An Encouraging Word February 5th, 2023
Holy God, your people turn to your Word for truth and guidance in every age. Send your Holy Spirit to inspire our understanding of your Scriptures, read and interpreted today. Help us hear the truth for our lives and our times through Christ, your Living Word. Amen.
Last week we left our two missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, in the town of Lystra, which was located in modern day Turkey. Shortly after entering the town, they encountered a man who had been lame from birth. Through the work of the Holy Spirit Paul told the man to get up and walk, he did so and was healed of his lameness. But while that was wonderful for the lame man it caused problems for Paul and Barnabas as the people of the town mistook them for being Greek gods and began to worship them. It was only after much effort that they were finally able to convince the people that they were only human and that only God deserved the glory. It was his power that healed the lame man. But even with that, the Apostle Luke tells us, “Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.”
And now in this morning’s reading we are going to see that for Paul, things were only going to get worse. After having just subdued the people this is what happened next, “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.” A few weeks ago, we read about Paul and Barnabas being in that town, Antioch, preaching the gospel message. Many there came to accept Jesus as their Saviour and the crowds who came to hear the word of the Lord grew. Because of the number of people Paul and Barnabas were attracting, the leading Jews of the town grew jealous, so, as Luke tells us, “…the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.”
So, Paul and Barnabas went to the nearby town of Iconium and preached in the synagogue there. But once again the leading figures in the town grew envious. Here’s what took place, “Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So, they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.”
And now here in Lystra, the people who were devoted to Paul and Barnabas one minute, turned their backs on them the next and stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. They were easily swayed by the leaders who came from the nearby towns and went from worshipping Paul as a god one minute to stoning him and leaving him for dead the next, how easily swayed, and fickle people can be!
But, despite their best efforts, Paul wasn’t dead. Luke says, “But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. Not what you’d expect a person to do after nearly being stoned to death; get up, dust yourself off, and go back to the place where the people were who had just tried to kill you. But that was Paul, he was totally dedicated to spreading the Gospel message, he was fully committed to his Lord and Saviour, Jesus. He got up and went back into town; now that’s persistence. He wasn’t finished yet, he still had work to do.
Later on in his life, Paul described his devotion to the Lord in these words from his first letter to the members of the church in Corinth, “But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1st Corinthians 9:15-16) This was what made Paul such a powerful missionary. That was why he founded so many churches. His life was dedicated to evangelism—in reaching the lost for Christ! And so, Paul, along with his companion Barnabas went back into the town, finished what they had to do there, and the next day left for the neighbouring town of Derbe.
Luke doesn’t give us any details as to what happened there, saying simply, “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.” As was the case in the other towns of the region, Paul and Barnabas were able to make many converts, and after doing so, they decided to return to the some of the places they had already been. And when they did, they kept busy, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
Having left elders in charge of the churches of those towns they then returned to the city of Antioch in Syria, where the Holy Spirit had first commissioned them to preach the Gospel message to the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas had successfully completed their first missionary trip. At this point we’re told by Luke, “And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”
What really struck me most about this morning’s readings is how Paul, despite all the opposition he encountered, including being stoned and left for dead, never stopped encouraging the new believers. Even after bringing people to faith, he wasn’t content to leave them to their own devices, no, he wasn’t content until he had returned to strengthen them and inspire them. Luke said that Paul and Barnabas, “returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.” After Paul brought people to Christ through his preaching and teaching, he encouraged them to continue in the faith and he encouraged them to stay true when trials came. He made sure they were strong in their faith.
And that’s a great example for us as we look at building up the church, we too, should be encouragers. We talk, we share, we serve, we encourage. We do things that build people in their faith. Our faithful and committed example is probably the best thing we can do to strengthen others in the faith. And beyond that, we can continue to point people to Christ, encouraging and helping one another. Let’s encourage those who are discouraged. Let’s encourage those who feel like giving up. Let’s encourage those who have overwhelming grief. Let’s encourage the weak in faith. Let’s encourage all in the family of faith. As Paul, himself, wrote to the members of the church in Thessalonica, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing…Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, 16-18)
Let us Pray:
Our Father, as we close our service now, we ask you to make us faithful followers of you. There are so many people around us who are in need. Please show us how we can help. Use us Lord for your glory and use us to be a blessing to others. Open our eyes and make us aware of the opportunities we have to encourage others in faith. We pray that you would show us how to best use our resources to help others find their way to you. Amen