Acts 14V21-28 - Sam Watt (31st May 2026)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

And we're starting from verse 21, which starts with they. So just so you know where we are, we're with Paul and Barnabas, who are missionaries of the early church, and they are in the city of Derby. It would be great at some point later to read ahead, read what has already happened in ver in chapter 14, but I'm going to go from verses 21 to 28. So they preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to return to the true faith. We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, and with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia. And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles, and they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Heavenly Father, thank you that you are a speaking God. Father, we pray that as we look at your word now that you would speak to us. Please help us to understand clearly what this part of Acts is talking about. In Jesus' name. Amen. I don't think I'm muted. Sorry? Yeah, good. Uh do any of you know what this sign means? Men at work, exactly. It's uh it's a sign which uh shows drivers that there are construction workers around. And often where I live, the council seems to need to dig up the road for one reason or another. I'm sure it's I'm sure it's similar around here. Because the sign is constantly up. Men at work. But there are also lots of times where the sign has been put up, there's the the the temporary traffic lights, the road is fenced off, there's a big hole in the road, but there is no sign of anyone doing anything. And it seems like it can be weeks before anyone actually turns up to do any work. And maybe sometimes that's how we view God. We are told that God is at work in this world. We see the sign telling us the God is at work, we we see the mess, but very little sign of God actually doing anything. Well, we're at the end of Paul's first missionary journey today, and right at the end of this journey, Paul gives an account to his sending church of all that God had done by the Lord Jesus through him. So today we're gonna see through Paul's experience some answers to the questions. Is God at work? How is God at work? But before we dig into this story, it's important to set the context of where we are in the book of Acts as a whole. So Acts was written by a doctor called Luke, and it's part two of a story. Part one was the Gospel of Luke, the eyewitness account of the life and the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And right at the end of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24, verse 47, Jesus is speaking to his disciples, and he says that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in Jesus' name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Then when we get to the book of Acts, the story picks up where he left off. Acts 1, verse 1 and 2 says, In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven. Acts is the story of what Jesus continues to do now that he is in heaven. Jesus, who is God, is still at work in this world. And chapter 1, verse 8 summarizes much of the story of Acts. It says, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria unto the ends of the earth. Acts tells us that God is at work through the Lord Jesus in his world. But it can be hard to believe that. We look around at the world and we see wars which show no sign of stopping. We see disease and hunger and poverty and death. We've been praying for that friend for years, but they don't seem to be any closer to believing in Jesus. We've been fighting that same sin for years, but we feel like we're losing. We've been praying for mission work in a specific part of the world for years, but there doesn't seem to be any fruit. We've been struggling to find time to read the Bible and to pray, or to want to do those things, and yet we seem no closer. We've had friends turn away from us, or loved ones die. It's not hard to see why we might look at the world out there, to look at our own lives, and to think it's just like those men at work signs. All the promises, all the mess, no sign of any work. Or maybe you're still investigating the Christian faith and you have questions. Is God real? Does God do anything? Does it make any difference whether or not God is real? Well, wherever we are, I trust and pray that the risen Lord Jesus, who is still at work in this world, will open our eyes and show us wonderful things from his word as we look at this section of Acts this morning. We're going to see two things about God's work in this world. The first is that God is at work through hardship. Have a look down, verse 21. They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, and with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. When I was at school, one of my sports coaches was an Olympic medalist. And when he told someone that they should change their technique, people listened. Had been to the very highest level, he knew exactly what he was talking about. We knew that he knew what he was talking about. And so when he said something, we listened. His record proved that he should be listened to. And it's similar here with Paul. When Paul says that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, Paul is someone who doesn't just talk the talk, he also walks the walk, so we can trust him. So far on this first missionary journey, Paul has had abuse heaped on him in chapter 13, verse 45. He's been persecuted and expelled from a city, chapter 13, verse 50. There was a plot to ill-treat and stone him in chapter 14, verse 5. And then in a different city, he was stoned and he was left for dead in chapter 14, verse 19. So when Paul talks about hardships, he knows what he's talking about. And this is just the start for Paul. Later on in his work, he'd be flogged and beaten and shipwrecked. Here's a map of the route that Paul and Barnabas took on this first missionary journey. So they started in Antioch in Syria on the right hand side by the gold dot and then followed the red line. They went through Seleucia, Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Antioch. I'm confusing this is a different Antioch to the one they started. Iconium, Lystra, and Derby. And our story starts with them in Derby. Their goal is to return to Syrian Antioch, that gold dot. And you've got to remember here that they've been mistreated and even stoned in many of the cities that they've been through on the outbound journey. So I think in their position, I would be very tempted to go the logical route home, heading east, going through Paul's hometown of Tarsus, and quickly getting back to their sending church in Syrian Antioch. But instead, they follow the blue line. They head in the opposite direction, back through the cities which have recently tried to kill them. Paul and Barnabas understand something about hardship. They know that opposition doesn't mean there's a closed door to the gospel. They know that God is at work through hardship. And their concern is for the new churches they've founded. If we become a Christian expecting that a Christian life will be easy, then we're in quite a dangerous position. Because when hardships or suffering comes, and it will, then we're tempted to think that something's broken, something isn't working with our faith. Is our faith lacking something? Am I doing it wrong? Is the Bible wrong? As we look at a world where there's suffering out there, and often suffering in our own lives, we can doubt that God is at work. But we see here that hardship doesn't mean God is absent. Instead, it's through hardship that we enter the kingdom of God. Verse 22. Now we need to be slightly careful here, because when Paul talks about entering the kingdom of God in this context, he doesn't mean earning the right to salvation. And we know that because Paul is talking to people who are already believers, they've already trusted in the Lord Jesus. He's encouraging them to remain true to their faith. And many other places in the Bible explicitly tell us that we can't earn our salvation. It's only by trusting in the Lord Jesus. If you're trusting in the Lord Jesus now, then there will be a day in the future when Jesus makes all things new and removes everything which is wrong with this world. Between now and then, we should expect hardship. That's what Paul means, that hardship is the path that all Christians will go through as we wait for that future day. Paul and Barnabas retrace their steps through these cities because they want the disciples to remain true to the faith and that they know there are dangers. In the face of hardship which might threaten their faith, Paul and Barnabas warn the believers. They warn the believers so that they have realistic expectations and aren't disturbed or confused when suffering comes. Imagine that your best friend has gone to the Australian Outback for three months. Now, it's incredibly remote, there's no phone signal, there's no internet, they've been gone for a month, and you haven't heard anything from them for an entire month. You've lost so much you want to talk about, you cannot wait to see them again. Now picture two different scenarios. In the first scenario, you already know that there's still gonna be two months before they're back. So it's hard to wait, but it's manageable. But in the second situation, you don't know when your friend is getting back. You think it's probably any day now, but they don't come today. Tomorrow you're half expecting them to walk through the door, but they don't come tomorrow. Every day for the next two months, you're half expecting them to come and they don't. Then finally, two months later, they arrive. Now, in both situations, you've had to wait exactly the same amount of time. But in one, you've had realistic expectations from the start, and it's so much easier to cope. And a similar thing is happening in our story. If we're not expecting hardship, then when it comes, and it will come, it can be crushing, bewildering, confusing. What's gone wrong? Paul and Barnabas want the believers to know that hardship will come, so that when it does, they can cope. Maybe that's a message that some of us here also need to hear. Some of us, I imagine, are currently going through tough times. All of us will at some point in our lives. That shouldn't surprise us. Paul and Barnabas warn the believers so they're not surprised or confused when suffering comes. But they also strengthen the church. If you've ever read through the book of Acts, it's remarkable just how central the church is to God's work in this world. Paul and Barnabas are not doing a solo mission. They are commissioned and sent out by the church in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas don't just leave behind believers in the cities they visit, they leave behind churches. The normal pattern for the spread of the gospel in Acts is that members of churches go and tell other people the good news, and then new believers join a church so they can be built up in their faith. In the face of hardship, Paul and Barnabas are concerned for the health of the churches they leave behind. So, verse 23, they appoint elders in each church to ensure that the churches continue to grow and be strengthened once they've left. Christians aren't meant to live the Christian life alone. And that's particularly true when we're facing hardship. Having the support of the church in the most difficult times can be one of the best ways to keep going. But it can be difficult. Often the times where we most need the church are also the times where we least feel like we want the church. But it will help us enormously if in the face of hardship we don't neglect this help that God has given us. God is at work through hardship. And as Paul and Barnabas come to the end of their first missionary journey, they return to their sending church. Naturally, the church wants to hear how it's gone. Verse 27, they give a report. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported dot dot dot. Now, if you've been on this journey, I wonder how you would report back. I think I might be tempted to say something like this. Well, it was a bit of a mixed success. Some people believed, but lots of people really didn't like our message. We had to run away from loads of cities because their hearts were so hard. In one city, they even stoned me and left me thinking I was dead. But that's not what they say. Here's what they actually report: they reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. In the midst of extreme suffering and persecution, Paul and Barnabas don't see that as a failure. They report an open door of faith, they report the wonders of God at work. So often I'm tempted to view really very mild hardship and suffering as a closed door to the gospel. If I've tried to share the gospel with a group of friends and one of them is interested in hearing more, but one of them doesn't like it and yells at me. I often think of that as a closed door to the gospel. But time and time again in the Bible, we see gospel fruit and opposition going side by side. Opposition doesn't necessarily mean a closed door to the gospel. God is at work through hardship. And friends, this shouldn't surprise us. As Christians, we want to be more like Jesus. And Jesus' life was characterized by hardship. He was born in a dirty stable. As an infant, the king tried to murder him. So his family became refugees. There was opposition throughout his ministry. And right at the end of his life, he was betrayed by his friends and publicly humiliated in one of the most horrendous deaths imaginable. His life was saturated in hardship. And yet, clearly, God was at work in his life. The lame walked, the blind could see again. And ultimately, his death meant that there was a way for sinners like us to be saved from God's wrath. As Christians, hardship in our life doesn't mean that Jesus has abandoned us or anything's necessarily gone wrong. It might just mean that we're walking in obedience to the Lord Jesus. And often it's through the toughest times that we grow most in godliness, that we grow most in love with the Lord Jesus. God works through hardship, not just in the presence of hardship, but actually using hardship for our good. What an incredible comfort that is. When we next go through difficult times, we don't have to worry that God has lost control. We can rejoice that God is working in and through the difficult things for our good. What a joy. God is at work through hardship. Secondly, and more briefly, we see that God is at work among every group of people. Throughout the Old Testament, God's people had been the Jewish nation. Jesus' first disciples were all Jews. And by the time we get to this point in Acts, most of the evangelism had been done by Jews to other Jews. The church was mostly a single ethnicity, a single nation. But that changed. God's people changed from a movement within Judaism to be a worldwide church with people from every race and ethnicity. Less than 1% of Christians today are Jewish, compared with nearly 100% in the very early church. And it's really important that we understand that this was always God's plan. Because if we don't understand that, then we might be troubled by doubts. We might worry that God's not really in control. Since his initial plan didn't work, he's had to create a new one. He's had to change tack because he couldn't create a people the way he initially intended. And if we think that, then we'll worry that God's not really in control. How can we trust that God is at work if he's not in control? Or we might worry that God has changed his mind. Sure, God's in control, but maybe his initial plan turned out to not be such a good idea. He went with a different approach. And if God could change his mind on this, then he could change his mind about other things as well. Maybe he no longer wants to work in the world in the same way. And if we believe that, then we cannot get any certainty from the Bible about anything. Because how could we trust that God is the same now as he was then? So it's really important that we can see that all nations becoming part of God's people was always God's plan so that we're not troubled by doubts. We can trust that God is in control. But thankfully, God tells us of his plans in advance throughout the Bible. Right back in the very first bit of the Bible in Genesis and throughout the Old Testament, God promises that blessing won't just be for the Jewish nation, that he's going to create a new people for himself, from every people group. And then in the New Testament, like we saw earlier, at the end of Luke, Jesus says that the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations, not just the Jewish people. Then again, at the start of Acts, we see this promise that the gospel will go to all nations. Then again, in Acts 9, which tells of Paul's conversion, we see it again. Listen to these words from there, talking about Paul. God says, This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. God says two things. He says that Paul is going to proclaim his name to the Gentiles, i.e. to the non-Jews, and that Paul is going to suffer for him. And throughout the rest of Acts, those two things are exactly what we see time and time again. God has planned and purposed his work millennials. Year before it takes place. And he tells us of his plans in advance throughout the Bible. So we can trust that God is indeed at work. He's in control and he doesn't change his mind. The gospel going to all nations has always been God's plan. The gospel going to all nations is also all God's work. Have a look down at verse 27. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. They reported what God had done through them. How God had opened a door of faith. Now Paul and Barnabas had done their part. They'd been obedient to what God commanded. But fundamentally, it's not their work, it's God's. I find that a massive relief because God is the same now as he was then. He can and does work now as he did then. So if I'm struggling to share the gospel with people, as I often do, I can pray and entrust it to God. I can't change anyone's heart and convince them of how good the gospel is. God can. I can't open a door of faith. God can. And this has profound implications for telling people about Jesus. I sometimes find it's terrifying telling certain people about Jesus. It feels so weak. How can I possibly convince them that it's true? I can't. God can. At this point in Acts, the Jews were the logical people to become Christians. They were the ones who knew the Old Testament. They had a similar worldview. They were expecting and longing for a Messiah. But God is able to open a door of faith in anyone's life, not just the likely people. And by God's work, through Paul and Barnabas, floods of unlikely believers joined God's people. So I wonder who in your life do you think is the least likely to ever become a Christian? Maybe it's a relative who's heard the gospel so many times that flat out just isn't interested. Maybe it's your boss or your colleague who is so angry against God and doesn't want to hear a word of the gospel. Maybe it's your child who grew up hearing the gospel in church. They think they know what it's about, but they would rather run after short-term pleasures. Maybe it's a neighbor whose life seems so comfortable and well put together that they feel that they have no need for God. Whatever category of person you have in your mind as the toughest gospel nut to crack, remember that God is at work among all groups of people, Jews and non-Jews, rich and poor, all ethnicities, all nationalities, all backgrounds, all temperaments. God is at work among all groups of people. And because it's God's work, we can share the gospel with everyone, knowing that all who are appointed for eternal life will believe. For a few of us, maybe that looks like packing up and physically moving to an area with less gospel witness, either in the UK or abroad, doing cross-cultural mission. But for all of us, it will look like moving out of our comfort zone, following the lead of our Savior, who left the comfort of heaven and made the biggest cross-cultural transition imaginable from heaven to earth to save people like us. And he calls us to join him on his rescue mission. Maybe when you next see one of those men at work signs, it will remind you. God is at work. God is at work through hardship. God is at work among every group of people. Praise God. Let's pray. You're at work in us who believe. You're at work saving people from every tribe and nation and background and group across the world, just like you planned before time began. Thank you that you work in and through hardship. And we pray particularly for anyone here who's going through tough times. Please be their comfort and their strong tower, and help them to continue relying on you. We pray as well for us as we seek to share the gospel in and around the places you've put us. Help us to know that it's your mighty power at work and to rely on you in prayer. Please help us not to exclude anyone, knowing that you have the power to open a door of faith in anyone's life. Thank you that you are and will continue to be at work until our Lord Jesus returns. In whose name we pray. Amen.