejected the Gospel. Now, this is very important to understand, because there's going to be things that go beyond the Book of Acts that will help us comprehend, one, is that fulfillment of this judgment that comes to the Jews in terms of being rejecters of the Gospel. Now, but one of the important things that I think is valuable for us to have in our meditations here in the Book of Acts is to know what that judgment does not mean. I think it's very important for us to know clearly what that judgment to the Jews does not mean, okay?

Because the New Testament will tell us what it means, and we're not gonna be able to cover that just with the book of Acts, but it's important for us to understand what this judgment to the Jews does not mean. Now, the first thing that it does not mean is that the church, or the Gentile church, has replaced the Jews. It does not mean that the Gentiles have taken the place of the Jews. Actually, the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 11 will say actually that our salvation is the engrafting into the root of salvation, that the Jews have been cut off because of their unbelief, But we have been inserted, engrafted into salvation that was already available from the time that salvation was needed. So it does not mean that the Jews are just simply cut off and then the Gentiles replace the Jews, but rather that we're engrafted into a plan of salvation of which many Jews were saved, right?

Many Jews were saved even under the old covenant. Second thing that it does not mean, not that we replace Israel. Second thing is not that Israel is just, or that God with Israel, with the people of Israel. Now, if you go and read the book of Romans in chapter 11, independently of what your perception of eschatology of the end times is, you will see that the apostle speaks clearly and tells the Gentiles not to be puffed up or just to be proud against the Jews and the plans that God has for the Jews. Now, salvation is by grace, through faith.

But we should never conclude that because now we are recipients of the gospel as Gentiles, the judgment of God that has come upon the Jews means that the Jews are away from the salvation that is available in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, this is very important, because now, practically speaking, brothers and sisters, this gospel that through the judgment to the Jews will arrive to the Gentiles, now, practically speaking, this gospel will arrive to the nations through missions, or through missionaries. And that is what we have in chapter 13 and 14. We have the practical spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that when we see it spiritually corresponds to the judgment to the Jews, because they are rejecting the Messiah, their Messiah, and now the salvation being given to the Gentiles. But now practically speaking, what we're seeing is that that Gospel mission and through missionaries.

That is perhaps the most common word that will express that in English. Missions or missionaries. Now, why am I saying this? Because we're going to see basically the story of missionaries, Paul and Barnabas and others, going and spreading the gospel to the outermost part of the earth. It is messengers of the gospel.

And we need to understand that because the Bible is going to use that word messengers sometimes And it might be a little bit confusing to the understanding that we have in the Bible, because the word messenger will be sometimes used as apostles, as apostles, apostles. Even here, in this chapter that we have, that we're going to read very soon, chapter 14, the Barnabas and Paul will be called apostles. of the gospel to the nations, and not so much in the sense of being the 12, the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 12. Now, Paul did claim to have equal status to the 12, but we are not to think that of Barnabas. And I know that we do not believe that there is apostles, or I think that most of us would believe that there is no apostles on this day, but I think it's just important just to make that clarification.

So now, these will be messengers or missionaries that are taking the message of the gospel And one of my burdens last week was just to show you that the sending of missionaries, in this case Paul and Barnabas and John who left, remember? All of these missionaries are to be sent with at least three aspects that I see in the sending of these missionaries. One is that the Holy Spirit level of the sending of a person to preach the gospel, that is, that that person has been called by God, by the Spirit. It's not something that that person just simply feels and wants to do. Perhaps their feelings and their desires may correspond to the message of going and preaching the gospel to the nations, but as we saw in the church in Antioch, there has to be a thriving force that comes from on high that is the Holy Spirit, actually the one that is setting apart a local church level, if you want.

There has to be a church, a community level, in which the appointing of this man that comes from on high, that is divine, corresponds to the pointing and descending out of the in an individual desire to actually go and preach the Gospel, with the divine appointments and with the Church that is actually sending these men so that they will go and preach the Gospel. This is these elements that are required to, Biblically speaking, analyze or study these missionaries that are going and spreading the message of Jesus Christ. Now, so this first trip, though, if you want, actually, it's not trip. The word I used is journey, right? journey, the first journey of this missionary journey is going to be very important.

Now, brothers and sisters, try to pay as much attention as you can, because even though we're dealing with geographical details and places and cities, I think this is going to be quite beneficial for you to have a picture of the missionary journeys of Paul. And sometimes that is unfair, because it's also Barnabas. But the missionary trips of Paul and the others, that you will have a picture of those and what happens in each one of those cities. So last week, we started with the first half of the first missionary journey. Now, chapter 14 is going to be the second half of that first journey, okay, of that first journey.

So we're speaking about just one whole journey that started in chapter 13 and is going to conclude now in chapter 14. And now, you remember who started this journey, right? It was Paul, Barnabas, and who else? And John Mark was with them. But John Mark, what happened with him?

He left them in Pamphylia, right? Now, the four places that I wanted you to have in your mind in the first half of the journey, if you remember, was Antioch, Etheria, which was where the church was, right? That is where they were sent. That is the first place. Now, from there, they sailed to?

Cyprus, which is an island. And then from Cyprus, where did they go? Pamphylia. And from Pamphylia, they went to? the other Antioch of Pisidia.

So that was the first half of this trip in chapter 13. And we concluded there that in Antioch of Pisidia, in Antioch of Pisidia, you know, there was much persecution. Many of the believers were saved. They were, as they were appointed for eternal life, you know, they believed, and many of them were added. But there was also much persecution from the Jews and from some people there, so that they, what did they have to do?

They just simply shake the dust off their, in a different city, which was Iconium. Iconium. Now, so now we have the second half of this tree, after these things that we have said. Now, so we are going to read carefully now, chapter 14, and we're going to try to see the important aspects of this conclusion of this missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. Now, this is the words of that chapter 14.

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. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and portioned their minds against the brothers. 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. 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 the rulers to mistreat them and stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Laconia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel. Now, at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. listened to Paul speaking, and Paul looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, saying a loud voice, stand upright on your feet. And he sprung up and began walking.

And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lyconian, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and gardens to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifices to the crowd. And when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news.

you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations, He allowed all nations to walk in their own way, yet He did not leave Himself without witness. For He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seeds and satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. Even with these words, they scarcely restrained people from offering sacrifice to them. But Judas came from Antioch, an Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stone-pulled and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

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 Durgan. When they had reached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Atalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles, And there remained no little time with the disciples. Amen. That is the word of the Lord. Now, brothers and sisters, as I said down here, we have the second half of this trip, of this journey, this missionary journey. And now here, we have the section in which the apostles, with Barnabas, now they are going to be concluding this.

The reaching point is Derbe. And then from Derbe, they are going to be returning to Antioch. Not in Pisidia, right? But in Syria, which is where the church is. Now, what we're going to do is that in the same way that we broke down chapter 13, different places where something important took place, and this will help us visualize the journey of the whole chapter, we're going to do the same with chapter 14.

So there's going to be four important places here in chapter 14 that will conclude this missionary journey. Now, the first place is going to be Iconium. Iconium, that's going to be the first city where something important is going to happen. Now, from Iconium, they're going to go to a different city that is called Lystra. That is going to be the second place that we're going to be paying attention to.

That is Lystra. Now, the third place that we're going to pay attention to is Derbe. Derbe, which is just a verse that is given to us. But we're going to pay attention to that city, Derbe. And then from Derbe, they are going to return.

So they're going to return to Antioch in Syria, right? So those will be the four points, Iconium, and Lystra, and Derby, and then after Derby they will be returning to Antioch. And that would be completely the first journey of the Apostle Paul with Barnabas. Now, we're going to, and I hope that we can learn at least two lessons from this chapter 14. One of those lessons is going to be in relation of how the church is to preach the gospel.

And that's going to happen, one of them is going to happen in Antioch, and the other one is going to happen in Elistra. So I think that we can learn as a church from this chapter 14 A lesson, a couple of lessons on how we are supposed to share the Gospel. Not how we are supposed to do it, but we can learn certain things about the sharing of the Gospel to the lost. And that we can learn from Iconium, or what happens at Iconium, and then the second city is? Ulyssra.

And then when we arrive to Derbe, and then in the returning party, Antioch, in Syria, I think that we can learn the spirit of the Church in the proclamation of the Gospel. Not so much what we are to do to the lost, but rather the Church internally. If you want, the first half would be about how the Church is to do things outside, namely sharing the Gospel. Iconium and Lystra, and then from there we will see the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Christians, in the Church, for that work to continue spreading the Gospel. Now, the first thing that we see when we arrive to Iconium, or in our minds with Paul and Barnabas at Iconium, is that the pattern is going to continue, right?

Back, they had gone first to the synagogues, and here Paul and Barnabas are going to go also into the synagogues, and they're going to preach the gospel in such a way, a great effort, it says in the language here, with a great manifestation of what they were actually saying. With much power, they were proclaiming this gospel. Now, remember that last week I said to you that there's going to be kind of like a pattern that is going to repeat through the extension of the gospel through the nations. And that is that the Gospel is going to be preached with much diligence and power, and the result of it is going to be opposition and fruit. And perhaps that is not only the pattern for the Apostle, but that is the pattern for every single Christian, right?

You preach the Gospel, we hope, with diligence and power, and the result of it is going to be either fruit or opposition. People, sinners or lost, are enemies of God. And therefore, when the message of God is preached to them, that is going to be And that is what we see now in Paul and Barnabas that go into Iconium, they go to the synagogue, and then now they are preaching the Gospel. Now, there's going to be fruit. We are told here that there's going to be some Jews and Greeks who believed, it says, and then there's other Jews that did not believe.

Now, there's something very interesting here, brothers and sisters, because Luke is going to present to us the outcome of the preaching of the gospel at Dicomune with a dichotomy that is not so clear in English. You see, sometimes words can be translated in a different way, but let's just see what he says here. He says that both Jews and Greeks believed, and the contrast to that in verse two is that, but the unbelieving Jews, that is, the ones that did not believe, He stirred up the Gentiles and questioned their minds against the brothers. Now, here we have a contrast between those who believe and those who did not believe. Now, the words are not actually the opposite, like faith and not having faith.

But the two words that we have here in verse 14, or in chapter 14, are actually completely different words. The first one is that the Jews and Greeks believed, that is to have faith. And the second word in verse two is actually that they disobeyed. So Luke is contrasting that those who received the gospel, they had faith, and those in chapter, or in verse two, those who did not accept the message, he doesn't say that they did not believe, but rather he says that they disobeyed. So you can see the contrast between those who accepted it as having faith and those who did not accept the message as actually disobeyed.

And I think this is a very important point by Luke when he's actually writing this, because he's going to show us a nature of the proclamation of the Gospel, or an aspect of the proclamation of the Gospel, that both Paul and Peter will extend then in their letters. And that is, brothers and sisters, that once the Gospel is proclaimed, once the message of And the one that actually receives the Gospel by grace through faith is if that person was obeying the Gospel or obeying the faith. The Apostle Paul in Romans Chapter 1 and Romans Chapter 2, and the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 4 are going to speak about receiving the or obedience to the faith, or obedience to God, or obedience to the gospel of God. And those who do not believe, those who are rejecters of the gospel, they are called those who disobey. So you might remember that Peter, in 1 Peter 2, speaking of those who rejected the cornerstone, you remember the very famous passage, right?

Those who reject the cornerstone obeyed the word. They did not obey the word. That is, that their response of rejection of the gospel is considered, Biblical speaking at least in this case, as a disobedience to God. Now this is very important because also Paul and Peter will speak as our salvation, St. Peter in chapter 1 verse 22, will speak that we have been purified or that our souls have been purified Brothers and sisters, it is one thing that a person does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because they have never heard the Gospel, or because they have never known of this Jesus Christ.

Simply, they have never known of this person, of this message, so they do not believe. They have never been presented with the message. That is one thing. That person, if he or she dies in her sins, that person will go to hell, not because they have not heard of the gospel, but because of their sins against the God that they know. But that is one thing.

There's another thing that a person receives a proclamation of the gospel, the message of Jesus Christ, and that person, simply because they don't understand or because they do not comprehend, of course, there's a spiritual reality behind that, they simply do not believe in the gospel. That is another thing. Now, the first person does not have as much light as the second person who received the Gospel and was told about Jesus Christ and the message of salvation. So judgment for this second person is going to be greater than for the first, because more light was given to this person. Namely, that there is a Savior that they did not believe.

But you see, there is a greater level of opposition to the Gospel that goes beyond the first one and the second one. the message of Jesus Christ, but you become a rebel against the message, and you become a hater, and you become opposed completely to the message of the Gospel, and the one that has proclaimed that message. These unbelieving Jews were not only people that did not believe the Gospel, but through their disobedience, which speaks of a rebellion against the message of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ, they became haters of this way. Brothers and sisters, every person that does not receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is because they are in bondage to their sin. If it was not because of the grace of God, we would continue like that, enslaved to our darkness, and dead in our trespasses.

It is the workings of the Spirit, the one that gives life to the one that does not deserve. And all of them, the ones that reject or receive, or it's fair that they receive, it's just that they receive the judgment of God. But what we see here is a greater level of opposition and workings of Satan in these people that will be in opposition to the gospel. What I'm saying here, simply, brothers and sisters, require the workings of the Spirit for a person to obey to the message of the Gospel. So then it is required the workings, the active workings of Satan in the heart of a person, not only not to believe the Gospel, but to become an enemy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is, when deceit is implanted into a heart, Satan comes and takes that word so that people may not believe. But Satan is also in charge of bringing all of this deceitfulness and preaches and all of these things of the world not only, but that people would actually fall, become enemies of the way of salvation. And I think that this is what we have with these unbelieving, disobedient Jews. led to their flesh, to their corruption, so that they did not only not believe in the gospel, that they became the haters of those who proclaim. And therefore, we can see that it's not only that they do not accept the gospel, but the actions that come from them are completely evil.

So we see that these unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and potioned their minds against the brothers. This is very strong language. is not only that they did not believe, but actively they came to bring conversations and to bring words and to bring things to the minds of people so that they will be poisoned against the brothers. That it is that they were throwing, they were throwing material or wood or timber to the fire so that the fire will increase and more opposition will come to Paul and Barnabas and the ones that were preaching the gospel. incredible is to see the response that we have for Paul and Barnabas in verse 3.

He says, so, therefore, it is just simply, it doesn't make sense. He's like, there's great opposition. There is great problems and persecution. And now there's a lot of conflict that is coming from these people that are opposing. And therefore, the conclusion, the natural conclusion is that they remain for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord.

that they decide to remain there now. Brothers and sisters, this is going to be very important. Because remember that we were told that many people believe, right? So they did not remain an icon just for the sake of the truth. They remained an icon for the sake of those who believe.

Because they are going to be told that through much tribulation they will have to enter the kingdom of God. So if Paul and Barnabas were going to receive so much persecution, It's not going to be any different for those who we don't know their names, and they are not famous, and they are not in the Bible. The many that believe at Iconium will also be the object of the satanic, evil persecution of these Jews that were disobedient to the truth, and now they became enemies of the Gospel and any person that was preaching that particular message. Therefore, the Spirit of God in these two men Barnabas and Apollos will constrain them to stay there for a long time, to continue to speak boldly for the Lord, and the Lord blessing that proclamation is going to grant them mighty works and wonders and miracles, so that through tribulation and persecution in different lands, in different places, then the Lord will have a witness that the message of these people comes from on high. So miracles and wonders will testify that the message of these two men is coming from on high.

Now, they are going to have problems with miracles and wonders, as we will see it in Elisha. But I want you to see that opposition and how the Lord is going to respond to that. The opposition is going to continue, and the result, brothers and sisters, of the gospel is what Luke says here, that there is going to be division, that some of them will believe the message of the apostles of Paul and Barnabas, the message of the Gospel, and many others will side with the unbelieving Jews. That is that the stirring up of their minds, of these men who were in opposition to the gospel, would have produced something in the mind of some people, and also those people would have been taken by Satan and the deceitfulness of their workings, so that they also will side with the side of unrighteousness and wickedness. To the point that that which they had in their hearts, that hatred which is murder in their hearts, will now work out to be actually accomplished.

And they want to go and mistreat them, and they actually want to stone them. In other words, they want to kill them. Now, when the apostle Paul and Barnabas, they realize now that their life is at risk, what they decide to do is? Flee. Flee.

So they flee to Lystra. There is a time for a Christian to flee. There is a time for a Christian to think and to simply flee. They decided before to stay when it was necessary, for a long time, it says in the Bible, to preach and to speak boldly for the Lord, but there was also a time for them to flee. There's a time for us to be always boldly for the Lord and speak the truth, but there's also a timing which is necessary to flee.

And in this case, the fleeing of these apostles, so Apostle Paul and Barnabas, was to continue the work now at Lystra. that Luke is intentionally mentioning only the places that he considers are important to mention and the stories that are important to mention. Because he says that they went to Lystra Derby and to the surrounding country, right? They were going to cities that were like 120 or 130 kilometers away, and the other city was like 20 or 30 kilometers away. So as they were going to those cities, of course, Paul and Barnabas would have not been quiet, right?

They would have continued to preach the gospel and to speak of the Lord. But Luke sees important to point us and the Holy Spirit to the things that happen in these particular places. Now, brothers and sisters, every time that the church proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ, there's going to be division. those for whom the Gospel is going to be a fragrant aroma of salvation, and those for whom the Gospel is going to be death, aroma unto death. Those who are going to be rejecters of the message of the Gospel.

And the mission of the Church is to continue to do what we are supposed to do, speak with boldness for the Lord. That's what happens at Adhanim. Now we move to Lystra. We arrived at Lystra, and now Paul and Barnabas are in this second place now at Lystra. And here at Lystra, I want you to see the contrast.

I want you to see the clear contrast that Luke was trying to present to us. Because the places to where they have gone so far, there's been a synagogue, right? And because there was a synagogue, perhaps there was a synagogue there, right? Luke is pointing us that to the places before that we have mentioned, he went into the synagogue, and then he preached to the Jews. And what we saw in chapter 13 is that when he was preaching to the Jews, he will use scripture, right?

Because they are Jews. They know the scripture. So they come to these Jews, and then in chapter 13, in this long sermon of Paul will speak of Israel and King David and Jesus Christ as the offspring of King David and the greater David that is resurrected. So he uses his scripture to speak to the Jews. And now we have a very interesting example because now we have a contrast.

Now, Paul and Barnabas are going to a society, or to a place, that it seems to be more pagan, if you want, if you compare it to Jewish standards. To the point that we are not told that they're going to the synagogue, but rather that Paul is just preaching what it seems to be in the open air, or in the marketplace, that he's just preaching. And there is a cripplement that is listening, or who has listened, or was listening, it says. to what Paul was actually saying. So that Paul spoke with Barnabas, they were preaching, and then there's this man that is actually listening to all of these things.

Now, the contrast is that, first of all, he's not going into a synagogue. And second of all, that this place, in the least right, was a more pagan place. We know that because the narrative tells us that they were idolaters, right? They were idolaters. And they are going to confuse, or they are going to attribute to Paul and Barnabas these deities that it seems that they had, Zeus and Hermes.

And not only that, but it seems that they were expecting the coming, right, of Zeus and Hermes. And that they had certain type of trust and belief to the point that they had priests and a temple, and also that they were offering sacrifices. So you see this is a more pagan environment to which Apostle Paul and Barnabas now are coming to preach the gospel. We're going to learn certain interesting things here in the way that they do it. So the Apostle preaching with much diligence and power the message of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we have this crippled man that is listening to the message of the Apostle.

Then he perceives that this man has faith to be healed. Now, we don't know what the Apostle was preaching, but we do know that he preaches Jesus Christ, right? That he preaches the kingdom of Jesus Christ. That that's what he was preaching. And whatever this crippled man hurt, it was in relation to salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.

And that produced, and that means something that the apostle considered faith to be healed in connection with this message, the divine message that I have from Jesus Christ. The thing, or the important point that Luke wants to give us there, I think, is not so much to the faith that he had to be made well, to be healed, but rather the fact that Paul is actually going to heal this person. intentionally looking into the eye. So stand up, he says, stand up right on your feet. And as an act and a manifestation of his faith, actually he stands up and now he's healed.

He has been unable to walk since he was born. that was known for those people that were around. Now, you can perhaps hear the many stories from the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Peter doing similar things, right? I have to be honest that when I was reading this today, I said, why did Paul did not say, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, right? Like Peter.

Why didn't he say that? And this may create some confusion in people when they are reading. But I don't think that this is the point that Luke wants to communicate. The point that he wants to communicate is that now the apostle is now healing this person. And the result of the miracle is what is going to bring us to the important point that Luke wants to communicate.

Because this man is healed. And now these idolaters and these pagans are going to say, these men are gods. This is Zeus. Hermes, and because Paul is the chief speaker, now this is Hermes, and the other one is Zeus. And now they started doing this in their language, in Laconia.

So it seems that Paul and Barnabas would not have understood what they were actually saying. But the thing is that one of the priests of these pagan gods that they had is going to go and bring some animals to offer them sacrifices. So then when Paul and Barnabas see that these two men, or the priests better, are just bringing animals to offer them as sacrifices, now he knows what is going on. And that whatever they were saying in language, of course, it was attributing them or giving them this deity character to which, of course, not only because of secular and external Judaism, but because of their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, they knew that that was blasphemy. So they're going to torture their clothes, And I can say, why are you doing these things?

But now, in the message that Paul and Barnabas are going to actually communicate to these people in Lycaon and in Lystra, we can learn a couple of important things, brothers and sisters. The very short message that they give is found in verse 15, 16, and 17. Two important things that I think are given to us as a point, like doctrinal realities, that we can learn much when we are actually communicating or speaking to those who do not have any scriptural background, right? Because the Jews, when they were going to the synagogue, they had some scriptural background. They knew a scripture.

So therefore, scripture is presented as a messiah. But these people did not know a scripture. They did not know a special or specific revelation given to them. So he says in verse 15, men, speaking to them, 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, those vain things are this idolatry, right?

To a living God who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. And he says in verse 16, in past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 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. I want you to see that first of all, in verse 15, the Apostle, and actually it's not the Apostle Paul, one person assumes that it's the Apostle Paul, but it says Paul and Barnabas, the Apostles, right? Said these things to them.

But let's assume that was Paul, because he was the chief speaker. Paul is going to present themselves as the messengers of the Living God, who is the Creator of all. You see? So He is the same man. We are men like you, like you, of the same nature, of the same nature.

And we bring good news, that is, we are messengers. We are good news that you should turn from these vain things, that is, all your idolatries and your zoos and your pyramids and your wicked and unrighteous sacrifices, from these things which are vain and actually is worthless, it's something that is dead, Two, he compares to a living God. Turn from these things to a living God, and this God is the creator of everything. He's contrasting the pagan idols or gods that they had that was made in their minds, and they were dead and useless and worthless, with this living God that was the God that they were speaking and preaching of who is the creator of everything that exists. So therefore, this God who is the creator of everything that exists is also your creator, because you are made of like nature, like us.

So they present this God as the creator of everything. But in the second point, I want you to see that there is going to be a couple of words that I'm not pretty sure if these people understood after, what is the word, corroborated, I hope that you understand that, in the New Testament, in the New Testament with Paul and Peter. And that is that in verse 16, it says that this God, in past generations, he, this living God who is the creator, allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Now, he says that this God allowed, or you might have in your Bible, permitted, that this God, who is the creator of everything, allowed the nations to walk in their own ways. Now, this word there is very important, brothers and sisters, because this speaks of a position of the creator having the ability or the power to allow or to permit or not to permit people to do particular things.

That means that when it comes to authority, this God that we are preaching creator of everything allowed you, allowed the nations to do their own thing, to go in their own ways. Now, it's not saying so much that God motivated or was the one that was behind the actions of the nations, but rather that God who rules everything allowed that they would actually do these things. Now, the point that I want of the universe has the power to restrain and to keep the evil and the things that people do, even when they are not in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, here the question that we should have in our minds is not so much, why did God allow them to do the things that they did, their own ways, but rather it is that, why did God prevent them from doing other things that they could have done, and the same thing the question of the wickedness of our own ways, or the question of the wickedness or unrighteousness of who we are in the flesh, is not so much, why does God allow these things to happen, but rather is, why am I not more externally and visibly wicked and unrighteous? Because the one that abides and lives inside of the person is more wicked, more unrighteous, and more fleshly and he does not allow other things to happen.

He's the ruler of everything, even of those who reject him and those who are in him by grace through faith. I see this as the restraining power of God so that the world will continue and redemption will be accomplished. And not only that, but the apostle is going to make whoever was saying that this God who is the creator, the living God that they proclaim who is the creator of everything, he does not only have the power to control or allow for me to do whatever they wanted to do in the past, but as he was doing so, he was allowing them to be what they are, he kept a witness of who he was so that they will be accountable for the things that they do. There is that this God, it says there, using exactly the same words, he did not leave himself without a witness. For he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

In the words, perhaps, I will stop my effort to explain this, but in the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter one, that it is that creation, God as I Creator to the creature, that God has manifested his power and his eternal power and his divinity so that people are left without excuse. But here the Apostle makes another important point, or Luke makes another important point that I believe that Paul develops in Romans chapter two. It's not only that God reveals this and his divine nature of eternal power and divine nature of God through creation. That is that when people open their eyes, they can see that there is something behind this or someone behind this that is greater, that is the creator. could be, that is morally right.

And because he's morally right, then I am accountable to this Creator that it is the Creator of everything. Now, perhaps the only important thing that I want you to see here is that when the Apostle and Barnabas went to the Jews, they used Scripture to present the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as the fulfillment of all their promises from Israel to David. And therefore, there is salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, Gentiles, and converted. But with the pagans, he comes and addresses another type of revelation that is not found in the Scripture, because they did not have Scripture, but it was found, according to what Apostle Paul says, in their conscience, that they knew that there was a creator, that there was a living creator that was ruler of everything, and that this creator was morally good, and therefore they were accountable to him. It doesn't matter what he said so much, sadly, because these people, all of these things that he said, they did not remove from doing the things that they were going to do.

And actually, it says, even with these words, they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them. Their hearts were completely given up to idolatry and to these practices. Now they want us to simply offer their sacrifices to these hapless men that seem to be Jews and hermits. Now, I want you to see something very interesting, and I'm going to finish very soon, so please bear with me. In verse 19, because in verse 19 now we're going to have the coming together of the disbelieving Jews from Antioch and Iconium, right?

These ones that have received the words of God. And now, they're coming together with these pagan idolaters that had rejected the message that Paul and Barnabas had preached. Now, these idolaters and these pagan people, they did not accept the message of Paul and Barnabas, but they are going to accept the message that these people from Antioch and from Iconium, they are going to bring to them. So it says in verse 19, by Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds. Having persuaded the crowds.

Can you see the substantial power of Satan working in both? So that these people can be moved from, I want to offer sacrifices to you and your God, to now I'm going to stone you. It's because the connection that they had, it was satanic in nature. It was in opposition to Christ, in opposition to that which is divine. so that men can come and convince them that these men that you believe that are gods and that they're worthy to receive sacrifices, now they need to be stoned.

Now they need to be stoned. So whatever words these religious people that came from Antioch and Icarnium convinced these people. And actually, this time, Paul, did he have time to flee? No. He was stoned.

Someone being stoned is not something nice. If you only get stoned once, it's not something that is nice. He would have received many stones upon him, right? Actually, stoning that person was the way to kill that person, right? That person could be put to death.

Now, in a miraculous way, the Lord preserves the life of Paul. So we are told that there, in this track, he's stoned by the crowds, and they drag him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. So that means that he did not receive only one or two or three stones. I mean, he was not working very well. But he looked like he was dead, right?

He looked like he was dead. It seemed that he had just died. And then this man, in the name of justice, the wicked, satanic justice, simply take the dead outside of the city. We don't want to see the body that we just killed. Take outside of the body.

That is what happens at Lystra, I told you, right? The first one, and the second one. Now we're going to move to another place, and that place is going to be? Derbe. Okay, now it says in verse 20, that when the disciples gathered about him, those are the disciples at Lystra, he rose up and entered the city, that is Lystra again, and on the next day, he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

Okay, this is something very profound, right? He was almost dead, stoned. He was in pain, in pain. He's carried by the disciples, brought into the city where the people, you know, that had stoned him were, and now on the next day, he continues to derby. Now, I would understand if he's just going to derby because he just wanted to rest and he was to spend some time there recovering, right?

and we are told their prophecy has been very telling on them. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples. The stoned Paul, now is going to Derbe to continue to preach the gospel. In the midst of his weakness and his pain, he's been stoned. his back or something like that.

He's been stoned. The next day, he enters into that place, into the city, and then he goes to Derby to continue to preach the gospel. The Lord had said to Paul, to Saul, that he was a chosen instrument, a chosen vessel, and that he was going to show him how much he had to suffer, how much he had to suffer. He was teaching him with experience that which he was going to teach with words to the church. Because he's going to come and say, through many tribulations, we're supposed to enter into the kingdom of God.

But people had experienced that. You see, there is no authority in me to say that, through many tribulations, we have to enter into the kingdom of God. The greatest suffering that I have is my knee is back pain. He had been stoned. He had been stoned.

Let me just conclude with this. This is the time in which I want you to see your map, the one that I sent you on your phone, but to the people that are online to see the map. Because the reaching point of the postal is DCT Derby, right? That is Derby. And I said to you that from Derby, he's going to now, what is he going to do from Derby?

He's going to go back. But now, do you have the map in front of you, or at least most of you? Do you have the map in front of you? Now, if you have the map in front of you, there, that Derby, can you see most of you, can you see the map? You see that Derby is very close to another city, right?

Which city is that one that is a little bit in the south that is close to Derby? No, not that one, the one that is just a little bit south. Tarsus. Now, where was Paul from? Tarsus, right?

Paul was from Tarsus. Now, if you check a little bit more, which was the city from the church, was relatively close, right? Now, he is going to decide to return to Antioch, taking the other way. Now, first of all, we would say, well, Paul, you could go to Tarsus, then you may have family and people that you know you are from there. You can recover there, right?

You can get some food and just recover and you can continue doing what you're supposed to do. And even from Tarsus, once you recover, you can go to Antioch of Syria, the church. It would be so much closer. And one might say, perhaps there's no way to go from Tarsus or from Derbe to Antioch. Actually, in the second missionary trip, right?

They're going to go from Antioch to Tarsus. Actually, they are going to make that journey that way. But the answer for what he does, brothers and sisters, is just simply found in our Bibles in verse 21. When he had preached the gospel to that city, that is Derbe, and had made many disciples, They return to Lystra. Okay, this is the people that stoned him.

This is the people that wanted to kill him. This is the people that said, oh, we thought that he was dead, and they see him just walking. They're going to try to finish the work that they started. He returns to Lystra, and then to Iconium, and then to Antioch. Why?

Not only because of the message, but because of those who had received the message. because of the churches, because of the believers, because of those who have been saved. He goes, verse 22, strengthening the souls of the disciples. The one that is weak, the one that was about to die, the one that was going through much tribulation and difficulty, he's returning to take a trip, a journey that is not short, brothers and sisters. It is hundreds of kilometers.

And he's not going by plane, or by car, or by motorbike. It's a long trip, and he's weak, and he's about, he almost died. He's returning to strengthening the souls of the disciples. Now I want you to see the three things that Luke points here, and that define this strengthening of the souls of the disciples. First, How?

In English, when you have an ing verb that describes something that has been said. So, encouraging them to continue in the faith. That is the first thing. Strengthening the souls of the believers, of the disciples. Encouraging to continue in the faith.

That is, this faith that you have received, you are supposed to continue and persevere in it. In this faith that you have received of this Christ. This message that you have received, that salvation is by grace through faith apart from works, you are to continue in this faith. Second thing, saying adding to that, that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. That is that as you continue in this faith, the journey onto salvation and onto glory is going to be one of tribulation.

and difficulty, that if they had stoned me, he would have said, just reminded of Christ, if had they persecuted me, they would also do it to you. Now, brothers and sisters, we exalt Paul, you know, as a missionary bringing the gospel to the nations, and we should because he did it by the grace of God. But there are hundreds and thousands of unnamed brothers and sisters in these cities, and in the world, even right now, that are going through great tribulation to enter into the kingdom. And this might give us a little bit of a perspective when we say, you know, we're going through mythical things. That is the first thing.

Second thing, I want you to see this in verse 25. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, not so much that, but this. They committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. They committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. You see, this is the difference with real, genuine salvation.

Brothers and sisters, once a person is saved, that person does not become the member of our church. When a person is genuinely saved, that person becomes a child of God. And when that person is genuinely saved, the one that cares for that person is not the church, is not the pastor, is not the brother, ultimately, but it's God. It is the Lord. So then I know that if you are in Christ, it's not about me and my work and my labor for you to persevere until the end.

The Lord might use us as an instrument, but the one that is going to preserve you until the end is the Lord. So Paul, knowing that he's departing, he may not know that he's coming back, but knowing that he's departing, as a father who is leaving his children, now he's going to say, I commend you, I leave you in the hands of the one whom you have loved and believed, the Lord. You are in the hands of the one who saved you and who redeemed you. And the best thing that he can do, or the best biblical thing that he can do is appoint elders. Not so much that they will be an example to the Church, but that they will be the ones that are going to bring the Word.

Because it was through the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ that they were saved, and it's through the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ that they are going to be kept, and it's through the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ that they are going to make it until the end. So then Paul decides not to take the shorter path to go back home, but rather he goes back to all of these cities. He goes back to Okay, there be an Elistra, an Iconium, and an Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening the souls and the brothers and sisters. You see, the Spirit-given love, the real genuine Spirit-given love for the congregation, for the Church, for those who have been or you will enter into the kingdom of God, and appointing elders. From that point, now we are just simply told that from Antioch of Pisidia, they will go down to Pamphylia.

Remember Pamphylia? In Pamphylia, there was another city that was Perga. And then, instead of going to Perga, it seems that they go to the other city, there, Italian. So they go to Italian. We're not told that they preach there.

It seems that it's just a transit there from Italian. And then they sail back to Antioch. When they return to the church, this return that it was the one that had commended them, it says, when they have been commended, that is Antioch, where they have been commended to the grace of God for the work that they have fulfilled, this is what they do. They report what God has done with them and the doors that have been opened for the Gentiles. That is, you, church, that sent us by the divine power of the Spirit preach the message of the gospel, we come now with the good news that this God that chose us and set us apart from this mission opened doors.

And when he opened doors, he did marvelous things, not only in miracles and powers and all of these things, but many of the Gentiles believed. And now, even though you do not know them, they are your brothers and your sisters in all of these places. And Paul and Barnabas decide to stay there A few days? No. It says, no little time with the disciples.

Going back to the church. The commission that was given to these people, brothers and sisters, is the same commission that has been given to us. And the God and the Lord of this commission given to them is the same Lord of the commission given to us. Now, the power of the Spirit operating in these men as they proclaim the gospel, and many people were saved, is the same Spirit and the same power that is supposed to work in the church these days and in us. And the same love and the same desire for salvation of the lost is the one that is supposed to be in the heart of each one of you.

Not only love for the lost, but love for the church. Word of God is sufficient for everything that we need to point us to that which is lacking and to encourage us to continue in that which we are supposed to do. It is the God of the Word, the one that empowers and guides us and leads us to the things that we are supposed to say, the things that we are supposed to do. The One to whom we have committed our lives, the One that keeps us in His hands.