Acts 14:20-28 - Sermon
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[ILLUS] Why would anyone take the long way home?
I love home. Home is where my favorite people live. Home is where all my favorite things are. Home is comfort. Home is ease. Home is rest.
So why would anyone take the long way home?
When Cheryl and I were getting married, her friends quizzed her on how well she knew me. They asked her, “If Rocky could go anywhere in the world, where would he go?” They had checked with me for the right answer but accused Cheryl of cheating when she said, “He’d go home.”
She knows that home is my favorite place.
This is why I have hard time understanding why anyone would take the long way to get there.
Don’t you want to get to the comfort, the ease, and the rest you have at home as quickly as you can?
The answer for Paul and Barnabas was no.
[CONTEXT] After heading out on their first missionary journey from Syrian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas preached on the island of Cyprus. They then sailed to the region of Pamphylia in modern day Turkey. From there they moved inland into the Galatian region and preached the Gospel in the town of Pisidian Antioch. In that same region, they headed southeast to Iconium, then south to Lystra, and then a little farther east to Derbe, which marked the farthest point on this first missionary journey.
The journey to this point has been about 700 miles, which in the ancient world was quite the trek.
From there, Paul and Barnabas could have traveled through the Cilician Gates in the Taurus Mountains to Paul’s hometown of Tarsus and from there back to Syrian Antioch—a trip of about 250 miles. This would have been the faster way home by far!
But instead Paul and Barnabas took the long road home.
They back-tracked from Derbe, back through Lystra, through Iconium once again, back through Pisidian Antioch, and back through the region of Pamphylia before finally heading home.
This was at least 450 miles out of the way.
But they took this long road home because Jesus is worthy of hard things.
Yes, they took the long road to encourage new believers and new churches, but they ultimately did this hard thing because Jesus is worthy.
[TS] Notice the HARD THING they did in Derbe…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
#1: Notice the HARD THINGS they did in Derbe (vv. 20b-21a)
#1: Notice the HARD THINGS they did in Derbe (vv. 20b-21a)
20 But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
[EXP] Paul and Barnabas made enemies as they preached the gospel. Those enemies caught up with them in Lystra. They stoned Paul and left him for dead, but he got up, went back into the city, stayed the night, and left for Derbe the next day.
Paul traveled the approximately 60 miles to Derbe while sore, battered, and bruised. We would understand if he wanted to just pass on through while heading home, but he didn’t do that. Instead they did the hard things: they preached the gospel and made many disciples.
Why would this have been hard?
Well, it had to be harder for Paul to preach the gospel when the last time he preached he was stoned for it and left for dead.
But even though it was hard, Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel.
They spoke of Jesus, how He was proven to be the Son of God; how He died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sin; how He was raised from the dead and ascended to Heaven; how He calls all men to repent of sin and unbelief and trust in Him as Savior and Lord.
It was hard, but they did it because Jesus is worthy of hard things.
And it was certainly harder for Paul and Barnabas to make real disciples of Jesus rather than fair-weather fans of Jesus.
A real disciple gives his whole self to Jesus for his whole life.
A fair-weather fan of Jesus is only committed to Jesus when its popular.
Paul and Barnabas aimed to make followers of Jesus who endured to the end by teaching them (as far as possible) everything Jesus commanded.
This too was hard, but they did it because Jesus is worthy of hard things.
[ILLUS] I had a friend that used to jokingly say, “If I’m not instantly good at it, I instantly quit it.”
Is that our approach to evangelism and discipleship?
We know it’s hard to tell others about Jesus; we know it’s hard to make disciples of Jesus, but rather than stick with it, we quit it because its hard.
[APP] Our mission is to preach the Gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ, and it’s rarely easy.
We want it to be quick and effortless and easy, but it is often long and arduous and difficult.
These are hard things, but it’s worth doing because Jesus is worthy.
Are we doing these hard things? Are we sharing the Gospel with anyone? Are we discipling anyone?
What keeps us from doing these hard things?
Do we not believe that He is worthy?
[TS]…
#2: Notice the HARD THINGS they did in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (vv. 21b-23)
#2: Notice the HARD THINGS they did in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (vv. 21b-23)
21 After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
[EXP] Paul and Barnabas went out of their way to nurture these new believers and strengthen these new churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch.
But this wasn’t hard just because it was the long way home; it was hard because people from these three places had already persecuted Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. There was no guarantee that Paul and Barnabas wouldn’t face opposition again as they visited these towns.
Even so, their new brothers and sisters in Christ needed to be encouraged to continue with Christ.
Paul and Barnabas would endure the danger to encourage their brothers and sisters.
They would do this hard thing because Jesus is worthy of hard things.
They strengthened the souls of the disciples (v. 22a).
This likely refers to giving them more instruction about their faith in Jesus Christ.
They encouraged them to continue in the faith and warned them that, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,” (v. 22b).
To continue in the faith is to remain committed to those Gospel truths they first believed when they first heard Paul and Barnabas preach the good news about Jesus.
Tribulations or sufferings would certainly arise, tempting them to walk away from Jesus, but these sufferings were to be expected.
Paul and Barnabas told them that only through such sufferings do believers enter the kingdom of God.
[ILLUS] Henry Martyn was an Anglican priest and a missionary in India and Persia. He translated the entire New Testament into different languages of India and translated the Psalms into Persian. He is a missionary remembered for his courage, selflessness, and religious devotion.
He pursued his missionary work through ill health, but died in 1812. In his last sickness he exclaimed, “Why should I murmur? Weakness, peril, and pain are but the ministering angels whose office it is to conduct me to glory.”
That’s what Paul and Barnabas were saying to these brothers and sisters. Those tribulations were just ministering angels ushering them into the kingdom of God.
[EXP] They appointed elders for them in every church (v. 23a).
These elders were the pastors. These were qualified men (cf. 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) who came from the local congregation. Perhaps following the pattern of Jewish synagogues in that day, lay elders were appointed to lead the people in each local church.
Then they prayed with fasting and commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed (v. 23c).
It had to be hard for Paul and Barnabas to leave each church when there was still so much that could’ve been done, but each church had the Gospel, each church had pastors, and each church had the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas had equipped every church with these things because Jesus is worthy.
And they did the hard thing of saying goodbye to every church because Jesus was worthy to be preached in other places too.
[ILLUS] Sometimes someone will call me and ask if I’ve seen their Bible, their glasses, their keys, etc. laying around the church.
I’ll go look where they were sitting on Sunday, look under the pew, look on the tables in the hallways to see if someone set something up there, look on the counter in the office to see if someone put something there.
Almost always, I have to call the person back and say, “I’m sorry. I don’t see what you’re looking for in the church anywhere.”
[APP] I know it’s aggravating to lose things, but some churches have lost things that are truly priceless.
Some churches have lost faithful instruction in the faith.
Some churches have lost encouragement to persevere.
Some churches have lost qualified leadership.
Some churches have lost trust in God.
These are hard things for churches to get hold of and precious things that must never be lost.
If a church loses these things, it won’t be a church for much longer.
We must fight hard to never lose these things at Emmanuel because Jesus is worthy and those things keep us faithful to Him.
[TS]…
#3: Notice the HARD THING they did in Perga (vv. 24-25)
#3: Notice the HARD THING they did in Perga (vv. 24-25)
24 They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia. 25 When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
[EXP] Perga was in the province of Pamphylia, about eight miles from the Mediterranean Sea. This is where John Mark had left Paul and Barnabas as they entered the region. Perhaps they didn’t preach the Gospel in Perga when they first passed through because of John Mark’s departure or Paul’s illness, but they did preach the Gospel there as they made their way back home.
In fact, it’s the only new work that Luke recorded on this return leg of the journey, but he doesn’t say hardly anything about it.
But if that’s the case, how can I say that the preaching in Perga was a hard thing?
I think it must’ve been a hard thing because it came very near the end of what had already been a very taxing journey.
[ILLUS] Charles Spurgeon said that people warned him, saying, “You’ll break your constitution down with preaching ten times a week,” and other such things. But he said, “Well, if I have done so, I am glad of it. I would do the same again. If I fifty constitutions I would rejoice to break them down in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He said, “Crowd as much as you can into every day, and postpone no work till tomorrow.”
Paul and Barnabas were postponing no work until the next trip. They were crowding in as much as they could into this first trip.
They were in Perga, headed for home, and tired though they may have been, they preached the Gospel.
[APP] Doing good can leave us weary, but 2 Thessalonians 3:13 tells us to “not grow wear of doing good.” Galatians 6:9 says that we are not to “lose heart in doing good.” Hebrews 13:16 says that are not to “neglect doing good.”
We may be tired. Maybe our trip is coming to an end. No matter what, now is the time to “crowd as much as (we) can into every day, and postpone no work (for Jesus) till tomorrow.”
Paul and Barnabas worked like that because Jesus is worthy.
Spurgeon worked like that because Jesus is worthy.
We work like this because He is worthy.
[TS]…
#4: Notice the HARD THING they did in back home in Antioch (vv. 26-28)
#4: Notice the HARD THING they did in back home in Antioch (vv. 26-28)
26 From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished. 27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a long time with the disciples.
[EXP] Antioch had entrusted them to the grace of God for the work that was now complete (cf. Acts 14:26, NLT). When they gathered the church together, they gave their report.
It was the report of what God had done.
It wasn’t the report of Paul and Barnabas’ heroics but the report of God’s grace.
Their report included how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
That door began to inch open through ministry of the Apostle Peter. It opened wider through the Gentile believers in Antioch. And it opened even wider during this first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas.
In Acts 15, we’ll see this open door of faith to the Gentiles officially recognized by those Jewish followers of the faith in Jerusalem.
Jesus was bringing His people together.
After the report was made, Paul and Barnabas then spent a long time with the disciples in Antioch.
They had been on the road for the better part of two years, so they stayed home in Antioch with the disciples.
[ILLUS] I love home. Home is where my favorite people live. Home is where all my favorite things are. Home is comfort. Home is ease. Home is rest. But there’s always something to do at home.
Barnabas originally brought Paul to Antioch to disciples the believers there. When they returned to Antioch after this journey, they went right back to making disciples at home.
And they did this hard thing at home because Jesus is worthy.
[TS]…
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus is worthy of hard things.
What hard things will you do for Him?
[PRAYER]