The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 14, verses 19 through 20.

Tony Clark: And Father, we do thank you that you love us. We do thank you that you have given us this word. So Lord, instruct us today. Teach us by your spirit. Have your hand upon us, Lord. Please, Lord, show up and show out through the teaching of your word. Give us a timely word we need today in Jesus' name. Amen.

Alright, Acts 14, verses 19 and 20. The title of this message is Courage Under Fire. Courage under fire is defined as bravery while being shot at or while being strongly criticized. And this is what we're going to see with Paul and Barnabas in these verses and how we should deal with such shots when they come our way.

Now, by way of background, Paul and Barnabas were preaching the gospel in the city of Lystra. As Paul was preaching, he notices a man who was crippled in verse eight who had never walked. Paul observed him intently in verse nine and says with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet." And he jumped up and walked.

The people raised their voices in their own language in verse 11 saying, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men." And when Paul and Barnabas saw this, they tore their clothes in verse 14 and ran in and preached to them about the God of creation in verse 15. And it is this God that they needed to worship and look to because he was the one who had been blessing them throughout their life with food and fruitful seasons and gladness.

The question is, did it work? Did they stop offering sacrifices to them? Temporarily, because verse 18 says they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. Now, what was the result of them preaching the gospel to them? Look at verses 19 and 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, they rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

Now, how the Jews from Antioch and Iconium heard about Paul and Barnabas being there, we don't know. Maybe the small Jewish population there sent word to them, or whether these people were there on business, which I doubt. They came over 100 miles for the purpose to finally do something to Paul and Barnabas, especially Paul, since he was the chief speaker of the two.

These unbelieving Jews came there, and verse 19 says, "having persuaded the multitudes." Now, we don't know what they said to them, but whatever it was, it worked. It was very effective. Because now the crowd that wanted to worship them and offer up sacrifices to them are now ready to stone them.

Isn't this what they did to Jesus? Matthew 21 and verse nine says as he was coming into Jerusalem as their Messiah, the crowd shouted, "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Then the very next week, Matthew 27, verses 20 to 23 says the chief priest and the elders persuaded the crowd to say, "Crucify him! Crucify him! Let him be crucified!"

See, this is the danger of seeking validation from people, whether it is in your family or on your job, and especially through social media. One minute the crowd was saying, "Blessed are you who comes in the name of the Lord." Then the next minute on social media, they will say, "Crucify him, crucify her."

Don't allow how many likes or loves you get on a picture or how many times your posts have been shared to validate you. Seek validation from God. He is the one who sent Jesus to die for you. So God sees that you're worth saving. You want to seek validation from him because you ultimately want to hear him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." That's the validation you want to seek.

I understand that trap. I do, I really do. But don't allow that to validate who you are. Seek your validation from the one who loves you, the one who sent his son to die for you, which is Jesus Christ. As we can see, the crowd is fickle. One minute they wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas and offer up sacrifices to them, and now they're ready to stone them.

Did they do it? Well, the second part of verse 19 says they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city. Paul refers to this stoning to the believers in Corinth in 2nd Corinthians 11 and verse 25. The real question is why didn't they stone Barnabas? Maybe the angry mob was holding him back saying, "Don't you try to interfere or we're going to rock you to sleep too."

We don't know, and we aren't told what Barnabas was doing as they were stoning Paul. Maybe they stoned Paul because he was the chief speaker, like verse 12 declares to us. But as for Barnabas, I am sure that he was heartbroken. He was devastated as he was seeing his friend being stoned.

I believe Paul had in mind the picture and image of Stephen of Acts 7 in verses 54 to 60 when the people stoned him and the angry mob stoning Stephen laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul, who later became Paul. And I'm sure he had this in mind.

Can I just pause right here before I move on? There's a universal law that God has instituted in the universe. It's called the law of sowing and reaping. Whatsoever man sows, that shall he also reap. Here it is, an unbeliever, young man named Saul, he was radical. He was going against the Christians, and they stoned Stephen and all the people laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And now here it is, Saul. I'm sure he had that picture in mind as he was being stoned by this crowd. This is why whatsoever man sows, that shall he also reap. Be careful of what you're sowing because you're going to reap it. You trying to destroy someone's career? You trying to destroy someone's reputation? Be careful because next thing you know, you're on the other end of that. It's a law of sowing and reaping in the universe.

So, I'm sure that Barnabas was mortified seeing his friend being stoned. I mean, I'm sure Barnabas wasn't at the market. I'm sure he was there. They were probably holding him back and he was mortified. I just wonder, how do you feel when someone close to you is being stoned, either at a family reunion or in the break room or on social media?

Do you sit by quietly, or do you lovingly say something? Or do you sit by quietly in fear that you might be stoned next? You got to be very careful. Barnabas must have felt horrified and helpless at this particular sight. I want to bring something else to your attention. At the end of verse 19, it says they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

The question is whether Paul died from the stoning and was resurrected, or whether he was revived and not actually dead. Some scholars argue that he died and that this incident that he records in 2nd Corinthians 12, verses one through six, where he talks about him going to heaven, that's when that took place. And for a long time I believed that. I said, "Yeah, when he was stoned, he died and then God took him and showed him heaven."

But upon closer examination, I want to bring this to your attention. I don't think Paul actually died from the stoning because of the word Luke, the author, uses. He said that the angry mob dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. I have to unpack that a little bit further.

The Greek word for supposing is nomizo, which means to suppose something that is not true. This is how Luke, the author, uses it throughout his book. In Acts chapter seven, verse 25, nomizo is used to describe how Moses supposed the Israelites would understand that God sent him to be the deliverer. Moses supposed something that wasn't true.

It is used again in Acts chapter eight and verse 20 when Simon the sorcerer supposed or thought wrongfully that the Holy Spirit's power could be bought with money. So if Paul died and was resurrected, then why would Luke use the word nomizo? It shows that he wasn't actually dead.

What happened next? Verse 20 says the disciples gathered around him. No doubt this was a fearful scene as they gathered around the unconscious, battered body of their leader. I believe that they gathered around him for prayer and perhaps for protection from further abuse. We can't be for sure.

But this verse shows us a beautiful picture of Christian love. They gathered around Paul when they thought that he was dead. It is so good to have brothers and sisters in church or a small group to gather around you when you are feeling dead and when you've just been stoned and you're feeling wiped out. People who will pray for you and make you feel resurrected or revived. Paul had this in his life as we see here. The question is, do you? Do you have these kind of people in your life?

You find this by joining a small group, a women's group, a men's group, a marriage group. It's a wonderful thing to have because verse 20 goes on to say Paul rose up and went into the city. This is the epitome of courage under fire. Paul regains consciousness and courageously went back into the city again.

Most people would have taken time to recuperate, but not Paul. He courageously went back into the city. The question is, can you go back to the place of the people who just stoned you? Or you're saying, "Well, I'm not doing that." See, and I know there was a thing that circulated throughout social media and a lot of people liked it and shared, "Get rid of toxic people out of your life, even when it's your family." And everybody's like, "Yeah, that's the one."

If that was the case, Paul would have said, "Those people are toxic. They just stoned me. I'm not going back in there right now." Paul went back in there. Can you go back around the people that just stoned you? People on the job? "I ain't going to that family reunion because the last time you got stoned."

We just let's just admit it. All of us got family that's a hot mess. That's just what family is. They just hot mess. That's just who they are. Every family has them. Nobody's family is exempt. But can you go back after they stoned you? Or you go back there and you got a little attitude? You got your little coffee and your little leg crossed? You know how you get your leg crossed and you dangling your foot and not talking to anybody? Paul went back into the city. That blows me away.

How was Paul able to demonstrate such courage? Paul would later say in Acts 20 and verse 24, when talking to the elders of Miletus, he said, "But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

In other words, Paul was saying, in essence, "I wasn't finished telling you about the gospel of Jesus Christ. My ministry among you wasn't finished. So, let me pick up where I left off where somebody picked up the first rock. Let me pick up where I left off." Paul was able to do this because he said, "I don't count my life dear to myself."

He understood that his life belonged to God. He would later write to the believers in the city of Philippi in Philippians 1:21. He says, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." In other words, he says if I live, I'm going to live for Christ. If I die, then I'm going to go be with him. Either way, it's gain for me, Paul would say.

He told the believers in the city of Colossae in Colossians three and verse four. He says, "When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." The only way, dear people, the only way that we can have courage under fire like Paul demonstrates is if we don't count our lives dear unto ourselves. When we live for Christ exclusively, and if Christ is our life.

Without this, we will crumble under the pressure. We will get burned by the fire or worse yet, the very stones that people are stoning us with, we pick them up and we throw them back. That is the worst that can happen. You know why? It reminds me of David.

On two different occasions, Saul threw a spear trying to kill David because of his jealousy and envy of him. 1st Samuel 18, verse 11 and then 1st Samuel 19, verse 10. Two different occasions, threw a spear. Saul saw David and threw a spear. David ducked and ran out of there.

Now, had David taken that spear out of the wall and said, "I'm tired of you throwing these things at me. Don't run." Boom! He would have become Saul. See, when the people who are stoning you out of jealousy and envy or whatever reason they're using to stone you, when you pick up those rocks and you throw them back, you've become them. You're no better than them.

We're called to be different as believers. When you can dodge the rocks and the spears and leave them in the wall, leave the rocks on the ground and you trust the word of God that says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. When you trust the word of God that says it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, then you leave them in the Lord's hands. Now you're understanding what it means to be Christ-like.

Anybody can throw a rock back. Anyone can take a spear out the wall and sling it back harder. Anyone can do that. But it takes a believer submitted to the Holy Spirit that can dodge the spear and the rocks and look at them and keep it moving. This is how Paul was able to do this. He went back into the city.

He didn't say, "A couple of those rocks really hurt. Let me take some R and R and take a little time off, maybe a week or so." Or like us, this is what he would have said like us: "Well, it must have not been the Lord's will that we come here, because look, I got stoned. So God must not have been in it."

Why do we do that? All because we experience some adversity, we immediately chalk it up to it must have not been God's will, as if God's will contains no tribulation. I remember 1st Corinthians 16 right around verse nine. Paul said, "A great and effective door was opened unto me and there are many adversaries." God opened up the door. He said, "But there are many adversaries."

For us, we would have said, "Look at all these adversaries. It must not have been the will of the Lord to go through this door." Why do we do that? Paul said, "I'm not done." He went back into that city. That took courage. Only God can do something like that, to go back to minister to the very people that stoned him and thought he was dead, supposing him to be dead. Amazing thing.

So, what happened next? The next day, the end of verse 20 says that he, Paul, departed with Barnabas to the city of Derbe, which was a 40-mile walk. And we will see next time what happened when they arrived there. Now, he just finished getting rocked to sleep, and he gets up the next day and says, "All right, Barney, you awake? It's time to go, bro. We got a 40-mile walk. Let's go, boy, let's go." I can just see it. Don't y'all read this Bible? I see that stuff.

Let me conclude with this. Courage under fire, do you have it? When you're being stoned by those around you, you can by making Jesus not only the Lord of your life but by making him your life. Please understand this. I don't even know if you got it. There is a huge difference in making Jesus the Lord of your life and making him your life.

There is a huge difference. There are many people who have prayed a prayer, who walked the aisle, who signed a paper, you did whatever. There's a huge difference in making Jesus the Lord of your life and he's your life. See, when Jesus is your life, then you understand what Paul, when he wrote to the believers in Thessalonica in 1st Thessalonians 5:17, "to pray without ceasing." You understand what that means.

You understand what the saints of old like Brother Lawrence, who wrote about practicing the presence of God. When Jesus is your life, you understand things like that. He's your life, he's your everything. Before you do anything, you're asking, "What would the Lord do? Would you have me to do this?" You understand what it is to wake up a long while before daylight and to spend time seeking his face.

You understand what it is to be awakened by the Lord at night. He's drawing you to spend time with him because we're often so busy during the day, he can't get a word in to us. So he has to wake us up to speak to us, to talk to us.

See, when Jesus is your life, you understand such things. You understand what it means to be divorced from this world, to have this world crucified from you and you from this world. I'm constantly praying, "Lord, take the taste of this world out of my mouth so I can know what it is to have Jesus as my life."

Oh, I got a long way to go. But when Jesus is your life, there's a huge difference. There's a huge difference. The question is does that describe your life? If not, it can. Because this kind of persecution that we're seeing here, yes, are being experienced by our brothers and sisters around the world, but also here in America.

I remember when I was finishing up the Gospel of John and we were about to go into Acts, I said the things that the early church experienced, we're going to start experiencing these things here in America. And you know what? It's true. I made mention of how the fire chief in Atlanta, maybe you're following that story. Been fire chief like 30-some years, did great, did a great work.

He wrote a book. He's a Christian, big-time Christian, wrote a book, a men's book about how to live for God and how marriage between one man, one woman, all this kind of stuff. City of Atlanta fired him. Fired him. And then I had a huge smile on my face because I just read the other day how Atlanta had to pay him $1.2 million.

I was so happy. I said, "Now take that. How about that? You can't get away with that mess. Take that." I was so glad. If it was me, I would have held a big old check, the big check and 1.2, and I'd say, "Hey, Atlanta, big check." But that's why it didn't happen to me. But this stuff is starting to happen here in our country. We're sending missionaries in America. We don't have to go overseas anymore. We're sending folks around the country.

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