Acts 14:8

Acts14:8 says, And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:  At Lystra there was a man who had been lame since birth.  Verse nine adds, The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,  The lame man was listening to Paul speak, and Paul perceived that the man had faith to be healed.  I am not sure how Paul could perceive this other than by the Holy Spirit revealing it to him.  Verse ten continues, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.  Paul called out in a loud voice for the man to stand up and walk, and he did.  This was an act of faith on the part of both the man and Paul.  I believe that if we have faith, we can do great things if it is God’s will.  Paul called out loudly not for the benefit of the man but for the benefit of the crowd.  We need to make sure that God is given the glory for what we do for Him or through His power.   Verse eleven concludes. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.  Paul and Barnabas were declared gods come to earth but told the crowd they were just men come to tell them of the God come to earth, Jesus Christ.  We should always give God the glory and let people know that we are but sinners saved by grace. 

Acts 14:1

Acts 14:1 says, And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.  Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue of the Jews in Iconium.  The synagogue was where God's people gathered to worship Him and learn more about Him, so it was a logical place to tell people about Jesus.  Today, travelling evangelists would most likely go to a church.  Paul and Barnabas were met by a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks.  For an evangelist today, that would be like saying they were met by a great multitude of Christians and non- believers. Verse two adds, But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.  That should be what we want, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up trouble with the Gentiles and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.  An unbelieving Jew would be the same as an unbelieving Christian, someone who professes to believe in God and His will, but only if it agrees with what they want.  Verse three continues, Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.  Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time, preaching the gospel.  God gave testimony to their good work in that many signs and wonders were done by their hands.  We need to be able to have the world see God working through us today.  Our task is not to just point out the evil of the world but is first and foremost to proclaim the gospel.  Verse four states, But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.  The preaching of Paul and Barnabas divided into city, and so should our proclaiming the gospel today.  If everyone is satisfied when we proclaim the gospel and it has no impact on those we are speaking to, then something is wrong.  Verse five adds, And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,  Those who didn't believe, both Gentiles and Jews with their leaders, wanted to stone Paul and Barnabas.  When unbelievers and those who profess to be God's people unite to stop His word from being preached, they both lose.  Verse six continues, They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:  Paul and Barnabas became aware of their plan and moved on to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia and the region thereabout.  Verse seven states, And there they preached the gospel. There, they preached the gospel and God's word continued to spread to a larger and larger area. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we move forward in Acts, I think I will review a little about how this applies to being a follower of Christ in today's world.  First, we need to reclaim the power of prayer.  Praying is never the least we can do.  We have seen that in New Testament times, prayer could heal the sick, open prison doors, and even raise the dead, when prayed for the will of God to be done.  Prayer is one of the greatest powers that Christians have, when we are honestly seeking God's will and not our desires.  We must also accept the fact that God may answer no.  God has not stopped hearing and answering prayers.  Not every person is healed, not every captive is set free, and not all dead are restored to life in this world, but that doesn't mean prayer is of little use.  Adding in Jesus' name does not mean that it is God's will.  Second, those who proclaim themselves to be God's people often aren't, and when this is the case, it can really hinder the gospel.  We, as His followers, are to live by a different standard than the rest of the world.  We are to love the unloveable, feed the poor, and clothe the naked.  The world may look down on them and despise them, but followers of Christ never can.  Third, we must never divide the world into them and us.  When we begin to apply labels to others we begin to be ineffective as witnesses for Christ.  We need never say things like I saw one of them or that is just the way they are.  God loves everyone, and salvation is for everyone.  Christ loved them enough to die for them, and to be like Christ, so should we.  Last, we will encounter opposition, from the world and at times from religious leaders.  When Paul and Barnabas encountered opposition, they used it as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel.  We must do no less.  Our cross awaits us daily, but will we pick it up or look for an easy way around it?

Acts 13:46

Acts 13:46 says, Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.  Paul and Barnabas waxed bold.  That means they boldly proclaimed the gospel, telling the Jews that since they deemed themselves unworthy of everlasting life, then Paul and Barnabas were turning to the Gentiles. The gospel had first been preached to the Jews and they rejected it, and as a group have ever since Paul and Barnabas preached to them.  Verse forty-seven adds, For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.  Paul and Barnabas were told that God had set them to be a light to the Gentiles and bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.  We are part of the ends of the earth.  Paul had been called from attempting to destroy Christianity to sharing it throughout the world.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are a part of those trying to destroy Christianity. Verse forty-eight continues, And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.  Many Gentiles believed.  God’s chosen people rejected the gospel, and it came to the Gentiles.  Of course, if the Jewish people had accepted Jesus Christ, they would have known that their purpose was to share the gospel with everyone and not just their fellow Jews.  This is still our challenge today.  Verse forty-nine states, And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.  God’s word was published throughout this region in spite of the opposition Jews had to it happening.  Even if we face opposition when witnessing today, we need to continue to keep on witnessing.  Verse fifty adds, But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.  Again, the Jews, God's chosen people, stirred up trouble.  May we, as God's people, never be guilty of stirring up trouble against God.  Paul and Barnabas were expelled from their coasts by the Jews.  Verse fifty-one says, But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.  Paul and Barnabas shook off the dust of their feet against them and continued to Iconium.  If we are not welcomed somewhere while sharing the gospel, we may be better off going somewhere that people will listen.  Of course, we need to make sure that the Holy Spirit is leading us to this decision.  The Jews thought they had defeated Paul and Barnabas, but they had simply sent them on their way to do what God had called them to do.  As long as we are obedient to the will of God, the world can never defeat us.  Verse fifty-two adds, And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.  The Jews might have been opposing Paul and Barnabas, but the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.  Of course, as Christians, we are always indwelled with the Holy Spirit, but at times we may not be filled with the Holy Spirit.  To be filled I believe means that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to actually work through us and not just to be available to do so. 

Many Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, encouraging them to continue in the grace of God.  That is all we can ever do.  We are saved by His grace and sustained by His grace.  Our independent streak or self pride often rebels at the thought of being dependant on God's mercy, but that is where we will always be as His followers.  As we saw in Acts 13: 42, the Gentiles had asked to hear the words preached to them the next Sabboth.  That Sabboth, nearly the whole city came together to hear what Paul and Barnabas had to say.  People were hungry to hear the gospel.  Except for many of the Jews, who had grown up on God's word.  They were jealous that the Word of God was going to the whole world and not just them, so they stirred up trouble.  When people start being drawn to Christ, someone is going to try and stop them.  Hopefully, it won't be those who call themselves His people.  Being accused of blasphemy, the charge the religious leaders brought against Jesus, Paul and Barnabas waxed bold.  That means they boldly proclaimed the gospel, telling the Jews in verse 46, that since they deemed themselves unworthy of everlasting life, then Paul and Barnabas were turning to the Gentiles.  The gospel had first been preached to the Jews and they rejected it, and as a group have ever since. Paul and Barnabas, in Acts 13: said, "For so hath the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee to be a light unto the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth." (KJV)  We are part of the ends of the earth.  Many Gentiles believed and the word of the Lord was published throughout the region.  Again, the Jews, God's chosen people, stirred up trouble.  May we, as God's people, never be guilty of stirring up trouble against God.  Paul and Barnabas were expelled from their coasts by the Jews.  Paul and Barnabas shook off the dust of their feet against them and continued to Iconium.  "And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost."  Acts 13: 52 (KJV)  The Jews thought they had defeated Paul and Barnabas, but they had simply sent them on their way to do what God had called them to do.  As long as we are obedient to the will of God, the world can never defeat us.

Acts 13:38

Acts 13:38 says, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is the only One Who can save. We must never forget the uniqueness of Jesus.  We can never be what He is, the only begotten Son of God.  The Bible tells us if we believe we will become sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus.  We become so by adoption, and Jesus by birth.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.  Also, Paul pointed out that the Law of Moses could not save, but the good news was that Jesus could and would if they believed.  Paul declared Jesus to be superior to the prophets, to David, and to the Law.  He is the only way to salvation, and He stands ready to deliver all. Verse forty continues. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;  Paul was once again referring the Jewish people to the scripture, which they should have been familiar with.  We need to always base what we are teaching on the scripture, the Bible.  Verse forty-one concludes, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.  The scripture warned them that even if God worked a great work in their midst, which He had done, that the despisers would only wonder and perish.  If we look to the Bible and only wonder if it is true without really accepting that it the only truth, we will never believe that God worked a great wonder when He had Jesus Christ die for our sins.  Then, we will be lost forever.  Verse forty-two states, And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Though most of the Jews were rejecting the gospel, the Gentiles asked Paul and Barnabas to preach God’s word to them the next Sabbath.  Verse forty-three adds, Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.  Many Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, encouraging them to continue in the grace of God.  That is all we can ever do.  We are saved by His grace and sustained by His grace.  Our independent streak or self-pride often rebels at the thought of being dependent on God's mercy, but that is where we will always be as His followers.  Verse forty-four continues, And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.   As Paul and Barnabas were preaching, news spread about it.  The next Sabbath, when the Gentiles had asked that the gospel be shared with them, nearly the whole city came to hear the word of God.  Paul and Barnabas were not there to entertain nor even to promote themselves but were there to share the word of God.  When Christians gather together today, this should be our number one priority. Verse forty-five concludes, But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.  The Jews were jealous that the Word of God was going to the whole world and not just them, so they stirred up trouble.  When people start being drawn to Christ, someone is going to try and stop them. Hopefully, it won't be those who call themselves His people.  Paul and Barnabas were accused of blasphemy, the charge the religious leaders brought against Jesus,   

Jesus was placed in the grave after He was crucified, and the religious leaders were just as responsible for His death as were the secular leaders.  When those who are supposed to be representing God work against Him and in harmony with the world, then they need a word as Paul delivered to the synagogue leaders that day.  Paul knew what the religious leaders believed about Jesus, because he had believed the same thing until his personal encounter with God on the road to Damascus.  People will never change their belief about Christ until they encounter Him personally.  Jesus did not stay in the grave, as God raised Him form the dead, as He had promised to their forefathers.  Neither did He see corruption.  Jesus is the only One Who fulfilled that promise.  David died, and like all other people, his body corrupted. Being a descendant of David was a point of pride for the Jewish people, but it did not bring salvation.  David could not save them.  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is the only One Who can save. We must never forget the uniqueness of Jesus.  We can never be what He is, the only begotten Son of God.  The Bible tells us if we believe we will become sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus.  We become so by adoption, and Jesus by birth.  Also, Paul pointed out that the Law of Moses could not save, but the good news was that Jesus could and would if they believed.  Paul declared Jesus superior to the prophets, to David, and to the Law.  He is the only way to salvation, and He stands ready to deliver all.  This is found in Acts 13: 32-41.