5.22.22 Acts 14:8–22 (EHV)
8 In Lystra there was a man who was sitting down because he had no strength in his feet. He had never walked because he was lame from birth. 9 When he was listening to Paul as he was speaking, Paul looked at him closely and saw that he had faith to be healed. 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying 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 main speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates, because he wanted to offer sacrifices along with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Paul and Barnabas heard about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men with the same nature as you. We are preaching the good news to you so that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without testimony of the good he does. He gives you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons. He fills you with food and fills your hearts with gladness.” 18 Even though they said these things, they had a hard time stopping the crowds from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the crowds to stone Paul. When they thought he was dead, they dragged him out of the city. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he stood up and went into the city. The next day, he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 21 After they preached the good news in that city and had gathered many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. They told them, “We must go through many troubles on our way to the kingdom of God.”
When we were using our fireplace, I looked on Amazon and found a hand cranking device that would help get the fire going. It was cheap, and I thought it would work well. Unfortunately, when I got it in the mail I found out that it was only about three inches. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
The same can ring true when it comes to your relationship with God. What do you expect from Him?
What Do You Expect From God?
You should expect greatness! Look at what Paul was able to do with God working through him. He was able to heal a man who was lame from BIRTH. Notice how he JUMPED up right away! What power! God is all-powerful and He can do all-powerful things! So if you take this to its natural conclusion, you might assume that you can expect anything and everything from God, since nothing is impossible for Him. “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
Could it be possible to expect too MUCH from God? Actually, yes, it could, when you expect things that God never promised. Look back to the story of Paul. You would expect a great miracle to work to Paul’s advantage, where the whole town would repent and believe in Jesus. But his miracle didn’t convert anyone. They mistook Paul for Hermes and Barnabas for Zeus, both Greek gods. (Hermes was supposed to have winged sandals and move quickly between the mortal and divine worlds. It goes to show how seriously they actually took their religion. They weren’t just stories about gods. They had actual temples and made sacrifices to these gods in Lystra.) So when Paul performed the miracle, they thought he was one of THEIR gods. Chaos ensued. Nobody was converted at all. Paul ended up getting stoned nearly to death. That certainly wasn’t what Paul was expecting.
This isn’t the only time. When God swallowed Korah and his followers alive, nobody repented. They only doubled down and tried to kill Moses! When Jesus raised Lazarus they only plotted to kill Jesus and Lazarus. Even when Jesus was raised from the dead, the soldiers took bribe money and the teachers of the law bribed them to lie. So here, the crowd turned on Paul and Barnabas in a dime. Miracles were often used to get the people’s ATTENTION, to show them the divine AUTHORITY that the apostles had, so they could tell the people to REPENT and cling to Jesus for salvation. That’s how God promised He would powerful work salvation in people THEN and NOW.
The Word of God is sharp. It calls out the sin of sinners. God doesn’t hold any punches. He condemns and tells us we deserve hell for our sins. It’s supposed to be offensive. It was never meant to be a nice type of message that we enjoy with popcorn and beer in a movie theater. So people get angry when they don’t want to hear it. They fight back. They want you to shut up. Look at the recent case in Finland where the government tried to prosecute a politician and a bishop of a Lutheran church for their statements defending one man and one woman marriage. The liberals wanted these Christians to PAY.
This is how the unbelievers have responded throughout history, and God never promised that He would provide complete protection from people who REJECTED the call to repent. Jesus said the exact opposite in John 15:20,‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. Paul said the same in today’s text, “We must go through many troubles on our way to the kingdom of God.” Even though we have guardian angels, and even though God said He works all things out for our good, it doesn’t mean that only good things will happen to us. Even apart from religious persecution, we still live in a sinful world as well, along with the unbelievers.
I don’t mean to be too harsh on people, but it seems we expect too much from God. When you have someone get angry at God because someone had a heart attack or died of cancer, a natural death in their 50’s or 60’s . . . yes, it stinks. Yes, it’s awful. It’s even more difficult when someone dies suddenly from an accident at a younger age. I get it. It takes time to heal or to learn to live a much different life in the sorrow and loneliness of sickness and death. But God never promised that we’d always be immune from accidents or sickness or death. He promised to rescue us from hell and the Final Judgment through baptism and faith in Jesus. He promised to strengthen us THROUGH the trial. He never promises to keep us clear from all sin and pain in this world. We shouldn’t act as if He betrayed us when these things happen.
If anything, it’s a miracle that these sort of tragic events don’t happen MORE often to MORE people. The false theology of the televangelists appeals to human nature and uses God’s promises to exploit people for their favor and offerings. “God wants you to be rich and healthy. If you have enough faith, you can name it and claim it from God.” They give FALSE EXPECTATIONS. “We must go through many troubles on our way to the kingdom of God.” David didn’t say we walk through a valley of lollipops and sunshine. He called it a valley of the shadow of death. This is the reality. We have to be real with people, as Paul was. If you have a realistic expectation of life, it then will affect the way you respond to troubles in life. God has the hairs of your head numbered. He loves you unconditionally in Christ. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have sins that you need to repent of. It doesn’t mean that He’s going to pamper you.
Imagine if your parents raised you and told you every day how beautiful you were. They praised every painting you made and every song you sang. They homeschooled you and took care of your every need through high school. They told you that you’d be successful at anything you’d do. Then you got in the real world and went to college. How would you react to your first B or C? How would you react when someone ridiculed you or told you that you weren’t all that? You’d be shocked perhaps? Maybe you’d get mad at them? Or maybe you’d be angry with your parents? “Why did you lie to me?”
What a blessing of faith that Paul painted a realistic view of what it’s like to be a Christian in this world, so we know what to expect. You don’t have to be a debbie downer, as if God hates you or that everything is terrible. You shouldn’t overly focus on it and forget to look at the blessings. But you also don’t have to run from it or fear it either. When troubles come you don’t have to act as if God abandoned you or God died. This is exactly how God said it would be. Get ready for it. Pray for strength through it! Pray for courage!
Now let’s think about what Paul did here in today’s text. The next day, he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 21 After they preached the good news in that city and had gathered many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. Imagine all of these disciples in Lystra, seeing Paul come BACK into town. Maybe with a limp. Probably with lumps all over his body and bruises. He had just been stoned to near death! All the Bible says was that after the disciples circled him, he raised and went into the city. The same word is used in Acts 9 when Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. Who knows but that Paul actually did die? Either way, he wouldn’t have looked pretty.
Would you have responded that way? I mean, here you just healed a guy. You were trying to spread the Gospel. And what happens? You get nearly stoned to death?!? Wouldn’t you at least say, “I need a week vacation? Workman’s comp?” But Paul does none of that! The next day he comes strolling into town! Why does he do that? He was, “encouraging them to continue in the faith.” Why? Because Jesus conquered hell and death. The only victory is in Jesus. That’s it.
Later on, if memory serves me correct, the Christians were tested to see if they were loyal to the state or not. All they had to do was to light a little bit of incense as a show of worship to the emperor. But the message behind that incense was, “I worship the emperor.” Why die for lighting a piece of incense? The temptation was to lie or die. Sometimes they had to die some pretty awful deaths, being torn to death by wild animals in the arena. But if they didn’t confess their faith, what kind of hope were they showing the world in the promise of heaven?
The tests continue. If I go ahead and have cake with everyone in the break room during gay pride month in celebration of LGBTQ, then nobody will call me out. I won’t be labeled as hateful. But eating this cake means I support their cause. Am I willing to suffer or not?
Imagine the message this sent to the Christians when Paul RETURNED to Lystra. If Paul was able to be stoned to near death and still come back and preach to us the NEXT day, then maybe I should show some more courage as well. If the Finnish politician found courage to speak the truth in the light of imprisonment, then maybe I should be so afraid either. If God could work through them, then maybe He can work through ME too? Even if Paul were stoned to death, he would still live on the last day. His sins were forgiven and so are yours. He will live and so will I! There is nothing to fear!
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like this was EASY for Paul. It wasn’t like Paul never struggled. He wrote to the Corinthians about the hardships they suffered in Asia,
We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. (2 Co 1:8–10)
We often like to say that God won’t give you what you can’t handle, but that’s not really true. He allows plenty of things to come that are beyond our ability to endure. Could a Christian have a mental breakdown? Could a Christian be completely overwhelmed with the death of a spouse or a parent, or the loss of health or a job? Absolutely. But even in the midst of the breakdown, it doesn’t mean that they have lost their faith or that God stopped loving them. He can still work faith and keep people in the faith who are completely overwhelmed.
Look at what Paul wrote. It was FAR beyond his ability to deserve. Not a little. What was it that saved him? It had to be all God, the God who has raised dead people. And don’t forget what the writer to the Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:10–12, “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” When we turn to Him in the midst of weakness, God wraps us up in His loving arms, and then God wins. This is how God works. Get used to it. Get ready for it.
In the classic movie Rocky 3, Clubber Lang was pummeling Rocky left and right. Rocky was taking punch after punch to the body and the head. Apollo Creed said, “He’s getting killed!” Paulie responded, “He’s not getting killed! He’s getting mad!” Shortly thereafter, with a crescendo of music, Rocky came storming back to win the fight and the crowd went wild. We knew that’s what would happen. We expected it.
In real life boxers have tried to mimic Rocky’s move, and many of them have gotten knocked out cold in the process. With a harsh punch of reality they realized that life isn’t really like that.
So also with us, we take some awful punches in life. We’d like to face it boldly. Shout at it. Say we’re not afraid. But we’re not always so bold. We don’t always get up. We get pummeled, and it hurts. That’s reality. Life doesn’t end in this world with a romantic victory and the crowd cheering. But this should come as no surprise. Paul made it clear to us. We must go through many troubles on our way to the kingdom of God.” Many, not a few. That’s what we should expect. It happened to Paul, to Jesus, and it will happen to us. And that’s why we need to stay in the faith. We cling to the promise that in the end, at the Final Judgment, by the grace of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we get back up with Jesus. God wins, and so do we. We can expect Him to bring us to heaven when we die, and raise us from the dead, by grace, through faith. Thanks be to God. Amen.
