Spread the Word and follow the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:1-10).

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, July 13, 2025

One of my favorite movies is called, The Patriot. In that movie, Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a leader during the Revolutionary War. He leads the militia. There is a scene in which he is recruiting for the militia. He walks into a pub, and a companion says, “I think we are in the wrong place.” Martin says, “God save King George.” When they hear that many people throw knives at him. Benjamin Martin knew where to go to recruit.  Likewise, in today’s passage, the Apostle Paul recruits Timothy.

One of today’s challenges is to target your audience effectively. The challenge is to eliminate barriers. Just like Mel Gibson recognized that if he wanted to recruit militia to fight against the British, he should go to the pub, so we must recognize where and how we are to minister.

My theme today: Spread the Word and follow the Holy Spirit.

1. Let’s talk about Timothy.
   1. Read with me:
   2. Acts 16:1–5 (ESV)
   3. Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ² He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. ⁵ So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
   4. We know that Paul was on his second missionary journey, and he is traveling backwards through the cities.
   5. He sees a “disciple” there named Timothy.
   6. Notice the modifiers. Timothy was a “disciple.”
   7. This means he was a follower of Jesus. He was an apprentice.
   8. He was the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.
   9. Paul chooses Timothy. We see this in verse 3. Something stood out to Paul that made him want to take Timothy along.
   10. Timothy is likely around eighteen years old. It is possible and probable that Paul met Timothy during his first missionary journey, and he would have been saved at that time.
   11. Do you know what I think stood out to Paul about Timothy? Do you know what ought to stand out to us? Will this stand out to our community as well?
   12. Verse 2 says that the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
   13. That corresponds with 1 Timothy 3:7, which is a requirement for a church elder. A requirement for a church elder is that they have a good reputation in the community.
   14. I was reading an article that talked about signs of churches that are struggling, and one sign is that struggling churches do not have enough transformation(s). At some point, Timothy had a transformation. But one sign of an unhealthy church is that they do not have enough testimonies of people passing from death to life. When we see these testimonies, people want something like that.
   15. I was speaking with another pastor, a pastor who had planted a church, and I asked him how the church had grown. He said that at one point, they led a man to Christ, and that man would deal drugs to many people in the area, and when everyone in the community saw the transformation in him, they, one by one, became Christians as well. It was not his amazing faith; it was just the amazing transformation.
   16. By the way, 2 Timothy 3:14 says that from childhood, Timothy had been familiar with the sacred writings. Timothy was raised according to Jewish ways. But not Christian ways.
   17. Timothy had a transformation, and MORE THAN THAT— now, verse 2 says that the believers in Lystra and Iconium speak well of him. Praise God!
   18. Now what about Paul and Timothy: Paul considered him a “son” (cf. 1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tim 1:2). Not only did he address two letters to him, but he also listed him as cosender in six others (2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; Phlm 1). He considered him his “fellow worker” (Rom 16:21; cf. 1 Cor 16:10) and, indeed, as much more—“as a son with his father” in the work of the gospel (Phil 2:22).
   19. Now, let’s get back to audience analysis. Remember what I shared from the movie The Patriot. If you are going to go fight the British, where are you going to recruit your militia? Likewise, is it important to analyze your audience in evangelism?
   20. In verse 3, it says Paul circumcised Timothy, but why? We just got done talking about a chapter and this big church council stated that it was not necessary. This was necessary for the non-Christians, not for the Christians. Also, Timothy’s mother and his grandmother were Jewish. This made him, in certain customary ways, Jewish. So, to the Jews, he was Jewish. So, for Paul, he wanted to remove barriers; he wanted to be able to take Timothy into the synagogue and have him preach there alongside non-Christian Jews. This was necessary.
   21. After this, Paul went from city to city spreading the news about the Jerusalem Council. Paul was obedient to the council. Then, in verse 5, we see one of Luke’s common summary statements: So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
2. Now, we see Paul obey the Holy Spirit’s lead.
   1. In verses 6-8, the Spirit tells Paul and his companions not to go north or south.
   2. Acts 16:6–8 (ESV)
   3. ⁶ And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.
   4. They pass through the Phrygia and Galatia area. Remember that Paul later wrote a letter to the Galatians.
   5. Interesting that we can do studies and we can know that Paul likely took a common Roman Road called the Via Sebaste, which was a Roman military road.
   6. But the next part is most interesting. They were forbidden or kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in Asia. Now, this is not the same as modern Asia. This would be more like modern Turkey.
   7. What do you do when you are kept or forbidden from doing something? The Apostle Paul was a driven personality. He got things done. Nothing stood in his way, but right here, we see that God is His master and He obeys.
   8. In today’s day, we have action movies where the main characters are celebrated for disobeying commands. I think of Jack Bauer in the hit show. In just about every season, he is on the run, yet he is saving the country. Our culture celebrates rebellion. Not in this case.
   9. The Apostle Paul is submissive to the Holy Spirit.
   10. In verse 7, they were trying to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them.
   11. Paul obeys the Holy Spirit’s lead.
   12. The celebrated Browns Coach, Paul Brown, was a football genius. He was also in charge, no one crossed him. One day, he was sending the player out with the play, and the quarterback, Otto Graham, shook his head “No.” There was a look of terror on the player’s face. That young player did not want to go back and tell Paul Brown “No.” In reality, Otto Graham was just playing a trick; Otto Graham was not a rebel.
   13. Neither was the Apostle Paul, he recognized that Jesus was the Lord. Do we? Do we understand that He is in charge? We have strayed from a society in which we recognize what it means to serve a sovereign King. We think that our voice always matters. Certainly, God’s Word says that He wants and even desires to hear from us, but He is the Lord. He has no room for rebels in His Kingdom. He is the Lord.
   14. Some have asked me, “Why should I serve Jesus?” Why should you follow Jesus’s “Yes” and Jesus’s “No”? You are bought with a price. Jesus has redeemed you and set you free. He died in your place and saved you. Jesus loves you and loves us all (John 3:16; Romans 3:21-31). Jesus has called you to take part in what He is doing. To some extent, He gives you a choice, but He is the Lord. Listen, your sovereign Lord has called you on a mission. How do you know? You are here. If you are a Christian, you are called to be a follower of Christ, and you are called to be a part of His army, a part of His mission. He is your Lord. He is Your King. Notice that the Apostle Paul did not waver; he did not rebel.
   15. Paul’s obedience in traveling through these cities in verse 6 meant something like a 400-mile difference in journey? All by foot!
3. In verses 9-10, Paul is told by the Spirit to go west. Paul continues to obey.
   1. Acts 16:9–10 (ESV)
   2. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
   3. A vision appears to Paul in the night.
   4. Paul is told to come to Macedonia.
   5. Why? They are to go down there to help them.
   6. In verse 10, they immediately decide to go down and preach the Gospel to them.
   7. Notice that Paul received two “no’s” and then a “yes.” Notice that Paul was obedient.
4. Are we seeking the Holy Spirit? Are we in a place to hear from God?

1. 1. God speaks through His Word, the Bible. Are we in the Bible? The Holy Spirit will speak to us through the Bible.
   2. God speaks through the church, especially smaller groups and prayer partners. Are we connected?
   3. God speaks through our reason. Are we learning?
   4. All the other avenues must be confirmed by God’s Word.

Close:

When Mercedes and Abigail were younger, they would get scared and come to our room at night. Do you think we told them to go back to bed alone? It was rare if we ever did that. When Mercedes was three years old, I woke up and Mercedes said, “It is scary in my room, there is thunder and lightning, and she proceeded to climb into our bed.” There was no questioning. But you know what, she was three years old.

God wants a relationship with us in which we can hear His “no” and His “yes.” Further, God wants a relationship with us in which we can honestly cry out to Him saying, “I am scared, there is thunder and lightning.” We can do that if we are a child of God.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

How to Live as Christians In a World that Is Not Our Home (1 Peter 2:11-17)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, July 6, 2025

Two days ago, we celebrated another American Independence Day. As you know, I love history. I am enraptured when I study history. I have read extensively about American history. I have studied it at the college level, and I have also read numerous books on American history. In the past, I have preached about God’s sovereignty in American history. I believe in God’s sovereignty in all the nations. I can substantiate that from the Bible. I believe God worked through our founding fathers, though I believe our founding fathers were not perfect. I believe that our constitution is an amazing work. I also believe we should never have been able to defeat the British during the Revolutionary War. Let’s think about Washington:

Washington should not have survived. He had incidence when he was 23 years old that should have killed him and then Medved writes: Washington’s successful defiance of danger became a notable feature of his leadership during his eight years of service in the Revolutionary War. The general in chief frequently and fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire, rallying his troops on many occasions by his own incomparable example. At the Battle of Princeton in January 1777, he rode at the head of his troops on a huge white horse as they marched directly on a well-formed British line. When the Americans came within range, both sides fired, and smoke from their rifles temporarily obscured Washington, who rode forward halfway between them. His aide, Richard Fitzgerald, covered his face with his hat in order to avoid watching the inevitable death of his beloved commander. But as the air cleared and he lowered his hat, he saw men on both sides who were dead and dying while Washington, unscathed, rose in his stirrups and urged his men forward against the shattered British line. “It’s a fine fox chase, my boys!” he shouted. A year and half later, in June 1778, the Marquis de Lafayette, the aristocratic Frenchman who became an esteemed general in the Continental Army, recalled the great man at the Battle of Monmouth, where “General Washington seemed to arrest fortune with one glance….His presence stopped the retreat….His graceful bearing on horseback, his calm and deportment which still retained a trace of displeasure…were all calculated to inspire the highest degree of enthusiasm….I thought then as now that I had never beheld so superb a man.”

On September 8, 1779, Washington was spared because a marksman would not shoot someone in the back.[1]

I am sure you have heard the stories that Washington shook bullets out of his jacket. He had horses shot out from under him. Three years ago, I listened to an extensive 1000+ page biography of Washington, and I think he was God’s man for the time. That is God’s purposeful sovereignty.

Chernow writes: In the end, he [Washington] had managed to foil the best professional generals that a chastened Great Britain could throw at him. As Benjamin Franklin told an English friend after the war, “An American planter was chosen by us to command our troops and continued during the whole war. This man sent home to you, one after another, five of your best generals, baffled, their heads bare of laurels, disgraced even in the opinion of their employers.”[2]

Our founders were not all Christians, though some were, and all held to Judeo-Christian values. Even Jefferson, a deist, believed the Bible should be taught in schools.

That being said, we are not God’s chosen people, and America is not a Christian nation. We were clearly founded on Judeo-Christian values, but we are not a Christian nation. I have preached on that subject before.

So, how shall we live?

My theme:

Peter exhorts us to do good, and by doing so, we silence accusers.

Let’s look at 1 Peter 2:11-17

1. Context:
   1. Peter is writing this short epistle to primarily Gentile believers in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, western Asia Minor and Bithynia.^[3]
   2. He is writing this between AD 60 and 64.
   3. Peter gives God’s encouragement to those suffering persecution for their allegiance to Jesus to live exemplary lives within their culture.^[4]
   4. The NIV SB calls 1 Peter 2:11-4:19: Winsome Witness in Society (2:11–4:19)^[5]
   5. We will pick up in this section.
2. The Christian life as a witness (1 Peter 2:11-12)
   1. Before I really get into this section, it is important to note that they were going through real persecution. We are not.
   2. The connection between us and this passage is that we are also aliens and exiles, just as they were. This world is not our home.
   3. 1 Peter 2:11–12 (ESV)
   4. ¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
   5. Peter calls them sojourners and exiles.
   6. Peter exhorts them to abstain from the passions of the flesh.
   7. Peter urges them.
   8. Bodily desires are not wrong in and of themselves.
   9. Sproul shares:
   10. The behavior of fallen people should never become the standard of right and wrong. A big problem in the church today is that even after people are converted to Christ, they still take their marching orders from what is acceptable and expected in the culture. We must remember that we do not belong to the culture. As Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). The way to get a new mind is not by paying attention to Gallup polls but by paying attention to the mind of Christ, so that we begin to think like Jesus. No matter what everyone else does or approves, if Jesus does not approve, then we cannot. We need to remember who we are—citizens of heaven—and our lives are supposed to demonstrate that as we take our cue not from this world but from heaven itself.
   11. Peter is referring to immoral desires.
   12. Fleshly lusts are personified as if they were an army of rebels or guerrillas who incessantly search out and try to destroy the Christian’s joy, peace and usefulness (cf. 4:2, 3).^[6]
   13. When we are giving in to these fleshly desires, they war against our souls.
   14. They threaten to shipwreck our faith (1 Tim. 1:19).
   15. Verse 12:
   16. Now, he addresses their conduct.
   17. I like how the ESV SB reads: Peter refers to unbelievers as Gentiles, which is in keeping with his understanding of believers being a new Israel.^[7]
   18. The rest of the verse is about their witness. They speak against them as evildoers… but there is no credibility.
   19. This came to be true.
   20. Christians were a witness because of how we were such good citizens.
   21. Tom Holland writes:
   22. [Quoting Emperor Julian] ‘How apparent to everyone it is, and how shameful, that our own people lack support from us, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans support not only their own poor, but ours as well.’ Julian could not but be painfully aware of this. The roots of Christian charity ran deep. The apostles, obedient to Jewish tradition as well as to the teachings of their master, had laid it as a solemn charge upon new churches always ‘to remember the poor’. Generation after generation, Christians had held true to this injunction. Every week, in churches across the Roman world, collections for orphans and widows, for the imprisoned, and the shipwrecked, and the sick had been raised. Over time, as congregations swelled, and ever more of the wealthy were brought to baptism, the funds available for poor relief had grown as well. Entire systems of social security had begun to emerge.[8]
   23. We are witnesses based on our concerns and care for others.
   24. Peter writes that they see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
   25. That could be the day that they are saved, or their testimony at judgment day.
3. Doing good is a witness (1 Peter 2:13-17)
   1. 1 Peter 2:13–17 (ESV)
   2. ¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. ¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
   3. Peter writes “be subject” or “submit.”
   4. They are to submit “for the Lord’s sake.”
   5. The point is that they are first submitting to the Lord.
   6. They are first honoring the Lord.
   7. Then, we must ask, does this also apply to us?
   8. This passage was first addressed to the people to whom Peter was writing.
   9. They were dealing with a really corrupt emperor.
   10. Peter would later be crucified upside down after watching his wife be crucified.
   11. Caesar Nero was persecuting Christians in Rome. He set fire to Rome to burn the slums.
   12. The wind shifted, and it burned other parts of Rome. Nero wanted someone to blame, so he blamed Christians.
   13. Peter is writing to them.
   14. However, these instructions also apply to us.
   15. They are not specific to them. They are inspired by God and written to us as well.
   16. Peter writes to “be subject to every human institution.”
   17. He then gets specific.
   18. Be subject to the emperor. The emperor is supreme. In other words, he is the highest of human institutions. Notice, these are “human” institutions.
   19. Be subject to the governors.
   20. The governors are sent by “him.” That is, the governors are sent by the emperor to affirm those doing good and punish those who do not do good.
   21. Verse 15 begins with “this is the will of God.”
   22. This is really important.
   23. By doing good, you put to silence these people.
   24. The ignorant and foolish people are those making accusations in verse 12.
   25. When we do good, they do not have as much to criticize. Or their accusations fall flat.
   26. Verse 16: We are free, live as free people.
   27. This could mean that we are free in Christ, and that would be true.
   28. We serve Christ.
   29. When we submit to human authorities, we do that only to serve Christ ultimately.
   30. We are free, but not to cover up evil, but as servants of Christ.
   31. Verse 17 is composed of rapid-fire commands-
   32. Honor everyone. We are to honor everyone as created in the image of God.
   33. Love the brotherhood. This applies to sisters as well.
   34. Fear God. This is most important.

James 4:4 teaches that there is a dichotomy between Christ and culture.

How are we to live?

We must be the best citizens. By doing so, we change the world.

Do we realize that is what happened in the early church? Christians were such great citizens that the gospel spread. Christians took care of people. When others ran away from the plagues, Christians ran into Rome to care for the sick.

In this passage Peter is saying that as we are good citizens, we are witnesses. This is how Christians live.

By the way, when there is a conflict between two authorities, always obey the highest authority, that is obey God (Acts 4:19).

Prayer.

[1] Medved, Michael. The American Miracle (pp. 82- 83). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[2] Chernow, Ron. Washington (p. 460). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

^[3] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 2187.

^[4] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 2187.

^[5] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 2190.

^[6] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), 1 Pe 2:11.

^[7] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2408.

[8] Holland, Tom. Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World (p. 139). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Paul and Barnabas Differ Over Mark (Acts 15:36–41)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for an at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH Sunday, June 29, 2025

Just think: Do not raise your hand:

Have you ever hurt someone with your words?

Have you ever been in tears because of gossip or rumors?

Have you ever been angered because of something wrongfully said about you?

Have you wrongfully said something about someone else?

Have you spread the gossip or the rumor?

Have you been unloving?

Have others been unloving to you? I know this is broad.

The church is a place for sinners. The church is a place for people who do wrong things, and I am one of them. However, the church is also a place where, once we commit to Christ, we commit to growing and changing, not deteriorating, but improving.

Ten years ago, I was with my three-year-old, Mercedes, who wanted to build a sandcastle with gravel on the driveway. She did not know that little bit of gravel on the driveway would not build a sandcastle. She did not know how much better the sand on the beach would be. Likewise, we come to know Jesus, and we are sinners; we are sinners for our whole lives. However, as we grow in Christ, we grow out of certain sins. This means that we realize that life is different. Before we were playing, we were trying to build sandcastles with gravel on a driveway, but Jesus wants us to grow into Christ followers who are not wrestling daily with the same old issues.

Jesus wants us to have a renewed perspective. Let me make that example make some sense… Is gravel very malleable?

I have a bucket of gravel right here. Let me pour some out. Do you think it is malleable? No, we cannot build a sandcastle with this, and God can do anything, but sometimes we are not even like gravel; we are like rocks, and God needs to make us like sand so that He can work within us.

Now, I have sand, let me pour some out into another bucket. Is this malleable? Is it? Can you work with it? Can God work with it? Can a child work with it?

We need our relationships to be like sand, not like gravel or rock.

Then we will still offend people and still sin, but hopefully not the same old stuff and not as much. Hopefully, then we make things right. So, let’s talk about that.

Let’s talk about that now. Let’s look at a passage in which the Apostle Paul had a difference of opinion with Barnabas. They part ways, but I want to make the case that though they part ways, they do so agreeably. I want to discuss biblical restoration.

Read Acts 15:36-41 with me:

Acts 15:36–41 (ESV)

³⁶ And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

1. Context
   1. What is our context?
   2. In the previous section, we talked about the Council of Jerusalem.
   3. The leaders of the church came together to discuss what Gentiles must do when they come to faith in Christ.
   4. James, Jesus’s half-brother, made the ruling.
   5. They sent out a group, which included Paul and Barnabas, to share a letter from the leadership.
2. Notice that Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement.
   1. This disagreement is in verse 37. Barnabas was an encourager; he wanted to give John Mark a second chance. Now, what happened with John Mark? In Acts 13:13, Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey, and John Mark went home to Jerusalem. There may have been several reasons for this: NIV text note of Acts 13:13: Homesickness to get back to Jerusalem, an illness of Paul necessitating a change in plans and a trip to Galatia, and a change in leadership from Barnabas to Paul have all been suggested as reasons for John Mark’s return. Paul’s dissatisfaction with his departure is noted later (15:37–39).^[1]
   2. Either way, now Barnabas is saying, “Let’s give him a second chance.” Paul says, “No way.”
   3. Verse 39 says that they had a “Sharp” disagreement.”
   4. Have we ever had a “Sharp” disagreement? What do we do? How do we handle it?
   5. I have listened to and read lots of counseling books and documents, and it is recommended that people need timeouts, but they are hard to take.
   6. I think Paul, the Apostle, needed a timeout.
   7. Paul is a “Driven” personality. “Fight or flight,” Paul fights.
   8. They had a sharp disagreement. Paul and Barnabas were partners, and sometimes we like to take this passage and say even the best of Christians have massive arguments. I read one source that suggested we sometimes take this passage too far. We take it and make it look like they had a “knock-down, drag-out fight.” We don’t know that. We know they disagreed; we know they disagreed strongly and sharply, and we know they needed a timeout. However, we also know that it appears there were no hurt feelings. Look at these verses:
   9. 2 Timothy 4:11 (ESV) ¹¹ Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.
   10. 1 Cor. 9:6: Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?
   11. So, it does appear that Paul and John Mark were okay later. It appears that Barnabas and Paul eventually were okay with each other.
   12. What else happens in this passage? Sometimes we are stuck making sandcastles in a driveway with a little bit of gravel. Step back.
   13. In verses 39-41, two missionary journeys happened instead of one. Barnabas took John Mark, and Paul took Silas. God spread the Great Commission more this way. Isn’t that awesome?
   14. Secondly, Paul chose Silas, and Silas was a Roman citizen, and we will hear more about that in Acts 16:37.

We do not know how Paul and Barnabas reconciled. We are not sure they needed to be reconciled.

So, have you been offended? Have you offended someone else? Perhaps it’s time to make things right. Maybe it is time to apologize. Ask for forgiveness. Yes, we are all sinners. We are all sinners; we are all making sandcastles on a driveway, not on a beach. However, as we grow in Christ, God wants us to be more like Him and less like the world, which means that God wants us to be more loving. God wants us to be reconciled. God wants us to step back and see the beauty of the beach. God needs us to be sand, not rock. God needs us to be malleable.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

^[1] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 1923.

The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1–35)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 15, 2025

Junior Church

The truth matters.

We must be informed:

Bubba goes to the revival and listens to the preacher. After a while, the preacher asks anyone with needs to come forward and be prayed over.

Bubba says, “I don’t know preacher, it’s not until next Wednesday.”

C.S. Lewis, some years ago, wrote not a very well known article called “Man or Rabbit.” In it, he was dealing with this. He says some people will say, “All I’m interested in is leading a good life. I’m going to choose beliefs not because I think they’re true but because I find them helpful.” See, now that’s very typical. What people say is, “I don’t know whether something is true or not. I want to know what works.”

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”^[1]

My theme;

The Jerusalem Council meets and frees the church for evangelism. In doing so, they affirm that the Gospel is for everyone (verse 14), which means they decide not to make it difficult for non-Jews to become Christians (verse 19).

A simple application: We must not make it difficult for a nonbeliever to become a Christian.

Okay, now let’s talk about this. Let’s break it down.

1. First, what is the Jerusalem Council?
   1. This was an official meeting of the church. They had to decide on a doctrinal position. We will get into that. We are going to skim over this passage.
   2. You know how, when you fly in an airplane, you see things, but it is not in great detail? That is what we are going to do with this passage. I am going to pick out some mountains, but for the most part we are going to give you the theme and some applications. What was the theme?
   3. The Jerusalem Council reaffirmed that the Gospel is for everyone. (verse 14). That is the simple theme. They decided not to have barriers, or great barriers, in front of Jewish people who become believers.  
2. The problem erupts in Verses 1-5:
   1. Acts 15:1–5 (ESV) But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. ³ So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
   2. Tim Keller shares:
   3. You have to remember how successful Paul is. Paul has taken off. He is in the middle of an incredibly successful career. In fact, it’s ridiculous to realize how successful he was. Do you know how successful he was? I mean, after Jesus Christ, he was the main architect of the greatest, most influential, and largest human movement in the history of the world.
   4. Here’s a way of measuring career success for you. If 2,000 years from now millions of people every single week are meeting to study your writings, and they even study every word of the writings … Two thousand years from now, millions of people are studying your writings. I think you could call yourself a success then. That’s what Paul is!
   5. He had one of the most successful careers in history, and yet here he is in the career. He is doing his job. Why didn’t he say, “I’m too busy and important to go to Jerusalem to have a theological debate. Who wants to get into doctrine and dogma and all that? I know what I’m doing. I’m seeing success. Things are really going. I’m changing the world”?
   6. No, he stops and goes and has a theological discussion. Why? Because he knows how important it is for his theology to be right, for his doctrine to be accurate, how important it is to make sure the truth of the gospel is accurately held and understood and grasped. This is hard for us to understand because we live in an individualistic culture. In an individualistic culture, what matters is how I feel about things.^[2]
   7. Okay, so we see a low-level fly-by showing us that some people are trying once again to mess with what the Lord is doing.
   8. The NIV notes that since they were from Judea, they were given a hearing. Not that they correctly represented the apostles, they may not have.
   9. They were probably Pharisees from verse 5.
   10. Paul and Barnabas had a great debate with them about this.
   11. Therefore, Paul and Barnabas are to go to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles and elders regarding this matter.
   12. They passed through Samaria and Phoenicia, sharing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and this brought great joy.
   13. John MacArthur shares: Throughout its history, the church’s leaders have met to settle doctrinal issues. Historians point to 7 ecumenical councils in the church’s early history, especially the Councils of Nicea (d. 325) and Chalcedon (a.d. 451). Yet the most important council was the first one—the Jerusalem Council—because it established the answer to the most vital doctrinal question of all: “What must a person do to be saved?” The apostles and elders defied efforts to impose legalism and ritualism as necessary prerequisites for salvation. They forever affirmed that salvation is totally by grace through faith in Christ alone.^[3]
3. In verses 6-11, Peter gives his testimony.
   1. Acts 15:6–11 (ESV) ⁶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
   2. This was no small issue. There was much discussion.
   3. John MacArthur study note: Peter gave the first of 3 speeches at the Council that amount to one of the strongest defenses of salvation by grace through faith alone contained in Scripture. Peter began his defense by reviewing how God saved Gentiles in the early days of the church without a requirement of circumcision, law keeping, or ritual—referring to the salvation of Cornelius and his household (10:44–48; 11:17, 18). If God did not require any additional qualifications for salvation, neither should the legalists.^[4]
   4. Peter refers to this experience (Acts 10 Cornelius) as the early days.
   5. Peter says they are putting God to the test by giving the Gentile disciples a burden that the Jewish Pharisees and their fathers couldn’t bear.
   6. They couldn’t keep the law.
   7. The law was given to show them that they were sinners (Romans 3:20).
4. In verses 12- 21, we hear Paul and Barnabas’s testimony, and James makes a ruling.
   1. Acts 15:12–21 (ESV) ¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴ Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ¹⁶  “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;  I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, ¹⁷          that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,  and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things ¹⁸ known from of old.’ ¹⁹ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
   2. I want to fly higher at this point to emphasize the theme.
   3. Paul and Barnabas talk about signs and wonders. The signs and wonders would confirm to the Jews that God is truly behind what is happening.
   4. Then we see that James makes a ruling. This James is the same James who later wrote the New Testament epistle of James. He is Jesus’s half-brother. It seems obvious that He is the man in charge. He is the spokesperson for the group. We would think Peter would be in charge, but he is not. It is James. We would think Paul, but he is not it is James. James was not an early disciple, but he was pastoring the Jerusalem church, and he was in charge.
   5. In verse 14, he states that God intended to choose a people from the Gentiles for His name. That is extremely phenomenal. The Jews were God’s people, but now this wraps the Gentiles in as well. This is a special verse for today. He is saying that the Gospel is for everyone.
   6. Then James quotes an Old Testament passage regarding Gentiles.
   7. Then he says we do not need to get in their way much more.
   8. See Acts 15:19: ¹⁹ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,
   9. Keller:
   10. This is a church historian talking about Tertullian, who was one of the early church fathers but who he thought slipped back into legalism. Listen. This is what the historian says. “When the church loses its way, which it often does, and teaches believers they are justified not by grace alone but by being sanctified …” See, when the church starts slipping back, saying, “Well, you’re not justified just by grace, but you also have to be holy in all these ways; otherwise, God won’t love you …”
   11. He says then what happens is it produces “… an unconscious need for lists of clean and unclean activities and a rebirth of Pharisaism. Hard-line fundamentalists like Tertullian ruled out many intellectual activities: the theater (because of its origins in pagan worship), the dance (because it might inflame ill-controlled sexual passions), and cosmetics (if God meant you to smell like a flower he would have given you a crop of them on your head!).”
   12. The point is Christians are always losing their spiritual freedom, always slipping out of the idea, “We are saved by grace, and they’re saved by grace.” That’s not the only issue here. It’s linked, because not only was spiritual freedom the issue here but also cultural freedom. Think about the Levitical laws. When I say cultural freedom, the Gentiles were being told, “If you want to become a real, saved person, you need to become culturally Jewish.”^[5]
5. The ruling:
   1. Make sure they stay away from food sacrificed to idols.
   2. Stay away from fornication.
   3. Stay from what is strangled by blood.
   4. Now, then James has a letter written which Paul, and a few companions will send, and this starts in verse 22. The letter will explain this and provide them with more contact information for the churches.
   5. The end of this chapter marks the beginning of Paul’s next missionary journey.

Close:

Acts 15:19 (ESV) ¹⁹ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God…

Look at:

Acts 15:27–29 (ESV)

²⁷ We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸ For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: ²⁹ that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

Notice how they said, “Good to the Holy Spirit”?

I like what Tim Keller shared:

Look carefully what it says. It’s fascinating. “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us …” That’s almost hilarious. How did they know? How did they know what the Holy Spirit wanted? Did they sit and listen for a voice? No. What did they do? They studied the Bible together in community. When they agreed on what the Bible taught, they said, “That’s what the Holy Spirit is saying.”^[6]

Do you know why we don’t need all those Old Testament Laws? Jesus fulfilled them. All the blood and the sacrifices were pointing to Jesus. Jesus became the scapegoat. Jesus became the sin substitute.

Do you remember Lady Macbeth walking around, going out of her mind with guilt? She goaded her husband to kill somebody, and once she did, she couldn’t live with her guilt. She literally went insane. She went around. She saw blood on her hands. There was no blood on her hands, but she saw blood on her hands. Remember? “Out, damned spot! […] All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”

She went crazy, but you don’t have to go crazy. Do you know why? When you believe in Jesus Christ, all the damned spots go out. All the damned spots of your life are purified. Do you see the importance of gospel accuracy? Because it leads to gospel liberty, it leads to gospel community, and it leads to gospel purity.^[7]

Keller: The Levitical laws were pointing to had come. They were a shadow. The reality has come. Jesus himself!^[8]

Secondly, now believers are not only Jews, but all tongues, tribes, peoples, and nations. Christians are going to be out everywhere taking the Word of God everywhere. What that means is, if you’re a Roman, you don’t have to become culturally Jewish. You don’t have to become culturally anything. If you’re Asian, if you’re African, if you’re Roman, if you’re Greek, whatever you are, you become a Christian where you are.

You don’t have to leave and become culturally something else in order to become a Christian.^[9]

Now, all tribes, tongues, and nationalities can follow Jesus.  

Have you ever been to a church from a different culture? I have been in multiple different cultural worship services. They are not like us. When I was in the Dominican Republic, they were not nearly as focus on time as we are. They all valued worship, but it wasn’t focuses on time. It was not focused on the time it would begin or end.

We are all different and we criticize them, and they criticize us. We all bring different expressions of worship.

When I was serving a church in Alliance we had a monthly men’s breakfast with a black church. We would rotate speakers. They invited me to speak at their revival meeting. I loved it! The are all active in their worship service.

Tony Evans writes:

One of the great experiments when it comes to nationality is the American Experiment. The American Experiment is unique because of its intentionality to bring people from all walks of life, from every nation, under the banner of a single flag and to intentionally seek to bring across to these shores people from all kinds of other nations who would make up a union called the United States of America. This Experiment brought people together who would pledge allegiance to a single flag even though their backgrounds were different, unique, and dissimilar. We acknowledge our differences by annotating our original heritages to our current nationality with terms like Irish American, Swedish American, Polish American, African American, or Hispanic American. The introductory phrase cites the uniqueness. The last word cites the unity. Whatever I am uniquely based on regarding culture, history, background, or previous location, I am that under the American Banner. There was in this Experiment an attempt to have a United States even though the people seeking to be unified were totally different. What the American Experiment represents from a cultural, historical, and geographical perspective to this nation, the church of Jesus Christ was meant to be for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords—people from different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives, all pledging allegiance to the cross.^1016,[10]

Review:

The Jerusalem Council meets and frees the church for evangelism. In doing so, they affirm that the Gospel is for everyone (verse 14), which means that they decide not to make it difficult for non-Jews to become Christians (verse 19).

First, is your heart right with Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[2] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 15:1–30.

^[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 15:7.

^[5] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[7] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[8] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[9] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012-2013 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[10] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 336–337.

Paul and Barnabas Witness in Lystra (Acts 14:8-28)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 8, 2025

We are journeying our way through Acts and we come to an amazing passage. Think about the complexities in this passage:

• This is a passage where the Apostles can heal someone, yet be stoned in the same passage, really?
• This is a passage where Paul will be stoned and left for dead. Yet, he will preach so that people can receive real life immediately after that. Preaching the Gospel, you were just stoned to death for? They are killing you, but others are receiving real life!
• This is a passage in which we realize Paul’s ability to identify with an audience through preaching. We see an abbreviation of a sermon which he will preach in Acts 17:16ff.

Who’s your god? Do we make people gods as well? Paul and Barnabas wouldn’t allow themselves to be worshipped?

When I was a kid in school, I recall studying ancient Greek culture and the gods and goddesses it worshipped. The idea was that they had many gods, whereas we worship only one God. We were studying in public school, so the majority of the class believed that in today’s time, many people don’t believe in or worship a God at all. The idea is that we have advanced, we know these things about Zeus and Hermes aren’t true. Looking at the church across America, I wonder, have we really advanced? The Ten Commandments say, “Do not commit idolatry.” Do we?

Can you remember a time when you got something new? For me, it is hard to get something new and not let that “thing” consume me. When I get a new car, that is all that I think about. I might even commit idolatry with that man-made thing. It has been said that worship is our response to what we value most. It has been said, “If you follow the trail of your time, energy, passion, money, you will find out what you worship.” It could be money, yourself, friends, things, your past, etc. The point is that we were created to worship.

We are about to turn to a passage in the New Testament where people who have worshipped Hermes and Zeus now try to worship Paul and Barnabas.

1. Let’s look at the miracle.
   1. Acts 14:8-10:
   2. ⁸ Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, ¹⁰ said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.
   3. Context is everything.
   4. Look at the previous seven verses.
   5. Paul is on what we call his first missionary journey.
   6. Paul had left for this journey back in Acts 13:4. They had already gone to Pisidian Antioch and preached there.
   7. While still in Antioch, in Acts 13:46, the Jews got jealous; consequently, Paul and Barnabas moved on to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. This seemed to start a precedent for Paul that he would always go to the synagogue first and then to the Gentiles. In Acts 13:50, the text tells us that the “Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.”
   8. That leads us to the beginning of Acts 14. They have now moved on to Iconium. They followed the same procedure in Iconium as they had in Pisidian Antioch. Paul and Barnabas first went to the synagogue and spoke to the Jews. Many Jews and Greeks believed. In Acts 14:2 the text tells us that the Jews who disbelieved “stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.” However, Paul and Barnabas stayed around and spoke boldly. Still, verses 5 and 6 tell us there was an attempt to stone them, and Paul and Barnabas found out about it and left. They then went to Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and the surrounding region. Verse 6 tells us where they went, and then verse 7 tells us what they were doing. They continued to preach the Gospel in those locations. Now, that brings us to verse 8. Now, what happened at Lystra?
   9. The miracle (Acts 14:8-10).
   10. We will look at the miracle but first notice how Paul and Barnabas were persistent in preaching the gospel.
   11. They tried to stone them! In verse 5, it says this. Did that shock you? It didn’t shock me. The first-century person would have been shocked by this. Stoning was a terrible punishment. The accused would usually be taken outside the city and stripped. Then, the witnesses would cast the first stones, followed by everyone else. I have heard that they would throw stones until the person was buried.
   12. Although this occurred in the previous city due to Paul and Barnabas preaching the Gospel, they continued on to share the Gospel.
   13. Paul and Barnabas were focused then, but what was about to happen would have tested me.
   14. Verses 8-10: Now they are in a city called Lystra. This is a city in what would be modern-day Turkey.
   15. Verse 8 tells us that a man who had no strength in his feet was sitting. How long was he lame? The Bible tells us from birth. Then the same verse gives an extra emphasis by saying he had never walked. Now, if the text has already said, “Lame from his mother’s womb.” Why does the text need to say that he had never walked?
   16. Luke emphasizes that this man had never walked before. Luke is preparing us for what is about to happen. Why? What is about to happen is a miracle.
   17. This man was interested in the Gospel.
   18. Paul looks at him and can tell that this man had faith to be healed. What does that mean?
   19. We can’t be sure what this passage means by saying, “Faith to be made well.” What I think is that the Holy Spirit supernaturally showed Paul that he believed in Christ and had faith. It is overreaching to take this passage and say that everyone who is not healed doesn’t have faith.
   20. Just because in this case it says he had faith to be made well does not mean that when someone is not healed it is a faith issue.
   21. In Inductive Bible Study, this is called:
   22. Fallacy of Composition: This fallacy involves the assumption that what is true of the part is necessarily true of the whole.¹² If one were to infer that because Luke presents some Samaritans as more generous (10:29–37) or grateful (17:11–19) than some Jews, he wants his audience to conclude that all Samaritans are morally superior to Jews, then one would be going well beyond the evidence and committing the fallacy of composition. The same would be the case if one were to infer from the story of the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3:1–10 that Luke thereby teaches that all who are in need of physical healing will find it if they likewise place their faith in the name of Jesus.^[1]
   23. In verse 10, Paul told this man to stand upright. This man leaped to his feet.
   24. I notice no hesitancy in Paul’s voice, I notice no physical therapy for this man. He leaped to his feet.
   25. Many of you are parents and grandparents. Remember when your children started walking? Did they just leap and start walking? Of course not! There was a slow process of learning to walk, not in this case!
   26. The application is that when God is involved, things can happen quickly.
   27. This is the third time in Acts that a lame man is healed (Acts 3 and 9:34).
   28. God doesn’t heal everyone; however, we do need to understand that the Holy Spirit is still active today. The Holy Spirit hasn’t hidden in a cave or retired.
   29. One last thing about this: When someone is made well due to our medical advances, give the Lord the credit. God works.
2. In verses 11-13, we see the reaction to what God had done.
   1. Acts 14:11–13 (ESV)
   2. ¹¹ And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” ¹² Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
   3. A whole crowd appeared to have seen what God had done through Paul.
   4. The crowd started speaking in the Lycaonian language. The people were probably speaking in Latin to begin with. It appears that at this location, they knew Latin and Greek. There is also evidence that this native language was used up until the 6^th century A.D. “There is evidence that two Christian monasteries in Constantinople (Byzantium), founded in the sixth century, used the Lycaonian language in their liturgy.”
   5. Why would they think that the “gods” had come down? One reason would be the miracle. Just imagine, you are sitting at the hospital with someone who can’t walk, and suddenly they jump to their feet!!! This would be amazing!
   6. Another reason is this: Local Phrygian legend told of an ancient visitation by Zeus and Hermes to Phrygia. In the story only one couple, Baucis and Philemon, received them graciously; the rest of the population was destroyed in a flood. Knowing some form of the story in their own language, the Lycaonians are not about to make the same mistake ancient Phrygia had made; they want to honor Paul and Barnabas, whom they mistake for gods. People sometimes considered miracle workers as gods.^[2]
   7. Do we do this today? Do we worship people? What about actors? Athletes? Do we worship video games and things? Cars? Houses? Careers?
3. Verses 14-18 show that Barnabas and Paul will not be worshipped.
   1. Acts 14:14–18 (ESV) ¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ¹⁶ In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷ Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
   2. They tear their clothes which is a sign that they have seen idolatry. They say:
   3. We are men like you.
   4. We preach the Gospel that you should turn to the living God who:
   5. Made everything.
   6. God has given you a witness of Himself, and He gave you rain, food, and fruits.
   7. They said these things and, with difficulty, restrained these crowds.
   8. Do you notice it? They were being worshipped! They could have accepted it, but instead they turned their attention to God. They were God focused!
4. In verses 19-20, Paul is stoned.
   1. This is amazing.
   2. Acts 14:19–20 (ESV)
   3. ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ 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.
   4. Notice this, Jews came from Antioch (not the same Antioch as Acts 13) and Iconium.
   5. They persuaded the crowds and dragged Paul out of the city, and stoned Paul.
   6. Wow!
   7. They thought he died.
   8. Verse 20 is so simple. The disciples gathered around him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
   9. Did the disciples pray, and was he healed?
   10. Was there another miracle?
   11. Were there two miracles in this passage- the lame man and the healing of Paul?
   12. We don’t know.
   13. Acts 14:21–23 (ESV) ²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²² 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. ²³ 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.
   14. Notice, they continue preaching the Gospel. They are also returning to the same cities that threatened them.
   15. Let’s read the rest of the chapter:
   16. Acts 14:24–28 (ESV) ²⁴ Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, ²⁶ and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ And they remained no little time with the disciples.
   17. Notice that they are returning to Antioch in Syria. They are returning and celebrating what the Lord has done.

Notice two things:

Paul and Barnabas would not allow themselves to be worshipped. Always look to God. Always point people to God.

Secondly, these miracles were to point people to the gospel. Miracles in the New Testament are always about spreading the Gospel.

¹² Engel, With Good Reason, 93–94; Rudinow and Barry, Invitation to Critical Thinking, 281.

^[1] David R. Bauer and Robert A. Traina, Inductive Bible Study: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 259.

^[2]Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Ac 14:9). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel. They persevere through persecution (Acts 14:1–7).

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 1, 2025

Swindoll:

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote these amazing words:

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last pieces of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms is to choose his own attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way.”¹

I could not be in greater agreement. We make a choice every waking moment of our lives. When we awaken in the morning, we choose the attitude that will ultimately guide our thoughts and actions through the day. I’m convinced our best attitudes emerge out of a clear understanding of our own identity, a clear sense of our divine mission, and a deep sense of God’s purpose for our lives. That sort of God-honoring attitude encourages us to press on, to focus on the goal, to respond in remarkable ways to life’s most extreme circumstances.

It was that kind of remarkable attitude Paul and Barnabas consistently maintained throughout their missionary journey. The two Antioch-sent servants faced and overcame countless and extreme obstacles with a relentless determination to stay focused on the goal.

We all need a reliable game plan for facing extreme circumstances. The situation that now looms in front of you may be fixable, or it may seem impossible to overcome in your own strength. It might be the result of your own actions, or you may be an innocent victim, caught in the backlash of someone else’s consequences. Whatever the case, we can easily become intimidated, even fearful, and eventually immobile when facing such obstacles. The only way to move beyond that sort of paralyzing stalemate is to learn to accept and trust God’s plan. You release the controls and wait for Him to move. And while you wait, maintain a good attitude.[1]

We are continuing our trek through Acts.

My theme today: Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel. They persevere through persecution.

The application: persevere in what God calls you to do.

1. First, we see that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles respond to the message (Acts 14:1-2), but some stir up contention.
   1. Acts 14:1–2 (ESV)
   2. 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. ² But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
   3. Remember, they are on their first missionary journey. They are taking the gospel to many other cities.
   4. In the previous section, they were forced to leave Antioch because of persecution. This is Antioch in Pisidia. It is not the same as the city of Antioch that is north of Jerusalem (Acts 13:1-3).
   5. This is modern Konya.^[2]
   6. Again, they enter a Synagogue.
   7. Interesting that they go back to the synagogue after all the persecution they have already gone through.
   8. They spoke in “such a way”–what does “such a way” mean?
   9. It must have something to do with persuasion and convincing.
   10. A large number of Jews and Greeks believed.
   11. One source shares: Because the native language of Iconium was Phrygian, Paul and Barnabas may address mainly the Greek-speaking upper social strata, or they may speak through interpreters (cf. 14:11, 14); but it is more likely that most of the crowd understands Greek, even if it is not their first language.
   12. Among the deities that the Gentiles of Iconium worshiped, the most prominent was Cybele, the Phrygian mother goddess; Phrygian mystery cults were also common. But inscriptions testify that the Christian faith spread and Iconium later became a major center of Christianity in Asia Minor.^[4]
   13. Look at verse 2:
   14. Even though a large number believed this verse makes it clear that there were Jews, at least, who didn’t believe.
   15. These Jews make the Gentiles angry. They “stirred up” or, actually, the NIV says, “poisoned their minds” against Paul and Barnabas.
   16. I once heard that only one percent of rat poison is poison. Ninety-nine percent of it is fine. That means that to incite trouble against Paul and Barnabas, all they may have had to do is change some small and subtle things about them, or that Paul and Barnabas were saying and change the truth.
   17. That type of stuff happens in the church today and is dangerous.
   18. Gossip can do a lot of damage.
2. Paul and Barnabas spend time discipling converts (Acts 14:3).
   1. Look at verse 3: 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.
   2. Again from Swindoll: A sentence in the diary of James Gilmore, pioneer missionary to Mongolia, has stayed with me since the day I first read it. After years of laboring long and hard for the cause of Christ in that desperate land, he wrote, “In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian.”
   3. Let me add some further reality to that statement by taking you back to an entry in Gilmore’s journal made in the early days of his ministry. It expressed his dreams and burdens for the people of Mongolia. Handwritten in his journal are these dreams: “Several huts in sight. When shall I be able to speak to the people? O Lord, suggest by the Spirit how l should come among them, and in preparing myself to teach the life and love of Christ Jesus.”
   4. That was his hope. He longed to reach the lost of Mongolia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How different from his entry many years later, “I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian.”
   5. What happened in between? He encountered the jagged edge of an authentic ministry. When I write about succeeding in the work of the Lord, I’m not promising success as we define it in human terms. I’m not saying because you are faithful to proclaim the Word of God your church will be packed. Some of God’s most faithful servants are preaching their hearts out in places where the church is not growing. A great temptation for those in that difficult setting is to turn to some of the other stuff that holds out the promise of more visible results. Don’t go there. Stay at it. God is at work.[5]
   6. They were not only speaking but speaking boldly.
   7. God confirmed His message with signs and wonders.
   8. Do signs and wonders happen today? Do we look for them?
   9. I once heard a man on Focus on the Family preaching, and as he was preaching, his voice was restored. A while before that, he had an illness which made it very difficult for him to talk. His voice was never supposed to be the same again, but it was healed. Praise God!
   1. Look at verse 4:
   2. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
   3. This verse notes that the people of the city were divided.
   4. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
   5. An apostle is one who is on a mission. Paul’s message divides the city in half (Acts 14:4).
3. Paul and Barnabas flee (Acts 14:5-7).

1. 1. Look at verses 5-7:
   2. Acts 14:5–7 (ESV)
   3. ⁵ When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, ⁶ they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, ⁷ and there they continued to preach the gospel.
   4. The Jews from verse 2 were somewhat successful because now there is an attempt made by not only the Jews but also the Gentiles and the rulers to mistreat and to stone them.
   5. In verse 6, the text talks about the other areas that Paul, Barnabas, and their group went after finding out about the plot.
   6. They fled to Lystra and Derbe which were cities of the district of Lycaonia:
   7. Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) south of Iconium, a Roman colony that was not on the main roads of Lycaonia. Because of its relative isolation, its local character was able to be preserved.^[9]
   8. Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra.^[10]
   9. Sproul shares:
   10. Luke tells us that the Apostles fled to Lystra and Derbe, which were situated in the province of Lycaonia. This minor detail is of great significance. In the nineteenth century we saw an unprecedented attack by liberal scholarship against the trustworthiness of the biblical record, and at the very front of this assault was an attack against the historical reliability of Luke, who gave us this history of the expansion of the early church. One of the things about which the critics carped was this little clause, “They fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.” The critics said that Lystra and Derbe, while closely situated, were not in the province of Lycaonia but in different provinces. That, the critics said, is a clear example of a historical error and inaccuracy in Luke’s writing.
   11. One of those scholars, distinguished for his historical expertise, was the British Sir William Ramsay. Ramsay decided to embark on a journey that followed the biblical record of Paul’s missionary journeys and wherever possible to do archaeological research pertaining to the accuracy of the details supplied by Luke. Ramsay was a skeptic. He agreed with the liberal viewpoint that Luke’s book had been filled with error, but everywhere he went, every time he turned over a shovel of dirt, his findings verified the details Luke had included in both his Gospel and in Acts. When Ramsay came in his journey to the places noted in this particular passage, he found the boundary marker between Derbe and Lystra, and indeed the boundary marker had the two cities in different provinces. However, upon further examination he found that at various times in antiquity the boundaries of those provinces changed, and, to his amazement, he discovered that between the years d. 37 and a.d. 72 Lystra and Derbe were in the same province—the exact province Luke mentions here in the text. At the end of his tour Ramsay said that he could not find a single error of historical reliability in the book of Acts, and he joined other later scholars who now call Luke the most reliable historian of the ancient world.^[11]

Again from Swindoll:

Paul’s ministry was saturated with the Word of God. Fifteen times in chapters thirteen and fourteen the phrases “God’s Word,” the “Word of truth,” the “teaching of the Lord,” the “Law and the Prophets,” and the “Good News” are mentioned (13:5, 13:7, 13:12, 13:15a, 13:15b, 13:32, 13:44, 13:46, 13:48, 13:49, 14:3, 14:7, 14:15, 14:21, 14:25).

On that first journey Paul took with him just enough to live on, sufficient clothing to cover his nakedness, a heart full of hope in God’s truth, and a confidence in God that would keep him faithful. That’s what held him together. That’s what steeled him against the tightening jaws of mistreatment in the ministry.

Could it be that you’ve grown a little soft in the past few months in your commitment to time spent in the Scriptures? It may be happening to you just as it happens to me from time to time. Please heed this gentle warning: If you’re getting ready to go off to school, or preparing to take on new ministry responsibilities, or getting ready to launch a new phase of your career, don’t do it without first establishing a regular time to meet alone with the Lord, preparing yourself for the new challenge by spending time in His Word. Your spiritual future depends on it. Without that commitment to saturate your life with God’s Word, you step into the unknown future at your own risk. I urge you to spend sufficient time with the Lord so you might be strengthened within. It can begin with as little as fifteen minutes each day.

Some of you are thinking, I don’t have fifteen minutes a day! Try cutting your lunch break short so you’ve got time on the other end to spend reading through a Psalm or two or digesting one of the New Testament letters.

If Paul could saturate his life in the Word of God, you and I can too. You are touching some people in your sphere of influence that likely no one else will touch. Be known for your biblical commitment, your biblical counseling. Be known for your biblical advice. Be appreciated for your biblical stand on moral values. It all starts with your investment of time in the Bible. Go there. Become saturated with the Word of God. That in itself will carry you miles down the road toward establishing an authentic ministry.[12]

[1] Viktor E Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (New York: Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, 1976).

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on website on 04.28.2025: https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/good-attitude1

^[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2112.

[3] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed website on 04.28.2025: https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/elusive-popularity1

^[4] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 14:1–4.

[5] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on website 04.28.2025

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⁵⁸ For bibliography and further discussion, see chap. I, n. 61.

^[6] John B. Polhill, Acts, vol. 26, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 311.

^[7] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 14:5.

^[8] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 14:5.

^[9] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 14:6.

^[10] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 14:6.

^[11] R. C. Sproul, Acts, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 251–252.

[12] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on 04.28.2025

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Memorial day message

Our best IS good enough (Matthew 6:33 seek Ye First…)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, May 25, 2025

Today is Memorial Day:

Memorial Day was established after the Civil War. All these men served in the War Between the States. All these families sacrificed as the husband was gone, the father was gone. Families were torn apart. What was it like for the soldier?

Today is Memorial Day weekend. For some, it has little meaning other than a day off and the running of the Indianapolis 500. Yet, the origin of the day began with remembering the dead in the War of Northern Aggression-—the women of Pennsylvania who decorated Union graves in August of 1864, the women of Virginia who decorated Confederate graves in April of 1865, and the women of Columbus, MS who decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate dead-—prompting Horace Greeley’s editorial and the subsequent events which called for national observance of such memorials. This day reminds us of all our war dead, hence that freedom has a cost.

I am very grateful to all of our military men and women who sacrificed for our country. I am grateful to all the military who paid the highest price.

I would like to take this day to preach on refuting a lie we often believe. We often believe the lie that our best is NOT good enough. That needs refuted. Our best is good enough.

THE ANT, THE PRAYER, AND THE CONTACT LENS

A true story: Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn’t there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” She thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?” Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, “Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I’ll carry it for You.”

We need to remember these words when we are asked to do something that we feel is too heavy for us to do and or carry. “God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.”

Today, I wish to address the subject of our best. There are lies that maybe we believe, but they cause us harm, they hurt us. These make us work harder than we need to. They break down our confidence. They overwhelm us. One of these lies is that “our best is not good enough.” I am not going to address this lie separate from the Holy Spirit. In a way, the lie is a lie regardless of whether or not one is a Christian or not. But it is a big lie for the Christian because the Christian is not alone. The Christian has the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:9 (ESV)

⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Just for a moment realize even a non-believer can only do their best. It has to be good enough. But for the Christian, we can really be overwhelmed if we try things on our own.

My theme today: Our best is good enough because it is combined with God’s strength.

My application: Matthew 6:33:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1. Let’s talk about the overwhelming weight the Christian faces and the overwhelming answer.
   1. I like what Pastor J.D. Greear writes as he talks about being overwhelmed: And as I said, I used to be one of them myself. No matter what I gave, there was always more that was needed. One more child to free from the sex trade . . . one more unreached people group to target . . . one more person to tell about Jesus! How could I take my wife out to dinner with needs like that weighing on me? Or go on a vacation? In fact, how could I keep any money for my own enjoyment or pleasure when so many in the world die with nothing? If the price of a cup of coffee could really feed an Indian orphan for a week, was it right for me ever to have a cup of coffee? And why did I need a hot shower? Should I take only cold showers and free up another $ 20 a month in energy costs to house another refugee? John Wesley famously took down the pictures off of his wall, saying they were the “blood of the poor,” unnecessary indulgences while people starve. Was my indulgence of hot showers depriving some poor person of their next meal? My wife and I own a fairly modest house, but couldn’t we have a smaller one? After all, my next door neighbors in Indonesia lived in a 400-square-foot, non-air-conditioned, aluminum-roofed hovel, and they were a family of ten. I don’t know anyone in America who lives that way, but my Indonesian neighbors survived . . . so wouldn’t truly “radical” living require that I live that way, too, and give the excess money to missions? Was my insistence on living like a first-world American, with a nice home (even if modest), condemning many to starvation and hell?
   2. If every person I see is headed either to heaven or to hell, then shouldn’t I spend every minute of every day interrupting them to make sure they know how to get to God? Don’t they all need to know, right now? If it depends on me, shouldn’t I interrupt them, immediately?
   3. But, J.D. continues to share that God does not need us. If He needed us all that would be true but:
   4. Thankfully, the weight of the mission sits upon the shoulders of a God who has no needs.
   5. He creates universes with words.
   6. He takes five loaves and two fish and feeds more people in five minutes than twelve men working full-time jobs could supply in eight months.
   7. He finds tax payments in a fish’s mouth.
   8. He knocks down mighty giants with creek pebbles.
   9. He summons rich, pagan, enemy kings to pay for his building programs.[1]
   10. We serve a big God, and we walk with the Lord. Our best is good enough because everything God calls us to do is about Him and not us.
   11. Think about the beginning of the book of Acts in Acts 1:4. Jesus is risen, and He is with the disciples and He tells them not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon them. I find this funny. It is as if Jesus knew without the Holy Spirit their best is not good enough. With the Holy Spirit everything will work out. The book of Acts is all about the Holy Spirit.
   12. Peter was afraid and denied Jesus (John 18:25-27) but when the Holy Spirit comes upon him, He preaches and people are saved, 3000 were saved.
   13. The Holy Spirit simply told Philip to witness to the Ethiopian and the man was saved (Acts 8:25ff).
   14. The Holy Spirit radically transforms our best.
2. Jesus addresses this giving us the answer, seek God.
   1. Let’s read Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV) ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
   2. I am not going to take apart this passage. My goal is not to teach this passage today, but instead show that as we are seeking the Lord, our best is good enough.
   3. Our assignment is not to worry about our best.
   4. Our assignment is to work hard and let God supply the rest.
   5. Our assignment is to seek the Lord and follow what He calls us to do.
   6. Our assignment is to remember that He is in charge.
   7. Our assignment is to let God be God.
   8. God will multiply your hard work and make it better than you can imagine.
   9. God will multiply your integrity and make things work out His way.
   10. God will give you favor when you seek Him, when you let the Holy Spirit work in you.
   11. I am not only talking about church ministries. God will give you favor at work for seeking the Lord and telling the truth. Own up to mistakes and have integrity.
   12. God will give you favor when you don’t gossip on Facebook.
   13. God will give you favor in your family when you can be trusted not to spread rumors.
   14. Sometimes seeking the Lord is tough, but God will give you favor when you seek the Lord even when it means obeying the law and there is a cost. There is a cost to obeying the legal law and God’s way. Sometimes we think our giving does not make a difference, it is just pennies, but God will take care of you when you give what you can and stretch yourself a little bit more.
   15. God will give you favor when you seek Him by restoring a relationship. Sometimes we are overwhelmed thinking a relationship can never be healed, but remember that God can do all things. It is not your best healing the relationship, but it is God doing that.
   16. Sometimes we think, I could never finish college or some training, but remember you have God’s strength within you. Sometimes we think, I cannot face another day at my work! But remember you don’t go there by yourself.
   17. Don’t worry, give it to God. Say, God I am overwhelmed, and I just don’t know that I am making a difference. I need the Spirit to lead me. I am seeking you. I am giving this to you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
   18. Write out your worries on paper and give them to God.
   19. Write out that you think you are doing your best and missing out, give them to God.
   20. How do we seek the Lord?
   21. Daily devotions- TAG time= time alone with God. This includes prayer and reading the Bible.
   22. Time with our church family- prayer partners, Sunday school/small groups/Bible studies; worship with your church family.
   23. Other spiritual disciplines: silence, learning, serving, giving, etc.
   24. These are all ways that we seek the Lord.

Close:

It is God who multiplies our work. Our job is to obey. Think about Joseph, he goes to Egypt as a slave, and he maintained integrity, and God multiplied that, giving him a position second to the Pharaoh and saved all of the Israelites through Him (Genesis 37-50). All he did was what was right.

I met with the Vice-President of a Company. He told me that he started out as an accountant and did not want to be with the company that long. That was 17 years earlier. He had previously served as a missionary, youth pastor, and worship leader. He was from Mexico and then was transferred to Illinois as the President of the Company, the company merged and at that time he was the VP. But he never wanted to stay there. He wanted to be a missionary again. I thought of Joseph, God gave this man favor just like Joseph. God promoted him. Now he has had prayer meetings and Bible studies in that office. He had shared the Gospel in that office. He was seeking the Lord and the Lord used him. He did his best and the Lord used him. Praise God. It happens by the Holy Spirit within us.

Our job, seek the Lord and trust Him with the results.

Do you know Jesus? Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Greear, J.D.; Greear, J.D. (2014-11-04). Jesus, Continued…: Why the Spirit Inside You is Better than Jesus Beside You (p. 77). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Paul Turns to the Gentiles (Acts 13:42–52), Persistently Sharing the Gospel

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, Oh on: Sunday, May 18, 2025

We have been preaching our way through the Book of Acts. As we walk through Acts, we see God’s mighty works of the Holy Spirit. Today, we will continue to see God’s work. The Book of Acts has been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. It is the first church history book.

Acts is about the spread of the Gospel, and the Gospel is eternal life. Listen to what I once read:

THE TREE TRUNK THAT TRUMPETED LIFE AND TRUMPED DEATH By Pastor Rick Sams

  The most popular tourist attraction in Herfordshire County, England is a graveyard. People come from all over the world to see a grave of a woman buried over 200 years ago.

  Lady Anne Grimston was a proud, wealthy, and obstinate woman who lived for this life alone.

  Toward the end friends tried to encourage her to think about what comes after we breathe our last. She would not. She believed there was nothing beyond: “It is as unlikely that I shall continue to live as that a tree will grow out of my body.”     

  She went so far as to make a challenge to Heaven, saying: “If, indeed, there is life hereafter, trees will render asunder my tomb.” 

  Lady Anne Grimston died, was buried, and forgotten. But not quite. After many years the thick marble slab over her grave was found ajar. The builders put it back and forgot her again. 

  But once more the marble slab tilted to one side, and in the middle was a crack, with a tiny bunch of leaves bursting through. The crack was sealed with cement and the slab returned to its original spot. A few years later the marble was again lifted up, the crack opened wider than before, and the trunk of a tree emerged from the opening.

  Workmen repaired the increasingly crumbling tomb and installed iron rails and rods to hold everything together. But the young tree would not be tied down. It kept making its way, breaking the masonry, destroying the walls of the tomb, and tearing the heavy iron railings out of the ground. 
  Today, growing right from the heart of Lady Anne Grimston’s grave in St. Peter’s churchyard is one of the largest trees in England. Because of that tree the site is a mass of twisted metal and crushed marble.
  For over 200 years an old tree trunk has trumpeted: “life trumps death.”[1]

Jesus is eternal life so it is critical that we are persistently giving people Jesus.

As I teach you this passage, notice Paul’s persistence to preach the Gospel.

My theme today is:

Paul turns to the gentiles (Acts 13:42–52), persistently sharing the gospel.

Persistence is important:

Swindoll reminds us:

I’m sure Anne Mansfield Sullivan had a host of folks telling her that the blind, 7-year-old brat wasn’t worth it. But Anne persisted—in spite of temper tantrums, physical abuse, mealtime madness, and even thankless parents. In her heart she knew it was worth all the pain. Was it ever! Within two years her pupil, Helen Keller, was able to read and write in braille. She ultimately graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College (where Miss Sullivan had “spelled” each lecture into her hand), and Helen Keller devoted the rest of her life to aiding the deaf and the blind.[2]

1. Context:
   1. The previous section was Paul preaching in the synagogue.
   2. The whole section is Paul’s sermon.
   3. Paul preached on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
2. The people want to hear more (Acts 13:42-43).
   1. Acts 13:42-43: ⁴² As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
   2. They want to hear more.
   3. Verse 43 tells us that many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas.
   4. These would be proselytes to Judaism.
   5. These are full converts to Judaism who had been circumcised.^[3]
   6. Paul and Barnabas urged them to continue in the grace of God.
   7. I like what MacArthur writes: With such encouragement, Paul and Barnabas hoped to prevent those who were intellectually convinced of the truths of the gospel, yet had stopped short of saving faith, from reverting to legalism rather than embracing Christ completely.^[4]
   8. Do we pray the same way? Do we think the same way? Do we realize that we must pray fervently that we and loved ones stay close to the Lord.
   9. There is another application from this passage. They wanted to hear more. In verse 42 they asked to hear more the next Sabbath.
   10. Are we eager to hear more of the Word of God?
   11. There is a danger that we get used to these great truths from the Scripture. I believe we must pray fervently that God continues to speak to us through His Word.
3. The reaction (Acts 13:44-52):
   1. Look at verse 44: ⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
   2. Notice what they gathered for, they wanted to hear more of the Word of the Lord.
   3. It says almost “the whole city” gathered. This is probably some hyperbole, but it still communicates that the Gospel is making a great impact.
   4. ESV SB: Since the population of Antioch was mainly Gentile, almost the whole city indicates that the majority who showed up were Gentiles.^[5]
   5. But notice verse 45: ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.
   6. Now, we have a problem.
   7. Now, there is resistance.
   8. The Jewish people did not like the message Paul was sharing.
   9. Remember that most of those showing up were likely gentiles.
   10. This may have had something to do with the issues.
   11. I like what one source adds: When famous speakers (e.g., Dio Chrysostom) would come to town, much of the town would go to hear him. Word spreads quickly about the new speaker at the synagogue in Antioch, and Paul, probably originally more comfortable giving expositions of Scripture than public speeches in the Greek style, is billed as a rhetorician or philosopher.^[6]
   12. Notice the Jewish response. They started to contradict what was spoken by Paul. They started to revile him.
   13. They likely were reviling what was spoken and not Paul himself.[7]
   14. Notice the passage says the Jews saw the crowds and were filled with jealousy.
   15. It seems that this was not as much about the message but their jealousy. The Jewish response was rooted in the sin of jealousy.
   16. How do we pray and prepare so that we do not get jealous? Do we evaluate a message based on whether it is true or false? Or, do we let jealousy fill our hearts?
4. Paul and Barnabas respond:
   1. Look at the next few verses:
   2. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
   3. “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
   4. that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
   5. Paul and Barnabas did not change their message.
   6. It is easy to try to adapt the message based on what people want to hear.
   7. We can’t do that with the Gospel.
   8. We can’t change the gospel.
   9. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly.
   10. They said it was necessary to take the gospel to them first.
   11. Paul cites Isa. 49:6 in verse 47.
   12. God offered the plan of salvation to the Jews first (Mt 10:5, 6; 15:24; Lk 24:47; Ro 1:16).^[8]
   13. Paul says that they thrust it aside. They thrust the Gospel message aside.
   14. They are judging themselves unworthy of eternal life.
   15. Then, verse 47, Paul is quoting Isaiah. They are a light to the gentiles.
   16. Salvation shall be brought to the ends of the earth.
5. The gentiles rejoice (verse 48)!
   1. ⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
   2. Verse 48 is like an interlude.
   3. This verse shows the gentile response.
   4. They rejoice.
   5. Do we rejoice that we have the Word of the Lord?
   6. There is an interesting phrase at the end of verse 48: and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
   7. That word “appointed” trips us up. But notice the end of Acts 14:1: spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
   8. So, verse 48 reads that those appointed were saved. But a few verses later, they “spoke in such a way…”
   9. To me, these verses communicate God’s sovereignty and free will.
   10. There is a mystery between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, and I cannot explain it.
   11. God has chosen people for salvation. Yet, we have free will involved, and we are responsible for communicating the message and receiving Him as Lord and Savior.
6. Then what happens (verses 49-52)?
   1. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. ⁵⁰ But 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. ⁵¹ But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
   2. The Word of the Lord continues to spread.
   3. When it says this, it means the gospel. “Word of the Lord” means “the Gospel.”
   4. Notice the Gospel is spreading throughout the whole region.
   5. But verse 50 shows that they still have problems.
   6. The Jews incite “devout” women. These women are devoted and have high standing.
   7. Paul and Barnabas are persecuted and driven from the city.
   8. But Paul and Barnabas shake the dust off their feet and continue.
   9. Many Jewish people on returning to the Holy Land would shake the dust of a pagan land from their feet; because the temple was considered holier than the rest of Israel, they would also shake the dust from their feet when they entered the temple. Paul and Barnabas probably imply that those who reject their message are pagan and stand under God’s judgment. Jesus had commanded his disciples to follow this practice even in Jewish Palestine (Lk 10:10–12).^[9]
   10. But look at verse 52: The disciples are filled with joy from the Holy Spirit.
   11. That is powerful.
   12. They have seen the gospel spread, but they are persecuted. They have joy. They are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Swindoll:

When Paul was rejected, he didn’t quit. As my good friend and wise mentor, Howie Hendricks, often says, “Where there’s light, there are bugs!” The brighter Paul’s light, the more the bugs. And in that situation, those bugs had stingers filled with poison.

What grit! Paul didn’t back down an inch in his response to open rejection. The result? Not surprisingly, the Gentiles in the crowd rejoiced in the good news he had for them. How exciting! What started as a smoldering ember of religious curiosity burst into flames of faith.

Why were Paul and Barnabas able to persevere? Neither man set his affections on temporal things. What discipline. If you want to get caught in the net of disillusionment, allow yourself to get tangled in the tangibles. You’ll not only run shy of courage, you’ll sink like a rock in a country pond. Why? Because others’ opinions will start to mean everything. When you allow their responses to be the ballast, then their applause becomes essential to keep you afloat, and their assaults drag you straight to the bottom. That formula for failure can be found in all people-pleasing ministries. You’re doomed to disillusionment if you don’t focus on the eternal.

Lee lacocca, not long after leaving the automobile business, said, “Here I am in the twilight years of my life still wondering what it’s all about. I can tell you this: fame and fortune is for the birds.”

You may be one who lives your life pursuing fame and fortune, depending on the applause of others. Bad plan. To begin with, fortune has shallow roots. The winds of adversity can quickly blow it all away. “Riches certainly make themselves wings,” writes Solomon, “they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5 KJV). And fame is as fickle as the last response from the crowd. Learn a dual lesson from this fine man who had wisdom far beyond most of us. When you’re praised and applauded, don’t pay any attention. And when you’re rejected and abused, don’t quit. It wasn’t human opinion that called you into the work you’re doing. So don’t let human responses or criticisms get you sidetracked. Keep going.

Don’t get tangled in the tangibles![10]

Pray

[1] (SOURCE:http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/h010rp.LadyGrimston_Galitzin.html

[2] Excerpt taken from Come before Winter and Share My Hope by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1985, 1988, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed on 04.14.2025: https://insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/persistence-part-one1

^[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 13:43.

^[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 13:43.

^[5] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2112.

^[6] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 13:44.

[7] See NET Bible note

^[8] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 13:46.

^[9] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 13:51–52.

[10] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on 04.14.2025: https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/tangled-in-the-tangibles1

Mother’s day: Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on May 11, 2025

I read the following:

One day, I taught my young class the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha. I carefully explained how Martha had hurried to clean the house and cook a special meal. Then I paused and asked, “What would you do if Jesus was going to visit your house today?” One little girl quickly responded, “I’d put the Bible on the table!”[1]

How do we focus on Jesus? How do we show that Jesus is important?

Let’s talk about focus. Let’s talk about being with Jesus now. Have you ever heard someone say, “Be here now”? I think I was a McDonald’s manager when in the management training, they would say, “Be here now.” What does that mean? To me, it means that I must stay focused. When managing my shift, I needed to focus on the crew, the customers, the immediate needs, and the day’s needs. I had forms I had to fill out to make the shift smoother. I had a form I would fill out regarding who was on the registers and who was on the grill and who was on back drive-thru and who was on front drive-thru; as a McDonald’s manager, I had to stay focused on the day. I couldn’t send everyone on break at once. I had to think about what was happening before sending anyone on break. I had to “Be here now.” I needed my mind to be present where my body was. I was once saying that to someone. I said, “Be here now.” She said, “I am here.” It can be confusing, but it is easy to not be present where your body is. I find it quite easy to be daydreaming or thinking about other things.

My theme today is:

We learn good things from Mary and Martha; however, we must be present with Jesus.

Read the text: Luke 10:38-42:

Luke 10:38–42 (ESV)

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” 

You know the story, we just read it:

How many of you would call yourselves a Martha? Please don’t be ashamed; I am probably a Martha.

How many of you would call yourselves a Mary? 

We have applications for both of us.

1. Let’s start by learning from Martha.
   1. We can learn from both Mary and Martha. Sometimes, Martha gets a bad reputation, and, after all, she is rebuked by Jesus. But I think there are some good qualities to learn from Martha. If you have these good qualities, don’t gloat about them; notice the things you can improve on.
   2. Today’s focus is on Mother’s Day, and my applications will be in accordance with that subject.
   3. I am not a mother, so I can’t be specific.
   4. Notice that Martha was welcoming. It says that she “opened” her home to him.
   5. She welcomed Him into her home.
   6. But we soon discover that though she welcomed Him into her home, she missed Him.
   7. We find out that she is very busy.
   8. What is it like to, on the one hand, be very welcoming but, on the other hand, be so busy that we don’t notice people? On the one hand, we say, “Come over.” But when they are over, we serve them, but we really don’t fellowship with them.
   9. What does it mean to be welcoming?
   10. The Greek word means to take under one’s care, as if placing the hands or arms under a person or thing, to receive hospitably and kindly.
   11. We see this word about four times in the New Testament.
   12. Do we notice our children, family, friends, church members? Or, are we so focused on other things that we miss them?
   13. In the next few verses, we see that though she was opening her home to Jesus, once He came in, she really did not pay attention to Him.
   14. Could we get so busy, even at church, that we miss Jesus?
   15. We may be here, but are we here?
   16. We may be with family, but are we with family?
   17. In verse 41, in the Message, Jesus says that she is “fussing” about things.
   18. That is what I do. I fuss, and my children show my weaknesses. I will never forget putting together a crib for Abigail. This was obviously over eleven years ago. I got frustrated, and Mercedes heard it. She copied my frustration.
   19. Don’t miss it, it does seem that Martha wants to be with Jesus. She is just busy. I get this because I am always thinking about details too. Let go, worship.
   20. The first application here is about being present with Jesus. Don’t miss Jesus.
   21. However, I do believe there are other applications- don’t miss your children, your grandchildren, your family.
2. Learning from Mary for the church.
   1. It appears that Mary is one of those students who we would think of as a “Teacher’s pet.” Mary is the student who, when you are sitting in class, and class is about over, thinks, “Great, no homework!” But then Mary says, “Teacher, you forgot to give us homework.” You are sitting thinking, “Noooooooo!”
   2. Mary was close to Jesus, look:
   3. We find out more about Mary in John 11:2: It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.^[2]
   4. Jesus rebukes Martha, but not Mary.
   5. We learn from Mary to focus on Jesus. We learn to be here now.

Close:

One writes:

While I was serving in Paraguay, a Maka Indian named Rafael came to sit on my porch. I was eating and went out to see what he wanted. He responded, “Ham, henek met.” Again I asked what I could do for him, but the answer was the same. I understood what he was saying but not its significance: “I don’t want anything; I have just come near.”

I later shared the incident with a local veteran missionary. He explained that it was Rafael’s way of honoring me. He really didn’t want anything; he just wanted to sit on my porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure just being near me.

“What brings you here, my child?” the Lord asks.

“Ham, henek met.”

Doesn’t that reveal the heart of true worship?[3]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Louise Day, Mount Holly, VA. Today’s Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart.”

^[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 11:2.

[3] Stuart Sacks, Villanova, Pennsylvania

Christians Agree on the Universal Church (Matthew 16:18)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, May 4, 2025

John Fawcett is a name you may not immediately recognize. In the late 18th century, Fawcett pastored a small, poor church in Wainsgate, England, where his salary was only 25 pounds a year.

In 1773, Fawcett was invited to become the pastor of a much larger church in London. Initially, he accepted the new position. But as his belongings were being loaded for the journey, the people from his church came to bid him farewell.

The tearful goodbye was so moving that John’s wife, Mary, cried out, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he responded. “We shall remain here with our people.” Their belongings were taken back off of the wagons, and John Fawcett remained in Wainsgate for the entirety of his 54-year ministry.

Years later, as he reflected on his decision to stay, Fawcett penned the words to his most-well-known hymn: Blest Be the Tie That Binds. The familiar words of that song resonate with the loyalty and love that characterized the pastor who wrote them.

Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne,

We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

Our comforts, and our cares.

Fawcett’s story illustrates the legacy of long-term commitment in pastoral ministry.

Christians disagree upon many different things. Today, I want to preach a sermon on a subject in which Christians agree. Christians agree upon the universal church.

My theme: The church is for Jesus, you, and the world.

Read with me:

Colossians 1:18 (ESV)

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

1. The church is for Jesus.
   1. Jesus is the head of the church.
   2. The church belongs to Jesus.
   3. Let’s put that passage in context:
   4. Colossians 1:15–20 (ESV)
   5. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
   6. That passage is all about the supremacy of Jesus and He is the head of the church.
   7. Another passage: Ephesians 1:22–23 (ESV) ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
   8. When I talk about the church, I am talking about the universal church. The adjective “catholic” means “universal.” The catholic church really, originally, meant “universal” church. John Wesley would write about the catholic church, and that is what he meant.
   9. Christians agree that the church is universal. It is one holy, catholic church. The church is universal.
   10. Jesus established the church.
   11. The church belongs to Jesus.
   12. Jesus is the Lord of the church.
   13. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of the church.
   14. There is much more to be said about that, but I want to move on.
2. The church is for you.
   1. Romans 12:4–8 (ESV)
   2. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
   3. I could give dozens of more verses about supporting and loving each other in the church.
   4. We are here to love each other, encourage each other, serve each other, support each other, and much more.
   5. 10:24: And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…
   6. I have heard “stir up one another” be shared as “encourage.”
   7. As a church, we can build each other up. We can stand beside each other and say, “You got this, you can do this.” As we go through life together, we are supporting each other. We support each other with words of encouragement and love. We support each other in loving deeds. We support each other in teaching. We support each other with wise words. We support each other in so many other ways. This does not always mean we tell each other what we want to hear. No, the closer we are to each other and the Lord, the more wisdom we have to know what to say and when to say it (James 1:19-20).
3. The church is for the world.
   1. How is the church here for the world?
   2. I am glad you asked.
   3. We are here to take the Great Commission to the world (Matt. 28:19-20).
   4. The stronger we are in fellowship, the more likely we are to reach the world.
   5. The closer we are in fellowship, the more people think, “I need a community like that.” That is the strength of Celebrate Recovery. People know they have a strong group of people, like a family.
4.  Applications:
   1. A little boy tripped and fell outside and one of his hands fell in the mud. His mother said to him, “Go wash your hands.”
   2. He went in the bathroom and came out a few minutes later. He now had two dirty hands. His mother said, “I thought I told you to wash your hands!”
   3. He said, “I did. I took my clean hand and wiped my dirty hand.”
   4. The dirt rubs off. If you want to be clean, hang out with clean folks. ^303,[1]
   5. Being part of the church does not mean that we are all clean. No, the church is a hospital for sinners saved by the grace of the Lord.
   6. I heard about this elderly minister. He was close to death. He sent word for two of his members, an IRS agent and a lawyer, to come to his house. Upon arrival, he motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The men were very moved that they could be with the minister in his final moments. At one point, the lawyer asked very sincerely, “Sir, why did you choose both of us?” The minister mustered up some strength and said, “Jesus died between two sinners. That’s the way I want to go.”
   7. I just meant that for humor. The church is for sinners saved by the grace of the Lord.
   8. We are not called to live the Christian life alone.
   9. I could give you applications about being committed to the church, and I think they would be appropriate. I could give you applications about giving to the church, which would be biblical. I could give you applications about Sunday School, small groups, and ministries, which are essential. However, let me go a different route.
   10. I want to review:
   11. The church is the bride of Christ.
   12. The church is here for: 1) King Jesus, 2) you, and 3) the world.
   13. 1) The church is here for King Jesus because He is the Lord of the church (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18).
   14. 2) The church is for you. We are all members of the church, and we are to support each other.
   15. 3) The church is here to reach the world with the Great Commission.
   16. I have ran four marathons and a half marathon.
   17. In these long races, there are points when you may think, “I don’t know if I can finish.” Then, you keep running and you see a crowd of people up ahead. They do not know you, but they are cheering you on. They have signs up. Akron was my last marathon. I was running up a big hill, and it felt like it would never end. Then, people on the sidewalks said, “This is the last hill, you’ve got this!” It was a lie; there were more hills, but they meant to encourage me. On my first marathon, I had my marathon number, which I wore, and something else that read, “first timer.” It meant it was my first marathon. Many people ran near me, saying, “You got this, first timer.” It is encouragement.
   18. That is the church.
   19. As we live life as Christians. As we face challenges, we face them together.
   20. As we face difficulties, we face them together.
   21. Do you know what I notice? The stronger someone is connected to the church, the more organic the support comes.
   22. The King protects the church.

O Church, Arise

O church, arise, and put your armor on;

Hear the call of Christ our captain.

For now the weak can say that they are strong

In the strength that God has given

With shield of faith and belt of truth,

We’ll stand against the devil’s lies.

An army bold, whose battle cry is love,

Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,

But to rage against the captor;

And with the sword that makes the wounded whole,

We will fight with faith and valor.

When faced with trials on every side,

We know the outcome is secure.

And Christ will have the prize for which he died:

An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross, where love and mercy meet,

As the Son of God is stricken;

Then see his foes lie crushed beneath his feet,

For the Conqueror has risen!

And as the stone is rolled away,

And Christ emerges from the grave,

This victory march continues till the

Every eye and heart shall see him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in every stride;

Give grace for every hurdle.

That we may run with faith to win the prize

Of a servant good and faithful.

As saints of old, still line the way, Retelling triumphs of his grace,

We hear their calls, and hunger for the day

When with Christ we stand in glory.

—Keith Getty and Stuart Townend (2^[2]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

^[1] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 104.

^[2] Joni Eareckson Tada, Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 77.