Proclamation:
“They
preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and
Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the
faith. ‘We must go through many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.
Acts 14:21-22 (NIV)
Explanation:
These
words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy
Spirit of God. Luke records that Paul
and Barnabas preached so effectively in Iconium that a great number of Jews and
Greeks believed. (Acts 14:1) But the
Jews who refused to believe stirred up the people so that the city was
divided. There was a plot to stone them
but they fled to Lystra. (Acts 14:2-7)
In Lystra, Paul healed a man who was lame from birth and the people
thought that they were gods and wanted to offer sacrifices to them. (Acts 14:8-18) Some of the Jews who came from Antioch stirred
up the people, won over a large crowd and they stoned Paul and left him for dead.
(Acts 14:19) The next day Paul and Barnabas
left for Derbe. (Acts 14:20) After preaching
there they retraced their steps and went back to the cities of Lystra, Iconium
and Antioch.
Application:
It
is not easy to be a Christian. There is
a price to be paid for being a believer and following Christ. Jesus, The Christ, said that we must take up
our cross and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23) He also said that we would be hated among men
for His sake. (Matthew 10:22, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17, and John 15:18) However, if we endure the hardships in this
life, we will be rewarded in the next life.
So, keep the faith, joy is coming. (Psalm 30:5)
No comments:
Post a Comment