Jan 04, 2015
Acts 14:19-28


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http://zachadams.org/acts/acts14_19-28.mp3

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Outline:


New Year Resolutions are such a weird phenomena… The idea that when the New Year inevitably rolls around people end up with this natural compulsion to make ourselves promises that we’ll be better next year! It’s been said, “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. And a pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” 


Historically speaking this phenomena has existed for several millennia… The ancient Babylonians would begin each new year by making promises to their gods that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans made similar promises to the god Janus for whom the month of January is named. In Medieval times at the end of Christmas the knights took the “Peacock Vow” re-affirming their commitment to chivalry.


As early as 1740 the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, created the “Watchnight Service” or what others have called “Covenant Renewal Services.” What was billed as a Godly alternative to a typical night of drunken revelry these services provided Christians the opportunity to review the year that has passed and prepare for the new year by praying, making confession, and resolving to do better.


Sadly, the entire notion of a “New Year Resolution” is destined for failure because it’s based completely in the failures of the previous year. Among the top resolutions are weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, better money management and debt reduction.


In 2007 a study was conducted by British psychologist Richard Wiseman involving 3,000 people. The study showed that 88% of those who set New Year Resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study's participants were confident of success at the beginning. Ironically, most fail to live up to their resolution within just 30 days. Some have correctly opined that, “A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.” If you feel this way, don’t worry you’re not alone.


So what is it that makes a resolution so hard to keep? While it’s easy to point to these failures as a lack of willpower or discipline the reality is that for most people this simply isn’t the case. Author Jonah Lehrer believes the problem may actually reside in the brain. 


Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Lehrer explains that since the part of the brain responsible for willpower (the prefrontal cortex) is also the area in charge of keeping us focused - handling short-term memory - and solving abstract problems, adding New Year Resolutions to an already overloaded prefrontal cortex is a sure-fire recipe for failure.


He points to Baba Shiv (a professor at Stanford) who ran an interesting experiment where several dozen undergraduates were divided into two groups. One group was given a two-digit number to remember and the other group was given a seven-digit number. Then they were told to walk down the hall where they’d enter a second room to recite the number. 


What the researchers failed to tell the students is that in the hall that separate the two rooms they would be causally presented with two different snack options: A slice of fattening chocolate cake or a bowl of healthy fruit salad. (The experiment was not about memory.)


In a fascinating and bizarre twist the students with seven-digits to remember were nearly twice as likely to choose the unhealthy cake as students who were given only two-digits. The reason the group with seven-digits rattling in the brain went for the cake while the group with two-digits choose the healthier bowl of fruit was that, according to Professor Shiv, those extra numbers took up valuable space in the brain producing what she calls a “cognitive load” making it that much harder to exert the willpower to resist a decadent dessert. 


In other words, all it takes is five extra bits of information to overtax the prefrontal cortex to the point where the brain looses the willpower to give in to temptation. Lehrer concludes his article by writing, “A tired brain, preoccupied with its problems, is going to struggle to resist what it wants, even when what it wants isn’t what we need.”


So if our failure to make good on our New Years Resolutions is not a lack of willpower or personal disciple… What about a lack of perseverance or persistence?


In an attempt to tackle this very topic, Dr. Mauricio Delgado, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Rutgers, ran a different experiment where volunteers (who’s brains were being scanned by an MRI machine) played a game in which they experienced varying setbacks that forced them to decide whether to persist or give up. The catch… Each setback was presented in a way that emphasized either controllable or uncontrollable factors.


What she discovered is that when people perceive themselves as having control over the setbacks they encounter, a particular part of the brain (the one linked to learning via trial and error) engages and that person is more likely to persist in their goals. However, when people feel they have no control over setbacks, an entirely different part of the brain (the one that processes feelings) engages and that person often chooses to give up on their goals.


Example: Apparently, if a student is struggling in a class, but they perceives this struggle is the result of poor study habits or procrastination (a controllable setback) they’re more inclined to remain persistent in their studies. But if a student perceives their struggles as being the result of poor teaching or unfair test questions (a non-controllable setback) they’re more inclined to quit and drop out of the class. 


What this all means is that our resolve to persist in the face of obstacles (or the struggle we face making good on resolutions) is not found in our willpower, but is rather based in a certain level of perceived control over our negative circumstances.


This morning we will not only discuss the implications this has concerning our Christian experience, but as Paul and Barnabas begin the last leg of their first missionary journey we’re going to see this play out in a profound way as they seek to finish what they started in the face of incredible odds. Before we dive into our text, let’s quickly recap…



Acts 14:19-20, “Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city.”



As we’ve noted, in both cities (Antioch and Iconium) Paul and Barnabas were forced to leave because of a growing threat from this group of “unbelieving Jews.” It’s now clear forcing them out of their perspective towns wasn’t enough. Luke tells us they come to Lystra, “persuade the multitudes… stone Paul… and drag him out of the city supposing him to be dead.” 


Question: What was it that produced such a visceral hatred of Paul?


Answer: His departure hadn’t slowed the work of the Gospel in those towns!


On a side note… You can’t help but notice the fickleness of this mob. One day they were calling Paul a god and then the next they’re stoning him to death! Please understand… When people think you’re one thing - only to discover you’re not - a good stoning will inevitably happen. Hero worship turns sower the moment a man is shown to be human.


Let’s get back to the scene… The passage is clear two things happen: 



  1. Paul is stoned and dragged out of the city because the people doing the stoning believe him to be dead. 


  2. “When the disciples gathered around him, Paul rose up and went back into the city.” 


Now the obvious question… Though the mob thought Paul was dead when they dumped his body outside the city was he in actually still alive or was he resurrected?


While it seems unlikely that Paul could have survived a stoning (which would have been a recorded first) and this word “supposing” indicated “the presumption of certainty,” I think it’s fair to say no one really knows for sure if Paul died or if he was resurrected. 


For starters, as a historian, our author Luke is very measured and somewhat cautious in how he presents this story. He sticks to the facts without providing a solid, clearcut explanation. 


Beyond this, there seems to be evidence that Paul didn’t even know what really took place. In 2 Corinthians 12:2-6 Paul wrote of an occurrence many believe may have happened here in Lystra… “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago - whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows - such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man - whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows - how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be…” 


If in this moment Paul indeed died from the stoning - went to heaven for a few minutes - only to then be resurrected back to life… It would explain why he immediately walked right back into the city. If he’d just seen the glories of heaven maybe he wanted them to finish the job!


Whether Paul died or was resurrected don’t miss the reality he was stoned to at least the point of death. Imagine the moment this began… You think he thought of Stephen?


I’m also struck by the image of the “disciples gathered around him…” You can’t help but wonder what they’re doing or thinking only to then have him “rise up… and bead back into the city.” Imagine what Paul’s bravery and tenacity produced in the hearts of those disciples! Note: One of the men who became a believer during this time was Timothy.


Now wait a second! How could Paul demonstrate this type of persistence when this setback was obviously the result of uncontrollable circumstances? Shouldn’t this have engaged the emotional quadrant of his brain causing Paul to throw in the towel and quit in frustration? 


Understand… What a person needs to persist in the face of trials is not necessarily the ability to have control over the setbacks they encounter, but the knowledge their setbacks are at least under control. Sure Paul could have quit, but he persisted because he recognized that God had complete control over his circumstances. 


Why is this important… Recognizing God’s control over the circumstances you face forces your brain to engage in the area linked to learning as opposed to the one that relies on feelings… Which in turn enables you to “run with endurance the race that is set before you.”



Acts 14:20-21, “And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples…” 



Motion of the Text: The day after his stoning Paul and Barnabas take a 20 mile walk from Lystra to the adjacent town of Derbe. While we have no specific details of their time in Derbe, Luke tells us “they preached the Gospel and made many disciples.” Note: Paul and Barnabas were not just about making converts, they were about raising up disciples.



Acts 14:21-23, “They returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” 



Motion of the Text: Following this undefined season of ministry in Derbe the crew back tracks 20 miles through Lystra, another 40 miles to Iconium, and 60 miles to Antioch.


It’s incredible to think Paul would deliberately journey back through towns that had demonstrated so much hostility towards him! Why would he do this? Luke tells us the purpose was to “strengthen the souls of the disciples, exhort them to continue in the faith,” and explain that it would be “through many tribulations we will enter the kingdom of God.” 


You can figure these heavy words struck a powerful tone as Paul clearly practiced what he preached. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 he’d write, “Do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”


Aside from this we’re also told “they (speaking of Paul and Barnabas) appointed elders in every church… commending them to the Lord.” The Greek word “appointed” is “cheirotoneo” which is a compound word “cheir” meaning “the hand” and “teino” meaning “to stretch.” The word means “to stretch forth the hand” which was the primary voting method in Greece. 


Please note: As demonstrated in this passage the responsibility of appointing elders was not the job of the church, but instead church leadership. It should also be pointed out they appointed “elders in every church.” Local churches had local leadership! Note: In the early church (and in the church today) becoming an elder put a target on your back! On one hand it was a position of honor, but it also made you a lightning rod!


Once these men were appointed by Paul and Barnabas we’re told they “commended them to the Lord…” “Commended” is interesting because it simply means “to put alongside of.” While it is true Jesus is the head of the church, it is the elders who serve as the instruments by which Jesus does the leading. Note: These churches were not congregational led.


It’s also a bit surprising that we have no record of anyone giving Paul problems as he retraces his steps back through these towns. I can imagine that’s to be expected when after stoning a man to death that same man walks back into town!



Acts 14:24-26, “And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. Now when they had preached the word in Perga they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.”



Motion of the Text: From Antioch Paul and Barnabas pass back through Pisidia into Pamphylia where they “preached the word in Perga.” If you recall their initial stop in Perga was short lived because of a Malaria pandemic. From Perga they travel west to the port city of Attalia where they board a boat and sail back to Seleucia returning to Antioch in Syria.


In all Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey ended up covering a period of almost 2 years seeing them travel 500 miles by sea and another 700 miles by land.


I love this phrase “the work which they had completed…” Once you begin a journey of faith initiated by the call of God there is no greater joy than finishing it! It might be hard (it was no cake walk for these men), but faithfulness demands tenacity only to yield a great reward! 



Acts 14:27-28, “Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.”



Luke tells us “Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch a long time…” Most scholars believe they remained in Antioch anywhere from 1 to 2 years. Why do they stay so long? (1) Paul and Barnabas needed to rest, and (2) The Holy Spirit hadn’t sent them back out. As we’ll see next Sunday trouble was brewing in Jerusalem and God knew they would both be needed.


Knowing that this Antiochian church had not only sent them out, but had been co-laboring in prayer behind the scenes, Paul and Barnabas sensed a responsibility to “report all that God had done with them, and that God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles…” 


It’s amazing to me that as they recount their travels their ultimate conclusion was that “God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles?” Really? Think about their travels for a moment: Elymas withstood them… Mark bailed on them… Paul contracted malaria… They were run out of Antioch… Then run out of Iconium… In Lystra they had to resist a mob that wanted to worship them as gods… Only for the same group to later stone Paul to death!


Though it’s true God worked in amazing ways (in every town there were converts who gathered to become churches possessing local leadership) when you factor in all of the negative most missionaries might have hesitated calling this “an open door.”


The perspective of Paul and Barnabas forces me to consider two things… 


1. A greater weight should be placed on the positive results of the ministry and not the negative. It’s easy to allow naysayers to steal our joy! Martin Luther recently tweeted, “They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?”


2. Opposition from the enemy is an inescapable part of God’s open door. Paul would once again reiterate this reality when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Friend, never fall into the trap of seeing opposition as evidence of God’s displeasure. Jesus was opposed and later crucified, but He was always right in the center of God’s will! 1 Peter 5:10, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”


This New Year, and with the examples of these men in mind, I think it’s a relevant question to ask… How do you plan to persist and remain undeterred when it becomes difficult to following Jesus? When your circumstances make it tough!


Seriously, this is a pertinent question because following Jesus will demands a constant persistence. The path this journey will lead us down is not easy and will require resolve. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it… Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”


What we learn from our inevitable failed New Year Resolutions is that if you think your willpower will suffice in your journey down the narrow road, you’re tragically mistaken. Don’t forget it only takes trying to remember seven-digits to so overwhelm your brain that you’ll naturally give into temptation.


You might be sincere in your desire to persist even in the face of trying setbacks, but, as we’ve mentioned, if left to your own faculties as soon as life throws you a curve… When your circumstances don’t make sense… When life spins out of your control, you’ll be naturally inclined to quit and thrown in the towel. 


What was the key for Paul and Barnabas to finish their race even when they might have been tempted to bail… When the obstacles in their way seemed to large to overcome? “They reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door…” 


The key wasn’t personal willpower or even a deeper capacity than most for resolve. Instead the foundation of their ability to persist was the knowledge that... 

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