Let Your Voice Be Heard!
The Book of Acts - Part 46
Acts 14:1-20
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - June 15, 2014
*Life changing words: Hearing your boyfriend ask, "Will you marry me?" Answering "Yes!" or "No." Both of those answers are pretty life-changing. How about hearing your wife say, "I'm pregnant." That's life-changing!
*But the greatest life-changing words are the words of the gospel: God loves you. Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins. Jesus rose again from the dead. Jesus will save you. These are the most life-changing words anyone can ever hear. And Christians, we must let people hear this good news from us! Tonight's Scripture helps us see why.
1. First: Let your voice be heard, because people will still believe in Jesus.
*Many people will believe and be saved. Verse 1 reminds us of this wonderful truth. There the Word of God says: "Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed." Many believed. They trusted in the Lord, and they were saved, because somebody let their voice be heard.
*What an infinite blessing: To be saved and forgiven! To have eternal life! To be part of the family of God! To have a home in Heaven!
*Can you remember what it was like to be lost? Think of life without Jesus Christ, a life that is really not alive. A two-dimensional shell of a life in a three-dimensional world: That's what life is like without Jesus. But Christians: We are truly alive! We are saved, because somebody let their voice be heard. And people all around us need to hear.
*Richard Pfeil challenges and encourages us with these words: "I wonder sometimes whether the myths in our heads are really true, the myths in our churches that people don’t really want to hear about Christianity, the myth that people are satisfied with their lives, that they have everything they need, and don’t need the Lord in their lives. . ."
*Then Richard said: "When I look at the early church, they always spoke out about Jesus Christ. Throughout the history of the last 2,000 years, people have discovered that they do need Jesus. People have listened, and they will listen. People have responded, and they will respond. . . And every time the church caught fire and talked about their faith, people began to listen." (1)
*Bruce Larson gave this testimony about an unexpected salvation. It was a neighbor of his in Sanibel Island, Florida. And Bruce said, "I had a neighbor in his eighties who had been a vice-president for McGraw-Hill, one of the great publishing firms of our land. He was a brilliant businessman. He was a leader in his Episcopal church, and on the city council in Sanibel. He was, respected, and loved by all.
*One weekend, he went off to a renewal conference with a bunch of lay people who began praying with him and talking about Jesus. This beautiful man comes home transformed and says to his neighbors and friends, 'I met Jesus!' 'What happened to you?' they ask. He says, 'I don't know. I fell in love.'" He fell in love with the Lord God Almighty. He fell in love with Jesus Christ! "'He's always been a good man,' his neighbors said, 'but now he's a new man.'" (2)
2. Let your voice be heard, because people will still believe in Jesus, and because people are still belligerent against Jesus.
*Many people are belligerent against our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And they are doing everything they can to poison other minds. We can see the poison spread in vs. 2-7:
2. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.
3. Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4. But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
5. And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them,
6. they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.
7. And they were preaching the gospel there.
*Those unbelieving Jews were hard-hearted and belligerent to the truth about Jesus. They also tried their best to poison other people's minds in Iconium. And the same kind of thing is going on today.
*You may remember the story from last Christmas about an atheist organization that put up 55 billboards around Sacramento, California to promote their unbelief. It was the Sacramento chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. This is the same group that has instigated so much anti-Christian bigotry in our military. Those billboards last Christmas had a big picture of a typical Nativity scene, with the star overhead, and the three Wise Men headed toward the manger. But the main caption said: "You KNOW it's a Myth." (3)
*Church: We know it's NOT a myth! That's why we must let our voices be heard. But lost and belligerent people are doing all they can to poison other people’s minds.
*James Hewett gave another example of how God's determined enemies work. This happened years ago, when James was serving the Lord in Miami. And James said: "While working among Cuban Americans in Miami, I frequently heard the following story:
*Shortly after the Communist revolution in Cuba, there were strong attempts to turn the people away from God. In elementary schools, Communist teachers would ask their students whether God could live up to His promises or not. Of course, the students said 'Yes.'
*The teacher would then use a deceitful trick to make her case that God was weak. The teacher would tell the students to pray very hard for some candy. After ten minutes, the teacher would ask if anyone received any candy. The students responded with a sad 'No.' Then the teacher would tell the students to ask the Communist state for candy. And when the children did, the teacher would go around the room filling the students' hands with candy." (4)
*What a monstrous thing to do! And you may think, "Well, that could never happen here." But it is happening here! There are many people in our country today who are just as opposed to Jesus Christ. Belligerent people are poisoning other peoples' minds. What should we do? The same thing Paul and Barnabas did here. They kept speaking out for the Lord everywhere and every way they could.
*When the unbelieving Jews started poisoning the Gentiles' minds, vs. 3, says, "Therefore they (Paul and Barnabas) stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord." In other words: The reason Paul and Barnabas "stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord" was because those unbelievers were poisoning people's minds against Jesus Christ.
*Then in vs. 5-6, under the leadership of the Lord:
5. . . when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them,
6. they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.
*Yes, they had to move on, but in vs. 7, they kept speaking out for the Lord: "They were preaching the gospel there."
3. Let your voice be heard, because people are still belligerent about Jesus, and because God is still big.
*Our God is just as big today as He ever was! Back in vs. 3, the Lord "was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands." Then in vs. 8-10, something else special happened:
8. . . a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked.
9. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,
10. said with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!'' And he leaped and walked.
*You may say, "I wish God would give signs and wonders like that today." And we do live in a different day. The key to understanding these miracles is back in Matthew 10:1. There the Bible tells us that when Jesus "had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease."
*Acts 14:3 tells us that God also gave this kind of power to Paul and Barnabas. It was a wondrous dispensation of God's power to miraculously confirm the truth about Jesus Christ. And it's not exactly like that today. If it was, then the headline in tomorrow's paper would be: "M.D. Anderson emptied of all patients!"
*God may be working in a different way today, but let me ask you something: Did God give up some of His power? -- Of course not! Our God is just as big today as He ever was! And I can tell you that God is giving some signs and wonders today, especially in places where Christians suffer the kind of violence and abuse that threatened Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14.
*Our International Mission Board's monthly newsletter for students published this report in December 2001: "In the Western world, we often limit God to revealing Himself through sermons, Bible studies and the advice of godly counselors, but we discount dreams and visions as suspect. By contrast, many people in other countries, including most of the Muslim world, consider dreams and visions as standard vehicles through which God will speak to them.
*Speaking at Two Rivers Baptist Church recently, Dayna Curry, one of the two women jailed by the Taliban for sharing Christianity, said that God is reaching Afghan Muslims through their dreams. Curry said that an Afghani woman she knew was under stress, wondering how to feed and clothe her 8 children. One night, the woman had a dream that Jesus walked into her home, placed his hand on each of their heads and told her 'not to worry because I will be their father.' The woman 'came to us and wanted to know how to get closer to Jesus,' Curry said." (5)
*Here's part of a testimony from Campus Crusade for Christ dated April 25, 2000: "Again, I am in awe. Something is happening that defies human logic. In a very restricted and closed Middle Eastern nation, three Muslim men contacted a former Campus Crusade for Christ worker. Each man told of having experienced a powerful vision. They saw a man with a radiant face. He was clothed in a robe of pure white and surrounded by a brilliant light of glory. He told them, 'I am Jesus. I am the way. You need to believe the Bible and believe in Me.' And each man told of seeing the same vision for 17 days in a row.
*Together they went to their Muslim leader and asked for help. The mullah advised them, 'I have my own firm views of Jesus. But if you want to know who He really is, you need to find a Bible and read it for yourselves.' They followed the mullah's advice, found a Bible, studied it, discovered God's way of salvation and gave their lives to Christ!" (6)
*Thinking that all Christians came to Christ through visions, these new believers innocently asked the Campus Crusade worker, "When was the last time you saw a vision of Jesus?" They were surprised when he told them that he had been a Christian for 25 years and had never seen a vision of Christ.
*We too may never see a vision like that, but let me ask you this: How many of you know of something that happened to you or someone you know that just had to be a miracle? How many of you have seen an answer to prayer where you knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that God had intervened? There was no way out if God didn't intervene, but He did! And let me tell you again that if you brought your Bible tonight, you are holding a miracle in your hands!
4. Let your voice be heard, because God is still big, and because people are still blind to the truth.
*In vs. 11-13, the people of Lystra were still blind to the truth. They jumped to the wrong conclusion in the biggest way, and to put it in context, please listen again to vs. 5-13:
5. And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them,
6. they (Paul and Barnabas) became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.
7. And they were preaching the gospel there.
8. And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked.
9. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,
10. said with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!'' And he leaped and walked.
11. Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!''
12. And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
13. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.
*How did this happen? William Barclay helped us understand with this background: "The explanation of their being taken for gods lies in the legendary history of Lycaonia. 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.
*It was a total piece of fiction, but that's what they believed. So when Paul healed the crippled man the people of Lystra were determined not to make the same mistake again. Barnabas must have been a man of noble presence, so they took him for Zeus the king of the gods. Hermes was the messenger of the gods and, since Paul was the speaker, they called him Hermes." (7)
*Lot's of people are about that far off today. "Gaia" was the Greek goddess who personified the Earth. And today there is a "Gaia Movement" of far-out environmentalists who believe that the earth is a super-organism. In other words, they believe that the earth itself is alive. And this ridiculous theory has gained much support in the environmental movement.
*A "Bloomberg News" article from April of 2007 reported on a so-called "green" hotel in California. And the article said: "Visitors to the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa won't find the Gideon Bible in the nightstand drawer. Instead, on the bureau will be a copy of 'An Inconvenient Truth,' former Vice President Al Gore's book about global warming. They'll also find the Gaia Hotel equipped with waterless urinals, solar lighting and recycled paper as it becomes California's first hotel certified as 'green,' or benevolent to the environment." (8)
*When people reject the Word of God, they will turn to the most ridiculous beliefs, but notice what Paul and Barnabas did. In vs. 14-18 they passionately told people the truth:
14. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out
15. and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,
16. who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.
17. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.''
18. And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.
5. Let your voice be heard, because people are still blind to the truth, and because eternity still hangs in the balance.
*Things definitely took a turn for the worse in vs. 19-20:
19. Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there (i.e. to Lystra); and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
20. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
*What would make Paul keep speaking the truth about Jesus Christ? What would make him be willing to even be stoned? What would make him willing to get up and go right back to the place where he was stoned? It was because Paul had such great love for the Lord and great love for the lost.
*But here's another way to say it: Paul knew that eternity was hanging in the balance. No matter what else people may do in the next week or year or in a whole lifetime, nothing matters more than being ready to leave this world. Eternity is waiting out there for every soul. It's going to be Heaven or Hell forever.
*And Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven, so Paul had to let his voice be heard. And we must let our voices be heard, because eternity hangs in the balance.
CONCLUSION:
*Do you know Jesus? Most of us can joyfully say, "Yes!" And if not, you can receive Him right now. And you must, because your eternity hangs in the balance.
*Then let me ask you to do three things as soon as possible, three practical things to let your voice be heard:
[1] Invite someone to church.
[2] Invite some children to VBS...
[3] And tell someone what God has done in your life.
*May God help us all to let our voices be heard, because eternity hangs in the balance.
*Would you please bow for prayer.
(1) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon: "The Church You've Always Longed for: Captures the Heart of the Community" by Richard Pfeil - Acts 11:19-30
(2) Adapted from Bruce Larson: "What about Sudden Conversion?" - Preaching Today, Tape No. 72 - Found in "Bible Illustrator for Windows" - Topic: Change - Date: 4/1998.1282 - Title: Surprising Sudden Conversions
(3) http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/02/Atheists-Start-Sacramento-Billboard-Campaign-As-Christmas-Season-Begins
(4) James S. Hewett, "Illustrations Unlimited" (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 110-111 - Found in "Bible Illustrator for Windows" - Topic: Teaching - Index: 1778-1782 - Date: 7/1996.333 - Title: Differing Perspectives
(5) online - thetask_orgstudentseNewslettersFall01_12
(6) The testimonies are direct quotes from articles in the newsletters of "The Jesus Film Project" (A Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International; P.O. Box 72007; San Clemente, CA 92674-2007) (MUSLIMS SEE VISIONS OF JESUS - April 25, 2000 - Paul Eshleman, Director of The JESUS Film Project) - Source: www.whenistherapture.com/miracles.html
(7) Adapted from "BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT)" by William Barclay, Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 William Barclay - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Mistaken for Gods at Lystra - Acts 14:8-18
(8) "California Hotels Go Green with Low-Flow Toilets, Solar Lights" By Ari Levy and Carole Zimmer - April 27, 2007 (Bloomberg)
