Main sermon text covering Iconium, Lystra and Derbe
1 In Iconium, they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.
2 But the disbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.
3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who testified 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 When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them,
6 they became aware of it, and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
7 There they preached the Good News.
8 At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked.
9 He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole,
10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked.
11 When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
12 They called Barnabas “Jupiter”, and Paul “Mercury”, because he was the chief speaker.
13 The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes.
14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out,
15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
16 who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.
17 Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
18 Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the multitudes from making a sacrifice to them.
19 But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
20 But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 When they had preached the Good News to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
22 confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.
23 When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
24 They passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia.
25 When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
27 When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.
28 They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.
God's invisible attributes clearly perceived through creation, so we are without excuse
20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
Love your enemies, he causes his sun to rise on evil and good, be perfect as God is perfect
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Ray walked through Acts 14, tracing Paul and Barnabas across three cities: Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The throughline was the same gospel carried into every place, welcomed by some, violently opposed by others, and never abandoned by the messengers. The service closed with the Lord's Supper, framed by that same message.
What was said
In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas entered the synagogue and presented Jesus as Messiah to people who, by their own scriptures, should have recognized him. A large number believed, both Jews and Greeks. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up opposition, and Pastor Ray paused on that word, a Greek term that always carries a negative force, to arouse against, to inoculate people against the gospel. Even so, Paul and Barnabas stayed longer than they had elsewhere, speaking boldly with reliance on the Lord, until an attempt to stone them forced them out.
They fled to Lystra, where Paul healed a man who had never walked. The crowd, speaking in the Lycaonian language, concluded that the gods had come down and began calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes. The priest of Zeus arrived with oxen and garlands ready for sacrifice. The moment Paul and Barnabas understood what was happening, they tore their robes and rushed into the crowd, insisting they were ordinary men with a message: turn from useless things to the living God who made heaven and earth.
Pastor Ray used that moment to talk about general revelation, what God is doing all the time for everyone, through creation, through seasons, through rain. He drew on Psalm 19 and Romans 1, pointing out that the created world is a constant witness to God's power and nature, and that people are without excuse. The crowds in Lystra were already wired to worship something above themselves. Paul's point, and Pastor Ray's, was that the something they were reaching toward has a name.
The Jews who had driven Paul out of Pisidian Antioch and Iconium followed him to Lystra and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, assuming he was dead. He got up, went back into the city, and left for Derbe the next day. After making disciples in Derbe, he and Barnabas turned around and retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the people they had left behind and appointing elders in every church. Pastor Ray emphasized that they went back into the places that had just tried to kill them.
What they told those new believers on the return visit was not that things would get easier. They said it is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God, echoing Jesus in John 16: in the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have overcome the world. The mission closed with Paul and Barnabas sailing back to Syrian Antioch and reporting to the gathered church everything God had done and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Pastor Ray tied the passage to the return of Florian, who served this congregation for around seventeen years before spending the last two years as a missionary in Romania and is now preparing to move back to Jackson. He also spoke about Roseanne Welch, who went to Kenya as a retired missionary in 1991, whose witness there rippled outward for decades, and who at 91 and living in Rock Springs started a Bible study in her assisted living facility because there wasn't one. Both stories were offered as illustrations of the same pattern running through Acts 14: people entrusted to the grace of God for the work they have been given, and the witness that continues long after they leave.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Paul and Barnabas kept returning to the synagogue first, presenting Jesus to people who already had the law and the prophets. Who in your own life has the most background to recognize the gospel, and how does that shape how you talk with them about Jesus?
The pastor pointed out that the Greek word translated 'stirred up' always carries a negative sense, meaning to arouse or excite people against something. Where have you seen the gospel draw a hard line between people, and how did you respond when that happened to you?
Speaker 1Yeah. Yeah. There's a bit of there's a bit of
Speaker 2Good morning, everybody.
Speaker 1It's alright.
Speaker 2It's great to see you this morning. Would you stand and, join us in song? Here's a a good word from first Chronicles to lead us in a worship. It says this, give the Lord the glory he deserves. That's that's what I'd like to do this morning together as a church body.
Give the Lord the glory he deserves. Worship him in his holy splendor. Would you join us in singing? The the chorus goes, you are holy, great and mighty. The moon and the stars, they declare who you are.
Welcome, Ray.
Speaker 1Y'all can have a seat. I tried to miss the announcements, but missed it by one song. There's not a whole lot to announce this morning. We're trying to streamline this. The clicky clicker is not clicking.
Speaker 2I do have one, though. And that is oh, tomorrow is our last Awana night. And so we're gonna have awards and the Grand Prix race, and it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1So Big deal. The race the race is on tomorrow night. The Grand Prix.
Speaker 3It is. Yep.
Speaker 1So that'll be fun. Vacation Bible School is coming up. Road trip, June twenty third to twenty sixth in the morning, nine to twelve. That's put it on your calendar plan on being a part of that. That's great.
There is room for more volunteers, there's room for more kids, feel free. If you want any other information on anything that's going on, it's right there. Casey McCooey wanted me to announce that we are doing My Sister's Closet, May 31. It's gonna happen May 31 this year. My Sister's Closet, if you know what that is.
I've got Alliance. Men's Alliance is? At 06:30AM here at First B. So Men's Alliance, that's good. I hear my voice.
Do you all hear my voice? Okay. Sorry. It's throwing me off just a little bit. I'll try to ignore it.
So Ted the the missions moment from today, Ted and Kim Rabinold are in the Rukwa Valley, Tanzania, Africa. I don't know if someone else was planning on doing this, but I have seen them recently. We saw them when we were in Kenya. They had had one of their grandbabies that was born and this is hard for me to ignore. One of their grandbabies was fresh born and we met up with them about three or four days after the baby was born in Nairobi.
And we had a chance to spend breakfast with them and just had a great time hearing about all that the Lord is doing in Tanzania. And the next time that we go back, we hope to see them where they actually are serving. Okay. I think that if we sing over it, it'll probably cover it up. Would you all stand and we're just gonna try to drown it out.
How about that?
Speaker 3All throughout my history, all throughout my history, your faithfulness is
Speaker 2And, Lord, if we look back, if we think, if we consider, we truly can see the evidence of your goodness. Thank you, God, for your faithfulness throughout our lives. And, Lord, would you, fill us? Would you fill us with your spirit? Lord, would you fill us with gratitude as we sing to you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Speaker 3And we will
Speaker 2From Revelation 20, it says that we will overcome the enemy by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony. That's how we overcome the enemy by Christ's blood, our faith in him. God, it truly is about you. Thank you, Jesus, for doing what you did. We we have the table set here, and we come to the table.
I pray that you would prepare us. Prepare our hearts right now that when we get to the bread and the cup and it it'll be a bit. But before before we get there, Lord, would you prepare us to know what you've truly done for us? Give us a heart of of of gratitude. In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Speaker 3Nothing comes close. Comes close to the door. Oh, my I think how sweet is he
Speaker 2You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship to give and part of the service, and I'll invite the ushers to come on forward, and we'll continue to sing. Before we do, Ray, may I ask you
Speaker 1to pray? Yeah. I'm a little overwhelmed. Little overwhelmed this morning. The return this time of year when people are coming back, I'm overwhelmed, Lord.
I'm so thankful for the homecoming of so many, and I'm also so grateful. In Jesus name, Lord, we're thankful to have this time together here in this place, but Lord, it's a foretaste of heaven when we see old friends that we haven't seen for a while. And I'm I'm just kinda walking on a cloud this morning. Thank you for resolving the sound issue. I appreciate it.
In Jesus name, Lord, we want to worship you with our lives. We wanna worship you with all of the resources that you've given us. Thank you for the time right now in the service where we do that. Actually, symbolically, whatever we place in these plates, Lord, I pray that you would use it, that you would multiply it to do your kingdom work. I pray, Lord, that it would be the ripples in the water that start here would be felt on the absolute other side of the earth.
In Jesus name, I thank you for the call that you have placed on the life of every soul in this room. I pray lord that you would be effective, that you would reverberate, that there would be echoes. Yeah. Into eternity for all that we do. In Jesus name, I pray that you'd bless this offering to do your kingdom's work, your will, and your way.
Amen. Amen. Amen. Toe Wow. Tapper.
Toe tapper. That's a toe tapper. For those of you who didn't recognize, that's Florine. Yeah. And he kind of snuck up on us.
I I got to see him last night under threat if I told anybody. Not really. He actually just called me first last night and said he was planning on being here this morning. Thank you. Thank you for jumping in.
And it goes along with the sermon. Every week, every week, it's amazing how pertinent God's word is. Also, I see people in the back. There are spaces. It's time for children's church.
There are gonna be more spaces here in a second. Would you please come forward and have a seat up here? You can. You don't have to. I'm not gonna force you, but kids it's time to go.
And they're leaving a lot of space right here. You don't have to, but if you want to, you're welcome. Come on forward. Florian was here, I think seventeen years. Is that right?
Something like that. Seventeen years. And he went to go back to Romania to serve as missionary to his own people for the last two years. So he has been there for almost exactly two years. He's back on a solo mission attempting to secure housing in Jackson.
Please pray for that. Please pray for that. If you got a line on it, let him know. But he's here and kinda as a scout ahead of the full camp moving back towards the end of this month, beginning of the next month. So Violetta and the girls are doing great.
We had we sat in on the missions meeting this morning, surprised them and it took a little longer than we thought. That's why I missed the first song. I'm so glad to be here this morning and we're gonna go into this, a tale of three cities this morning. Iconium, Lystra and Derbe from Acts 14, and I think it'll think it'll tie around. I think I'm gonna skip anything about our Kenya trip because I I will do that some other time, but we're getting there.
A tale of three cities, Iconium, Lystra, and Derby. In Iconium, so if you remember from last week, that's where we ended up was at Iconium. This is the first missionary journey is what we call it. Actually, had been on a couple of missions before that, but this is Paul's first missionary journey. And in Iconium, which is right there, Pisidian Antioch is where they had been and they went from there to Iconium after a little struggle.
And at Iconium, they entered the synagogue of the Jews together. Remember, at Pasidian Antioch, they entered the synagogue first and they presented Jesus as Messiah and to people who had just read the law and the prophets and everything points towards Jesus, they should have recognized him. Some did, some didn't. Anytime you present the gospel, some will accept, some will reject, some will hear more from you later. So remember, last week it was He came in on the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the first week, the crowd that was there said, come on back next week, we've got to hear more of this.
And then everybody showed up, and there was struggle and difficulty. And they move on down the road to Iconium. After shaking the dust off of their sandals, remember that? They sweep the dust off of their sandals. They had presented it to the people who should have known, and he said, we're going to the Gentiles.
And then the next thing we see is here they are in the synagogue. Everywhere he goes, he starts with the people who should have known. Everywhere. So in Iconium, they enter the synagogue of the Jews together, he and Barnabas. John Mark has already gone back to Jerusalem, that'll come up later.
And they spoke in such a way that a large number of people believed, both Jews and Greeks. They stuck to what it said. They were very clear about Jesus as Messiah. That's what they presented. They were very clear about Jesus' unjust death that made justification for all who would ever believe.
They they were very clear about his mistreatment by the government and mistreatment by the Jewish leaders, and that that was what made him Messiah Jesus. And and something that could be recognized, something that could be experienced, and they presented the gospel in a way there in Pisidian Antioch and here in Iconium. They presented it in such a way that a large number of people believe, both of the Jews and of the Greeks. But the unbelieving Jews, the ones who were insisting on their traditions of men and understanding Old Testament as they knew it and their traditions, and they saw this as being very upsetting. So the unbelieving Jews stirred the minds of even the Gentiles, and they embittered them against the brothers.
And he's calling the brothers those who've accepted Christ, you know. So there's immediately a division that happens between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. The unbelieving jurors Jews stirred up the minds. I mentioned last week that this little word, epigeiro, was translated last week as instigated. This week, it's translated as stirred up.
And I I want to say it's not just stirred up, but it's stirred up in a negative sense. There's a way of stirring things up in a good way. Like in Hebrews, you remember, stir one another up into love and good works, different word. This one's always negative in the New Testament. It's always negative in every example throughout Greek history that I have looked up.
To arouse against, to stimulate against, to excite against. So one group of people seeking to persuade people against the gospel, inoculating them against it. Therefore, they spent a long time there. They spent longer in Iconium, it sounds like, than they had in other places. They spent a long time there and they were speaking boldly.
This is both Paul and Barnabas, primarily Paul. He's the main speaker for this little duo. Therefore, they spent a long time there and they were speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord. Amen. And the Lord, it says, who was testifying to the word of his grace.
God was speaking through them about his grace. In the Galatians study on Thursdays, the guys study at lunchtime on Thursdays, there is an emphasis on the grace of God. And how is it that once you've accepted the grace that you would ever walk back into the law? Yet, we tend to do that. All of us tend to do that.
The Lord himself was testifying to the word of his grace and he was granting signs and wonders be performed by their hands, Paul and Barnabas. But the people of the city were divided. Well, they've got one group that's stirring them up against, and the gospel is separating out those who would believe. The people of the city were divided and some sided with the Jews, while others sided with the ones who were sent out, the apostles. And when an attempt was made by the both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, there ought to be a law against this.
They shouldn't act like this. There was an attempt made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers to treat them abusively and to stone them. Now what had happened to Jesus? Same same stuff, same thing. In this world, you will have trouble, Jesus says in John sixteen thirty three.
Well, they became aware of this attempt and they fled. They went to the cities of Laconia, which are Lystra and Derby. Those are two cities. Laconia is another bigger kind of a county maybe. And then they're all in Galatia, like all of these cities and this Lycaonia and Pamphylia and a couple of other places that we've mentioned in Acts thirteen and fourteen.
They're all in Galatia. So they became aware of it. They fled to the cities of Lystra and Derbe right there. This is modern day Turkey and to the surrounding region, there's a surrounding region. The maps help me.
And there, they continued to preach the gospel. That's what they carry with them. They were sent out with a message. Apostle, one who is sent out. They were messengers.
Angels if you will. Angel means messenger. They were carrying the message of the good news of Jesus Christ. We're gonna have communion, the Lord's Supper at the end of the service today. And Paul says, every time that we do this, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again.
They're carrying the message of the gospel that Jesus took it upon himself. The new covenant is in his blood. Old covenant, the old covenant is dependent on what you do with it. New covenant is dependent on your acceptance of it, but Jesus has paid the price. Jesus walked it out faithfully.
It's a guarantee in his blood. There they continued to preach the gospel in Lystra. Okay. Lystra. There we are.
Not too far from Iconium, a man was sitting whose feet were incapacitated. Now he had been disabled from his mother's womb. He had never walked. And this man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul, like I said, was the main speaker for this group.
Paul looked at him intently. We see Paul doing that every once in a while. He looked at him intently and he saw that he had faith to be made well. I know of a couple of y'all in this room that when you see people come through the doors, you look at them intently. I I love that you look at them intently to see them and to greet them, but when you look at them intently and you're praying as you do and say, God, what's I don't know this person's story.
Everybody you meet is fighting a hard battle. He saw he looked at him intently, saw that he had faith to be made well and he said with a loud voice, stand up right on your feet. And the man leaped up and began to walk. The leaped up reminds me of Jesus, you know. It says, and he leapt in the man by the Pool Of Siloam.
He leapt and glorified God. He leapt up and he began to walk, and when crowds saw what Paul had done, they attributed it to Paul. Right? Paul knows better. When they saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice saying in the Lycaonian language.
So does Paul speak Lycaonian? I don't know. He says, they say in the Lycaonian language, the gods have become like men and they've come down to us, a Theophany. Here it is, right in our presence. But they're saying it in a language that probably since he mentioned it, they don't quite understand.
And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus. Zeus. The the seven wonders of the ancient world, one of them was the statue of Zeus. This thing is 40 something feet tall, and it's he's seated on a throne. He's the chief of the gods in the Greek system.
He's sitting with an eagle next to him, and he's, you know, reigning from his throne. And honestly, you see this post, our Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial is based upon this. A lot of them are. A lot of those kind of things. Caesar did the same.
That's a replica. This one's missing. It was destroyed. How many people are worshiping Zeus these days? Not many.
They began calling Barnabas Zeus, and they started calling Paul Hermes since he was the chief speaker. So Paul is the mouthpiece. You've seen Hermes mostly in ads for FTD, florist, and stuff like that. He's the winged feet and winged helmet where he was the messenger of the gods and took messages, whatever. And since Paul was speaking and had healed this guy, that's what they attributed to Paul.
Moreover So so that's why they called him Hermes. Moreover, the priest of Zeus heard about this whose temple was just outside the city, not far away outside of of Lystra, and he brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and he wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowd. This is the best thing that this priest of Zeus has ever seen, ever heard of. And so, he comes, would you accept this Zeus? Now what do you do?
What happens if you if Zeus is not happy with you? Boom. Struck by lightning. He's the God of the sky and thunder and lightning and whatnot. And there's a bit of fear because the Greek gods are capricious.
They don't do good all of the time, and you can't ever tell what's gonna go on. So you have to constantly be sacrificing to keep him happy with you. And even even then, he's apt to go off. But this priest of Zeus, this is a fairly famous painting. While I was in Columbia, South Carolina, this painting was at the museum in Columbia.
It's not there anymore, but I tracked it down. So he's offering and the crowds with him, all these people with garlands, even the oxen have on garlands and crowns. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they didn't understand what was being said, probably because of the language. But when they figured out, oh, they're worshiping us. Now, what happened to Herod Agrippa the first, a few chapters back?
When the people there were sucking up to him because they needed him. And they were there and said, oh, you speak with the voice of a God and not a man. And he did not give credit to actual God. And it says, worms ate him and he died. When some Cornelius bows at Peter's feet and starts worshiping him, Peter says, get up.
I'm a man just like you. As soon as they figured out that the people were worshiping them as gods, they tore their robes. That's a great old testament thing to do. Actually, this painting has a pretty good representation. There they are.
Paul and Barnabas. God, forgive them and forgive us for we didn't understand what they were doing. So that's Saints Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, Bartholomeus, Springberry from 1637. It's a lot darker in person, but I'll brighten it up for you. So they rushed out into the crowd and cried out and said, Men, why are you doing these things?
What are you doing? Get up. Get up from there. No. We're also men.
We are also men. We're just average folks of the same nature as you. There's nothing that makes us any better than you. But we do have this message, and they preach the gospel to them. They take that and they that's their jumping off point.
I understand you're worshiping the situation here, but the situation was caused by God who in him we live and move and have our being, he'll say in Acts 17. This is the great commission from Mark. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. They're preaching the gospel and say, turn. Turn from these useless things, these superstitious tropes that you have and turn to a living God, the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them.
Turn to God. In past generations, this is Paul speaking. In past generations, he permitted all the nations to go their own ways. If you're going to try to save a world, He chose a family. He chose a man, which was a family, which spread from there.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Right? He chose the way to do this. In past generations, he permitted that all the nations go their own ways. Yet, he did not leave himself without a witness.
And that he did good and he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons. Do you recognize that? And the people did. I'm sure recognize that. Jesus says this in the Sermon on the Mount, he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good.
He sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. You've heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. They were actively being persecuted on this and they were still everywhere they went spreading the message, everywhere they went. If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do that.
Don't they do the same if you greet only your brothers and sisters, only the ones that are just like you and believe just like you? What more are you doing than anybody else? Even the nations, the heathens, the Gentiles, do they not do the same, therefore, y'all, you have a higher standard than that. He's calling us to be perfect as God is perfect and the only way to do that is with God inspiring it from within through his spirit by the gospel. Now general revelation is one of the things that you'll read about in a systematic theology textbook.
You might hear about it from time to time. General revelation is what God is doing all of the time to everyone. He's revealing who he is. Psalm 19 says, the heavens tell of the glory of God. Can I get a witness?
Do you all live here? This is amazing and you know people are drawn here. They're drawn here and many of them they're worshiping the creation instead of the creator, but God is using creation. The heavens, look at the sky. Wow.
Look at the stars. Their expanse declares the work of his hands. Day to day, they pour forth speech. Night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech there is and there are no words wherein the voice of God is not heard.
Their line has gone out into all the earth and the words to the very end of the world. Psalm 19 says that the heavens are telling the glory of God. I've got a musical piece that's going in my head right now. Romans one says, for since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes, that is his eternal power and his divine nature have been clearly perceived. That's saying, general revelation is enough.
Just general revelation is enough for you to believe in something bigger than what we can see. It's being understood by what has been made. That's general revelation. So that they and we are without excuse. Even if they knew God, they didn't honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings and their senseless hearts were darkening.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools. If it can't be proven, I'm not going to believe it. Without faith, it's impossible to to please God. They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image we will worship because we were born worshipers. We might worship the wrong thing, and we see in Acts 14 how they are attributing something to something above themselves that's just not so.
The former corruptible man kind of birds, of four footed animals, of crawling creatures, literally the the statue of Zeus has all of those things on it. He gave you rains from heaven and fruitful season satisfying your hearts with food and gladness and even by saying these things only with difficulty. Even when they expressed these, only with difficulty did they restrain their crowds from offering the sacrifices to them. Platform for missionaries and the platform for preachers, sometimes people put you on a higher pedestal. And if you ever start believing that nonsense, it's a real difficult journey.
So glory to God. Glory to God. And that's what they were continually saying. But the Jews came from Antioch, pursuing them. Literally, persecution means those who pursue.
Jews came from Antioch and Iconium to Lystra. Remember, they incited in Antioch, the devout women in prominence and the leading men in the city instigated this persecution against them, and now they're chasing them. From Pisidian Antioch and from Iconium, they come to Lystra, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul. And they dragged him out of the city thinking that he was dead. This I'm sorry.
This still reminds me Every time I do this, it reminds me of the Blues Brothers. This scene where they knocked down the men's hotel and then these two guys just While the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city, and they just dust themselves off, and they get up and they go. The next day, they left with Barnabas for Derby. There they go. 106 miles to Chicago.
Right? No. They're they head to Derby. There it is, not too far away. And after they had preached the gospel to that city, they do it everywhere they go.
After they preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples. What's the great commission from Matthew? Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the father and son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I've commanded you. It's not just teaching them. It's teaching them to follow all that I commanded you.
The way you do that is by doing what he commands you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Remember, we're on a mission from God. We are on a mission from God. It will not be thwarted.
They returned to Lystra. Wait a second. Didn't they just get stoned in Lystra? They did. So they returned to Lystra.
They returned to Iconium. They returned to Antioch. What'd they do there? Hey, maps. Strengthening the souls of the disciples.
Those who were won over, they went back and they embraced them. And they taught them, in this world you will have trouble, just like Jesus said. Encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying, it's through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God. It is not gonna be easy all the time. These things I've spoken to you, upper room discourse, Jesus.
Mentioned it twice already. So that in me, Jesus, you may have peace. Your peace is in him. In the world, you're gonna have trouble. You're going to have tribulation, but take courage, I've overcome the world.
And when they had appointed elders for these cities in every church having prayed with fasting, constantly relying on God, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Amen. The Holy Spirit does the work. He's preparing the soil before you get there. He blesses his word when it's shared.
He blesses when the gospel is shared. In the way you live your life, in the way you live your words, God blesses that humble presentation of the gospel. Having prayed with fasting and entrusted them to the Lord, they appointed elders. This is important. They appointed elders everywhere that they went.
Folks who had received and their qualifications later on that are given for how they did that, but the people that God anointed for ministry in each of these places, they they laid their hands on them, and they commissioned them basically. They passed through Pisidia and they came into Pamphylia. There we are. Pisidia, this time they had done this down to Perga again. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they landed at Perga.
It doesn't really say they spent a lot of time there. The first time it mentions Perga on this trip, but this time they did. They spoke the word in Perga and after that, they went down to Italia, Antolia, Turkey is where this is. It's a coastal, beautiful coastal place. And they went from Perga to Italia, and from there they sailed Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work that they had now accomplished.
Isn't that great? There's a time for a beginning of a mission and there's a time for a return from that mission. Hey, Florine. How are you buddy? He spent a long time pleading with the people there.
He spent a long time serving the people there. I'm sure that there was adversity. I'm sure. But he'd been he was entrusted to the grace of God for the work that he has now accomplished. And he and the girls are gonna be coming back, ain't that sweet?
This is what happens. Italia over to Solucia coastal town and then back up to Antioch. And when they had arrived, and when they had gathered the church together, they began to report all the things that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. I love that. God's will be done.
Amen. And they spend a long time with the disciples. We're expecting that from you, Florine. As God leads for all of us, as God leads. Right?
They spend a long time there with the disciples. That is a beautiful kind of an end to this mission. Now he's got the second, the third, maybe the fourth if you count them that way. You know, they're are there. I had a little history before the Kenya portion of our trip, I think we're going to skip over that, go straight to communion.
I wanted to mention that in our this recent trip to Africa was not just anywhere in the world throw a dart at the map. Nairobi near Nairobi is a place called Lemuru. And in 1991, Roseanne and Darton Welch moved there. They were retired people. And when you're retired, you know, you just get to get to have fun.
Right? They were retired people and what they wanted to do with their lives was go. They only spent eighteen months in Lemuruk, Kenya. But while they were there, so many crazy important things happened and the people held on to it. Now, we will see Paul revisiting some of these places and going through, and I just wanted to say hey to Roseanne actually.
I told her I was gonna do this today and I'm not. They moved to Kenyon's missionaries. They retired. They went to Lemuroo Town and they established a home base at Brackenhurst, which is where we stay when we go back. All of the people who have been serving there since 1991 know Mama Bill, Roseanne, very very well.
In the eighteen months that they spent there in the early nineties, it was something that God brought the gospel into their lives and brought some amazing service into their lives and they got water and hot water and different stuff that the engineer did for them, and the love that Roseanne presents. And I want to say, the witness continues. So Roseanne moved just a year ago, a little less than a year ago, think. Moved down to Rock Springs, and she's been down there. And she's been looking for a church.
She finally found a place that she feels pretty at home. But in the assisted living facility, nursing home where she lives, there was no Bible study, so she started one. She's 91. So 2012, just after we arrived here, Roseanne was talking about Kenya, something that she had not been there since 1991. But after Darton passed, invited Tanya and Pascal to go back where the Pascal was five, six, six.
And Tanya and Pascal went back and that's where they started. In twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, Roseanne and 18 other ladies from this church, and there are about five or six of you here today, Please pray for the 19 ladies of the Tigone team. I went, but I went a couple of days late. Pretty amazing. After they took off here, but before they or when they were taken off here, the airport burned down in Nairobi, the one they're flying into.
They flew in to a tent. Crazy. God did amazing things during that time. God did amazing things there that in 2012, someone who had formerly been in Roseanne's youth group had a vision from God to like a had a an an impression from God that she was supposed to start an Emma girls ministry, a grace ministry for young ladies. And when this team went back a year later, they had the first big celebration of this thing starting, just a few gals.
The next year, Roseanne went back and Kimberly, Fort Asaph went back with her and our family joined them again. But that ministry was getting off the ground and I'm a let Tanya tell you about the ministry at some point in the next week or two. That's it. Would I get the can I get the elders to come forward? We're gonna go into a time of communion and gratitude.
As they come forward, I'm gonna pray and invite the band to come on back up. In Jesus name, Lord, we gather. In Jesus name, we live and move and have our being. In Jesus name, this congregation, this little outpost of the body of Christ, Lord, we're gonna receive the body and blood right here. Thank you, Lord, for doing what you have done.
Thank you for only for what only you can do. And God, I pray that we would be faithful in carrying the gospel with us wherever we go. I pray for a good report. I pray that we would be okay with some accepting and some rejecting and some hearing more later. I pray we'd never stop pleading for those who reject and consider them some who will hear more later.
In Jesus name, I ask that you, Lord, would be honored and glorified. Would you forgive us of our missing the mark? Would you forgive us of our sin? Would you forgive us, Lord? As we turn to the table, we thank you.
Would you bless this little cracker that is a representation of the body of Christ as we distribute it in Jesus name. Amen.
Speaker 3Nothing can separate what the good lord brings together. If you know he
Speaker 1On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, on the same night that he was betrayed, he took bread after supper and after he'd given thanks, he broke it and he said to his disciples there, this is my body which is given for you. He had walked it out complete submission in the flesh, complete submission to the spirit of God. This is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat of it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for carrying out the will of the father by the spirit. You alone are worthy to receive honor and glory and praise. You alone are worthy to open the seals. You alone, Christ alone. Thank you for your blood, absolutely innocent that was shed on behalf of all who would come to believe.
This table is open. Lord God Almighty, I ask that you'd bless each one who would partake of this representation of your blood. Lord, I pray that anyone in the room who knows you and partakes would feel you in a new, more accurate way today than they ever have. And Lord, I pray that if there's anyone in the room that just has to let this pass because it's not what they believe. I pray Lord that you would soften their heart and the influence of a believer around them would reach them for the gospel today.
In Jesus name, ask your blessing on this cup. Amen. We're grateful, Lord. So thankful. Please.
In the same manner, the scripture says, in the same manner that he had taken the bread, he also took the cup after supper. And that was a common cup for them. They're passing it around that table. For us, it's a little plastic cup of grape juice, but it's a representation of the blood that was spilled. Innocent blood shed on behalf of all who would believe.
In the same manner that he took it, he took the cup and after he'd given thanks, he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. They had all been expecting it. The old covenant is very difficult. This is the new covenant in my blood. Take this, Jesus said to them and he says to us, do it every time that you do it in remembrance of me.
Thank you for the salvation that you offer in your blood. In Jesus name, amen. Would you stand with us and do we have another song? We do. We do have another song.
Fantastic. Thank you. Would you stand and we'll sing it?
Speaker 3God almighty. Through your Holy Spirit, conceiving Christ the son,
Speaker 1May the Lord bless and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and may you be a reflection of that to everyone that you meet. In Jesus name and for his sake, amen.
