WHEN IS THE WORK DONE?
ACTS 14:8-28 IN LYSTRA THERE SAT A MAN CRIPPLED IN HIS FEET, WHO WAS LAME FROM BIRTH AND HAD NEVER WALKED. 9 HE LISTENED TO PAUL AS HE WAS SPEAKING. PAUL LOOKED DIRECTLY AT HIM, SAW THAT HE HAD FAITH TO BE HEALED 10 AND CALLED OUT, "STAND UP ON YOUR FEET!" AT THAT, THE MAN JUMPED UP AND BEGAN TO WALK. 11 WHEN THE CROWD SAW WHAT PAUL HAD DONE, THEY SHOUTED IN THE LYCAONIAN LANGUAGE, "THE GODS HAVE COME DOWN TO US IN HUMAN FORM!" 12 BARNABAS THEY CALLED ZEUS, AND PAUL THEY CALLED HERMES BECAUSE HE WAS THE CHIEF SPEAKER. 13 THE 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. 14 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. 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. 16 IN THE PAST, HE LET ALL NATIONS GO THEIR OWN WAY. 17 YET 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." 18 EVEN WITH THESE WORDS, THEY HAD DIFFICULTY KEEPING THE CROWD FROM SACRIFICING TO THEM. 19 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. 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. 21 THEY PREACHED THE GOOD NEWS IN THAT CITY AND WON A LARGE NUMBER OF DISCIPLES. THEN THEY RETURNED TO LYSTRA, ICONIUM AND ANTIOCH, 22 STRENGTHENING THE DISCIPLES AND ENCOURAGING THEM TO REMAIN TRUE TO THE FAITH. "WE MUST GO THROUGH MANY HARDSHIPS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD," THEY SAID.
23 PAUL AND BARNABAS APPOINTED ELDERS FOR THEM IN EACH CHURCH AND, WITH PRAYER AND FASTING, COMMITTED THEM TO THE LORD, IN WHOM THEY HAD PUT THEIR TRUST. 24 AFTER GOING THROUGH PISIDIA, THEY CAME INTO PAMPHYLIA, 25 AND WHEN THEY HAD PREACHED THE WORD IN PERGA, THEY WENT DOWN TO ATTALIA. 26 FROM ATTALIA THEY SAILED BACK TO ANTIOCH, WHERE THEY HAD BEEN COMMITTED TO THE GRACE OF GOD FOR THE WORK THEY HAD NOW COMPLETED. 27 ON ARRIVING THERE, THEY GATHERED THE CHURCH TOGETHER AND REPORTED ALL THAT GOD HAD DONE THROUGH THEM AND HOW HE HAD OPENED THE DOOR OF FAITH TO THE GENTILES. 28 AND THEY STAYED THERE A LONG TIME WITH THE DISCIPLES.
INTRODUCTION: SOMEONE HAS SAID THAT THERE IS NO RETIREMENT FROM SERVICE FOR CHRIST, AND THAT IS TRUE. THERE ALWAYS SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST CAN DO, REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES, SITUATIONS, OR SURROUNDINGS. YET, THERE ARE SOME “MISCONCEPTIONS” OUT THERE THAT EVEN THE STRONGEST OF BELIEVERS CAN FALL PREY TO; AND WHEN WE DO, WE LOSE OUR EFFECTIVENESS, TENACITY, JOY AND PASSION FOR CHRIST AND THE GREAT COMMISSION HE HAS ENTRUSTED US WITH.
TRANSITION: WITH THAT SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO USE THE PASSAGE BEFORE US THIS MORNING TO IDENTIFY SOME OF THOSE “MISCONCEPTIONS” FOR STOPPING.
1. THE WORK IS NOT DONE WHEN THINGS LOOK IMPOSSIBLE
a. I SEE TWO HERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PASSAGE
i. THE IMMEDIATE SITUATION INVOLVING THE MAN WHO WAS LAME FROM BIRTH.
ii. THE RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE USING A LANGUAGE THAT THE APOSTLES COULD NOT COMMUNICATE IN.
b. OFTEN THE REACTION TO IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS IS TO SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM THE SITUATION
i. AT BEST – TEMPORARILY UNTIL WE CAN EITHER GET ASSISTANCE, OF ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION, ETC.
ii. AT WORST – PERMANENTLY SO AS TO NOT RISK FAILURE
1. WHEN WE CHOOSE THIS OPTION, WE OFTEN PUT UP “BARRIERS” THAT KEEP US FROM APPROACHING SIMILAR SITUATIONS
c. THE REAL QUESTION WE SHOULD BE ASKING IS, “WHAT WOULD GOD HAVE US TO DO WHEN FACED WITH “IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS?”
i. FIRST, WHO DO YOU THINK ULTIMATELY PUT YOU IN THAT SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE? IT WAS GOD.
1. THE FACT THAT GOD PUT YOU THERE MEANS, …
a. GOD DOES NOT THINK THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE
b. GOD HAS A PURPOSE – FIND THAT AND YOU WILL KNOW THE REASON YOU ARE THERE
2. GOD PUT YOU THERE AS A WAY TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO DEPEND ON HIM.
3. GOD HAS GIVEN YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE HAS PUT YOU IN.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
4. RETREAT IS AN OPTION, NOT A FOREGONE CONCLUSION!
2. THE WORK IS NOT FINISHED WHEN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HAS BEEN MISINTERPRETED AND/OR YOU ARE UPSET AT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
a. YOU CAN SEE THIS IN THE RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE. THEY ATTRIBUTED THE WORK OF PAUL AND BARNABAS TO THE OF ZEUS AND HERMES.
i. THERE IS A STORY OF HOW ZEUS AND HERMES SHOWERED BLESSINGS ON A COUPLE WHO TREATED THE GRACIOUSLY.
b. PAUL AND BARNABAS WERE VISIBLY AND RIGHTLY UPSET
i. THE PEOPLE MISIDENTIFIED THEM
ii. THE PEOPLE MISINTERPRETED WHAT THEIR RESPONSE SHOULD BE.
c. PAUL AND BARNABAS TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT THE WRONG INTERPRETATION
i. BY THEIR ACTIONS – TEARING CLOSE WAS A SIGN OF EXTREME SADNESS AND EVEN MOURNING
ii. BY THEIR WORDS
1. DEFINED WHO THEY WERE.
2. DESCRIBED WHO THEY SERVED
3. DECLARED THEIR AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY
a. UP UNTIL THIS TIME, THE GENTILES HAD A RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPOND TO THE GENERAL REVELATION GOD HAD GIVEN THEM IN CREATION.
b. NOW THEY HAD A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPOND TO THE SPECIAL REVELATION THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING FROM PAUL AND BARNABAS
i. MAN IS WITHOUT EXCUSE!
4. NOTICE, THAT EVEN WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, PRAYERS, CORRECTIONS AND CHALLENGES, SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL GOING TO DO THEIR OWN THING!
iii. WE ARE ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE TO DO OUR BEST, AND THEN LEAVE THE REST UP TO GOD.
1. WE CANNOT DETERMINE THE REPONSES OF OTHERS
2. WE CAN ONLY DETERMINE OUR ACTIONS
a. ARE THEY GOOD?
b. ARE THEY RIGHTEOUS?
c. ARE THEY HONORABLE?
d. ARE THEY BIBLICAL?
3. IT IS NOT TIME TO QUIT WHEN THE TIDE TURNS AGAINST YOU.
a. FIRST THIS IS TO BE EXPECTED.
b. JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES – AND US, THAT WE WOULD BE HATED BY THE WORLD BECAUSE THE WORLD HATED JESUS.
c. THERE IS FAR TOO MUCH AT STAKE FOR THE WORLD TODAY TO EMBRACE THE TEACHING OF JESUS.
i. THINK FOR A MOMENT AS TO WHAT WOULD CHANGE
ii. THINK FOR A MOMENT AS TO WHAT WOULD BE GONE
iii. THINK FOR A MOMENT AS TO WHAT WOULD REMAIN
d. THE JEWS OF PAUL AND BARNABAS’ DAY REFUSED TO BELIEVE AND STIRRED UP OTHERS TO DO THE SAME FOR ONE SIMPLE REASON,
i. TO BELIEVE MEANT THEY HAD KILLED THEIR MESSIAH
ii. TO BELIEVE MEANT THEY HAD MURDERED THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
e. ONCE AGAIN, WE CAN GAIN STRENGTH AND RESOLVE BY SIMPLY ASKING WHO TIS REALLY AT THE ROOT OF THE TURNING?
f. REMEMBER EVERYTHING WE DO WE ARE TO DO FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, NOT THE EASE OF OUR LIVES!
4. IT IS NOT TIME TO QUIT WHEN YOU THINK YOU ARE DEAD!
a. IN THIS WORLD WE THINK DEATH ENDS IT ALL
b. THE TEXT TELLS US THAT ALTHOUGH PAUL WAS THOUGHT DEAD, GOD WAS NOT DONE WITH HIM.
c. NOTICE THAT PAUL GOT UP AND WHEN BACK INTO THE CITY.
d. SIMPLE PRINCIPLE HERE IS THAT GOD IS THE DETERMINER OF DEATH, NOT US.
e. WE DEFINE DEATH AS THE CESSATION OF LIFE. GOD SEEMS TO DEFINE DEATH AS THE CESSATION OF EARTHLY SERVICE.
f. AS LONG AS GOD HAS SOMETHING FOR US TO DO, WE CANNOT DIE.
g. IN OTHER WORDS WE ARE IMMORTAL UNTIL JESUS CALLS US HOME, SAYING “WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.”
5. IT IS NOT TIME TO QUIT WHEN OTHERS ARE RAISED UP IN YOUR PLACE
a. WHEN PAUL AND BARNABAS CAME INTO A CITY AND ESTABLISHED A CHURCH THEY WERE ULTIMATELY THERE TO ACCOMPLISH TWO THINGS
i. EDIFICATION – THROUGH THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL
ii. ORGANIZATION – THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LEADERS
b. THEY WERE WORKING THEMSELVES OUT OF A JOB!
c. WHEN ONE WORKS THEMSELVES OUT OF A JOB IN SERVING THE LORD IT IS NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETIREMENT. IT IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF DUPLICATION
d. WE ARE MEANT TO START THE PROCESS OVER AGAIN SOMEWHERE ELSE!
e. AGAIN, WE ARE FINISHED WHEN GOD SAYS SO, NOT WHEN WE SAY SO!
6. IT IS NOT TIME TO QUIT WHEN YOU RETURN AND REPORT
a. NORMALLY, WHEN ONE GIVES A REPORT THEY ARE REPORTING ON WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.
b. IT IS INTERESTING THAT IN THE REPORT OF PAUL AND BARNABAS , THERE WAS NO CONCLUSION, ONLY INSIGHT AND CONFIRMATION
c. THE REPORT NOTED TO SIGNIFICANT THINGS
i. GOD HAD OPENED UP THE DOOR TO GENTILES
ii. GOD HAD OPENED SALVATION BY FAITH TO THE GENTILES
d. THIS REPORT DECLARED THAT THERE WAS A WHOLE NEW AVENUE OF MINISTRY AND IMPACT AWAITING THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH.
DEAR FRIENDS, WE ARE NOW LIVING IN A POST CHRISTIAN SOCIETY. IN OTHER WORDS AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE EMBRACING THESE IDEALS:
1. do not believe in God
2. identify as atheist or agnostic
3. disagree that faith is important in their lives
4. have not prayed to God (in the last year)
5. have never made a commitment to Jesus
6. disagree the Bible is accurate
7. have not donated money to a church (in the last year)
8. have not attended a Christian church (in the last year)
9. agree that Jesus committed sins
10. do not feel a responsibility to “share their faith”
11. have not read the Bible (in the last week)
12. have not volunteered at church (in the last week)
13. have not attended Sunday school (in the last week)
14. have not attended religious small group (in the last week)
15. do not participate in a house church (in the last year)
WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS – WILL WE QUIT AND OPT OUT, OR REMAIN AND EMBRACE THE WORLD GOD HAS CALLED US TO BRING LIGHT TO?
THE ANSWER IS YOUR TO MAKE!
