JUN 23 2013PM How Churches are Made Strong
Acts 14: 21-28
Last time we left off with Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. They healed a lame man. The crowd tried to make sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas but they told them that they were only human and to give God the glory. The people still tried to worship Paul and Barnabas despite what they told them.
Then some of the disgruntled people from the previous two cities of Iconium and Antioch made their way to Lystra to make sure they kept things stirred up. They won the crowd over. In other words, the people who were devoted to the preachers one minute, turned their backs on them the next minute and stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. But Paul wasn’t dead. He got up, went back into the city and the next day he and Barnabas left for the city of Derbe.
READ vv. 21-22. Their first task was to preach the good news and make disciples. After their work in Derbe, notice they backtracked to the cities from which they had passed through previously; Lystra Iconium, and Antioch. Note that the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, as led by God, was to preach the good news and make disciples and that is exactly what they did. Disgruntled people in most any church will do whatever they can to try to persuade the preacher to preach only what they want to hear. They will try to misdirect God’s will and get their own. But a true minister, called of God, will not stray from God’s direction.
Paul’s and Barnabas’ ministry was to make disciples. They had made many disciples. They not only preached, they had taken the believers and made disciples out of them. A disciple is a follower. And we’re all disciples of someone or of something.
People have worshipped and made themselves disciples of Elvis, Hannah Montana, and who knows what other rocks stars or sports starts. What about you? Are you a disciple of anything or anyone? The most important discipleship of all is following Jesus in life no matter what else we do.
What’s the sign of a disciple of Jesus? You go to church. You may go to church every time the door is open. You get involved. You give. You serve. You pray. You witness. You evangelize. All these and perhaps more indicate you are disciple of Jesus. Of course, some people just go to church occasionally, thinking that may qualify them to be a disciple.
Someone said: "I go to church, so I am a Christian." But that’s like saying if you go to McDonald’s that makes you a Quarter Pounder.
A little old Jewish lady was flying out of New York City on her way to Miami Beach. She looked at the businessman sitting next to her and asked him, "Excuse me sir, but are you Jewish?" The man responded politely, "No, ma’am, I’m not Jewish." After a little while she again asked him. "You’re really Jewish, aren’t you?" Again he responded, "No, ma’am, I am not Jewish."
Barely 10 minutes later, the little old lady asked him once more, "Are you sure you’re not Jewish?" To which, in exasperation and in a final effort to shut her up, he replied, "OK. Yes, ma’am, I am Jewish." "Funny," she says, looking puzzled. "You don’t look Jewish!"
If someone were to ask, "Are you a Christian?" and you responded "Yes, I am!" they might say, "Funny, you don’t look like a Christian." Sometimes we don’t resemble a disciple of Jesus, BUT WE SHOULD! That is, our spirit, our attitude, our enthusiasm, our love, etc. should come from Christ. There should be a difference in us from other people because we’ve been with Jesus! We are His disciples and we should be interested in making more disciples.
WE NEED TO BE MAKING CONVERTS! HOW DO WE MAKE DISCIPLES? We invite them in or else go get them. However, to invite them into our service we must have something to draw them. As we go, we must preach.
We need to be quick to point people to Christ and to the church as we go places. We have opportunities all the time. We just need to be alert to them. We need to be open to opportunities to speak for Christ no matter where we are or what crowd we’re with. If our faith means anything at all to us we need to be giving it to others!
THEN WE MUST STRENGTHEN THE DISCIPLES. Verse 22 says they were strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.
ILL. - Josiah Perkins was celebrating his one-hundredth birthday when a reporter called and interviewed him. “Do you think you’ll live another hundred years?” the reported asked. “Don’t see why I shouldn’t,” Josiah replied. “I’m a heap stronger than I was a hundred years ago today.”
Are you stronger than you were 20-30 years ago? It all depends on what kind of strength we’re talking about. Physically, we do decline after many years but spiritually, we should be stronger. What makes a person stronger in the faith of Christ? Years of living the Christian life. Enduring difficulty and trials. Staying faithful to the Lord will strengthen your faith. Reading the Bible. Listening to sermons. Watching other Christians live the life.
And we need to pass on that strength to others, that is, what we’ve heard and learned and endured. How do we do this? We talk, we share, we love, we serve, we encourage, etc. We do things that build people in their faith.
Almost 100% of the time, when I arrive at church, I can’t get into the doors of the church, and sometimes can’t even get out of my car, before someone is complaining about something. Telling me a problem. Telling me what I need to do. If that’s all we ever do, is that building someone up in their faith? In fact, it almost discourages me in mine. By the time I step up to the pulpit on Sunday morning, or Sunday evening, or Wednesday evening, I am pulled in so many directions there’s no time for me to focus on and talk to God to get His last minute instructions on what He wants done or said. This shows in the sermon presentation.
Our faithful and committed example is probably the best thing we can do to strengthen others in the faith. Beyond that we continue to point people to Christ, encourage, and help one another.
READ v. 23. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders, leaders, pastors, etc. for each church. After much prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. And no one questioned their decision. No one complained. No one left the church over it. Oh I long for those days.
READ vv. 24-26. These verses simply list their mission trip and the cities they ministered in. They returned to Antioch, the mother church and reported the work that was accomplished for the Lord. Notice what was done when Paul and Barnabas returned to the Antioch.
READ v. 27. They strengthened the other believers verbally. Seriously, we should encourage one another verbally and in other ways and all we can. I’m sure there are many ways that we can strengthen and encourage one another. Teaching, preaching and definitely living the faith will encourage others. Whenever we see it done it encourages others to do it too! Or at least we hope it will.
To make a church strong WE MUST THEN CHARGE THE DISCIPLES. Verse
22 says, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.
ILL. - An airplane pilot said: ABOUT 90 fifth-graders piled into the airliner I was flying, on their way home from a school trip. Once we were in the air and the crew began trying to serve drinks, I could hear them pleading with the children to settle down so the beverages could be served and the other passengers could get some sleep. No amount of reasoning seemed to help, until I thought of the solution that actually worked: I picked up the PA mike in the cockpit and announced, "Children, this is the captain speaking. Don’t make me stop this airplane and come back
there."
Sometimes people need to be warned or charged in certain ways. We as parents may have threatened our children with the words, "If I have to stop what I’m doing and come in there, you’re going to get it!"
II Tim. 4:1-2 "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." Paul charged young Timothy to charge the people in his preaching of the Word. Be strong. Be courageous. Be sincere.
ILL. - One time a preacher started his sermon with these words, "You ought to be dead!" And he said that forcefully. What did he mean by those words? You didn’t know until he finished his sermon, but it was a charge that you would never forget and a charge that we all need. We all need to be dead to sin and self but also alive to Christ! That was the basis of the sermon and he was exactly right.
ILL. - Tony Evans from Dallas, TX. was preaching about giving. He said there three types of people: 1- the haves 2- the have nots 3- the have not paid for yet. He said, "Money is tainted. Taint yours and taint mine." And he’s right. Everything belongs to the Lord. He’s just loaned us some money, a house, car, clothing, etc. And then Tony proceeded to preach about giving and mentioned the scripture in Malachi 3:8 " "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, ’How do we rob you?’ "In tithes and offerings."
He said the reason so many Christians have financial problems, the car breaks down, the house falls apart, etc. is because they are robbing God! Talk about powerful! But he said that our lack in giving is just an indication of a deeper problem! OUCH! We need to be charged and charged up occasionally. But sometimes people merely need being charged in the sense of being encouraged.
Paul charged the brothers that hardships would come. They do come and they have, have they not? Have you not experienced some hardships in life?
We experience hardships in the sense that life in general is hard! Making a living and raising children are not easy tasks!
ILL. - One day a kindergarten class went on a field trip to a local fire station. After the children had an opportunity to examine the fire trucks, the firefighters gear and their quarters, one of the firemen began to talk to them about fire safety. He said, "If you think your house might be on fire, the first thing you should do is go to the door and feel it to see if it is hot."
He continued, "The second thing you should do is fall to your knees." He asked, "Does anyone know why you should get on your knees?" One little boy in the front raised his hand and said, "You get on your knees so you can pray that God will get you out of that mess!" Life is full of hardship. The Lord is our only true help in life.
ILL. - One man said: AFTER BEING on the phone forever with a customer who had been having difficulties with a computer program, a support technician turned in his report: "The problem resides between the keyboard and the chair."
Most of the problems that you and I face in life are with us! We are own worst enemies. We cause us more problems than anybody; consequently, we ALL need to be discipled in some form or another.
Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch reviving their spirit.
We need to make disciples for Jesus and we need to continue to disciple one another anyway we can. We need to win people to Christ and encourage them in Christ! It’s my job and it’s your job because we are HIS disciples!
