The Letter to the Colossian Church- 4

Subtitle: The Work of Christ among Them

Colossians 1:21-29.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, August 3, 2025.

After he has presented a powerful picture of just who Jesus is (the Lord of Creation and the Lord of the New Creation), Paul now turns to Christ’s work among them in Colossae.

This great work, of a God who is capable of such great things, is the same One who is working in little you!  It is important for believers not to doubt that God’s greatness does not make us insignificant to Him.  It is quite the opposite.  As men become greater in their scope among others, their limited nature requires a level of leaving details to others who work for them.  God does delegate, but He doesn’t do so because He is limited.  Rather, He is in every minute detail of how our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made, and how our spirits were made to glorify Hiim in these bodies and in this life.  Don’t doubt His working in you.

Let’s look at our passage.

The New Creation in Colossae (v. 21-23)

This New Creation is not something that is happening somewhere out there in the universe or on the earth far away.  It was happening right there in Colossae.

Jesus is also right here in Everett, Washington doing his work.  He is working in Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, the church we are at today.  He is working in your house, your life, and inside of you.

Of course, this could make us feel uncomfortable.  Yet, when we understand that our heavenly Father loves us more than we can imagine, so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for your sins, we can learn to rest in His work.  Yes, He will correct us and scrutinize us, but it will be done in love and with all the help that He supplies through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and other believers.

In verse 21, Paul describes their condition prior to Christ’s new creation within them.

They were alienated from God.  They had been made strangers to God, first by the rebellions of their forefathers, and second by their own thoughts and actions.  This is more than proximity.  It also has to do with our understanding of God.  We are clueless to who He is and what He is like.  We do not respond to Him like one who is in close relationship, but as one who does not know Him at all.

Not only were they alienated, they were also hostile in mind through evil deeds.  These are actually connected together, rather than seen as two separate things.  Actions begin in the heart and then process in the mind, until we do them.  Why are our minds hostile to God and His purposes?  We can blame it on  our culture, and there is a level of truth to this.  However, we all have a personal part in this rebellion, which is our own hostility towards God, acted out in sinful deeds.

What I mean is this.  You may grow up in a sinful culture that is hostile to God.  However, along the way, as that sin causes harm to you, you will question it.  You will see that something is wrong in the ways that you are being enculturated.  Yet, in many small ways, we choose paths that are not good, but sinful.  They are hostile to the way God would have you be.  It doesn’t matter that you may not know God’s ways because God is good.  Thus, we choose ways that are not good, showing that we are hostile to God even before knowing Him.  This hostility towards a God we do not know is revealed every time we justify our sinful actions to the people around us.

God knows the culture surrounding a person.  They are not His enemy because of that, but because of their own choices and actions.  This is how the Colossians were when the Gospel came to them.  The Gospel showed them that they had been far away from God and unknowing enemies against Him.  The Gospel teaches us to own up to our own sin.  We cannot repent for our fathers and mothers.  We cannot repent for our nation (or Republic, as the case may be).  But, God gives each one of us the opportunity to repent for ourself.

Christians are those who have quit hiding behind everyone else’s sin as an excuse.  We see this dynamic when we talk with someone who “doesn’t need Jesus and his religion.”  You can challenge them with this question.  “So, you are perfect and don’t need to repent of anything?”  They will often respond that it would be unfair for God to expect absolute perfection from them.  “No one is perfect!”

Yet, the underlying dynamics are not about what you think God should accept.  That is like a kid in front of a judge believing that the judge should not hold them accountable for anything they have done.  Such a delusion will not serve you well in the courtroom.  No, this is about who God is and what He is doing.

God won’t settle for imperfection.  Yet, He knows that you cannot be perfect in and of yourself.  Instead of lowering the bar, which would have Him forever dwelling with sinful beings and pretending that they are okay, He lowers Himself in such a way as to make us perfect.  The Gospel is the good news that God the Father has created a way for us to be made perfect so that we can dwell in His presence, His goodness, forever.  He is not willing that any should perish, but He will not force anyone to choose Him.

This brings us to their present condition in verse 22.  Their situation has changed.

Christ has reconciled them.  Their life was full of errors compared to the goodness of God.  They could not “fit in” with God’s purposes in their prior state.  Thus, through Jesus the Christ, God has brought them into a state of harmony, or peace, with God.

Notice that Paul emphasizes that this was done in Christ’s “fleshly body.”  There is an emphasis here that is intended to block, even to rebuke, the tendency within the Greek mindset.  They could not fathom the fullness of God dwelling in frail human flesh.  Of course, they believed Zeus could come down and bed a fair maiden.  But, the idea that a God could be killed, not just by a mortal, but as a mortal.

This is part of the source of many philosophers and teachers that continually tried to use Christian teachings as a vehicle for their own ideas.  They felt that they were making it better, but in truth, they were not.

Those who put their faith in Jesus have been reconciled to God by what he did in frail, weak, mortal flesh.  The humiliation of the devil is found in this irony.  Jesus defeated him not as an immortal, but as a weak human.  Further irony is found in the devil’s stubborn grasp on his pride while Jesus humbles himself to the lowest place.  This idea is not just contrary to the devil’s mindset.  It is contrary to the mindset that fills this world, even our hearts.

Of course, the Eternal Son is not weak and frail anymore.  However, he is still humble, waiting for the time when the Father sends Him to take up the Kingdom from the powers of this earth.

Jesus had reconciled them in order to present them: “holy, blameless and beyond reproach.”  There is a purpose in making peace between us and God. 

The idea of presenting them can also be translated as to be set or established before him.  It can be contemplated as a future thing that is after our resurrection, which is the easiest to see.  In that day, we will stand before God the Father with holiness and without blame. 

However, it can also be contemplated as already present.  To be holy is to be cleaned and set apart for God’s purposes.  This is a present reality for the believer.  The death and resurrection of Jesus has cleansed us and given us a mission for the purpose of God, both by what we are (His possession) and by what we do (His work).  In this sense, we can never be more holy.

Jesus has also removed the guilt of our sins from us so that we are blameless and beyond reproach right now.  Yes, we are often missing the mark of God’s perfect righteousness.  However, Jesus has paid the price for my sin.  This would be like the University trying to take me to court for bills that my Father in heaven has already paid.  They can protest that it wasn’t my money, but in the end, they have no case.  The price has been paid.  Their true problem is not that they were harmed, i.e., weren’t paid, but is in their own vindictiveness that cannot bear to see such a worm as me to get a break.

Thus, the devil can make every accusation against those who have been reconciled by Christ, but he has no standing and no case, at least not now.  The prime argument of Satan is that we have sinned and therefore must die.  In Christ, this argument is neutralized.

Of course, the believer ought to live in this life in such a way that there is no reason to “take us to court,” whether in the courts of men or heaven.  We ought to respond to the legal holiness and blamelessness supplied by Christ by letting the Holy Spirit teach us and enable us to live out the righteousness of Christ.

In the practical sense, we can become holier and less blameworthy.  This is a powerful part of the good news.  Our failings in this life will be fully healed in death and resurrection.

Verse 23 inserts a condition, “if.”  The “if” here recognizes that the believer must continue trusting Christ.  He must remain “in the faith.”  This is not about staying in a particular church or denomination.  Rather, we can remain in a place of perfect standing before God through our continual trust in Jesus.

Yet, believers can be “moved away” from the hope found in Jesus.  Their standing is only effective as they stay “grounded, steadfast, not moved away.”  He goes on to describe that this is the Gospel that has been preached everywhere, and is the same Gospel that Paul was made to serve.

It isn’t spoken yet, but Paul is aware of some people who are trying to disturb the Colossian Christians and draw them into a different Gospel.  There will be more on that in the next chapter.

Think about it.  The devil does not want you to keep trusting Jesus and serving him.  He will use anything in his power to coax or to bully you away from the work of Christ in you.  Yet, you have been enabled to resist him by the power of Christ that is working within you!  I am not strong enough in myself, but I can trust Christ and be strengthened by the Spirit.

Some may protest that if a believer does anything, then they are saving themselves.  They try to remove this idea that we can walk away from Christ, thus dissolving the condition in which we are reconciled to be holy and blameless before Christ.  However, this is an erroneous argument.

We are not talking about making sure your faith is strong enough to save yourself, as if our “capacity to believe” is extremely effective.  It is about responding to the grace of God that has been put before us.  There would be nothing to believe, if Jesus had not brought it close to us and put it before us.  We are only saved by His grace, but through our faith in Jesus.  Our faith didn’t make anything happen.  It was all the gift of God.  However, I still need to reach out and take hold of the gift.  The same Spirit that helps us to see the Gospel, also helps us to remain in the faith, if we are willing.

Like moving food from a plate that God has placed before us, the believer’s faith becomes a channel of God’s grace.  Were you “fed” by your own works?  Of course,  you were not.  No amount of making the motions of feeding ourselves can feed us, if God has not put a plate of food in front of us.  To protest that you are “feeding yourself” in this example, a person is focusing on the lower mechanics of the food moving to our mouth, and yet ignoring the higher mechanics of making the food possible.  It is God who has fed us and even now continues to feed us.  It is His work alone in making it possible, but His greater work is comingled with the lesser work of countless humans to help us to actually eat, including ourselves.

God’s sovereignty is not hurt by our ability to believe in Christ because this was His choice from the beginning.  It is actually His sovereignty that chooses to give us a real choice.  Those who protest against this are actually limiting the sovereignty of God to choose to do so.

As we move forward, I want to deal with what some may call an error.  Paul speaks of the Gospel “which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven…”  It comes across as an absolute statement that would include North and South America, along with every creature (really?  All the snails too?).  This protest is actually an obstinate attempt to avoid the point.  The Gospel was destined to go everywhere and be preached to all people.  By this time, the whole Roman empire had been filled with the Gospel of Jesus, and was even moving forward from their.  Paul is giving a backhanded argument about why they (we) shouldn’t move away from Jesus.  There is no other Gospel out there to find.  There is no other savior as if God has created multiple paths to salvation.  This is the way that has been preached everywhere and to everyone. 

The ministry of Christ through Paul (v. 26-29)

As Paul has mentioned his post as a minister of the Gospel, he then speaks about the way that Christ is working through him to help them.  In fact, this letter is exhibit number one to that fact.

It may seem odd that he begins by mentioning his own suffering.  Paul was currently in Rome under house-arrest.  He had endured all kinds of hostility from his fellow Jews and from hostile Gentiles.  He endured these hardships because that is what it took to take the Gospel to places like Colossae.

Why can he say that he rejoices in these sufferings?  He can say it because this is what the Lord was asking of him.  Who will pay the price to take my good news to those who are still my enemies?  Paul is pleasing his Savior and Lord, Jesus.

He can also remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12.  “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Do you believe that God takes note of all the hardship you endure, whether to take the Gospel to people or even to live for Him?  Do you believe that He will reward you for anything you suffer on behalf of serving Him?  Paul saw that he was in good company with all the prophets and saints who had gone on before.  We all love a good story of courage under fire, but it is another thing when we are under fire.

Paul is not just identifying with Jesus and the prophets before him.  He sees himself as laboring with the Lord Himself in these things.  The Lord is not untouched with our sufferings.  He is even now suffering with us.

We can become accusatory towards God.  “It is so hard down here!  When will you come down and do something about it?”  However, it is the other way around.  God has suffered over the sin of humanity from eternity past.  Even as He laid the foundations of the earth, it was with tears.  It is only in Jesus that we begin to catch a glimpse of the suffering of God.  No matter how horrendous the suffering of Christ was, it was only an analog to the reality of God’s suffering.  The irony is that, as we accusingly shout at His indifference, He is even now suffering over our refusal to repent and trust Him, i.e., our indifference to His grand overtures of love.

The second part of verse 24 is somewhat cumbersome in English.  Paul talks about “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”  The word for afflictions is typically translated as tribulations or persecutions.  It is a term that has the idea of intense pressure between a rock and a hard place, and it is becoming tighter. 

Paul is not talking about the suffering that Christ did on the cross to make peace between us and God.  There is no lack in that.  Jesus once and for all died for our sins (Hebrews 7:27).  Rather, Paul is talking about the afflictions that are necessary to bring the Gospel to people and helping them to endure.  We are the “body” of Christ, and as such, we are to give ourselves to the desire of the Head of the Church, Jesus.  This was prophesied long ago that the followers of Messiah would volunteer to join him in this ministry of suffering, being afflicted, for the sake of bringing salvation to others.

Thus, Christ is pictured as still working, being afflicted, in His Church, in order to minister to the lost world-wide.  We all have a portion, a part, in this.  Some have a portion of greater affliction than others.  Paul was doing his part.

The question is now this.  Will I do my part?  We can be discouraged by thinking we are not doing any good.  Don’t do that.  Instead, lay your concerns before God in prayer.  “God, I feel like I am falling short in my service for you.  But, I ask you to fill me, empower me, enable me, and lead me to be useful for your purposes.  I recognize my inability to fathom the depths of what you are doing through me, and I ask you to strengthen my faith for what I am facing right now.”

In verse 25, Paul talks about how he was made to be a minister for their benefit and for others.  He had a stewardship, a post of management within God’s people for which he would give account one day.  He sees himself as proclaiming the full Truth of God and as fulfilling all that the Word of God said would be and tells us to do.  Some versions only bring out one side of this, but both are intended.

Paul then digresses to emphasize the Gospel further.  It had been a mystery through the ages, but now had been revealed to the saints (v. 26).  The Gospel is manifest in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but also in the teachings he gave to his apostles. 

The Gospel mystery is all about Jesus.  How could God redeem Israel and the Gentiles, while taking them out of the hands of the devil?  The good news is that Jesus is the answer.

We might ask why it was kept a mystery.  I can see at least two reasons.  First, God values faith over a thin veneer of service.  Thus, He acts in such a way as to prove that He is trustworthy, but doesn’t reveal all that is ahead so that we can demonstrate that we do trust Him.

The second reason has to do with our enemy the devil and his evil cohorts.  1 Corinthians 2:8 says, “[God’s] wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”  This can include human rulers, but clearly references the spiritual powers that truly ruled the nations.  The salvation of humanity hinged upon the crucifixion of Jesus.  If the devil had understood this, he would have kept Jesus from being killed.  Instead, God used his desperation and pride against him in order to save us.  Satan wields the blow that loses the battle for him and wins it on our behalf.  Yes, Jesus is our champion, but he took out our enemy in a way that calls all to repentance.

Of course, after the cross, it was now God’s will that this revealed mystery be made known among the Gentiles so they could have its riches.  He doesn’t flesh this out, but uses the word “glory.”  Some of the riches are found in the glory that comes from walking the path of Jesus behind him and by his power.  Yet, there is another part of the riches, the glory we will have as we stand in glorified bodies next to our champion, Jesus!

This mystery can be summed up in the short phrase, “Christ in [us], the hope of glory!”  This is not a hope as the world hopes.  This is a hope that God has set in front of us.  He has revealed it to us, promised it for us, and even now, it is reserved for us in the heavens where no devil of hell can touch it.  I am not just struggling alone hoping to reach it someday.  The Spirit of Christ is even now inside of me, working to bring me to it.

In verse 28, Paul mentions three verbal phrases regarding what He is doing.  He is proclaiming Christ to them.  He is admonishing them, i.e., warning them of dangers.  And, he is teaching them with all wisdom that he has received from Christ.

He is doing these three things in order to “present every man complete in Christ.”  This idea of presenting them is the same that we mentioned back in verse 22.  There Christ is the one doing the presenting.  Here, Paul works alongside Christ in order to set them, to establish them, as complete in Christ.

This too can be contemplated as a present reality and a future one.  On the day of resurrection, the people of God will stand in ranks with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul’s goal is that they will be found there on that day.  We will all be complete, or finished, perfected on that day.

Yet, even now, we have everything we need for life and godliness.  Through Jesus, God is supplying all that we need.  In this sense, we are complete, perfect.  As long as we keep our trust in Christ, He will bring us all to that hope.  The enemy cannot stop us.  Our hope is sure.  This is a vast difference from where I was before Jesus.  I wasn’t even a trouble for the devil.

Paul then testifies that his labor was a labor that was empowered by Christ in him.  Literally he says, “according to his working in me in divine power working!”  That’s a lot of working help from Christ!  It is not our job to be strong enough.  It is our job to present ourselves to the work of Christ everyday.  We can’t conjure up divine power, but we can be present and let God’s Spirit empower us to do His work.

Of course, how that divine power manifests is up to God.  You may want God to do some spectacular thing that makes you look powerful.  The power of God was even then being demonstrated in Paul by working through him in writing letters.  It is not generally how we want it to happen, but as God determines.

So, we get up and faithfully give ourselves to the work that he has given us, but not in our own power.  Do you have kids or grandkids?  Then, get up and give yourself to them for the purposes of God.  Whatever the relationship that God has given you, serve His purposes in them.

You are the one planting the seeds.  You are the one watering those seeds that have been planted.  You are the one who may even get to harvest some of those seeds that have come to fruit.  However, never forget that it is God who gives the increase.

We are still here because there are still strongholds of the devil that need pulled down.  In fact, our faith is possible because of the faith of someone in the past that dared to pull down the devil’s stronghold in you.  This is the work of Christ, not just through Paul, but through any of us who will join Him in this mission!

Christ's work audio

The Acts of the Apostles 81

Subtitle: Showdown in Jerusalem II

Acts 21:31-40.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 22, 2024.

Last week, we ended with Paul being seized in the temple and dragged outside into the surrounding courtyard.  He was accused of bringing a Gentile into the courtyard, which would defile it.  This was a capital crime.

The temple building had warning signs along with a fence around it.  This warned Gentiles not to come any closer or their death would be upon their own head.

Paul of course is a Jews and has the right to be in the Temple.  Yet, the accusation is that he is against the Temple and has brought a Gentile into it on purpose in order to defile it.  We can notice that no one has seen this Gentile in the Temple, and no one has this “Gentile” in custody as proof of Paul’s alleged actions.  This is all angry speculation against one that is viewed as an enemy.

Well, let’s look at our passage.

Paul is arrested by the Roman Commander (v. 31-40)

From this point forward in the book of Acts, Paul is going to be under some level of arrest.  He has been sharing the truth of Jesus Christ for at least 20 years.  As best we can tell, this is around A.D. 57 to 58.  For perspective, we know that Nero is Caesar.  The Jewish revolt that will begin in A.D. 66 is only 8 to 9 years away.  The destruction of Jerusalem that will occur in A.D. 70 is only 12 to 13 years away.

Even though Paul is not in control of where he goes, God is orchestrating this to give Paul opportunities to share the Gospel in places that were opened up by his arrest.  His imprisonment is ironically accompanied with more freedom than most prisoners.  He is generally allowed to receive any visitors, as well as sending and receiving letters.

Of course, at the moment, we have Paul being beaten in the Temple courtyard.  The Jews from Asia have stirred up a mob, and one would presume that it is they who have taken the lead in beating him.  They have a vested interest in this.  Paul had been an annoyance to them back home.  He had  come into their synagogues and preached Jesus as Messiah.  This had ended up splitting many of the synagogues, causing the converts to Jesus to leave.  They also wanted to look zealous in the eyes of the Jerusalem Jews who would see them as sub-par.

Meanwhile, the Romans had a military compound that connected to the north wall of the temple.  It was called the Antonia Fortress.  It had towers that enabled the soldiers to look down upon the Temple courtyard and surveil its activity.  It also had two large bridges that connected to the northern porch.  This porch  went all they way around the Temple Courtyard had a flat roof that allowed soldiers (Roman soldiers) to quickly surround the area and back up any troops going down to the courtyard level via stairs.  Thus, at the time that Paul was being beaten, news of a disturbance had reached the commander of the fortress, and he quickly descended upon the scene with a show of force. 

We will see later that the governor is currently in Caesarea, which is the Roman headquarters for governing Judea.  Thus, this commander is responsible for the peace of Jerusalem while the governor is gone.

Those who are beating Paul stop once they are surrounded by Roman soldiers.  But, I would note that Luke describes them as “seeking to kill [Paul].”  This isn’t explained completely.  It is possible that they had sent people to the high priest in order to get permission to kill Paul.  However, it is also possible that they were in the act of beating him to death.  These are not men who are accustomed to killing another.  Though they are passionate and in a large group, there was probably enough fearful restraint to give time for the soldiers to arrive.

The commander immediately puts Paul in two chains.  A chain in such a situation would normally be connected to a Roman soldier.  Even if a riot occurred, Paul wouldn’t get far.  The two chains demonstrates extreme security.  It would signal to the Jews that Paul is not going to get away.  However, it would also signal to the Jews to calm down.  To strike Paul now would be to strike the Romans themselves because they have taken custody of him.  He belongs to them now.  The commander does this to dissolve the commotion.

We should recognize that the Romans are not wonderful, God-loving people who just want to “give peace a chance.”  The Pax Romana was a Roman boot in the face of other nations.  When the boot is removed, the people are expected to remain in a subjected attitude and activity.  If you do not, the boot will return quickly and harshly.  As long as you respected the Roman rules and decrees, you would have “peace.” 

One of the reasons that the Romans didn’t allow any mercy for riots is that riots often were the start of military uprisings.  Their job was to keep everyone in line so that there was no uprising.  Thus, their jobs were on the line.  If Caesar thought that they couldn’t keep things under control, he would have the leaders removed.  On top of this, there was always someone working to make you look bad so that they, or their man, could be put into the position of authority.  It was a dog-eat-dog world.

When he questions the people about the commotion, there is no clear answer from those who respond.  The commander decides that the best course of action is to bring Paul back to the fortress and question him there.  It would remove the “fuel” from the fire of this riot.  Yet, as he takes Paul along, the Jews are continuing the disturbance and shouting, “Away with him!”  By this, they mean that he should be killed.

Let’s take a moment to speak about being a person led by the Spirit of God rather than our flesh.  Both the Jewish crowd and the Roman’s are being led by their flesh, by the spirit of this world.

The crowd is led by passionate emotions, which generally overwhelm rational thought and righteous judgments.  There is no sense of a trial and evidence, only of lynching.  They have heard stories about this scoundrel, Paul.  Have you been hearing stories about people in our society?  It is easy to get worked up in our emotions and be led by the flesh to do wickedness.  God’s people should never be involved in such things.

Paul’s annoyance of these Jews of Asia Minor is more about Jesus than it is Paul.  Jesus is a polarizing individual.  The cross is an offense to those who are full of self-righteousness.  However, others realize the powerful truth behind it, and they learn to embrace the One who went to the cross for them.  Self-righteousness is not a Jewish problem, it is a human problem.  We all have it to one degree or another.  Jesus is the test to whether it rules us or not.

Communism loves to pit two groups against each other.  One is called the victim, or oppressed, and the other is called the victimizer, or oppressor.  Of course, they don’t just stop with one group dynamic, such as the poor versus the rich.  They continue to work their discontent between group after group.  At this point, you can have people who are members of a greater number of oppressed groups versus someone who is a member of a greater number of oppressor groups.  Of course, most of these distinctions become yours at birth and require no choice from you:  women and men, black and white, poor and rich, 3^rd world country and 1^st world country, transgender and cisgender, and it continues ad infinitum.  The goal is to keep us divided and subjugated.

Yet, this battle regarding what the Bible calls sin is not about these groups.  You might be in one of those groups and don’t understand how others see you in only one way.  But, the brights, the brilliant ones, of our society use these dividing lines to manipulate us along the path of their designs.

Do you want to know where the real dividing line is between victim and victimizer?  It is right down the middle of each and everyone of our hearts, your heart and my heart.  The question is always in front of our heart, “Am I going to follow my flesh, or am I going to follow the Spirit of God.”  The Spirit of God comes and convicts us of our own sin, but we too often only shout louder about the sins of others.

The person and work of Jesus confronts every single one of us with this question.  Am I going to be me, living for my selfish self, or am I going to die to my selfish desires and live for the righteous purposes of Jesus? 

Well, we see how the Jews are following their flesh, in their emotional rage against Paul.  However, passionate emotions are not the only way to follow your flesh.  We can also follow our flesh by being extremely rational and using our power to exercise our will upon others.  Of course, this describes the Romans in this passage.

The Romans are used by God to spare Paul’s life in the moment, but that does not mean that God thinks they are righteous.  Yes, we must guard against being a person who is easily manipulated through our passions.  Yet, we must also guard against being a person who is captured by the rationales of the spirit of this world. 

There are rationales going on throughout the Church, lots of them.  The fact that many of them are contradictory shows that it is not all led by the Holy Spirit.  The spirit of this world does not care about you being a Christian.  It only cares that you don’t actually follow Jesus.  Think of it.  In the name of following Jesus, a person can have a rationale that is actually self-serving, or serving some other brilliant, religions genius.  If you don’t see that, then think about the high priest Caiaphas.  In the name of following Yahweh, he worked to put Yahweh to death.

So, how can we guard against becoming such a person?  You can only do this by becoming a person who studies the word of God, prays daily for wisdom,  seeks the leading of God’s Spirit, and then walks out by faith what He is saying.  This is what Paul was doing.  He was a man being led by the Holy Spirit.

Our flesh will protest in such moments.  Surely, if God was leading me, it would end up in a bad place, would it?  Our flesh loves to be at the Red Sea and have God split the waters and drown the armies of Pharaoh.  However, it hates to be in line for crucifixion on a cross.  In Christ, we are to learn the joy of dying to ourselves and living for Christ by His Holy Spirit.  In fact, following the flesh only brings pain and sorrow in the end regardless of momentary pleasure up front.  Suffering is the reverse of this.  Our sufferings are only for this moment.  However, we shall have joy in the presence of God for eternity!

Paul has had a bad day.  Yet, in a beaten and arrested state, he has the wherewithal to speak to the commander.  In this moment, God provides him the opportunity to give one last testimony to his people in Jerusalem.

Paul speaks to the commander in polished and polite Greek.  This obtains a double-take from the commander.  He was operating under the working assumption that Paul might be an Egyptian Jew who had led 4,000 men against the Romans previously.  Josephus mentions this story.  The men were destroyed by the Roman legions, but the leader was never caught.  The commander’s response is more of a recognition that Paul isn’t this Egyptian. 

In this moment of being caught off guard, Paul asks to address the crowd.  He tells the commander that he is a Jew from Tarsus of Cilicia and wants to address the people who are even then shouting, “Away with him!”

It is not clear why the commander permits Paul to speak to the crowd.  It could be that he is caught off guard by Paul’s demeanor.  In the end, I believe that it really was God who helped him to do it.

Paul as a person caught a lot of people off guard.  He was Jewish, but also Roman.  He was schooled in all the ways of the Pharisees, and yet, he could speak in Greek.  Paul is going to address the crowd and the same way that the commander lets him speak, the crowd quiets down and let’s Paul speak.  What is he going to say?

When tough things happen, when we are treated unjustly and brutally, we can be too focused on challenging God.  Why is this happening to me, God!  Really, we should be looking for opportunities to share the Gospel and glorify Jesus.  Paul could have been wrapped up in fighting for himself.  It is very hard to let people publicly lie about you.  Yet, there is no sense that Paul, and his companions for that matter, were fighting back against the crowd.  He was surrendered to God and had an awareness of what God could do in the situation.

A person led by the Holy Spirit will not be about justifying themselves.  They will be about pointing others to Jesus.  May God help us to do the same.  The noise and the fear in our society is used by the enemy of our souls to capture us in differing modes of living for our flesh.  God help us to reject them, no matter how tempting they are.

Let’s live for Jesus!

Showdown II audio

The Acts of the Apostles 77

Subtitle: Farewell to the Ephesian Elders I

Acts 20:13-24.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 25, 2024.

Paul is on a ship traveling from Macedonia to Jerusalem by ship along the coast.  It is on this trip that Luke gives us several fore-warnings that Paul is to be taken prisoner at Jerusalem.  Of course, this should be expected at some point because of what the Lord tells Ananias about Paul in Acts 9:16.  “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Back in Acts 19:21, we were told that “Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome.’”  Added to this resolve that Paul has to go to Jerusalem, will be this farewell speech to the Ephesian elders.  Paul spells out that persecution and tribulations await him in Jerusalem.  Thus, he may never make it back to see them.

There is a time for farewells.  Even when they are for God’s purpose, they are never easy.  Realizing that you may not see loved ones again has a sobering effect, and leads people to focus on what is important to say and do.  We don’t always know when our last time with someone will be, and so wisdom teaches us to treat every interaction with others as extremely important.  We should be better at not leaving things unsaid until it is too late.  Farewells happen for a variety of reasons, but the Christian never needs to fear them.  God will never separate from us all.

Let’s look at our passage.

Paul travels from Troas to Miletus (v. 13-16)

These first four verses simply lay out Paul’s itinerary from Troas to a town called Miletus.  If you look at a map from the first century of the coastal area of Asia Minor, you will see that their ship travels along the coast and inside of the shelter of various islands.  Miletus was a town on the southwest coast of the province of Asia.

We are also told that Paul is hurrying to get to Jerusalem by the feast of Pentecost.  Previously he had left Philippi after the feasts of Passover and Unleavened bread.  There are 50 days between those spring feasts and Pentecost.  Paul had used 12 days getting to Troas and staying there for 7 days.  Thus, he only had 38 days left when he left Troas.  This leads to Paul calling for the Ephesian Elders to come to him at Miletus, so that he can say goodbye.

Paul exhorts the elders of Ephesus (v. 17-24)

When they had gathered, Paul addresses them by first reminding them of his past example before them, especially “what manner I always lived among you.”  Paul did not act in a variety of ways, as if he was not sure about the Lord Jesus Christ.  He did not have a compartmentalized life, nor was he manic in his devotion to Christ.  He was an example of faithfulness to the Lord Jesus in his manner of living.  He lived the way that Christ had commanded his disciples to do.  His manner always pointed back to Jesus. 

Now, it is one thing to be faithful.  Some people are faithfully selfish.  But, it is quite another thing to be faithful in the good thing of living out the commands of Jesus.

Paul had not come to Ephesus to increase his ministry, to make it global.  He was not trying to increase the number of churches sending money to him every month.  In fact, the Holy Spirit had forbade Paul to go into that area when he first tried to go there.  He went around the area and only came back when the Holy Spirit gave him leave to do so.  Paul wants these elders to remember that all that he did  was about doing the work of Christ, in the way that Christ desired.  He honored Jesus in everything.

In verse 19, he fleshes out what that example was exactly.  He had been among them as a servant of the Lord Jesus.  We are not called to serve our own interests, but to serve the interests of Jesus. When we serve others for the purpose of Christ, it makes us better husbands, wives, sons, daughters, church members, employers, employees, and every relationship.

Paul particularly served Christ with all humility.  This word emphasizes an attitude of mind that then impacts the way one lives among others.  He was lowly of mind.  This doesn’t mean that Paul saw himself as the worst worm in the room, but that he knew how badly he had messed up in his own flesh.  He knew how much he needed Jesus every hour and every day.  Jesus had saved him from the grotesque depths of sinfulness.  Jesus had then given him a job.  Paul did not see himself as the great apostles, but as a person who owed Christ everything.  He would faithfully complete the task that Jesus had given him because Jesus was worthy of Paul’s whole life.

Paul was not ministering for reputation or material gain.  He was seeking the approval of Christ.  To serve Jesus is to serve others.  Like Christ going to the cross, the apostle Paul suffered things so that others could receive a good hearing of the Gospel.  Yes, there will be a day of judgment for all people, but until then, our job is to serve people with the good news of Jesus.

Paul also served the Lord Jesus with many tears and trials.  These trials are various in nature.  There were trials of difficult travels and the dangers that went with that.  There was the trial of facing wicked people with ulterior motives.  There were arrests, imprisonments, beatings, public shame, and shipwrecks.  Each one of these tested Paul’s endurance.  “Will you keep going now?  Or, will you now quit.”

These difficulties not only tested Paul’s endurance, but they also brought tears to the apostle.  Yes, he knew they were tests, but that doesn’t make it any easier when someone you have ministered to begins to persecute you.  Imagine Jesus Christ looking over Jerusalem and weeping because he knew that they would ultimately reject him.  The question that is asked in these times is this.  Are  you going to remain faithful to the hard work that God has given you to do? 

That same question should be answered every day, even if you aren’t the apostle Paul.  Grandparents and parents have to answer that question.  Believers in a local church have to answer that question.  Christians who are to be the light of their culture and generation have to answer this question.  All of the difficulties that you face in following Christ are testing you.  Yet, your tears are precious to the Lord.  Just as he knows the number of hairs on your head, he knows the number of tears that you have shed.

Thus, we see Jesus asking his disciples in John 6:67, “Do you also want to go away?”  Yet, Peter answers that this world had nothing for them.  The world was empty, but Jesus was full of life.  They would carry the burden of the heavy things, the burden of sorrowful things, in order to remain with the one who was life itself. 

Thus, our tests and trials bond us to the Lord Jesus.  He too shed tears.  When you feel like quitting, let the fact that the Lord didn’t quit on you give you strength to continue on.  Turn to him in prayer and ask for strength to crucify your fleshly desire to avoid suffering, and then strength to carry out God’s will.

The response of our flesh, whether tears or fears, is generally not a chosen thing.  Like a gag-reflex, it comes rushing to the surface in the moment.  Yet, we can then take those emotions and those fears and put them at the feet of Jesus, on the altar.  “Lord, I am going to keep serving you even though this difficulty is in my way.”

All of us need to get to the broken place where it is tough to follow Jesus, and yet, we know that this world has nothing for us.  Each test is a way for us to say to the Lord, “Even this, I will go through for your sake, in order to remain faithful to the work that you have given me to do!”

Paul also mentions that he had proclaimed to them everything that would be helpful, or beneficial, to them.  They were not in need of something better from some charlatan that would come along later.  There were many itinerant teachers looking for itching ears in those days.  We can become weary of doing the good thing that God gives us to do.  Then, we become susceptible to the misdirection of the enemy of our souls, the devil.  He will seek to pull you off the course that Christ has given you to walk.

Paul had given the Ephesian Christians everything they needed for life and godliness, to live a life that was faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.  In verse 21, Paul explains the greatest good thing that he had given them.  The most beneficial thing we can gain from the Scriptures is the call to have repentance towards God and to have faith towards Jesus.  Many of the Jews had given up on waiting for Messiah.  Repentance called them to turn back to Yahweh with a whole heart and believe upon Jesus whom He had sent.

Of course, not everything we say or do is beneficial to one another.  May we become quick to change course, quick to repent, quick to forgive one another, so that the Lord will be pleased with this assembly.  If you think you are missing something, the truth is that you are only missing it because you haven’t opened up your Bible and taken it seriously.

In verses 22 to 24, Paul speaks to them about his present example to them.  He is a man who is “bound in the Spirit.”  Through prayer and communion with Christ, through the help of the Holy Spirit, Paul has committed himself, tied himself, to a difficult work that Christ wanted him to do.  We too often give up on difficult works that Christ has for us to do because we don’t spend the time in prayer to gain his vision for it, and then commit ourselves to it in faith.

God will not force you to do anything.  He wants you to catch His vision and volunteer for it, to say Yes to it.  Prayer is that place where His burden switches to ours, where His vision becomes ours.  Part of you may be saying that you can’t do it.  Yes, in your flesh, you can’t do it.  However, in Christ, you can do all things because Christ will strengthen you (Philippians 4:13).

Paul doesn’t know exactly what awaits him, but he does know that it will be difficult.   Verses 22 and 23 tell us that the Spirit of God testified in every city where Paul was going that trials and tribulations awaited him.  Notice first that it is the Spirit who was testifying.  This happened in Paul’s personal times of prayer, but it also happened through others such as prophets within the church gatherings.  We will see an example of this in Acts 21.

This raises the question.  If God warns us about persecutions ahead, does it mean that He wants us to avoid them?  Perhaps, there are times when this is so.  However, Paul knew he needed to march into those trials, at least this time.  Such a resolve can only be determined in prayer before God, seeking His will.

Luke has not described these warnings “in every city.”  However, this helps us to understand why Paul would preach past midnight and into the rise of morning.  He knew that he would most likely not be coming back.

What would you do if you were continually told by the Spirit, and by other people, that the path ahead was full of tribulations?  In general, Jesus has told us exactly this.  In 2 Timothy 3:12, we are told that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”  Are we blessed in these United States of America, or are we spoiled?

Sometimes God warns us of pain ahead because He wants to know if we are ready to be like Jesus.  He is preparing us and testing us to see if we will keep going out of love and devotion to Him.

In verse 24, Paul states that this revelation of the Spirit doesn’t move him.  He doesn’t mean emotionally.  He is talking about the path, or course, that he is on in going to Jerusalem to suffer.  Paul is doing something difficult for the lord, and it would be easy to stop, turn back, and to avoid it.  However, none of these things have changed Paul’s mind and his resolve to go to Jerusalem.

Do you realize that the devil often uses resistance and difficulty to get us discouraged from God’s path for us?  He is doing all he can to change your mind, as he did with Eve in the Garden.  He was successful to get her off of the course that God had given to her, at least for a little while.  You can choose to follow Jesus at a point in time, but you will need to keep choosing Jesus over the top of difficulties in order to actually do it.

In fact, Paul states that he doesn’t count his life as precious to himself.  It is not that our lives are not precious, but that they are precious to God and for His purposes.  If God asks me to suffer, even as a martyr, then it has great value to Him.  However, I will have to lay my life down to do it.  My life cannot mean more to me than glorifying the Savior who died for me.  This is one of the major sins of life.  We take our lives that are precious to God, and made for His purposes, and we ignore Him.  We take what was intended for holy purposes and use them for common purposes, and sometimes even for profane purposes.

Paul is reiterating what Jesus was talking about in Luke 14:26-27.  “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” 

Why do people not pick up crosses to follow Jesus?  Sometimes it is because we are afraid of losing relationships with the people and things around us.  We can refuse to carry a cross in trying to keep from hurting our family, but the best thing you can do for your family is to carry the cross that God gives you.  You will do the most damage to them by refusing to pick it up.

It is not that He wants us to hate anyone, even ourselves.  Rather, when it comes to choosing between Jesus, his work, and my selfish desires, we would choose him every time!  If my life is to end early in Jerusalem or Rome, then so be it.  Jesus is worthy of such a sacrifice of love!

Paul refers to the path ahead as a “race” in the NKJV.  It is probably better thought of as a course, a particular path that he must travel full of hardships and obstacles.  A person is not given all the details of their personal course, but we can walk forward in faith by His daily help.  He leads, corrects, comforts, encourages, and does many other things to help us along our course.

Paul knew that he had a duty to walk out this course before him.  Yet, all duties can be done as a mere hardship that a person resents, but does anyways.  Duty can be a drudgery, and all parents know this.  There is something powerful in learning that there are duties that we should do in this Christian walk.  Duties that are for Christ and towards other people.  Yet, it is even better to find the joy that God has for you in doing them.  Paul doesn’t just want to finish his chores.  He wants to do them with joy!  Why did Jesus go to the cross?  Not just because he had a duty to do it.  He did so for the joy that was awaiting him on the other side, relationship with the Father and those who would believe upon Jesus for eternity!

Wrestling in prayer, the Holy Spirit will help you to find the joy of fighting the devil and being used of God to impact the lives of others eternally.  To be in the presence of God is peace eternally, but we can tap into that peace even today.  In the midst of the trial, the joy of the Lord can fill your heart and strengthen you far more than the knowledge of any duty can.  May the Lord help us to serve Him with all our hearts!

Farewell I audio

The Acts of the Apostles 56

Subtitle: Pressing on with Jesus

Acts 14:1-20.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 24, 2023.

It is generally a given in any great work that hasn't been done before that there will be difficulties, obstacles, and resistance.  Learning to press on is an important skill (we could say), but it should never be separated from the Lord Jesus.

The story of the Church is just as much about the price that had to be paid by believers to spread the Gospel, as it is about the miracles and powerful moves of God.  Both were working together.  This interesting mix is demonstrated in the book of Acts.  God is moving, and yet, men like Peter, James, John, Stephen, Paul, Barnabas, and many others, pay a price in difficulties in order to spread the Gospel.

Most people would say to a man like Paul, "What are you doing here in the middle of Asia Minor?"  Of course, when we face difficulties and obstacles, we might ask this of ourselves.  What am I doing here?

Pressing on always has to be about Jesus.  We first do this with and for Jesus.  And then second, anything that is done is only done by His strength, His sustenance, and His power.  If Jesus doesn't go with us, then how will they know that God's favor rests on us? 

So, we want to be pressing on in the thing that Jesus is doing.  May God strengthen us and give us courage in this great mission that we are doing with Him!

Let's look at our passage.

They press on to Iconium (v. 1-7)

Though Paul and Barnabas ran into resistance, they continue on to another town.  We cannot let ourselves obsess on resistance.  If you are doing something with God, there is always going to be some resistance.

Even people who are working for the devil run into resistance in life.  Of course, I don't advise that. Yet, note that sinners and saints alike have to deal with resistance.  We can think that everything should miraculously go without a hitch if God is really with us, or at least, that it would be much easier.  However, if you have read your Bible for more than 5 minutes, then you know that this is not the case.

The problem is not that Christians don't know this, but that our "feeler" doesn't always check-in with the brain first.  Thus, we need to take possession of our inner life and not let our feelings push us in the wrong direction.

What matters in the end is that the work of Jesus is being done and that he is pleased.  Yes, they ran into resistance in Pisidian Antioch.  However, there was a group of believers in that town now!  The resistance moves them to a town called Iconium that is about 100 miles east of Pisidian Antioch.

In Iconium, a "great multitude" of Jews and Greeks believe.  Luke doesn't hand out this phrase generously.  "Great multitude is only used in one other place in the book of Acts.  Chapter 17 describes such a multitude in the Greek city of Thessalonica.  Now we should be careful of thinking that God is not moving if only a few people are saved.

They end up staying a long time in this city, preaching boldly, and discipling the new believers.  It also mentions that "signs and wonders" were being done by Paul and Barnabas.  Luke doesn't give us a particular example here like he does elsewhere. 

Yet, notice that it is Lord who "grants" signs and wonders as a witness to the word that is being preached.  When we are dealing with miracles, there are different issues involved.  It does involve the person who is speaking and being used of God.  But, there is also the place where you are and what God is doing there.  Miracles are ultimately an aid to faith, a help, a grace of God that He grants to us from time to time for His reasons. 

Thus, it shouldn't shock us that some places that have seen many miracles in the past are often not seeing those signs any more today.  People there might wonder where God is.  Or, they may think that "it doesn't work any more."  Some are inclined to think that it wasn't even real.  They are just stories by people who are easily tricked by charlatans.

God is faithful to move in powerful ways, but then He waits to see what we are going to do with that grace.  We need to walk those things out in faithful service to Jesus, whether he continues to grant miracles, or allows us to be tested in this area.

In the midst of signs and wonders, unbelieving Jews stir up the Gentiles of the city against Paul and Barnabas.  This creates a division within the city.  Verse 4 states that the division is between the Jews and the apostles, but in the context, Luke has emphasized belief.  This really is a division between unbelieving Jews and believing Jews.  This has always been the case from Cain and Abel on down to the modern era.  Some believe and many do not. 

Here, it is a hostile few who stir up and motivate the great middle, those who are unsure.  Be careful who you are stirred up by.  When God moves, it can divide not only people within a city, but it can also divide a denomination, a church.  You can find yourself in that strange place where sinners are believing you, and the "believers" are resisting and kicking you out of their church.

We are then told that a plot developed to stone Paul and Barnabas.  This causes them to flee to another city.  We are not told how, but God caused the plot to come to their attention.

It may seem strange that they "flee."  However, they are merely following the instructions of Jesus.  In Matthew 10:16, 23, Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them out among wolves.  They would need to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."  He then told them that if they are persecuted in one city, then they should flee to another.

We can misinterpret what is meant when Jesus says that "the gates of hell will not prevail against [his Church].  This doesn't mean that we as individuals are untouchable or invincible.  As an individual, or even as a whole, God may allow His people to be persecuted, and even martyred.  Our blood will only become the fertilizer to the growth of faith in the hearts of those who see it.

Yes, they flee to another city, but they are also pressing on in the mission of sharing the gospel with Jews and Gentiles.

They press on to Lystra (v. 8-20)

There is a lot in this passage, but it all involves pressing on with Jesus, and in the face of tough circumstances.  It involves keeping our eyes upon Jesus, but also, keeping focused on what part we want to do in that great work that Jesus is doing.

There is an aspect to this in which God has spoken some personal things to Paul.  But, there is also a sense in which we should want to do great things for God.  He laid his life down for me.  The least I can do is let go of my life for him and only live for his purpose.

The call of God is always challenging.  Some of that challenge we know about up front and some we do not know.  Yet, we can say "yes" to the Lord.  Mary was only a young teenager when she said to the angel, "Let it be unto me as you have said."  She is really saying this to God.

We can be guilty of over romanticizing the call of God.  It was great news that Mary would give birth to the Messiah.  Yet, the bad news is that it would be a miraculous birth, which few if any would believe.  Even Joseph thought that she had been ungodly, immoral, and was ready to put her away.  This is a tough ask, and yet Mary embraces it.

It is always easier said than done when the Lord calls us to something.  Later, she would be told by Simeon that a sword would pierce her own heart as the thoughts of many were revealed.  Further down the road, she would understand this meaning better as she watched her son being tortured to death in crucifixion.

There are some things that are a part of the call of God that He doesn't tell us about, as a grace to us.  Instead, He walks us up to the moment and prepares us spiritually for it.  He then enables us with His Holy Spirit to go through things that would seem to be unthinkable and more than we can handle.  There will be tears, but there will be the bonding that happens from joining Christ in his sufferings.

So, Paul and Barnabas press on to Lystra.  If there was a synagogue, they would have preached there, but Luke jumps right to a lame man who is in the crowd listening to Paul preach.  This was a man who had never walked from birth.  We are told that Paul saw that he had faith to be healed.  Most likely he is believing in the message about Jesus, though it is possible that Paul was also preaching about the healings that Jesus had done.  Yet, this is this lame man's day!  The Lord is going to heal him.

When Luke describes Paul seeing that the man has faith to be healed, we should be careful of seeing this as a theological statement, or the sum total of the theology of divine healing.  Paul could have gone over and whispered into his ear.  However, Paul publicly, loudly, (even rudely?), tells the man to stand up straight on his feet.  So we have two people here who have faith: Paul who is being used to administer the healing, and the man who is receiving it.

 At this point, it is probably not remarkable that Paul has faith.  However, this man is a different story.  Like I said earlier, he didn't get up that morning and see that being healed of his condition was on the schedule for the day.  It was just another day when he woke up. 

How many times do we wake up thinking that it is just another day, ho hum, until it isn't?  God can step in and change things in a moment.  We have need of endurance.  We should not become weary in the work of God, or at least, we should put our weariness on the altar before God in prayer and ask for strength.  We just don't know what a day may hold, and being faithful between such days is important.  It is the lion's-share of what we do in Christ, being faithful to what we know.

We have this man's faith and Paul's faith meeting up with the "granting" (verse 3) of God.  We could boil this down to the idea that God will do this every time if He really loves us.  However, too many saints, and even Paul himself, had things that were not healed, even when God was moving.  Paul prayed three times for God to heal him, but God said "no."  "My grace is sufficient for you."

We don't always know why God allows certain things like this.  It is part of a fallen world in the middle of being redeemed.  Yet, the grace of God is still with us!

At Paul's command, the man quickly stands up and realizes that he is able to walk.  Everyone there would hear the command and then see a man they absolutely know cannot walk get up and walk.  This is one of those jaw-dropping moments.

In their shock, the people think that Paul and Barnabas are gods.  They begin excitedly calling them gods, but in their local language, which it seems Paul and Barnabas do not understand.  To them a great hubbub breaks out, which would be normal under the circumstances.  Meanwhile, this people think that Zeus and Hermes are standing in front of them.

This is not really a shocker.  They are idolaters and have worshipped these gods and have stories of them coming down and looking like men, but being far more powerful.  The gods are also very immoral, but we will let that go by for today.  They are being careful to offer a sacrifice because you do not want the gods to be angry with you.

Once Paul and Barnabas figure out that the people intend to sacrifice to them, they begin talking the people out of such a blasphemous act.  When Paul tells them that God wants them to turn from these "useless things," he is referring to the idols and the gods they represent.  In Hebrew the term for idol basically means worthless, useless. 

These people have been steeped in ignorance and don't know any better.  The apostles assure them that they are only men, just like them.  The Living God wants them to turn away from these idols and towards Him.  This is the God who created the heavens and the earth.  God had turned away from the nations after the tower of Babel.  From then until the moment that day, God had overlooked the sinfulness and wickedness of these nations.  Yet, He was also working to bring the Gospel to them.  There time serving useless idols would be preparatory to them receiving the word of the Gospel.

Let me just say, it is incumbent upon any Christian minister to stop people from treating you like a god.  This is a real temptation.  When you are far from home, and the people are treating you such, you are tempted by your flesh to take advantage of it.

It is not just a temptation for missionaries.  It is a temptation when your ministry leads people to salvation.  They can have a tendency to look up to ministers and leaders as if they are something great.  We see this when large ministries have a huge moral failure, whether sexual, financial, or something else.  There are groups of people who will never believe the obvious truth, and others who are spiritually devastated to the point of walking away from Christ.  The problem is that they had put this person on a pedestal.  It may be good to honor and respect a person who brings you to the Lord and ministers to you.  However, only Jesus should sit on the throne of our heart.  He alone never fails!

Paul and Barnabas are barely able to restrain the crowd from sacrificing to them.

It is not clear when the Jews from Antioch and Iconium show up.  It was probably at least several days.  Yet, it ends up with the apostle Paul being stoned by the people of the city, dragged out of town, and left for dead. 

There are many questions about this we could ask.  Why would God help Paul escape a stoning in one town, only to turn around and let him be stoned in another?  Did Paul actually die, and God brought him back to life?  Or, did God protect him just enough for him to become unconscious, but not die?  Ultimately, it doesn't matter how God does what He does.

Most of us would call this a bad day.  Yet, let me point out some of the things that the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches that he had started.

Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

2 Corinthians 5-7, "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation."

Philippians 3:10, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,..."

Colossians 1:24, "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, ..."

2 Timothy 1:8, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,..."

Lastly, Hebrew 2:10, "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. "

If Jesus went through suffering to be perfected, will I do anything less?  Will we?

There is a glory that we share with Christ even in the midst of suffering.  However, this time of bonding will burst forth in an even more glorious unveiling when Christ comes back to the earth with his resurrected saints.  May God help us to be faithful to glorify him, and to do the work that he has for us, no matter what we face!

Pressing On audio