Now turn again your Bible to
the book of Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14. Let's read one
verse. Verse 19. Acts 14 verse 19. And there came, and there came
thither. There came after Paul and Barnabas. They came seeking them out. Not to learn more about the gospel. They came with malice in their
heart. They came seeking them that they
might silence them, not to hear from them. There came certain,
and notice who these people are. They're Jews. These are some
of those unbelieving Jews, and they came from where Paul was
at in Antioch. There in Antioch, you remember
what happened? He preached the gospel. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed the gospel. But these Jews in Antioch,
Look what they did down in verse 50 of Acts chapter 13. The Jews
stirred up, these the unbelieving Jews, they stirred up devout
and honorable women and chief men of the city and they raised
persecution against Paul and Barnabas, expelled them out of
the city. What did they do? They disturbed
their refuge. They told them, those old Jews,
that salvation is not in the law. They told them that the
Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, and that He is everything
in salvation, that Christ is the end of the law. That's what
they thought. They were trusting what they
did, and Paul said, if you trust what you do, you'll die in your
sin. Our Lord said, except you believe
I am He, you'll die in your sin. And they expelled them out of
their coast. And they shook the dust off their feet. And then
they went to Iconium. Notice in verse 19 now, Acts
chapter 14, here came this crowd of Jews, these self-righteous
people who went about to establish their own righteousness. They
came from Antioch where Paul had preached the gospel. It says
also they came from Iconium. Oh, what happened in Iconium?
Same thing. You see, wherever they went,
two things happened. Riot. There was a riot. And there was a revival. Two
things. Look what it says in Acts chapter
14. It says, They sowed spades, and
a great multitude believed. But the multitude of the city
was divided. Verse 4. Verse 5, And there was an assault
made, both with the Jews and Gentiles, and also with the Jews,
with their rulers, to use them in a spiteful way, and to stone
them. What had they done? They had simply told the truth,
that God is God, that man is a sinner, depraved and dead,
and unless God is pleased to do something for them through
Christ and in Christ, they'll die in their sin. They pointed
them not to the law, but to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they told
these Jews to seek salvation in Christ. Some did, by His grace. A great multitude believed, but
there was a multitude who rebelled against God. Well, they left
Iconium, they left Antioch, and these Jews followed them. Verse
19, there came together these Jews from Antioch and Iconium
who persuaded the people. They persuaded the people. What
did they use as leverage to persuade the people? I'm not sure, but
I know one thing, it wasn't the truth. They told great lies on
these men, and they persuaded them, and they used the leverage
of deceit and deceitfulness and lies and falsehood to slander
their person, to slander their message. At one point they said,
these men are blasphemers. Remember what it says in chapter
13, verse 45, when the Jews saw the multitude, they were filled
with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul,
contradicting them and blaspheming calling them evil, wicked men. Now notice this, they persuaded
the people. They persuaded the people. And
having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he
had been dead. How brutal. Now you think about
this. Here in Lystra, not many days
passed This same crowd that was persuaded to stone Paul just
a few days before were going to bring garlands and crown them
as deity and worship them as gods. Now they are persuaded
to kill them with stones. How brutal, how wicked. It reminds
me of this scripture. The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? How wicked and
confused is Paul. And man, at one point, they're
ready to worship Paul. Now, they're ready to execute
him and stone him for the gospel's sake. Find 1 Corinthians chapter
4. Paul speaks of this in these
terms this way. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. He says, verse 11. 1 Corinthians 4, 11. Even in
this present hour, We both hunger and thirst and are naked and
are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place. And labor, working
with our hands, being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, well,
we suffer. We suffer it. Being defamed,
we entreat. We are made as a filth of the
world and as the offscaring of all things unto this day. I tell
you what, he wasn't a popular man. And a man who preaches the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in its grace, in its sovereignty,
in its truth, don't expect him to be a popular man. He'll be
rejected by this religious, God-hating world. He will be. Now they're
ready to kill old Paul. It reminds me of this. When the
Lord Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem, they cried unto him, Hosanna
to the highest! The Son of David is come! You
know what they said the next day? Pilate brought him forth
and presented him as the king. Behold your king! Remember what
they said? Away with him. Crucify him. We have no king but Caesar. You see how frail and fickle,
fallen, sinful, depraved man he is? He doesn't have a clue. He's dead. He's dead in sin. He has no idea who God is. He
has no idea how sinful he is. Therefore, they go about to establish
a righteousness and salvation by their own deeds, by their
own works. And they not only stone Paul,
they drew him out of the city. Now what does that mean? That
means they drug him through the streets. They made a spectacle
of him. They said, this is what we're
going to do to those who preach the gospel. We're going to kill
them and we're going to put them on display. And we're going to drag
them through the streets. And they thought they'd ended
this thing of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Supposing he had
been dead, albeit as the disciples stood around about him, he rose
up and came into the city. And the next day he departed,
him and Barnabas, to Derby. Both friend and foe thought that
Paul was dead. It's only by a miracle of almighty
grace that God restored him to health. One old songwriter put
it this way, God's servants are immortal here until their work
is done. Many times they try to take the
Lord Jesus and kill him and throw him off a cliff. He said, my
hour has not yet come. My hour has not yet come." And
then one day he said, my hour is here. They couldn't touch
him until God's appointed time. In man's days, God's servants
are immortal here until their work is done. They could not
kill him until God's purpose was accomplished in him. Remember,
God said, I've raised him up to be a witness to the Gentiles.
His time of death was appointed by God, but this wasn't the time. Now, he did die a martyr several
years later, having his head taken off for the gospel. If
appointed unto man was to die, this was God's appointment at
that time, but not now. Not now. You see, man's days
are determined of God. Of God. I, the Lord, I kill,
I make alive. I, the Lord, do all these things.
God's in charge. He's in charge in this day. He's
in charge every day. He came back right into the city,
verse 20, right back into the teeth of the enemy. I don't think
he snuck back into town either. I think he walked through the
front gate and said, hey boys, I'm back. What are you going
to do now? Oh, I tell you, I bet that made
an impact, didn't it? I don't think he snuck into town.
I think he came in publicly. I don't know, but you know, when
you're stoned, you're going to have bruises everywhere, aren't
you? I don't think he had a bruise on him. I think he came in and
said, look here, look what God has done. What are you going
to do now? Oh, what a testimony for the
gospel of God's grace. And the next day he departed.
Him and Barnabas, they went to Derby. Now look at verse 21.
And when they had preached the gospel to that city, they were
right back at the business of preaching Christ. Preaching Christ. You couldn't silence these men
until God said, My purpose is done. When they had preached
the gospel to that city in Derby, and had taught many, God had
many disciples in that city. Remember at one point God said,
you stay there in that city, I have much people there. God
had an elect in that city, sent them a gospel preacher and God
used that message and called them to Christ in faith. They
taught many, made many disciples. And then look what it says in
verse 21. They returned again to Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch. They went right back to those
three cities in which they were pounded and persecuted and run
out of town. And they're right back at the
business of preaching Christ. You know why they came back?
Turn to chapter 15, verse 36. Here's why they came back. Chapter 15, verse 36, And some
days after Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our
brethren in every city where we have preached the word of
the Lord and see how they do." They were interested in how they
were doing. How they were getting along.
They were concerned for their soul's welfare to see how they
were doing. So they went back to Lystra.
They went back to Iconium. They went back to Antioch. Verse
22. Confirming. Here's what they
did. Verse 22. They returned to encourage the
saints. Confirming the souls of the disciples. The disciple
is one who believes the gospel. A disciple, that's where we get
the word discipline. Discipline. These were made servants
of God. Followers of the Lord Jesus. His sheep hear His voice and
they follow Him. Confirming the souls of the disciples. Exhorting them to continue. To continue in the faith. How'd
they start? How did they start this walk
of faith? They started by looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. How
were they to continue? They would continue looking to
the Lord Jesus Christ. He exhorted them to continue
in THE FAITH. There's one faith. There's one
gospel. There's one way. Definite article.
THE FAITH. This is THE FAITH of God's elect. THE FAITH of God's elect acknowledges
the truth that God is God. and that Christ is everything
in salvation, exhorted them to continue in the faith, confirming
their hearts, reestablishing the Word in their heart by preaching
Christ to them and exhorting them to continue to come to Christ
and to rest in Him. Now look at verse 22, the last
part, and that we must, we must, through much tribulation, enter
into the kingdom of God. We must. Turn to John chapter
16. Now, I don't think this is talking about everyday common
trouble that every person experiences. A man that's born of woman is
a few days and full of trouble. This trouble here that he's talking
about here, this much tribulation, we must, through much tribulation,
enter into glory, is trouble over the gospel. over the gospel
issues. That's what he's talking about
here. In John 16, 33, these things have I spoken unto you that in
me you might have peace. In the world, with the world,
you're going to have trouble, tribulation, but be of good cheer.
I've overcome. This is a victory. Even our faith
we've overcome in Christ. Now this trouble here is taking
a stand for the gospel. And if you take an unmitigated,
unmitigated, unchanging stand for the gospel of God's grace,
you know what it will bring? I'll tell you what it will bring. Don't turn and let me just read
this verse to you again. 2 Timothy 3.12, Yea, all that
will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. You take a stand for the gospel.
Our Lord said, take up your cross and follow me. Confess me before
men. If you don't confess me before
men, I won't confess you before my father. Take up your cross
and follow me. No man putting his hand to the
plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. You take
an unmitigated, unchanging stand for the gospel and contend for
the gospel of God's grace. You'll have trouble. Our Lord
said, you'll have trouble in your own house with your father.
your father-in-law, your mother, your mother-in-law, your son,
your daughter. You see, this gospel of God's
grace, it divides. That's what it says there in
the text. There was a division. The multitude of the city was
divided. You see, the gospel of God's
grace divides the sheep from the goats. It does now. It divides. He said, I didn't
come to send peace, but a sword to set a man against those who
are against God. Our Lord said, if you're not
with me, you're against me. That's what he's talking about
here. We must, through much trouble, enter into the kingdom of God.
Now, you ask why? Why should we have trouble? Well,
these trials are appointed for our eternal good in His glory.
You remember the Lord Said this to the Apostle, find this scripture
here, I believe it's 2 Corinthians 12. Turn over there, 2 Corinthians
12. You remember when he prayed this
way? 2 Corinthians 12. The Apostle prayed
this way, that this thorn in the flesh, verse 7, the messenger
of Satan, to be removed. The messenger of Satan was sent
to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this
thing I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from
me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessity, in persecution, in
distresses, for Christ's sake, for when I'm weak, that's when
I'm strong. They must come. Peter said, Beloved,
don't think it a strange thing when these fiery trials come.
They're sent of God, they're by an appointment, and they're
for our good, and they're for His glory. But I'm telling you
this, I've experienced it. And I know many of you have too.
You take a stand for the gospel. As Luther said, here I stand,
I can do no other. And you'll have a battle on your
hands. You will. We must, through much tribulation,
enter into the kingdom of God. That's the way the Lord has ordained
for His people to believe and to live. Now, read on. And when they had ordained, Elders,
verse 23, in every church. They went back to Lystra, Iconium,
and Antioch. God was pleased to raise up pastors
and teachers and to give them as gifts to His people, to the
church. They prayed with them, fasting
with them, and notice the last part of verse 23, they commended
them. They prayed with them, they encouraged
them, and they commended them To who? To the Lord. Now that's a good recommendation.
That's a good place to commend men to look to the Lord. Turn over to Acts chapter 20.
Acts chapter 20. When Paul was leaving
those believers in Ephesus, those elders, and he warned them to
feed the church of God. And he warned them about false
prophets that would rise up from among them. Acts 20, 28, 29,
30. And he said to watch, verse 31,
and remember, by the space of three years I ceased not to warn
everyone night and day with tears. And now, brethren, verse 32,
Acts 20, I commend you to God through the word of His grace
which is able to build you up. to give you an inheritance among
all them that are sanctified. And I commend you to God. I commend
you to the Word of His grace, able to build you up, able to
give you an eternal inheritance, heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. That's a good commendation, isn't
it? I point you to Him and tell you
to look to the Lord Jesus for all things in salvation. He's
able to supply all our needs. according to his riches in glory
through Christ Jesus. Now look back at Acts chapter
14 again. Acts chapter 14. They commanded them to the Lord,
verse 23, on whom they believe. You see, saving faith looks to
the Lord Jesus Christ, not the ceremony, Not to works, not to
tradition. Saving faith doesn't look to
faith. It looks to Christ on whom they
believe. Now, verse 24 down to verse 27. Now here's the end of their first
missionary journey. They took three together, all
together. This is the end of the first one. Verse 24, after
they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Panthila. And when
they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Antilia,
this is a port city, and there they sailed back to Antioch,
from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work
which they fulfilled. Now notice, if you will, in verse
25, when they came to Perga and Antilia, here again it says they
preached the word. They preached Christ and Him
crucified. We see this all the way through
the story and all the way through the book of Acts. Notice, if
you will, in Acts 14, verse 1, they so spake the gospel. Again in verse 7, there they
preached the gospel. And again in verse 21, it says,
when they had preached the gospel to that city. Always about the
gospel. Always about Christ. Find 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. Here's our message. Paul said,
Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Here's the message. 2 Corinthians
chapter 4 verse 5. For we preach not ourselves.
We don't preach ourselves. We preach Christ. Jesus the Lord. And ourselves, your servants,
for his sake. We preach Christ and Him crucified.
He says it in another place. Verse 6, For God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And we have this treasure in
earthen vessels. That's what this body of flesh
is. It's an earthen vessel. It's weak. It's frail. That the
excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are
troubled on every side. Yet we are not distressed. We
are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Passed down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always
deliberate unto death for His sake, that the life also of the
Lord may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So death worketh
in you, but So then death worketh in us,
but life, life, salvation in you. Now back to the text. Acts 14. So they preached the
word. They preached Christ. Christ
and Him crucified. They pointed these sinners to
the Lord Jesus, saying He's the fulfillment of the law. He is
all and everything in salvation. Now look at verse 26. I like
this phrase here. Thence they sailed back to Antioch,
their home church, for whence they had been recommended to
the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled." By the
grace of God, they were called. By the grace of God, they were
saved. By the grace of God, they were
chosen unto salvation. Paul said in another place his
testimony was to Timothy as God who saved us and called us. With
a holy calling? Not according to our works, but
according to God's own purpose and grace. By the grace of God
they were saved and called, and by the grace of God they labored
in the works. Now find 1 Corinthians 15. By
the grace of God. You see, nothing could discourage
them. Persecuted, distressed, cast down, but not forsaken. 1 Corinthians, look at this. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 9, For I am the least of
the apostles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because
I persecuted the church of God. You remember the life of Saul
of Tarsus. He hated the Lord Jesus and that
gospel till he met the master and was put in the dust and made
a new creature in Christ. Look what it says in verse 10.
But by the grace of God, I was before a blasphemer and a persecutor,
he says in another place. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. Is that your testimony? I'm a
believer by the grace of God. I am what I am. And His grace
which was bestowed upon me was not vain grace. It was not in
vain. But I labored more abundantly
than they all. I thought salvation was by grace.
It is, but that grace of God manifested in us causes us to
labor abundantly for His glory, for His cause, for His purpose.
But I labored more abundantly than they all. Look what it says,
yet not I, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. So whether it was I or they,
so we preach. And so you believe. You see,
it's by the grace of God that we believe. It's by the grace
of God that we work and labor and live for His glory. Their
motive and their ambition to serve the Lord was out of gratitude
and love. Not fame and fortune. They weren't
seeking fame and fortune. They were motivated to serve
their Lord out of gratitude. out of thankfulness for having
all their sin put away, being made a new creature in Christ.
They're motivated to serve and their ambition was to promote
the gospel of God, was it not? The glory of God. God forbid
we should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
look at verse 27. And when they were come together,
I can imagine I don't know how long they were gone from this
church in Antioch of Syria, in Syria. But I'm sure that word
came back of how many God was pleased to save and to justify
and make new creatures in Christ. And how they were persecuted
from one city to another city. And all the afflictions that
happened to them at that time. Verse 27, they were come together,
back to Antioch. Here's a sweet homecoming. God
had gathered the church together. You see, there's just one church. It's the body of Christ. That
word church simply means those who are called out. He brought
this body, this assembly of believers together with one mind, with
one purpose, with one heart to serve the Lord. And when they
came together, that's fellowship. That's union with Christ. Being
one with Him. One with another. Fellows in
the same ship. Now look at verse 27. When they were come together,
this sweet fellowship back in the home church in Antioch, they
rehearsed. They had a show and tell. They
rehearsed all that God had done with them. I like that phrase. All that God had done with them. This is the Lord's doing and
it's marvelous in our eyes. It's a good description of salvation,
is it not? All that God had done with us. That's salvation. It's not what
we're going to do with Him. It's what He must do for us and
in us. They rehearsed all that God had
done with them. How? He opened the door of faith
unto the Gentiles. And there they abode a long time
with the disciples. They rehearsed all that God had
done. Now, I like this phrase here, how He opened the door. You ever try to go through a
closed door? When you walk out this door here, you better make
sure it's open. If you try to walk through that
door and it's closed, you're going to get hurt. You're going
to have a bloody nose. You're going to be in trouble.
I tell you, to seek salvation in any other way than the open
door. When he died, the bell was rang.
Open! He said, come! You come any other
way, you're going to hit a brick wall. You're going to hit a door
that's been walled up with brick. He opened the door. Now look
at John chapter 9. What is this door? What is this
door here? This is how he opened the door. He ripped the veil in that holy
of holies. He opened the way into the mercy
seat and he says, everyone that thirsty, he said, come! You that
are laboring and heavy laden, he said, come! Look what it says
here in John chapter 10, verse 7. Verily, verily, I say unto
you, I am the door. You see, He sent the door. That's
Christ. The door is a way of access,
isn't it? Access. The Lord Jesus Christ,
He said, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes unto the
Father but by and through Me. I am the door of the sheep of
His elect. All that ever came before Me
are thieves and robbers. The sheep didn't hear them. Look
at verse 9. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in. He shall go
in and out and find pasture. You see this door leads in and
it brings us out. You see what he's saying there?
I am the door. He shall be saved. That man that
entered in, he shall go in. Into life, out of death. Passed from death unto life. And that's this door. That's
Christ. You see what he's saying there? I am the door, by me. By His grace. By me, if any man
enter in, he shall be saved. Shall. Be. Saved. And he'll go
out. He'll go in. life, righteousness,
and peace, and he'll go out of bondage, death, and sin and find
sweet pasture. Sweet pasture. Back to the text. And when they were come, they
gathered the church together, rehearsed all that God had done
with them, how he opened the door of faith to these pagan
Gentiles. In chapter 15, we're going to
see controversy about this, about God receiving sinners. And there, verse 28, there they
abode a long time. A long time. With the disciples. A long time. Don't know how long?
They stayed there a long time. The psalmist said, how good and
how pleasant to dwell together in unity. There they abode a long time.
blessedness in the gospel.