THE HIGHS & LOWS OF MAKING DISCIPLES
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: THE HIGHS & LOWS OF MAKING DISCIPLES
Scripture References: ACTS 14
Summary:
Making disciples, spreading the gospel, and reaching the lost, has its good times and hard times. Doing the Lord’s work isn’t easy and it requires a lot of faith and dependence on God. The journey doesn’t always go the way you want it to and sometimes it downright hurts. But the work is so rewarding that every trial is still worth going through. Paul and Barnabas could write a book about their roller coaster experience on their first missionary journey. The highs and lows of making disciples are real, but the high points are always worth going through the low points. Let’s see what we can learn and apply from Acts 14 about making disciples.
Notes:
V. 1-7
Highs and Lows in Iconium
What took place in Antioch of Pisidia also took place in Iconium. They preached with power and many believed. They also faced resistance but courageously stayed.
V. 3 God performed many miraculous signs and wonders proving their message was true. “God intended that his message be accompanied by miraculous signs that confirmed the truth and power of His Word. In this way, the Lord worked in partnership with his people–they spoke and served, and he provided the power to change lives–making the truth of the message apparent to those who heard and saw what was happening.” Fire Bible Foot Note, page 1734
The word “apostle” was first given to those who were with Jesus. Mathias was added in place of Judas. Then Paul was considered one of the apostles because of his direct encounter with and special revelation from Jesus. A more generic term “apostle” was given to the first missionaries like Barnabas when sent out to go be a messenger and preach the Word. When churches send missionaries “apostle” is loosely used too.
Learning that some people in the town wanted to stone Paul and Barnabas they fled to surrounding towns where they preached the good news. You have to applaud their courage in the face of intimidation and threats.
V. 8-10
Crippled man is healed
While preaching and sharing the gospel in Lystra they encountered a crippled man…notice the redundancy to get the severity across in one verse: “man with crippled feet…been that way from birth…he had never walked…” When interpreting scripture this emphasis is noteworthy. Luke wanted us to grasp the magnitude of this miracle.
As he was sitting and listening, Paul noticed he had faith to be healed.
This is divine insight or discernment through the Holy Spirit, possibly a word of knowledge but what Paul sees could very well confirm what the Spirit is nudging.
I can imagine Paul seeing hope and eagerness on the man's face as he listened to the gospel and testimonies of Jesus.
But truly empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, Paul orders him to stand up.
The faith of this man born crippled blows me away. He would have no muscle on his legs, they would be too weak to walk. He has never walked. But in his mind, he didn't think about all the impossibilities, he thought of one thing, Jesus is the healer and He is alive. He believed he could walk!!
Oh God, thank you for showing us we can come to you like this! We can believe in you for the impossible, today. Open our hearts and eyes to believe in your healing power and lead us in doing miracles for your glory!
V. 11-20
The town tries to worship Paul and Barnabas
The apostles strongly rebuked and denied the townspeople's attempts of false worship.
I love verses 16-17. It reminds me of how God has revealed himself visibly to all people, this is what we call general revelation. Special revelation is His Word and Jesus.
Rom. 1:20
Acts 17:24-31 (I’ll just reference this but don’t want the scripture up)
The Gentiles can see with their eyes evidence of God's existence. God has given proof of himself by doing good things and shows what kind of God he is by giving crops at the right time, by providing food, and by filling people's hearts with joy…Living as they pleased, they walked in the ways of idolatry, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. At that time they had no specific revelation of his will in Jesus Christ. Because of their ignorance, God overlooked their idolatry. He has now revealed himself in Christ, making their ignorance inexcusable and obligating them to turn from idols to the living God…God has left a witness to himself in the created universe, though sin has marred creation (Gen. 3:17-19; Rom. 8:18-25), and as a result, it now reflects imperfectly God's glory. General revelation offered through creation can never bring anyone into a saving relationship with God. Only through Jesus Christ, God's Son, is there revelation that saves. Although the death and resurrection of Jesus are what is required for personal salvation… -FLBC, pg 607
The mob that threatened Paul in Iconium had chased him down in Lystra and stoned him. But the believers gathered around his body (most likely praying for him to be healed). Paul got up and went back into the town.
V. 21-28
Derbe and then home
Making many disciples in Derbe
On their way home, Paul and Barnabas visited Lystra, Iconium, and Psidian Antioch again, where they strengthened and encouraged the believers to continue in the faith and that suffering for the gospel can be expected.
They strengthened the church by appointing elders or overseers to guide the church.
Because the believers needed organization to be able to work together and carry on the work of the Lord, the apostles then "appointed elders" (Gk. presbuterous, "elders," used interchangeably in the NT with episkopoi, "overseers, superintendents, presidents of the congregation or assembly," cf. 20:17,28; Titus 1:5,757) in each place, that is, in each of the local house churches. This, however, was not an ordination in the modern sense. The Greek for "appointed" ("ordained," KJV) is cheiratonësantes, where cheir is the Greek word for "hand"; the whole word means they conducted an election by a show of hands. When the seven deacons were chosen (in chapter 6), the apostles laid down the qualifications and the people did the choosing. We can be sure the same thing happened here. Paul must have given the qualifications, which he recorded later in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. Then the people of the local assembly made the choice by an election (undoubtedly after prayer for the Spirit's help in deciding who best met these qualifications). At the beginning, elders were Spirit-filled men chosen from among the members of the local congregation, not until many years later did churches begin to feel that they needed to bring in pastor-teachers who could also be the administrative head of the assembly, men who would combine the office of elder (also called bishop and presbyter) with the God-called ministry of pastor-teacher. Horton, ACTS, pgs 257-258
They returned to Antioch and shared testimonies of all God had done and stayed with the believers there for a long time.
In their report, Paul and Barnabas do not dwell on the hardships and violence they have encountered, nor do they boast about their dedication and strength in the face of persecution. Their report emphasizes two things: (1) "All that God had done through them." It is significant that the emphasis falls on what God did. Their success was due to God because he worked through them. The Holy Spirit initiated, empowered, and sustained them on their mission. The apostles endured great adversity, but the Spirit's work through them explains their successes. (2) God "had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” FLBC, pg 609
Application:
What can we learn from Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey?
Make your own “Synagogues”
Paul and Barnabas were faithful to visit the synagogue where they could share their faith. In Lystra there was no synagogue so they preached and performed signs and miracles in the open air or near the city gate
I’m not suggesting we build literal Jewish Synagogues to preach and share the gospel. I’m encouraging us to occupy spaces and create or seize opportunities where we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ and our testimonies.
Christians in America have churches where pastors and teachers share the faith but most non-Christians aren't attending church or not being invited to church. This means we have to go where the unsaved are. Jesus said follow me and I will make you fishers of men. We must go fishing and go where the people are and also invite them in.
What could we use as a synagogue or street corner? Is it your own home? Office? Coffee shop?
Making Disciples Isn’t Easy But It’s Eternally Rewarding
Paul and Barnabas went through a roller coaster to see these towns and cities come to know Christ in Acts 14. But in the end, the church grew so much that they had to elect church leaders to help lead.
It’s not easy in our own homes but the call is worth every challenge, every up and down, and every tear.
Parents, I lovingly preach this knowing I am preaching to myself. If we’re trying harder to raise athletes, musicians, ninjas, doctors, scholars, singers, and (whatever else), more than raise disciples then we are missing the heart of Jesus.
Where do we start? The apostle Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. We begin following Jesus, then bring our family and friends along with us on the journey teaching and modeling what we are learning and experiencing. Starts in the home all week with reading the Bible together, loving your neighbor, attending church, serving together, and loving the community you live in.
We must depend on and follow the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit empowers.
The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to help you witness and give you the power to perform signs and miracles that validate the gospel.
Believe and go in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit reveals.
The Spirit revealed the man’s faith to be healed.
The Holy Spirit leads
The Spirit led Paul to adapt to the audience and share what was needed. The Holy Spirit prompted Paul on how to address those who were trying to worship him.
Paul does not appeal to Old Testament scripture or teachings in Lystra because the audience was Greek. Paul appealed to the teaching of theism and true worship of the one and only God, the creator of all things. The Greeks were polytheists and worshiped many gods who were false and not real.
America is a Polytheistic nation now. If we were ministering to a Jew you may speak to them about the Messianic prophecies and types of Jesus in the Old Testament that Jews would understand. But to the rest, to Gentiles, we cut through all the gods and focus on one God. Trinity is an interesting caveat.
The Holy Spirit delivers
He delivered Paul from death and delivered great results in each town.
God was with them the whole time. God built the church through the gospel, the power of the Spirit, and the persevering faith of His people. We're here because the grace, the power, and the gospel of God encouraged the apostles not to give up. They didn't let persecution or resistance discourage or stop them. The Gospel was too good and too important to stop.
We’re on this mission, together!
2 Corinthians 4:8-18 NLT -WE!
We have God and we have the church. We need to be there for each other. The church had Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas had the church. When Paul was stoned and left for dead, the church gathered around him to help.
Discussion:
What did God use in this sermon to speak to your heart or situation?
What part of the scripture stuck out to you and why?
What can we take away from Paul and Barnabas’ perseverance through the resistance they faced?
Why was the story of the crippled man’s faith so powerful?
What was the apostles response when the townspeople tried to worship them?
Have you experienced how rewarding it is to disciple and share the Word of God?
What takeaways or points did you find the most important to you during the sermon?
The most important decision you will ever make!
If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!
We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!