READING THE BOOK OF ACTS, CHAPTER 14

 READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 14

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

 INTRODUCING ACTS, CHAPTER 14

Paul’s first missionary journey, recorded in Acts 13-14, gives a glimpse of issues that the church will face throughout its entire existence. When presented with Jesus’ story, some will accept Him while others will not, and the opposition is sometimes violent. Others will integrate into church life easily, but for centuries the church has struggled with how to integrate those from vastly different cultures. This raises the crucial question of which aspects of faith and worship are biblical, making them universal, and which are cultural, and therefore optional? In Acts 15, the church leadership will start a discussion on that subject which continues even today.  (https://totallyhistory.com/acts-chapter-14/)

1) Verses 1-7, In Iconium, MRS. ELNORA

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 fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued to preach the gospel.

NOTATIONS:

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What did the unbelieving Jews do in Iconium? (V.2)

2. How did the Lord confirm the message of his grace as Paul and Barnabas taught in Iconium? (V.3)

2. What did the Gentiles and Jews plan to do to Paul and Barnabas? (V.5)

2) Verses 8-20, In Lystra and Derbe, DESTINY

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.

NOTATIONS:

1. Discerning the faith of the crippled man came through the Holy Spirit. 

2. Paul encouraged this man's faith by commanding him to stand up. 

3. Believers should pray for spiritual insight to recognize the faith of individuals needing God's grace and healing. 

4. In the New Testament times, God did not always protect his servants from harm. 

5. Those who commit themselves to Christ's Lordship and who will finally enter the Kingdom of God must suffer much tribulation along the way. 

6. The present evil world and false believers will remain adversaries to the Gospel of Christ until the Lord overthrows the world's evil system at his coming. 

7. The appointing of elders (overseers and Pastors) was done not only by seeking the Spirit's will through prayer and fasting, but also by examining the character, spiritual gifts, reputation and evidence of the Spirit's fruit in the men under consideration.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Why did Paul heal the man at Lystra? (V.9)

2. What happened when the people saw that the man was healed? (V.11)

3. What did they call Paul and Barnabas? (V.12)

4. Upon believing that Paul and Barnabas were gods, what did the priest in the temple of zeus resort to doing? (V.13)

5. How did Paul and Barnabas respond to this worship of them as if they were gods? What did they do and say? (V.14-15)

6. What happened to Paul? Why? (V.19)

3) Verses 21-28, The Return to Antioch in Syria, JEANNIE

²¹ They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²² 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. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders^[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, ²⁵ and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 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. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

NOTATIONS:

• In Christ, our hearts can be full of joy despite dire circumstances. Paul demonstrated this in his life. 
• Paul was faced with huge difficulties but was filled with joy because his heart was right, and he was making a huge difference in the world. This can be true for us because joy is not a condition of our environment. Joy comes from the heart. 
• Paul was one of the earliest evangelist, one of the first to execute an evangelistic campaign. It was this work that opened the door of faith for people of all nations.
• A description of Paul in 'The Acts of Paul and Thecia', a second century document, 'a man little of stature, thin-haired upon the head, crooked in the legs, of good state of body, with eyebrows joining, an nose somewhat hooked, full of grace: for sometimes he appeared like a man, and sometimes he had the face of an angel'. It appears as if Paul wasn't an impressive looker and that he had some physical challenges. His body may have been battered and bruised because of the physical persecution he had to endure. 

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What did Paul tell the disciples? (V.22)

2. In what city did they complete their work? (V.27)

3. Paul was an early evangelist. Do you remember who the first evangelist was? (Chapter 10)

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

It was preordained as a message of hope for desperate slaves, as a symbol of deliverance and mercy, and is celebrated as a festival to the Lord. It lasts for 7 days. Eating unleavened bread symbolizes taking in God's righteousness lasting only through Christ living in us to help us develop Godly character. The very core of the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the truth that the resurrected Jesus Christ now lives in the life of every individual Christian. 

In Galatians 5:1-6 Paul stresses that Christ, by God's grace and through the inner working of the Holy Spirit, has set believers free from slavery to the outward control of the law. 

The Passover

It's the oldest and most important religious festival in Judaism, commemorating God's deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, and His creation of the Israelite people. The Passover marks the beginning of the celebration of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The height of the Passover is a communal meal, celebrating God's deliverance of the Hebrews through Exodus. 

Leaven symbolizes sin. Paul, in Galatians 5:9, described it by saying a little leaven goes throughout the whole loaf of bread. In other words, a little sin affects the whole person, or a little false teaching can affect the whole congregation. 

A Prayer Confession

Thank you, Lord, that you have given us joy that cannot be understood or measured by the world. You empower us to see beyond our outward and natural circumstances to experience your joy and blessed hope. We pray that we are an inspiration and encouragement to others, especially those who are in need of your power. We thank you, Lord, for the inspiring examples of the apostles. Through their lives, we see models of who we are and who we can become in you. Our hearts are ever turned towards you. Be our strength in times of weakness. Thank you that you fill our hearts with joy, replacing sadness, and hopelessness. 

In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.