Friday, February 2, 2007

Witness in Iconium Acts 14:1~7

Let's look at this passage verse by verse and find just how Paul and his troupe did evangelism and how churches were planted in this area. When the attempts in the former city of Pisidian Antioch went amuck, this work started out fairly good.
READ ACTS 14:1~7

According to Matthew 28:18-20, the Great commission was: as you GO make disciples. That was the thing Paul did very well. In fact, as he went, he also stayed for a while in these places for evangelism and disciple making. The "why" of that will be made clear later.

They went to the Synagogue, as usual, to worship and ended up preaching there. As we saw last week, it was the custom of visiting Jewish men. Why did he keep doing this-esp after what happened in the last Jewish house of worship? It was his way. By looking at Romans 1:14-17, we can see how deeply he felt for his Jewish brothers who needed to hear and respond to the Gospel.

Romans 1:14-17
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the Gospel also to you who are at Rome.16 I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."



That one truth was lost in the early church for many years. Martin Luther made that 'discovery' while studying his Bible and it changed the way of his life and the Church forever.

Paul believed without a shadow of any doubt that the Gospel needed to be heard and understand by all people. He set out to do that very thing in Iconium. (which became the center of one of the Easter Orthodox Churches we still have today). To live by Faith was his message.

How is that with you? How do you face the 'stuff' of life? Do you trust Him in all your areas of life? Salvation, yes, of course. A life partner, well, that is something else. Life work? Can He take care of ALL your needs? The importance of living by faith comes in many forms. It means to trust Him for your living. Period. Even in economical situations- in health- in the pressures around you PLUS your salvation? Yes, that Faith is supported by the fact that He WILLS you to have that Faith and to use it to live your life in the Power of His Holy Spirit.

We get some help from such passages as Mark 9:20-25

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."23 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."


Maybe you need to ask God the same thing. Why not right now? Go ahead: ask God to help you overcome your unbelief.

Welcome back. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.

How good was Paul's preaching? You can well believe that the Lord used his background of his knowledge of Scriptures. A few days after he came to Christ, he was preaching up a storm! He was not only full of knowledge of the Things of God but also he was filled with the Spirit of God. Can't do this work without His Spirit. In truth, you can for a season but you will either fall and you will fail. And the man was with integrity.

A message's truth is judged by the messenger's integrity. Looking at people in the public world and you might see what I mean. The expression, “What ever happens in a politician's private life is his own affair; it only concerns the public when it affects their performance in office.” I can't see how to separate the two. What you do and what you teach/preach/ and even advocate does effect the condition of your message.

This was the case with Paul and Barnabas; their lives were an open book. Their message was their lifestyle.

Paul's teaching was so effective that both sides of the room believed. His message was not one thing for the Jew and another for the Gentile. The message was the same. The basic message of Salvation is only found in Jesus was good for the growth of the Church then and it is good for the growth of the Church today.

That salvation is in Jesus, and we appropriate, or receive it by our belief in (trust in, reliance on) Him alone.Well, the success here was indeed refreshing. After he was kicked out of the last place they were at, this much success was good to experience. It became Paul's practice to stay-when allowed-in a location for an extended length of time. He would be strengthening the churches and working in other areas where outreach had already showed promise. Maybe it was good then, that he was kicked out of Pisidian Antioch so that these in Iconium who would believe could. God's ways are not our ways after all "a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed."

In fact, later we learn that the group was about half the population of that city. I could not find how big the city was but it was smaller than Ephesus and Srymura. But half of any city would be huge!

Think about it: Tokorozawa has about 348,000 people in it. Half that number would mean 170,000 believers! That would mean that 5,312.5 people would be coming to any of the 30 churches in this city. How could we do that? Want to try or would that be impossible?

Remember back in Mark 9: 23 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."?


Because of persecutions and sufferings, Paul purposely stayed there and continued with the ministry. He was able to do this because he relied on the Lord. When faced with difficulties in ministries we need to rely completely on the Lord and keep moving on with the task. We should not quit for the Grace of the Lord is sufficient to see us through.

Both men and their group were attacked once again. Once again, the unbelieving Jews gathered to their side some Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. In truth, they made their souls evil against them to the point of making plans to do them physical harm: to stone them!

This is certainly true in areas of the world where the Christian population is in the very low numbers or even in status quo. The lesson we can learn for Paul's group is that we must remain faithful-no matter the numbers against us. The attack was toward the missionaries and not against the local believers.

As in physics, I am told, that every action develops an equal and opposite reaction, so the spiritual climate in the preaching of the truth will always encounter opposition.

Back in Dr. Luke's first letter, he reported in chapter 8:12 “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.”

Where belief is there is also darkness. When God moves, so does the enemy of the Lord.

1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.


So, be careful out there. In your relationships, keep it pure. In your social encounters, keep it above board. In all things, keep your heart honest.

Now, comes a wonderful verse:

3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.

Again, Paul is interested in depth of Christian character and the willingness to teach solid teaching based on the Word of God. He was in the business of making dedicated followers of Jesus. He spent time going over the teachings of the Lord with profound boldness and courage. This was to prepare the young believers for what will be coming after them real soon in the form of widespread persecution.

The Lord confirmed the Message with His Grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wondersI can see a pattern here. Whenever God's message is exercised with power and truth and that is felt and embraced, BECAUSE He is there, there are signs and wonders. As long as the Gospel is central and present, His Holiness, His Holy Spirit is bearing witness to His Truth and to His Faithfulness.

His Grace then has room to work. His Grace then has a conduit of His pleasure to spread His Message into the hearts of those who are present.

Remember the time when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched Jesus? He felt the power go from Him. God's Grace was present and there was the ability of Christ to heal-a miraculous sign-a wonder.

Many could see yet some did not come to faith. Because God was present there, He was able to touch people's lives-get into their souls, as He moved among them.

The signs and wonders were there to confirm the reality of the salvation message. Their purpose is to establish the Gospel Truth in its full and genuine authority. God raised Jesus from the dead and He was present right there in Iconium for all to see. And that brought some problems.

The city was divided. Some fell on the side of Paul's group and some on the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. We spoke about mob violence before and this could get pretty ugly. I have never seen this personally but others have. We have read accounts of mobs breaking into churches in some countries and dragging the worshipping people into the streets where they hacked them to death in front of a number of witnesses and no one said a thing to stop them.

Many of our Brothers and Sisters around this world are suffering such things every day. Makes you want to stop and think---doesn't it? Am I ready for that? The fact that P & B moved out as in verse 6.

6 "But they found out about it and fled to … Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the good news”

…was not being a coward but prudent and practical. They would keep on doing what they had done in the next city as the Lord kept opening doors of opportunities and guiding them to people who are open to the Message of Christ. Didn't give up.

Shortly afterwards Paul returned to organize the church he had founded (Acts 14:20-back to Derbe; 16:2 to Lystra).

1. They would keep speaking words to edify the young church.

2. They would be bold in their own faith by showing their perseverance.

3. The Lord would show His divine confirmation of their message with miracles.

4. They would show tactical prudence in the face of opposition.

5. and they will be persistent in witnessing to the Truth of God's Message of Grace and Love.

Giving today's world-do you see any evidence of such behavior today in the church? Places where the good suffer, where they are jailed and beaten? Look with me this last verse. Hebrews 11:33-40

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Does that want you to take greater risks for God?God has planned something better for us who believe.

The Just are saved by Faith.

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