Missions Paul

Kindness: love and sacrifice

Acts 14:17

“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.”

Though in the past God let the nations go their own way He was still visible in many ways.

Next time you see the rain come think of this verse and think of the kindness of God.

God sent the rain to those who had turned away from Him and gone their own way. He showed kindness to the sinful. Why? Because He loved them.

The point is that God is kind towards people not because of anything He can get from them but just because He is kind. At the centre of kindness is the wellbeing of another person, it is working for what is best for the other. Ultimately this kindness wants to demonstrate His love so that we will turn from our own way and turn to Him. But even if we do not God will continue to be kind towards us because that is who He is.

Every day I have an opportunity to be like God, to put on kindness. To be kind. To think of others for no other reason than because of kindness. More of them less of me.

To love and to sacrifice.

I have an opportunity for that to be my life’s testimony.

 

The way

Acts 14: 16

“In the past, he let all nations go their own way.”

There seems to be times when God pulled away.

When revelation from Him was not being given.

When Heaven was shut.

He turned His back and His light did not shine.

The people did their own thing.

They followed many paths but not His.

Some called out perhaps but He was not listening.

That was in the past.

Look around the nations of the world today.

Could that happen again? Is it happening now?

There is a lot of talk about the state of our world today.

People have many opinions of which way the world will go.

But which way is the world following today. Their own or His?

 

 

I am only human

Acts 14: 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.”

The crowd had gone crazy. The miracle they had seen led them down the path of idol worship, not of statues but of men, of Paul and Barnabas. They were bringing out animals to sacrifice to them as the gods had come down to earth. Praise was in the air, acceptance and pleasure, love and joy! This was the opposite to their treatment in Iconium. But it was wrong.

We are only human.

But I’m only human And I bleed when I fall down I’m only human And I crash and I break down Your words in my head, knives in my heart You build me up and then I fall apart ‘Cause I’m only human

(Christina Perri song)

We must know who we are as much as we know who God is.

I am only human.

I am on the Way, I have not arrived.

I do not know all the answers.

I have found Him who is worth pursuing but I do not possess Him.

I am only human.

I am incomplete, broken and scarred by years of the impurity of this life.

I know in part, I prophesy only in part, it is imperfect.

I belong to a stream of church that has at times promoted itself in the experience of God.

I have taken part in the froth, the desperate claims, the ‘awesome’, the ‘electrifying’, the manipulation afraid of anything that appears stale, dull, lifeless.

I pursue the genuine even though it takes me into desert experiences instead of the mountain-top visions.

I know failure and death more than I know success and resurrection.

I am only human.

I am a story that is not finished.

I am a Christian.

I belong to Christ.

I am being shaped by Him.

I carry good news to people who are just like me.

I am only human.

RIP

Acts 14: 14

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting”

Not Rest in Peace but Rip in Pieces.

When the crowd saw the miracle but didn’t hear the message they responded with trying to worship man as gods.

When the team heard the attempt of worship they ran out so that they could be seen by everyone.

They did what their culture expected anyone to do who was stirred by deep passion, grief and trouble.

When Joseph was sold as a slave, his brother Reuben tore his own clothes.

When Job and Eli had heard their children had been killed they tore their clothes.

Caiaphas accusing Jesus of blasphemy tore his clothes.

I think the seamstresses were always in employment in those days.

Today we see Barnabas and Paul doing the exact same thing.

What passionately moves you today? Injustice? Grief of a loved one? Evil acts?

I am sure all of those things still move us.

The missionary team ripped their clothes because the worship due to God was being directed to them. Their ministry was being seen more than God. They were becoming more important. They were becoming greater He was becoming less. The message had not been heard only what they had done. Their evangelistic efforts had failed on the crowd even though their popularity had soared. Perhaps it is like a church growing numerically because of the amazing programme within it. The church gathers large followers but no one wants to be a disciple of Christ.

God tells us in Joel 2:13 not to rip our clothes but our hearts. Maybe we need to be more heartbroken over our successes that appear so but are actually temporary and worth nothing in the sight of God.

Maybe we need to RIP.

Acts 14:13

“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.”

How can the man and the crowds respond so differently?

They all heard the message from Paul. Paul saw one man had faith and he could see that this man could be healed. The large crowd however were focusing on the miracle and not what they had heard.

The sight of miracles are often more important than the hearing of the message. Preaching is okay but let us get on with the power show. But it is the message that will keep us near the Lord. Faith comes by hearing not seeing.

 

gods from men

Acts 14:12

“Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.”

The result above all results! An ecstatic crowd respond really well to this miracle of the lame man.

Granted their theology was wrong, but what a response! Theology can always be ironed out later. This is a wonderful moment to embrace their joy. After having such rejection in Iconium here the team were in Lystra being likened to the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes.

Zeus was living in Barnabas because he is the older man and not as vocal as Paul, he is carrying a superior dignity. Zeus (the Romans used the name Jupiter) is the most powerful of all the gods and seen as the father of them and men. Hermes (the Romans used the name Mercury) was living in Paul. Hermes is the messenger of Zeus, he is the god of eloquence and presided over orators.

It is wrong but it would be easy for Barnabas and Paul to explain that it is not the Greek gods that are inside them but the God of all gods. Surely this is the great opportunity now?!

The favour of man is wonderful and a great opportunity for God to be glorified also. So we embrace it. We don’t let people see our pursuit but it is there in the deepest recesses of our heart. We long to please, to make people smile, to impact for the good. Well, that is one way of saying it. The other is that we long for the drug of praise. Some preachers have taken this drug all their life and they retire as addicts searching for one more hit.

Being likened to someone greater than us is a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to give glory to God. So we embrace it. We secretly want to be the best, better than we are now and better than anyone else. No one must know this. We don’t show ambition, not in Christian circles, we show servanthood. But in the hidden place we want to be better, greater, bigger, we want to be noticed, appreciated, likened to someone before us who had achieved what we are trying to achieve.

Our anointing attracts worshippers and this is a great opportunity for us to divert the worshippers towards God. So we embrace it. We long to see change in people, for people to be transformed and come to God, for the power. The anointing does this. The anointing in us does this. We battle with the truth that we like people looking at us, following us, revering us, in wonder of what we are carrying something. We do like this.

We still make gods of men today.

 

 

Power

Acts 14: 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!”

It does not read “When the crowd heard the message of Paul …” Why?

Man has always wanted a god in human form. Hinduism and Buddhism have a word for this, ‘Avatar’. It means ‘descent of God’. It believes that every Avatar has a specific message for mankind.

However, in Greek mythology their gods most important quality was power. The god Zeus was the power of the thunderbolt and kingship and Hermes was the god of commerce who was the protector of thieves and travellers who could trick the other gods. Many more gods were worshipped because of their power.

Repeatedly throughout the year the newspapers will report of some star whether that in sport or leadership being a god. They will either praise them for being one or complain that they are acting like one. But it will be to do with their power and ability.

Man craves power. “When they had seen what Paul had done”.

We must be careful what we long to see.

Years ago I was fond of singing a worship song, ‘More love, more power, more of you in my life.’ I wasn’t too sure if I really needed more of His love but I was wanting some action for sure.

“You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god which you made for yourselves.” Amos 5:26

What gods are we in danger of making today? It is the still the same as all those years ago in the mythology. We want power. We will forget whatever the preacher has said, we will forget Truth for Power. We are more inclined to make a god of Power and not a god of Truth. We want to see not hear. We pray to our God for things to see, to move, for Him to descend and do and act and change. We are not as concerned about what we hear.

Was it a powerful church service yesterday? What does that mean? “Nothing much happened today” What does that mean?

We know what it means. We seek power.

What would you like to have: Hear an exhortation of God or see a miracle from God?

Let us be seekers of the God of Truth and not crave the power of an avatar.

 

Who is responsible for the healing?

Acts 14:10

“and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.”

 

Paul could see that faith was being born in this man. We read in verse 9 it was a faith to be healed and we automatically take that as meaning physical healing because he is lame. However the Greek word that the English translators have translated into healing is sozo, it means to save as well as healed. This is important if we want to see something that I think we may have often overlooked.

Jesus often in his healings would heal to demonstrate he had the authority to forgive sins. In Luke 5 we see these words of Jesus, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” He said to the paralysed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

“I am going to forgive you, to bring salvation to you, but to prove that I have the authority to do this to you and to others, here is your healing.”

In his gospel, chapter 18 Luke records Jesus saying to the blind beggar on the road to Jericho “receive your sight your faith has healed you.” In the Greek it is ‘your faith has saved you.’ The blind beggar’s faith in who Jesus was has saved him and the proof to him and to others is that he has received his sight.

We have the same thing happening here according to Luke.

Paul could see the lame man responding with faith to his preaching, it was a faith to be saved. He believes in the preacher that Jesus was the Messiah. Then Paul knowing that everyone was watching, this was very public, knew that here was an opportunity to prove what Paul had been preaching was true. Luke wants us to see that Paul was doing what Jesus did. Paul called out “Stand up …..”

To the paralysed man in his gospel Luke writes “Get up”

In Chapter 7 of his gospel Jesus says to the dead son of a widow in Nain as he touched his coffin “Get up.” He calls to the lame man that he sees has faith, “Stand up

In the story of the beggar, Luke says that Jesus announces “Receive your sight.”

Again Luke seems to be showing us that Paul is doing what Jesus did. He calls to the lame man who is showing signs he has faith in Jesus, “Stand to your feet!” with no hesitation the man did what he had never done.

What would have happened if the man tried but failed to stand? Those who had listened to Paul’s message that Jesus was the Messiah would have said ‘No he isn’t, that proves it!’

My point is that the responsibility for healing does not rest with the sufferer. It rests with the suffering Servant who carries our infirmities.

Therefore why say to those who suffer just have faith, well how much faith do I need? I have faith, but do I have enough? If I focus, believe harder, don’t sin, do all that I can, if I have to pay some money to the preachers ministry I will do it, I will do whatever it takes to demonstrate I have enough faith to be healed. Is that enough? Friends, it is rubbish, it really is. Luxurious careers are being built on such nonsense.

All the sufferer needs to be concerned about is this: do you believe Jesus is the Messiah? If He calls you to do something will you be obedient? However the success of this obedience is not on you, the result of any healing is not because of anything to do with you, it is because of Jesus. If you get healed He will be glorified but if the preacher says do something and you are not healed then the damage to the glory is the responsibility of the preacher not the sufferer. For Paul, it is the truth of who Jesus is and the credibility of who Paul is as a preacher that is at stake not whether or not the lame man has enough faith that he can be healed.

Faith in the identity of Jesus is the most important thing and the only thing a sufferer needs. The rest is left to God and the messenger as to whether or not healing is going to happen today.

I much prefer the responsibility being with the preacher than with the sufferer don’t you? We may end up having less preachers but we would also have less suffering sufferers. More importantly we would have more credibility in the Church and more glory given to God. That has got to be the preferred path.

FAITH TO GET HEALED …um

Acts 14:9

“He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed”

The lame man couldn’t walk, he had to be carried, but he could listen. What was Paul preaching? Was it healing? Luke does say Paul saw the man had faith to be healed and that is why many preachers say that we need to have faith that God will heal in order for us to be healed. Yet there is no evidence in the New Testament that Paul ever preached on the subject of healing (though I am sure he would have done so), he certainly is not known as a specialist on healing. Rather, Paul on his missionary journeys is preaching that Jesus is the Messiah who has come to fulfil the law, the cross and the resurrection and the plan of salvation and grace.

My point is that there are many who are suffering today particularly in the Western churches. This is not because of sickness but because a preacher has told them all they need to do is have faith for healing and they will be healed. So they muster all the faith they can muster, far more than a mustard seed, but many do not get healed. So they suffer twice. I do not think Paul was ever asking the man to believe he could be healed.

So perhaps I can offer this suggestion. Luke is showing us that what was happening as Paul was preaching Christ crucified, risen and ascended Lord was that this man who was listening attentively, caught the eye of Paul. Paul looked directly at him and God gave him the ability to see that this man was actually turning towards Jesus. He had a developing faith growing inside. The man was beginning to believe, like scales falling from a spiritual blind man. It was not so much the man who believed he could be healed but that Paul saw he was accepting of Paul’s message of Jesus and Paul could see faith in the man. This faith in Jesus the Messiah Paul knew was transformational. This faith in Jesus, who can do anything and even if the man hadn’t realised it, Paul knew that this faith when pointed in the right direction could change the man’s life. That is why it is Paul who then gave the command to stand up. It was not the man’s idea, it was Paul’s. This man may never have seen one healing in his life. This is certainly the first time and the only time a miracle is seen in Lystra. The man was not saying ‘do to me as you have done to the others’. But this man was beginning to say ‘I believe in You Jesus’.

The church today needs to go looking for faith not for miracles, signs and wonders. Share the faith, preach the faith, belief in Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done. When we find faith in those who listen then maybe we might get those moments when something inside of us comes out, we cannot hold it in, but we just believe there and then that this faith in Jesus we have seen is going to be demonstrated here and now in many ways. But that’s for tomorrows devotion…

 

Lame

Acts 14:8

“In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.”

Some people have never moved. Everyone around them are going places, advancing into new destinies, meeting new people and having fresh experiences, some just sit by the wayside.

They are trapped, locked-in, unable to move or maybe they don’t even know how to move even if they were able. The years pass by more slowly than the crowds of people who have gone on their way to brighter futures. The child has grown. He is a man now. But some things never change.

Some people have what they need but they cannot use what they have. It is not that they have used it and it has become broken but that it has never been used. Is it worse that everything appears to be there but it really isn’t than if the nothing had no appearance of existence at all?

The name of the city is mentioned but not the name of the man. Lystra was at that time of Paul a Roman colony. It was a place of enlightenment and education. This man had a name but most knew him as lame. Some people are characterised by their condition. For them there is no great enlightenment, no revelation, no inspiration, no new learning and no development of the mind. Their condition wins every time.

Lame.

Some days it is more valuable to not try and have all the answers and not try to fix people’s problems. It is better to not walk by. It is better to pay attention to their story. True value may lay with the pain of a question mark because you have bothered enough to notice.