BACKGROUND:
• When you read the book of Acts, don’t think villages, but cities.
• The church in the Book of Acts was almost entirely urban.
Quote Historian Wayne A. Meeks writes that;
“Within a decade of the crucifixion of Jesus, the village culture of Palestine had been left behind, and the Greco-Roman city became the dominant environment of the Christian movement”.
The church began in Jerusalem, and then spread to other cities,
• Including Samaria, Damascus, Caesarea, and Antioch in Syria.
• At least forty different cities are named in Acts.
Ill:
• In fact in Acts chapters 13 and 14:
• Dr Luke describes Paul’s ministry in six different cities, (beginning and ending in Antioch).
• (1). Antioch in Syria (Chapter 13 verses 1-5).
• (2). Paphos (Chapter 13 verses 6-12).
• (3). Perga (Chapter 13 verse13).
• (4). Antioch in Pisidia (Chapter 13 verses 14-52).
• (5). Iconium (Chapter 14 verse 1-7).
• (6). Lystra (Chapter 14 verses 8-20).
• Then next week they go full circle and finish back at Antioch in Syria.
The title for this talk is Operation Yo-Yo.
• A Yo-Yo goes up and down, up and down;
• And chapters 13 and 14 are two chapters of highs and lows.
• Highs when circumstances favourable , then lows as circumstances change.
• Highs as people find Christ, then lows as people opposing the gospel.
Note:
• That Paul & Barnabus are first-time missionaries, they are two novices!
• They have never been in this situation before, and so they are still finding their feet.
• True, they were apostles, men of God.
• But they like us had to live out their faith in circumstances both good & bad.
Ill;
• The apostles would have to learn;
• That it is through success & failure, through joy & sorrow and not around it or over it,
• And it is situations like the ones recorded in these chapters;
• That give substance to and make real the teaching of Paul in his letters.
• So having endured opposition an difficulties Paul could write;
• First hand practicle advice concerning trusting God and depending on him,
Quote Philippians chapter 4 verses 11b-13:
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”.
In the following passage Paul models what he learned:
• Demonstrating the stability needed during life’s ups and downs.
• He shows us how we, too, can follow Christ . . . through it all.
Iconium - Division.
• Look back to chapter 13 verse 52:
• “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”.
• When the missionaries arrive in Iconium they are on a high.
• It doesn’t get much better than that! “Filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”.
Ill:
• Iconium is in modern day Turkey,
• Today it is called Konya and it is the 4th largest town in Turkey,
• But in New Testament times it was a city.
• In fact it was a Greek city, and was a center of agriculture and commerce.
• Iconium, had become a Roman colony under Hadrian,
• But it remained predominately Greek in flavour and tone.
• Iconium had became an independent unit.
• As a Greek city, Iconium was governed by its assembly of citizens.
(1). High - Converts to Christ (vs 1):
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.
There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed”
When Paul and Barnabas arrive in Iconium:
• They begin their ministry where any wise and experienced evangelist should,
• Where there are many people!
Ill:
You don’t catch fish in a bucket, but on the riverbank.
• In the Book of Acts Paul & Barnabus have a plan of action for evangelism;
• They start by entering the Jewish synagogues and sharing the gospel there.
• Note: They are not exclusive because they move out the synagogue;
• Verse 1b tells us that they shared their message with Gentiles as well.
• And they spoke so persuasively that a great number of people believed,
• Both of Jews and of Greeks.
(2). Low - Opposition to the Apostles (vs 2)
“But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles,
and poisoned their minds against the brothers”.
Ill:
• If you and I went to Southampton City center and started preaching;
• We might be heckled, or laughed at.
• If I was a betting man I would gamble on the fact we would just be ignored!
• Lethargy & disinterest would sum up most of the peoples response.
Ill:
• If you and I went to India and started preaching ;
• We would very soon gather a very large crowd.
• Instead of lethargy & disinterest, we would find a willing audience,
• Wanting to know more.
• But as well as a willing audience it would not be too long until;
• We would upset people by the content of our message,
• And we would probably risk attack and even put our lives in danger.
• Ill: Saturday about this happening to a Christian brother out in India.
Question: Why such opposition?
Answer: Because religion in India, was like religion in the ancient world;
• Belief was important, it affected all areas of life.
• It affected the way you viewed citizenship and your loyalty to the state.
• It affected your standing and involvement in the local community.
• Religion played a major part in everybody’s lives.
This was the situation Paul and Barnabus were in:
• It was especially dangerous for these missionaries;
• Because Iconium was an independent unit.
• As a Greek city,
• Iconium was governed by its assembly of citizens.
• This assembly had the power to condemn and execute the Christian missionaries;
• Without Rome’s involvement.
Ill:
• The assembly of citizens:
• Could easily be influenced by Iconium’s Jewish citizens,
• And they could be denied their human rights,
• This independent assembly of Citizens,
• Had the power to condemn and execute the missionaries without Rome’s involvement
• So Paul and Barnabas had yo-yoed, from high to low, delight to disaster.
• But they did not despair & go into hiding. Rather……..
(3). Supernatural proofs (vs 3):
“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders”.
They spent a long time there speaking “boldly for the Lord”
• Who was confirming, bearing witness to their message,
• By enabling them to do signs and wonders.
• Faith is not based on miracles, but faith can be bolstered by miracles,
• In times of opposition and difficulties God enables his people to perform miracles,
• In this case they performed signs & wonders (not told what they were),
• But they did them as credentials, as a testimony that they were servants of the living God.
Quote Calvin:
“God hardly ever allows them (miracles) to be detached from his word.
Their ‘true use’ is the establishing of the gospel in its full and genuine authority”.
Note:
• There is a very important expression in verse 3 translated as; “Boldly for the Lord”
• A better translation would be: ‘They relied upon the Lord’.
• This is the key to Paul & Barnabus’ success;
• This is the reason they can handle Yo-Yo times!
• In times of elation; ‘They relied upon the Lord’;
• This kept them from pride.
• In times of discouragement; ‘They relied upon the Lord’
• This kept them from depression & giving up.
• ‘They relied upon the Lord’.
• By depending on Jesus, they would be able to handle each and every situation.
Application:
• Key to stability in the Christian life is to‘ Rely upon the Lord’.
• We do that by drawing close to God through prayer, the Bible & other Christians.
• The Lord and His Word are unchanging foundations to build our lives upon,
• As we live in a world that is constantly changing.
Ill:
Bicycle spindle (gives strength and purpose to the wheel).
Verse 4: The multitude of the city was divided:
• Some sided with the Jews,
• And some with the apostles.
• People will always be divided over the person of Jesus Christ.
• He warned us about it, Church history testifies to it.
(4). guidance (vs 5-6):
“There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.
6But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7where they continued to preach the good news”.
• I should call this point common sense guidance:
• Quote: “……not so common!”
• Paul and Barnabas had to make a quick decision,
• The anti-brigade had hatched a plan to ill-treat them and to even stone them.
• Rather than face the heat,
• Paul and Barnabas wisely left the city.
Question:
• Did the missionaries lack faith because they escaped when their lives were threatened?
Answer:
• No, their actions demonstrated the use of common sense in determining God’s will.
• Since God had provided them a way of escape, to stay would have been foolish.
Ill:
• Matthew chapter10 verse 23:
• “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another”.
Ill: ill:
“Trust in God but tie up your camel”. “Trust God & lock your car & house up”.
When it comes to guidance:
• Too many Christians are too spiritual.
• Key to guidance: Following the Shepherd each day & he will guide you.
So the missionaries leave that area and enter another Roman district.
• Dr Luke records nothing about Derby,
• But records the events at Lystra.
Lystra - Delusion.
• Lystra was 18 miles southwest of Iconium,
• In the Roman province of Galatia.
Quote:
The winds of circumstance had been in their favour when they came to Iconium,
But a storm of hatred drove them to this next city, Lystra.
• In spite of the ups and downs of Iconium,
• Verse 7: “They continued to preach the good news”
• You have to say, “Wow! What stability!”
• Through it all, they press on, consistency and stability as their trade mark.
Lystra, however, was very different to Iconium.
• Among other things, there were not enough Jews to establish a synagogue,
• So the missionaries preached on the streets to anyone who would listen.
• As a result, unexpected and jarring events occurred:
• That sent Paul and Barnabas soaring up and then crashing down again.
• Precipitating this new roller coaster ride was a miracle performed by Paul.
THERE ARE 4 RESPONSES DURING THIS VISIT:
(1). The cripple mans response - (High) (vs 8-10).
“In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”
At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.”
Dr Luke records the fact “he was lame from birth”.
• This is important because had the man’s lameness been caused by disease or accident,
• The cure could have been attributed to a sudden change in his health.
• Those words “Lame from birth”,
• Emphasis the fact this cure was miraculous, it could only be supernatural.
• The lame man overhears Paul preaching about Jesus,
• And Paul’s words had an effect on him.
• Note the words in verse 9: “Saw that he had faith”.
• God chose to authenticate their preaching with a healing.
(2). Mix up – Low (vs 11-13).
“11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”
• Miracles and supernatural events can be interpreted in various ways;
• In this case the crowd link it to their own mythology.
• Unknowingly Paul had awakened a sleeping giant from the legends of these people,
• Which caused them to assume that he and Barnabas were gods.
Ill:
• The crowds superstitious and fanatical behaviour is hard to comprehend,
• Some local background information may help.
• 50 years earlier, the Latin poet Ovid,
• Had narrated in his Metamorphoses an ancient local legend.
Quote William Barclay explains.
“The people round Lystra told a story that once Zeus and Hermes had come to this earth in disguise. None in all the land would give them hospitality until at last two old peasants, Philemon and his wife Baucis, took them in. As a result the whole population was wiped out by the gods except Philemon and Baucis, who were made the guardians of a splendid temple and were turned into two great trees when they died. So when Paul healed the crippled man the people of Lystra were determined not to make the same mistake again.”
There is also archeological evidence clay tablets etc:
• Which informs us that these people were worshipping Hermes & Zeus on a regular basis.
• Verse 13: Informs us they had a priest who made regular sacrifices to these false gods.
• Now because Paul was the speaker the crowd took him for Hermes,
• Barnabus was taken to be Zeus.
• Ironic that the Iconians had just kicked them out of town in disgrace,
• But now these Lycaonians were treating them like gods.
At first the missionaries had no idea what was happening:
• Because verse 11 tells us:
• “They shouted in the Lycaonian language”,
• It only dawned on the m what was happening when in verse 13;
• They saw the priest of Zeus bringing wreaths and a bull to sacrifice.
(3). Opportunity - High (vs 14-16):
“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you”.
The missionaries wanted off the pedestal on which the people were placing them:
• So they ran among the people tearing their clothes,
• This was a Jewish way of showing remorse and distress.
• Trying to draw their attention away from himself and into his message,
• Paul announced to the crowd:
Verses 15-16:
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way”.
NOTICE PAUL’S APPROACH TO SHARING CHRIST:
• This is his first recorded message to illiterate pagans.
• Dr Luke gives us a very brief abstract of Paul’s sermon.
• Ill: When Paul preached to Jews he used the Old Testament scripture.
• But these people had no Jewish heritage, no knowledge that he could draw on,
• So he started with nature, the natural world around them.
• He started with the here and now, to get to the there and then.
Ill:
Napoleon and his men were sailing in the Mediterranean.
• His men were discussing God.
• In their wisdom they eliminated him altogether.
• Napoleon had been silent but now he lifted his hand and pointed to the sea and the sky,
• “Gentlemen”, he said, “who made all this”.
Note: In his message, Paul starts where they are (Verse 15b):
“The living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.”
Notice Paul tells them five key truths:
(a).
• There are not many gods but One true God;
• He is the living God, not a myth or a statue, but the creator if heaven & earth.
(b).
• In the past “he let all nations go their own way”
• For the time being people might rebel against him and do what they want.
(c).
• Yet, he has never at anytime or in any place “left himself without testimony.”
• But people are without excuse, because God has made himself known.
(d).
• Despite mankind’s rebellion, God has still been kind to them;
• “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons”.
(e).
• He provided for your bodies and your hearts;
• “He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
• In other words:
• God blesses all people in spite of their sin.
verse 18:
• Continues to show us the crowds response:
• “Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them”.
• The people can’t get enough of them,
• They have lifted the missionaries to a high position.
But in Verse 19 they hit a great big low:
“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead”
• Certain Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium,
• they may have been there for one of two reasons:
(a).They may have been Corn merchants.
• The region round Lystra was a great corn growing area,
• And they may have come to buy corn for the cities of Iconium and Antioch.
• When they encounter Paul and Barnabus;
• They become angry and stir up the people against them.
(b). They may well have been deliberately following Paul & Barnabus:
• In an attempt to undo the work that they were doing.
• These might be the men from verse 5.
SUDDENLY:
• Everything changes for the missionaries.
• The fawning adulation turned into hateful jeers:
• Like wild animals that eat out of your hand one moment,
• And bite you the next, the people bared their teeth at the missionaries.
• If they are not Gods,
• They must be imposters!
This incident is not a judicial execution, but a lynch mob:
• The garlands had become jagged stones,
• Bruising and gashing Paul’s body.
• A moment ago he was a god;
• Now he was a dog to be cornered, killed, and tossed onto a dung heap outside the city.
Paul later recalled for the Corinthian believers the horror of the situation (2 Corinthians 1:8-9):
“I think you ought to know, dear brothers, about the hard time we went through in Asia. We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. We felt we were doomed to die”. (TLB)
• This was Paul’s lowest valley.
• However, this stoning would not write the final chapter of his life.
(4). Mistreatment - Low (vs 20).
“But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.”
For the new converts in Lystra:
• This was a crisis’s for them,
• They were a minority, and their inspirational leader appeared dead.
• They had come here to the trash heap,
• Looking for a body to bury!
• Amazingly they find he is still alive,
• They watch him rise slowly to his feet.
• And then, to their amazement and disbelief;
• Bloody and in great pain, he went right back into the city.
Quote John Wesley: “Always look a mob in the face”.
This was an incredible thing to do:
• And would surely cause people to think,
• And ask themselves the question;
• Who is this man? What did we do to him?
• Where did he get the courage from to act in this way?
Note: Another incredible thing:
• The next morning, after being brutally attacked Paul makes an amazing recovery,
• And travels on to Derbe, which was a 60-70 mile walk!
• You wonder how Paul’s battered body managed it.
• The answer has to be the Lord provided!
Quote: Philippians chapter 4 verses 11b-13:
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”.
