ACTS 14 Glorious Trials Many people have never heard of the name Henry B. Garlock. He was one of the last of a breed of missionaries who entered into the Liberia region of West Africa in the 1920’s. He was also one of the few who survived the work to tell the tale. His life and work among the Pahn people reads like a chapter in the Book of Acts. This region had been named “The White Man’s Grave” because if the headhunting cannibals didn’t kill you, the malaria would. According the Missionary Society of London in 1830, of the 79 missionaries sent 44 of them died within the first year. Out of 75 sent by the American Presbyterian Missionary Board, 31 died and many others had to come home shortly after their arrival. H.B. Garlock knew it was going to be hard, and possibly even deadly, but when he received the call to sell everything he had and buy a one-way ticket to Liverpool England (because the American Board would not send him), he did so with great faith and trust. From England, with no money God miraculously provided a ship to Liberia and off he went under the hesitant approval of the London Missionary Board. Many great and miraculous signs and wonders followed and I recommend the book if you want to know the whole story. However, after malaria, tribes attacking villages he was in, storms that flooded passageways when great help was needed, Garlock also saw many tribesmen and women come to faith and many healed of deadly diseases. Even one tribe witch doctor’s wife was raised from the dead, causing the whole village to tear down the fetish at the entryway that had been there for 1000’s of years enslaving the people. One night, after a daring rescue of a kidnapped little girl by a yet converted cannibal tribe deep in the bush, Garlock and his group were captured and were facing a certain death before the village chief and shaman. Garlock recounts what happened next in vivid detail… “Then the witch doctor came to where I was sitting on the elephant skull and laid the wand on the ground at my feet, indicating that I was now permitted to speak in my own defense. Although I could understand some of what I heard, what he said next was clear. With contempt in his voice the witch doctor said, ‘Before we kill and eat you, let’s hear what you have to say’.” Garlock, who had not yet mastered the language of the Pahn people and relied heavily on his translator sensed the Holy Spirit rise him up and in his words “though my body was shaking with fear, I opened my mouth and said ‘Ny lay” meaning ‘listen to me…’ and then he felt his tongue, lips, and vocal chords move and after speaking fluently for several minutes the, having no idea what he was saying, the turned and spoke privately to one of his men, who ran and grabbed a white rooster. The witch doctor tore its head off and sprinkled the blood on Garlock. The witch doctor then spoke and the translator said that he was sorry for mistreating him and then told Garlock that his “God was much more powerful than [his] and that he fights for his people.” The witch doctor did not want to lose that battle and the only thing he could do was sprinkle the blood in hopes of atoning for this great misunderstanding and abuse. After this, the Gospel was preached and many came to faith. H.B. Garlock was responsible for planting several churches in the region and great revival came to Africa as a result. Through many tribulations that revival was born as Mr. Garlock would stand to attest. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I love being a Christian, walking with Jesus every day, but I wish the trials weren’t so hard!” Let’s face it, trials are hard to endure, but can any of us say that God was unfaithful when we came out on the other end? Think about some of the major trials and tribulations you have come through over the years. Would you agree that your faith has been made stronger even though in the midst of the trials you thought you would never come through? Today we are going to look at the rest of Paul and Barnabas’s 1st Missionary Journey. It certainly started well as we saw last time as a great revival came upon the 1st few cities they reached on Cyprus and then in Paphos and Perga. However, some of the Jewish leaders were not so happy and managed to run them out of town. No worries on Paul and Barnabas’s part though. They shook the dust off their feet and moved on to Iconium, the next major city in the region, about 90 miles away. 1Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. • Paul and Barnabas follow their usual pattern and begin in the synagogue, and based on the response, that would usually determine their next steps in preaching the Gospel to the city. • Because these synagogues were far removed from Jerusalem, there were a lot of Gentiles who had converted to Judaism, so they would make up a good portion of the God-fearing religious community. • God knew this and therefore knew exactly where to send these first missionaries. • But there were some Jews who were really bent on circumventing the Gospel. 2But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. • By now in the Book of Acts we really see that the Jews are becoming much bolder in their opposition. • These guys start some serious opposition here. This phrase “poisoned their minds” is actually rendered in the Greek as they “embittered their souls”. • Unfortunately, I believe there is a clear reason why we see this level of disdain emerging. • You see, in MATTHEW23-24 and LUKE 19-20 Jesus had warned the Jewish religious leaders after their rejection of Him that they would be judged harshly within 40 years. • Then in the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers in MATTHEW 21 Jesus told them outright that their kingdom was being taken from them and given to another nation. • This is what we are witnessing in the narrative of the Book of Acts. • Paul would later refer to this in ROMANS 11:25 as the “blindness in part” that has come over Israel. And in II CORINTHIANS 3 it is likened unto a veil over their understanding of Christ today when the OT is read. • Let me ask you a question: If a blind man feels like he is being attacked, is he going to land straight punches, or just swing in the darkness and hope to hit something? • These guys are swinging away but the effect is not quite what they intended… 3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. • They preach on, boldly and the LORD brings it! • Great signs and wonders accompany their message and grace falls upon those who are being saved. • Paul doesn’t play games. He has a real shepherd’s heart and he sensed that the Lord wanted them to stay, amidst the persecution, and strengthen the baby flock there in Iconium. • Listen, God knows what His flocks need and His flocks need good shepherds to tend the sheep! • Paul is a soul winner and even though it means persecution he will do whatever it takes to win souls. • Old time preacher David Brainerd once said, “I care not where I go, or how I live, or what I endure so that I may save souls. When I sleep I dream of them; when I awake they are first in my thoughts.” • Christian, let this ring in your spirit as true as it did for Brainerd and the Apostle Paul. 4 But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles. 5 And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. 7 And they were preaching the gospel there. • There comes a time when wisdom must rule the day. • The Jews finally stir up the people so bad that physical violence, and the intent to murder rises up, so the apostles take their leave in haste. • They head on over to the cities of Lystra and Derbe, about 18 miles from Iconium. • For reasons that will be important in a few verses, let me just say that these 2 cities were very uneducated and illiterate back-water towns. There are no Jews or synagogue there it seems, so Paul just finds the nearest available Gentile to reach out to… 8 And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked. • Similar to the man in front of the Temple that Peter healed in ACTS 3, Paul encounters a man crippled from birth as well. • Paul is preaching and this man is paying attention. Paul looks at him and senses that the man is desperate to be made whole, so he says “Get up on your feet!” • This was powerful, and we are not sure if anything like this had ever happened in the area before. • The response of the townsfolk reveals how impacting this miracle was… 11 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. • The local people here are quite shocked and excited about what they just witnessed. • They start shouting in the native dialect that “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” • They look at Paul and Barnabas and call them Zeus and Hermes. • This is interesting on several levels… 1. We gain the insight that Paul may have done most of the preaching on this tour. 2. Because they are speaking in Lycaonian, it is possible that Paul and Barnabas did not know what they were shouting until the priest came out with sacrifices to them. 3. There is more than just ignorance behind the reaction of the people here. This is where secular history helps to enhance our Biblical understanding of events. In this region there was a legend from their distant past about a time when Zeus and Hermes came to visit the people. The legend passed down was written of by the Latin Poet Ovid who used the Roman names of these gods Jupiter (Zeus) and Mercury (Hermes) his son. The story goes that when Zeus and Hermes came they were treated very badly by the people throughout the land. At last an old married couple named Philemon and Baucis took them in and feed them, lodged them, even though they were extremely poverty-stricken. As a result, it was said, that Zeus and Hermes destroyed most of the homes in the hill country by floods, but preserved the old couple’s home. When they died Zeus and Hermes were reported to have planted two big trees on their land and they stood eternal watch over the now erected temple to Zeus of that day. So, suffice to say, this was the local legend, or fable, that the superstitious Lycaonians believe nonetheless and they probably did not want to be guilty of angering the gods again and bringing destruction upon their homes and families. 4. Finally, as you will now see, it gives us some great insight to how Paul found his opening to preach the Gospel to those who had never even heard about Yahweh the God of the Jews. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, 16 who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” 18 And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. • Paul and Barnabas rush into the crowd tearing their clothes and shouting out, “Stop! Don’t worship us, we are just men like you!” • This shows the mercy they have for the people. They do not want them to be judged for blasphemy. • Paul masterfully reaches down to their level of understanding and opens the door wide for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. • He tells them right from the start to put away their idols and turn to the Living God, the Creator God. You cannot just add Jesus to people’s paganism. They have to leave those things behind and turn to Jesus! • Then he goes on to tell them who this Living God is using the facts of nature that they can see all around them every day. • The people believed Zeus gave them rain for crops and such; Paul instructs them that it is The Almighty God, the One True and Living God who does this. • This is a great lesson for us: Know who you are speaking to and where they are in the process of God calling them. • Listen, people who do not know what the Bible says may not just believe what you say…lay a foundation, find the common ground. Meet them where they are! • The average person you share Jesus with does not need to be taught sublapsarian soteriology. They just need to know that they are a sinner in need of salvation from their sins. • HOWEVER, wherever we do begin, we must end with Jesus. • We do not get the whole sermon here. I’m sure that Paul launched into Jesus as the only way man can be saved. His message coming up in ACTS 17 will cover the complete message. • But it seems that some superstitions run quite deep. The people were still determined to offer their sacrifices to the apostles. • For now that will have to wait because the Jews from Antioch and Iconium have caught up and things are about to get bad… 19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. • Sensing the climate of the people in Lystra, the Jews seize the opportunity to stir up the emotions and cause them to hurl stones at Paul. • Paul is at the very least knocked out cold, but Luke tells us that everyone thought he was dead. • Perhaps this is what may have saved him really…they stop throwing stones because they figured he was dead. • Many scholars believe this is what Paul was referring in II CORINTHIANS 12 when he recounted a vision of heaven that he had. • In any case this just shows how fickle people can be. One minute they are excited and proclaiming them to be gods, the next minute they are trying to kill them. • The people in Jerusalem had done the same with Jesus. • Why Paul got up and went into the city and stayed overnight, we simply do not know. • They left the next day for a 60 mile trip to the town of Derbe. 6o miles over a mountain pass, battered and bleeding, probably with a big headache. 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. • After reaching the end of the mission, Paul and Barnabas begin the journey home, but choose to go back through the cities they had preached in. • They go with the purpose of strengthening the people to continue in their faith. • They establish churches and appoint elders to teach and lead them. • They can now stand before these new churches full of baby believers and declare from experience that trials and tribulations will come, but the Glory of God will be their comfort in whatever does come. • Christian, these are timeless words from the Holy Spirit to Paul and Barnabas, and from Paul and Barnabas to you. • They lived it, and stood firm to tell us all about it. • How are you doing with the trials that come in your life? Are you being overrun by the enemy and knocked down and dragged out? Are you enduring with grace or confusion and tears? • Sadly, today this message has been forgotten among the Church. Trials are just part of the Christian life. God knows how much He can allow in our lives to refine us and cause us to grow in our faith. • When trials come we can either deny that anything is wrong, which is hard to do, or we can shore up our home base and ride out the storm with Jesus. • If you are in doubt, read through HEBREWS 11 and see all the great heroes of the faith and remember the trials we saw them endure through their lives. • Christian, we can stand firm and declare with the apostle Paul in II CORINTHIANS 4:8-10… 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. • Jesus is working in us and through us to perfect us in order that He might present us spotless before His Father one day, very soon. • Enjoy the good times in your walk, embrace the hard times and kingdom building work in you.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 01:47:23 +0000