This is Connect with Skip Heitzig, and we're so glad you've joined us for today's program. Connecting you to the never-changing truth of God's Word through verse-by-verse teaching is what Connect with Skip Heitzig is all about.
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And be sure to subscribe to the channel so you never miss any new content. That's Connect with Skip Heitzig on YouTube. Now, let's get into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. This is from a second-century work called The Acts of Paul, written by a resident from Iconium by the name of Onesiphorus. And here is how he described Paul.
And he saw Paul approaching, listen to it, a man small in size with meeting eyebrows. You know that, that's a unibrow. It's like no break, right, or just like one big line of hair, a unibrow, with a rather large nose, bald-headed, bull-legged, strongly built, full of grace. For at times he looked like a man, and at times he had the face of an angel.
Isn't that beautiful? So, he didn't look like much outwardly, and he does seem to speak about that. You know, he just says, you know, my enemies say there's not much to look at. And perhaps this is an accurate description of what it looked like. That he was diminutive, nice way of saying short, unibrow, bull-legged, large nose, crooked nose. But sometimes he looked like he had the face of an angel.
Now all of that is unimportant. It's interesting, it's fascinating, if you want to know what Paul looked like, this is probably the best description we have from antiquity, the only one we have. However, don't you love what it says in the Old Testament? Then when God was looking for a man to replace King Saul, and he tells the prophet, for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. And what a heart Paul had. He had the heart to preach the gospel to places that had never heard the glad tidings of the gospel.
And so, at Iconium, that's where he ends up with Barnabas. And it says the disciples, verse 52, were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Now they just got persecuted, they just got booted out of town, and they're joyful.
Why? Because they're filled with the Holy Spirit. Man, you've got an artesian well wherever you go, if you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit, you can be filled with joy, and perhaps they just saw, man, we're relating to Jesus, we're identifying with him, he was persecuted, and he said we would be too, and we're persecuted for righteousness sake. Now, I like the fact that they were joyful after being persecuted.
But I want to issue a warning. If you get persecuted, make sure that you're getting persecuted for righteousness sake. Because some people are just weird people, and they kind of deserve to be persecuted.
Just because it's like, it's not that their message is offensive, they just are doing it in an offensive manner. I remember going witnessing, street witnessing out at the pier at Huntington Beach, sometimes every weekend, and there was always this one guy. And when he was there, it's like, oh man, he's going to make it hard for me.
Because I would love to, I would just go up to people and talk to them and engage in a conversation and try to be as affable as I could. This guy at the beginning of the Huntington Beach Pier would be yelling at people going, Sinner! Here's his message of good news, you're going to hell. I'm thinking now that is an attractive message.
Who wouldn't want to listen to that right there? Tell me more. So he just repelled everybody. He was being persecuted, by the way. But not for righteousness sake, he was being persecuted because he was lame.
And if you're going to get persecuted, make sure that you get persecuted for righteousness sake. They were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Now it happened, verse 1, in Iconium, that they went together to the synagogue, that's his style, and so spoke that a great multitude, both of the Jews and the Greeks, believed.
There's something in that verse that arrests my attention. He so spoke that people believed. Which implies that if you're a preacher or a teacher or a witnesser, you can so speak so that people won't believe. And I read this and it convicts me, I want to make sure that I so speak that my message is studied and researched and smart and filled with the Spirit and all the things that will reach into people's hearts and make them deal with the truth so that they will believe.
It implies there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. So they so spoke, or in such a manner, that the multitude both of the Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.
Are you seeing a pattern here? Are you noticing that the greatest enemies to the gospel are not the prostitutes or the atheists, but the narrow-minded, unsaved, religious people? Man, your movement is growing bigger than our synagogue or our meeting or our thing or our belief. You're threatening us.
Our people, if they hear your message, are going to go to your deal. And so they became the greatest antagonists. Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who is bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided and part-sided with the Jews and part-sided with the apostles.
Now, consider something for a moment. The word apostles is used in that verse. Do you see it?
Do you find it a little odd? Because Peter's not there. James is not there. John is not there. Bartholomew is not there.
Even Thomas, he's not there. But it refers to apostles. So it's an interesting choice of words.
Why do I bring this up? Because I said something at the beginning of this book of Acts, which I don't expect you to remember all the things that I say, even in the same book. But people often ask, are apostles still in office for today? Is the office of an apostle something that is contemporary? And I say yes, and I say no.
No in the strict sense, yes in a general sense. So in a strict sense, there were and are only 12 apostles. So in Acts 2 42, they gave themselves continually to the Apostles Doctrine, breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer. It's a reference to the teaching of the 12 apostles who followed Jesus in his earthly ministry.
One was replaced. Judas was replaced by Matthias. And there are only 12. In Ephesians, Paul will say that our faith is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
Those are the 12. By the way, Paul is called an apostle. He calls himself an apostle. 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy. He calls himself Paul an apostle.
But he never numbered himself with the 12. He called himself an apostle to the Gentiles. So in a strict sense, there are no more apostles today. The New Jerusalem will be built on the 12 foundations of the 12 apostles of the Lamb, we are told in Revelation.
However, in another sense, they do continue. And here is a use of the word apostle that is not referring to the strict sense of the 12. Because Paul wasn't of the 12, and Barnabas certainly was not of the 12. And yet, it's a reference to apostles.
So get this, 75 times in the New Testament, the word apostle shows up. And people that are not of the 12 are called apostles, including Timothy, including Barnabas, including Andronica, and Junia, and a few others are referred to as apostles. So the root meaning of the word apostolos simply means somebody who is sent out, dispatched, sent on a mission. Originally, it spoke of an enclave of ships sent out on an expedition. It came to mean somebody who was just sent out on a mission. In the strict sense, it refers to the ones Jesus out of the disciples identified and sent out. But it is used also in the New Testament to refer to just somebody sent out on a mission generally. So that's why I say yes and no.
Does that make sense? The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the term apostle, apostolos, since they do speak Greek and are a Greek church, in referring to their missionaries that they send out. You could look at an apostle as somebody who has influence, who provides leadership, perhaps over a number of churches, or even a missionary.
So in a general sense, they're still around. Oh, by the way, John Calvin in his institute. By the way, John Calvin, some people think, is on a par with Paul the apostle, though he's not. John Calvin said, God raised up apostles on particular occasions when required by the necessity of the times, and he has done it in our own times.
So it's interesting that John Calvin, whom some revere as a biblical character almost, referred to apostles as just those who are being sent out even in his own time. So I hope that answers the question. You're thinking, I never had the question to begin with, so.
But if you did, there it is. Verse 5, and when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to abuse and stone them, they became aware of it, and they fled to Lystra and Derbe, the cities of Lyconia, to the surrounding region. And you say, well, why'd they do that? Are they chicken? No, they're smart. You can be bold and foolish. They were bold and prudent.
They were wise. Jesus even said, if you are persecuted in this city, flee to the next city. So don't be persecuted and die unnecessarily.
So they didn't. It's an important principle. Our approach to people in our evangelism needs to be tailored based upon their response to it. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to Skip's teaching, in his Jesus Loves booklets, Pastor Skip Heitzig shows you God's radical love for all people and challenges you to love all people like Jesus did. And when you give a gift of $50 or more today, we'll send you four of these booklets in our Jesus Loves Them bundle. Our thanks for your support to reach more people with God's love through Connect with Skip Heitzig. You'll fall more in love with your living Savior as you see just how much He loves all people and calls you to do the same.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your bundle when you give. Now, let's continue with today's teaching from Pastor Skip. Didn't Jesus say, don't give what is holy to the dogs, don't cast your pearls before a swine, because they'll trample them underfoot, turn around and attack you.
So when I share with people, I see how open they are. If what I'm going to say, they're just turned off to, they're bent against it, no matter what I say, they're just going to make fun of it, I'm done. I'm not going to cast my pearls before pigs. Jesus' words. But I'm going to wait until they're open to it. If they're open to it, I'll continue.
If they're not, I won't. So think about Jesus' own approach. He spoke to the crowd one way. He spoke to Pontius Pilate an entirely different way. And when he stood before Herod Antipas, he didn't say anything at all, not a single word. He refused to speak, refused to give him any truth at all.
He knew his heart. So they're done. They're packing up and they're going. And they go 18 miles from Iconium to Lystra. Now, why is Lystra important? Because in Lystra lives a woman named Lois, and her daughter Eunice, who happened to be the grandmother and mother of Timothy. And it is probably during this first missionary journey that Lois and Eunice and Timothy get saved in Lystra. So it's an important town. It's a beautiful, but it's not over yet.
There's some hard times coming up. It says, they were preaching the gospel there, verse seven, verse eight. In Lystra, a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed. The gift of faith is about to be working with the gift of healing.
Said with a loud voice, stand up straight on your feet. And he leaped and walked. Now, when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lyconian language, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. And Barnabas, they called Zeus. And Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles, there it is again, Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and they ran in among the multitudes, crying and saying, men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things or idols to the living God who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that are in them. Who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, he did not leave himself without witness, in that he did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness.
And with these sayings, they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. It's an interesting response. A man is healed. Wow, awesome, amazing. You know, you can imagine all of the emotion that would go with that. If you've ever seen somebody legitimately healed, I just don't mean they cough a little bit less, I mean healed.
It's pretty amazing. And the emotions run high. But this town, say, bring out the animals, man, let's have a sacrifice. These two dudes are gods in human flesh. These are the two gods, Zeus and Hermes, in their mythology.
Now why would they do that? A little history will help. There was a poet, a Roman poet named Ovid, O-V-I-D. Maybe you've heard of him, if you've studied literature you have, Ovid. He had a legend, a story, that the gods came down from heaven to Lystra. And they were Zeus and Hermes. And they tried to get food and lodging, to get the local townspeople to take care of them.
None of them would. Except an old peasant couple by the name of Philemon and his wife, not the biblical Philemon. And so, after they were nourished by this elderly couple, these two gods from heaven drowned the local townspeople, killing them all, but made the humble abode of Philemon and his wife into a beautiful palace in which they served as priest and priestess.
Then when this old couple died, they became two stately trees that grew in among that city. That was the legend, that was the history from Ovid. So, they believed that. They believed that legend. Now Paul and Barnabas come, somebody's healed, they go, I know what this is, we're not going to make that mistake again, treat these guys like royalty, let's just make sure they get a good sacrifice going.
So that's probably what's going on in their minds. Now, Paul is preaching to this group of pagan idolaters. And when he preaches to them, which we have just read, notice what he does. He goes from general to specific.
He starts wide, then he goes narrow. He says, we're also men like you are, you should turn from these things. God who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed nations to walk in his own ways, nevertheless did not leave himself without witness, in that he gave food, rain from heaven, fruitful seasons, fulfilling our hearts with food and gladness. You know, the creation is a gift from God.
And with these sayings, they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. So here's his approach. When he's addressing people like this, he doesn't begin with the Bible. When he's in the synagogue, he begins with the Bible. Because they're familiar with the Bible and they believe the Bible. These are unbelievers, these are pagan worshipers. He does not begin with the Bible, he begins generally with like, here we are in creation, God made it all, he gave us cool stuff, we eat, we drink, you know, something they can grasp and understand, not the Bible. Now, why is that important? Because if you go up to an unbeliever and you say, you know what the Bible says, they don't care, they don't believe the Bible.
You got to start at a different place. Your approach has to be different. Even Jesus' approach to people was different. Scribes and Pharisees, he would counter them with the Bible.
Have you not read? When he's in Samaria talking to the woman at the well, his approach is very different. She's speaking to a woman who tried to fill the thirst, the spiritual thirst in her life by a series of men, relationships, and the men did not fulfill her. So Jesus says, you know, if you drink of this water, you'll thirst again, but whoever drinks the water that I give will never thirst. Got her attention.
She's thirsty. He begins with her need, not the Bible that she does not believe all of because she's a Samaritan. You get the point. The approach is different. So you need to read and know your audience when you share the gospel, and Paul does that quite, quite well.
So even with that, they could scarcely restrain them. Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul. Okay, this is a fickle bunch, right? We want to worship you. Oh, you won't let us? We'll kill you. It's not so much unlike the Jews in Jerusalem who on Sunday said Hosanna to Jesus, but on Friday, crucify him, crucify him.
This is a fickle crowd. However, when the disciples gathered around, after they stoned them, now he drug Paul out of the city, supposing that he was dead. So it was a pretty severe beating he got.
However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. Wow, they stoned you in that city. They almost kill you in that city. You dry up the blood and you go, I'm going back. Really?
You want more of that? Went back into the city, unstoppable. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Good move. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, 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. And when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And after they had passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia, these are regions, now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Atalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch. This is Antioch of Syria. They're going back to that first Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed. 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. Now, something happened to Paul the apostle while he was in Derby, or while he was in Lystra and Derby, probably Lystra, that changed his life forever and gave him a motivation unlike anything he had ever known before. And next week I'm going to tell you what that is. Man, it's epic.
It's so epic you don't want to miss it. But the chapter concludes, hey, one and a half chapters tonight, the chapter concludes where they get back together in Antioch and they have the first missionary conference in history, sharing what God has done. I wonder what it would be like if we decided, hey, let's go out street witnessing tonight. We'll meet you in a couple hours and let's just hear what the Lord has done. It would be one of the most encouraging services you could imagine, I bet, just to watch. I mean, some of you come back so geeked, so pumped because God used you and you led somebody to Christ and would encourage the rest of us so even though they've been beat up and persecuted and Paul almost died, they're like, God did a cool thing. So I pray this week that God would do cool things in and through our lives, that you would go out in His name as soldiers of the living Christ, sharing hope with people around you who are hopeless, able to judge where they're at, what they need to hear. And then even next week, you'll have some great stories to share with those that you're sitting around of what God has done through you.
Thanks so much for being with us today. Before you go, remember that when you give $50 or more to help reach more people with the gospel through Connect with Skip Heitzig, we'll send you a copy of the Jesus Loves Them bundle to help you understand God's abounding love for all people. Request your copy when you call and give 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. Come back next time for more verse by verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast your burdens on His word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
