From
Acts to Revelation
Part
37 – ICONIUM
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
After their first missionary trip to
Antioch, Barnabas and Paul head towards Iconium, and then to Lystra and Derbe.
They are met with many Jews and Greeks
(Gentiles) who believe the message of Christ, but also in every synagogue, they
are also met with opposition from the Jewish leaders.
As long as they are led by the Holy Spirit,
they continue to go from town to town preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As long as they continue to do so, many are
saved.
In sharing the Gospel, it can sometimes be
like the old western, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good – Many are saved and added to the
number of the Church.
The Bad – Those who were once in positions
of authority, the Jewish leaders, lose their positions, and out of Jealousy,
blame the Apostles for the message of Christ.
The Ugly – Time and time again, the jealousy
in the Jewish leaders turns to outward sin, and they try to plot and kill the
Apostles, just as they did Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 14:1-20
Iconium
14 At
Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish
synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of
Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other
Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 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 perform signs and
wonders. 4 The
people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the
apostles. 5 There
was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews,together with their leaders, to
mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and
fledto the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding
country, 7 where
they continued to preach the gospel.
In Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from
birth and had never walked.9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly
at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on
your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they
shouted 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 chief speaker. 13 The
priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and
wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices
to them.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul
heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd,
shouting: 15 “Friends,
why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing
you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the
living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and
everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own
way. 17 Yet
he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving
you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with
plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had
difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and
Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him
outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the
disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.
The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
PRAYER FOR THE HOLY
SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING
I.
THE PATTERN OF PREACHING
a. Paul
& Barnabas would enter a new town
i.
Then preach at the local Synagogue
ii.
Speaking with both Jew and Gentile
b. Many
believed and were added to the number of the Church
i.
Which is not a building, rather the Body of
Christ (Believers)
c. Sometimes
the Apostles would have to show signs and wonders
i.
God allowed the Apostles to do this to
prove to the people they were authorized by God to give this message.
ii.
These signs and wonders could not be
duplicated
iii. Proving
God approved of this message and messengers
d. The
Jewish leaders would then become jealous
i.
With Christ's sacrifice, and the debt of
man paid, the Jewish leaders could no longer lord over the people, holding them
captive to their debt.
ii.
With Jesus becoming the High Priest, the
Jewish leaders were no longer needed, because sacrifice for forgiveness was no
longer needed.
iii. This
almost always caused jealousy instead of celebration, as it should have been.
e. The
leaders would then plot against the Apostles
i.
The Apostles would discover the plots and
have to leave the town
ii.
Going to the next town, where they would
repeat the process of preaching the Gospel.
II.
LYSTRA
a. While
in Lystra, Paul heals a man who has never walked.
b. Witnesses
believe that Paul and Barnabas are the Greek gods, Zues and Hermes.
c. The
people then gather to offer sacrifices to the Apostles
d. When
the Apostles hear this, they tear their clothes.
i.
This was traditionally, one of the ways to
express great agitation
ii.
They were so distraught that they tore
their garments
e. Paul
immediately went to the people to reason with them.
i.
Unlike false prophets and teachers who
allow the followers to deify them.
III. REASONING
WITH THE UNREASONABLE
a. Paul
goes to the people and tries to reason with them
b. Jews,
who had followed Paul and Barnabas from Antioch, showed up, and won the crowd
over
c. The
crowd, in turn, stoned Paul
i.
Thinking he was dead, they dragged his body
outside the city.
ii.
But the Disciples gathered around him, and
he got up and returned to the city.
d. The
next day, Paul and Barnabas left Lystra for Derbe.
CONCLUSION
Following the instruction of
Jesus, to “go into all the world”, meaning to teach the Gospel message
to ALL PEOPLE, regardless of race, color or creed, “baptizing in the Name of
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”, and finally “Teaching them to obey all
that I (Christ) commanded you.”, the Apostles were living in obedience to
Christ.
Regardless of the treatment
they received, they continued to go from town to town sharing the Gospel of
Christ with all they met.
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