2014.10.05 Acts
14: 23
Paul and Barnabas Strengthen the Saints
Part 1
Part 1
Good Morning everyone it's great to see you here this morning…. As
most of you know.... We go through the Bible verse by verse.... At the moment
we are studying the birth of the church in the book of Acts..... As we studied Acts 14 last week..... We
witnessed a very strong reaction by those who heard it.... Some repented and
believed.... Some refused to repent and became instant enemies of Paul and
Barnabas.... They were determined to shut him up….. They heard that Paul was in
Lystra…. and even though it was more than 100 Kilometers away….. They went
there and stoned him and threw his body on the garbage pile outside of the
city…. As we begin our study this morning…. I want to back up a few verses and
review…. Turn with me to Acts 14...... v19…
Acts 14:
19-22 NKJV
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.
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.”
Acts 14: 19-22 Sch
2000
19 Es kamen aber aus Antiochia und Ikonium Juden herbei;
die überredeten die Volksmenge und steinigten Paulus und schleiften ihn vor die
Stadt hinaus in der Meinung, er sei gestorben.
20 Doch als ihn die Jünger umringten, stand er auf und
ging in die Stadt. Und am folgenden Tag zog er mit Barnabas fort nach Derbe.
21 Und nachdem sie in dieser Stadt das Evangelium
verkündigt und eine schöne Zahl Jünger gewonnen hatten, kehrten sie wieder nach
Lystra und Ikonium und Antiochia zurück;
22 dabei stärkten sie die Seelen der Jünger und ermahnten
sie, unbeirrt im Glauben zu bleiben, und [sagten ihnen,] daß wir durch viele
Bedrängnisse in das Reich Gottes eingehen müssen.
V19….. Those who refuse to repent and come to the Lord for
forgiveness and mercy……. Harden their hearts against the LORD and his people….
In their hatred…. They were ready to kill Paul….. Some of these persecuting
Jews from Antioch and Iconium would have traveled more than one hundred miles
just to attack Paul….. They were totally committed to stopping him…. They did
not succeed…
V20… We see God´s grace and sustaining power at work here…. I think
it's a miracle that a guy stoned one day….. is taking a 30-mile hike the next
day to proclaim the Good News…… That's a miracle of restoration……
What Persistence……. He was unstoppable…… 1 minute half dead….. the
next….. He is up and ready to continue to proclaim the Good News….. Persistence
is a fabulous quality……
You know….. it´s easy to
become discouraged and to want to give up…… The Christian life is not for
weaklings( feiglings)….
We go through hard times…..we suffer loss….. Even in ministry it is
easy to become discouraged…. The Word of God is full of examples for us to
learn from…… We study the Bible so that we understand our great God…. and so
that we can learn to trust Him….. Even in the dark…. Jesus said…..that man
ought always to pray and not lose hope…. Luke
18…v1…..
I was reading this week about Robert Morrison of England…. He was a
missionary who set his heart on going to China…. He studied Chinese in England
and London…… In 1807 he came to New and
he tried to get passage on a ship to China….
But because China didn't accept
foreigners…… and so…. no one was willing to take him there…. . Finally he got
on a ship and landed in China….. But since he was not allowed in the country……
He stayed in a French warehouse in the city of Canton near the docks for six
months….. During those six months he learned to cook Chinese food….. and to
dress in Chinese clothes….. and he learned to adapt himself to Chinese
culture….. and he spent most of his time studying the Cantonese dialect……. Preaching
was illegal…… but he gathered a little group of people around him….. And
hiding behind closed doors he taught them the Word of God….. Seven years after he landed in Canton he
baptized his first convert…… That's persistence……… seven years and only 1 life
affected...……
Finally working day and
night….. month after month…. he
translated the Book of Acts into
Cantonese…. and he succeeded in having it printed….. But the authorities found
out about it…. and put a stop to his work….
no future printing…. no future preaching….. He was forbidden from
everything… What did he do? He
persisted….. which is exactly what he should've done….. He stayed on the job
because he believed God was in it….. He mastered the language and listen to
this…… he translated the entire Bible into Cantonese…… a massive work……
He also wrote a six-volume Chinese/English dictionary so that
missionaries would not only have the Bible…… but they'd have a dictionary to
help them learn the language…… All of this in the early 1800's….. Before Hudson
Taylor ever came to China…. He persisted through 27 years of a loneliness and
self-sacrificing persistence….. and he paved the way for missions to the
Cantonese speaking people….. Robert Morrison never preached to big crowds…..
but he was persistent and faithful…..
and as we see in our text this morning…. Paul was persistent……. He
was unwilling to be discouraged…. He was unwilling to give up….
Do you
know what the key to persistence is?
The key
to persistence is grabbing hold of every opportunity to love and serve the
Lord…… It is refusing to be discouraged…. Refusing to give up……..
Turn with me to Colossians ch 4…. Lets look at what Paul said….
Colossians
4: 2- 6 NKJV
2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3
meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word,
to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may
make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 Walk
in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech
always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to
answer each one.
Colossians 4: 2- 6 sch 2000
2 Seid ausdauernd im Gebet und wacht darin mit
Danksagung.
3 Betet zugleich auch für uns, damit Gott uns eine Tür
öffne für das Wort, um das Geheimnis des Christus auszusprechen, um
dessentwillen ich auch gefesselt bin,
4 damit ich es so offenbar mache, wie ich reden soll.
5 Wandelt in Weisheit denen gegenüber, die außerhalb [der
Gemeinde] sind, und kauft die Zeit aus!
6 Euer Wort sei allezeit in Gnade, mit Salz gewürzt,
damit ihr wißt, wie ihr jedem einzelnen antworten sollt.
What great advice and exhortation here is these verses….. v2….
Continue to Pray earnestly…. Be vigilant in it with thanksgiving….
v3… pray for us…. That God will open the door for us to proclaim
the Good News….v4… so that I can continue to proclaim the Good News as I ought
to do…. Then he gives us all very good advice…. v5…. Walk in wisdom toward
unbelievers…. Redeem the time…. v6… let you speech always be gracious and
salty…. Grace and truth….. He is saving…. Be wise…. Be gracious….. speak the
truth in love….
This weekend is Yom Kippur…. The day of Atonement for the
Jews….. and it is also the Feast of the
sacrifice for Muslims….. We have something to say to these people….. Many of
them understand the seriousness of sin…… They understand the need for a
substitute…….. But they are lost and without a solution….. They need to hear
the Good News that there is hope in Jesus…. He is our substitute and our
redeemer…… We have been given the Mission to declare this Good News to a lost
and dying generation…. Will we open our mouths…..
What do you
do with your time?
Time….. What are we really doing with our´s? How persistent are we
for the Lord and the things of God?
How persistent are we at maximizing every moment? This is a real problem for believers…. Even
as believers we struggle to set our priorities….. We let our own desires and
selfishness tell us how to spend our time….. We set our own priorities…. We
donot let the Love of God direct and lead us….. It has always been a problem….
As Paul exhorted and discipled believers….. he wrote and preached about the
need to put the Lord first in all that we do…. Turn with me to Romans 13
please….v10….
Romans
13: 10- 14
NKJV sch 2000
10 Love
does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
11 This
is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake
up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night
is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark
deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13
Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t
participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual
promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead,
clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let
yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Romans 13: 10- 14 NKJV sch 2000
10 Die Liebe fügt niemandem Schaden zu; deshalb ist die
Liebe die Erfüllung von Gottes Gesetz.
11 Führt euer Leben auf diese Weise, weil ihr wisst, dass
die Zeit begrenzt ist. Wacht auf, denn wir sind unserer Rettung jetzt näher als
zu Beginn unseres Glaubens.
12 Die Nacht ist fast vorüber; der Tag der Erlösung kommt
bald. Deshalb lebt nicht in der Finsternis mit ihren bösen Taten, sondern
greift zu den Waffen des Lichts!
13 Unser Leben soll vorbildlich und ehrlich sein, damit
es vor den Augen anderer Anerkennung findet. Wir wollen nicht an
ausschweifenden Festen und Trinkgelagen teilnehmen, keinen Ehebruch begehen,
nicht in sexueller Zügellosigkeit leben und uns auch nicht auf Streit und
Eifersucht einlassen.
14 Haltet euch an Jesus Christus, den Herrn, und lasst
euer Leben von ihm bestimmen2. Gebt euren Wünschen nicht so weit nach, dass ihr
von euren Leidenschaften beherrscht werdet.
Paul is saying…. V11… wake
up!.... look…. the time is short…… Love each other…. V12… Remove your dark deeds….. Take off all
the garbage that is clinging to you…. Let's get it together! Let's get going!
V13…. Stop wasting your lives…. No more
wild parties….. drunkenness.… desire for forbidden beds….. Stop the strife and envy…… It's time to get rid of all that….. He says
instead…. Love the lost…. Put on the shining armor of right living!... We must
live decent lives for all to see….v14 clothe yourselves with the presence of
the Lord Jesus…. Don´t even think about ways to indulge your evil desires….
Paul was racing the clock….. He knew that his time was short…. He
knew that our time is short….. He says…. Wake up…. He was totally committed to
proclaiming the Good News and to making disciples while he still had time… Some Christians are as good to God asleep as
they are awake…… They don't do anything either way…… because they're spiritually
asleep…..
We are
talking about Persistence…… James said, "What is your life?" It is a Vapor…. Ever seen the vapor rise off the tea glass?
That's your life…… Try to grab it….. You cannot do it…. It will soon be gone….
So stop wasting the little time that you have left…. The only way we can avoid
wasting our lives is to live for him….. Paul understood this….. And so he
refused to be discouraged…. He refused to slow down…… When they tried to kill
him….. He got up and immediately went back to serving the Lord….
Paul was effective in his Christian life…. A faithful servant….. He
was persistent….. back to Acts 14… v21…
Acts 14:
21-23 NKJV
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.
Acts 14: 21-23 sch 2000
21 Und nachdem sie in dieser Stadt das Evangelium
verkündigt und eine schöne Zahl Jünger gewonnen hatten, kehrten sie wieder nach
Lystra und Ikonium und Antiochia zurück; 22 dabei stärkten sie die Seelen der
Jünger und ermahnten sie, unbeirrt im Glauben zu bleiben, und [sagten ihnen,]
daß wir durch viele Bedrängnisse in das Reich Gottes eingehen müssen. 23 Nachdem sie ihnen aber
in jeder Gemeinde Älteste bestimmt hatten, befahlen sie sie unter Gebet und
Fasten dem Herrn an, an den sie gläubig geworden waren.
Here is another thing that makes for effective Christian service…..
It is a commitment to follow up what you begin….. These baby believers needed
to be discipled… They could have gone from Derbe straight back to Antioch or
Syria….. They went all the way back through every city they'd been in….. Paul was willing to risk his own life….. He
was willing to go back into the mouths
of the Lions who had tried to kill him……. Because he knew that these young
believers were weak and needed to be fed and cared for….. He was willing to
give his life to strengthen them…… He would do anything to feed and protect
these baby sheep…. Why? Because the Great Commission is not only to make people
Christians…..it's to make them genuine Disciples…..
Think about this….. it was
dangerous to return…… They had been kicked out of every town they've been in…..
They were taking their lives in their hands….
They went back fearlessly because they were serving the LORD Jesus… Yes it was dangerous….. It was dangerous to
go back…. but it was more dangerous for those new babes not to have milk….. so
that they could grow in grace and in the knowledge of the LORD JESUS….
Paul and
Barnabas were willing to do anything to strengthen and feed these baby
Christians… we can see four things that they did in these verses…..
v22,23…
Making
disciples
1
strengthening the souls of the disciples…
2
exhorting them to continue in the faith…
3 They
appointed elders to pastor and shepherd the people after they had gone….
4
commended them to the Lord….
Verse 22…. Strengthened the souls of the disciples."
The word strengthen comes from a Greek word(epistērizō)
It is made up of two parts…. "epi" which means upon…. and
"steritzo… which means a prop or a support….. You could say… they went
back they went back to prop up the disciples…..
You know a newborn baby can't stand up, right? They just
lie there…. and even when you start to teach them to walk you've got to
hold them up… and support them…. You hold their little arms help them to get the feel of walking… And that's exactly
the way it is as a baby Christian….. They need help and support….. They are
wobbly in their Christian walk….. The Lord Jesus put us into the church so that
the older stronger believers could prop up and support the new weaker
believers….. This word (epistērizō) is used four times in the Book of Acts to
talk about propping up new believers……
Acts 15:32, 15:41, 18:23 and
here in this text…. So they
went back to prop them up…… Literally it means to strengthen them,…..to help
them to stand on their own…. to be strong….. and that's the goal of every
pastor and elder… isn't it?
The Lord would not have you come here to learn the Word… We
are here not only to lead you to
Christ….. but to strengthen you and feed you….
and nurture you so you become strong and solid disciples…. Turn with me
to Eph…ch4…v.11…
Ephesians
4:11- 16 NKJV
11 And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that
we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and
knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working
by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying
of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:11- 16 sch 2000
11 Und Er hat etliche als Apostel gegeben, etliche als
Propheten, etliche als Evangelisten, etliche als Hirten und Lehrer,
12 zur Zurüstung der Heiligen, für das Werk des
Dienstes,4 für die Erbauung des Leibes des Christus,
13 bis wir alle zur Einheit des Glaubens und der
Erkenntnis5 des Sohnes Gottes gelangen, zur vollkommenen Mannesreife6, zum Maß
der vollen Größe des Christus;
14 damit wir nicht mehr Unmündige seien, hin- und
hergeworfen und umhergetrieben von jedem Wind der Lehre durch das betrügerische
Spiel der Menschen, durch die Schlauheit, mit der sie zum Irrtum verführen,
15 sondern, wahrhaftig in der Liebe, heranwachsen in
allen Stücken zu ihm hin8, der das Haupt ist, der Christus.
16 Von ihm aus vollbringt der ganze Leib, zusammengefügt
und verbunden durch alle Gelenke, die einander Handreichung tun nach dem Maß
der Leistungsfähigkeit jedes einzelnen Gliedes, das Wachstum des Leibes zur
Auferbauung seiner selbst in Liebe.
V11…. He himself gave…. God has
put this thing together…. He has put pastors and teachers in the church…… Not
to ruin your fun….. Not to shake a stick at you…… No…. He put us here to take
care of you…. The shepherd and strengthen you….. To feed you with the pure milk
of the Word of God…. To disciple you and to equip you to do the work of the
ministry…. That´s your calling….. God
has called you to do the work of the ministry….. Our job…. My job is to
strengthen you and support you….. just like a father helps his newborn baby
learn to walk….. We are here to love and help and protect you…. And as we grow…. We learn to love and help and protect
each other….That's what we're supposed to be doing…..
Start here Oct 12th
What is it that we must give people that they may grow? The Word of
God…… Turn to 1 peter 2….v…1…
1 Peter
2: 1-3
NKJV
1Therefore,
laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1 Peter 2: 1-3 sch 2000
1 So legt nun ab alle Bosheit und allen Betrug und
Heuchelei und Neid und alle Verleumdungen,
2 und seid als neugeborene Kindlein begierig nach der
unverfälschten Milch des Wortes, damit ihr durch sie heranwachst,
3 wenn ihr wirklich geschmeckt habt, daß der Herr
freundlich ist.
Just like a baby…. Desire the Word that you may grow thereby…... If
you have tasted that the LORD is gracious….
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