Acts: Go & Be Chapters 10-18Chikamu

What is this passage saying?

Paul and Barnabas continue their missionary travels that God had called them to. The men escaped to Lystra and are doing what they had been faithfully doing- preaching the Gospel. Paul sees a man who is crippled in his feet. I would’ve loved to be able to see his face while Paul was speaking. The man just sitting, and his faith was so evident, that after studying him Paul shouted for the man to stand and be healed. The man leapt, what an example of his faith. He was just waiting for the word, his faith was so sure that once he was given the ok, he jumped for joy. He didn’t struggle to feet, he hit the ground running. Miracles were granted by God to the apostles to confirm the message of the Gospel- the sole purpose was to bring glory to God not man. The apostles were led by the Holy Spirit, daily as they practiced surrendering to His guiding’s. These miracles were thoughtful and ordained by God to give glory to God. The people in Lystra had the opposite reaction. The claimed Paul and Barnabas to be gods and offered sacrifices to them. This was humiliating to Paul and Barnabas- they had ZERO interest in contending for God’s glory. But no matter what they said- the crowd would not be denied.

What is this passage teaching?

While the crowd did not listen to Paul and Barnabas, what they said was wonderful. In verses 14-17 we read the response from Paul and Barnabas. Tony Evans marks how we see such a contrast from Herod, who gladly accepted being called a god, verses Paul and Barnabas who tore their clothing and begged the people to stop. In their response Paul and Barnabas cry out that they are just men like them, and we are begging them to turn away from these non-existent gods to the living God. They speak about the free will that is given to man by God. Man was allowed to pick their own path but not without the Lord ensuring that man could have a path to Him. God provided witnesses, these witnesses were the rain and seasons that sustained life on earth. Man had made for themselves images of gold and silver, calling them gods, and praised these images, that they made, for providing crops for them to eat. They were already so blind that worshipping Paul and Barnabas as gods was not farfetched for them because they had dedicated their lives to serving gods that were created by mortal man. God’s presence had been undeniably known on earth for all of time. The Bible shows us the tendencies of man. So, when we see people whole-heartedly believe in the Big Bang Theory, we know that Georges Lemaîtreis just like any hundreds of men before him, and others will come after him, creating ridiculous lies that try to remove God from an equation that He created. There will be and have been many that see the rain witnessing to the reality of God and choose to be blinded and worship something they created with their own hands. It’s a delusion that only man could dream up and dedicate their eternity to. Let us Praise the Lord that we have had our eyes opened to the truth. The rain fills us with adoration for our Father who provides for us. We need the Holy Spirit to work in through us and open the eyes of the blind. Life is Jesus is so wonderful- we can’t sit by while man worship objects as God rains provisions upon them.

How do I respond?

Pray brother and sister for the lost. The book of Acts is such a wonderful awakening for the desperate need of the Gospel in the lives of lost man. By the grace of God, we are not responsible for someone’s response- we are responsible to share the good news. Share the Gospel and then pray right after. Another display of God’s kindness is that even if your mess up- He can still work in the life of the person listening.