19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 

21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,  22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 

23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

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This is the final sermon in a series on the Four Fields—the discipleship pathway demonstrated in the Bible.

The fields are: Go, Gospel, Grow, Gather, and finally Guide.

We see all the elements of the discipleship pathway at work in the text we just read. Paul and Barnabas went (14:20), preached the gospel (14:21a), made many disciples (14:21b), strengthened and encouraged them in what seems to be a group setting (14:22), and then go back the way they came to appoint elders (14:23).

The section of text we read in Acts 14:19-23 this morning is part of Paul’s first missionary journey. As I said last week, 

“[The book of Acts] is governed by one dominant, overriding and all-controlling motif. This motif is the expansion of the faith through missionary witness in the power of the Spirit.”

This particular missionary journey began in Acts 13. Acts 13:1-3 says,

“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers,  Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 

Then, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Do you see how this works?

Acts 13 begins in the fourth field. Disciples were gathered in church. Five of these disciples are named, all with unique and varied backgrounds. 

There’s Manaen, the “lifelong friend” or possibly foster brother of Herod Antipas—the one who beheaded John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12) and killed Jesus’s brother, James, with a sword (Acts 12:2)—in fellowship Barnabas, who invited Saul into fellowship with the apostles (Acts 9:27)—in fellowship with Saul himself, before he changed his name to Paul and wrote almost half the New Testament—in fellowship with Simeon and Lucious, of whom we know little about but served the church well enough to be mentioned in Scripture. Certainly they participated in prayer.

Disciples were gathered in church, and, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid hands on them and sent them off.”

They went from gathered to going.

This is where replication ends and begins again. 

And the step up in between the fourth and first field that melds them together so that they are one continuously replicating field is the fifth. Appointing and sending leaders.

“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.” (Acts 13:4).

Then they go to Paphos, where they fight a magician, and Saul changes his name to Paul.

Then they go to Perga, then Antioch in Pisidia (not Antioch in Syria, from where they were sent). And here we get a taste of the Gospel Paul preached (Acts 13:16-41).

Using eyewitness and Scriptural testimony, he included the historical Christ and the work He has done, including His life, ministry (13:27), death (13:28-29), resurrection (13:30-33), and His reign (13:33-38).

26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize Him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. 

28 And though they found in Him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. 29 And when they had carried out all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. 

30 But God raised Him from the dead, 31 and for many days He appeared to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

“‘You are my Son,

   today I have begotten You.’

34 And as for the fact that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way,

“‘I will give You the holy and sure blessings of David.’

35 Therefore He says also in another psalm,

‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’

36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but He whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this Man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by Him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” 

That’s the Gospel.

That’s field two.

It’s all about Jesus.

But notice the generational motif as well. “Sons of the family of Abraham” (13:26), “the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children” (13:32-33), David serving his own generation, all leading to Jesus (13:36).

That’s what this is all about! “Generational Stories.” Telling stories of transformed lives for generations to come. Building a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 

It’s the promise of and for and to us and our children, so that we can tell everyone that whoever believes in Jesus is freed from and forgiven for sin.

Barnabas and Paul receive mixed reactions. So they go to Iconium, where “the people of the city were divided” about them (Acts 14:4), and an attempt is made to kill them.

But Paul and Barnabas get away and go to Lyconia. Lyconia is a region in the middle of modern-day Turkey. 

In Lystra, they encounter a man who could not use his feet, but this man listened to Paul preach, and he believed. The man is subsequently healed. 

The people around who saw what they did—or rather, saw what God did— lifted their voices and gave praise…to Barnabas and Paul.

Acts 14:11 says, “They lifted up their voices, saying… ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.’” They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes. 

Paul and Barnabas do what anyone would do in that situation; they tore their clothes and said, “Stop it!”

And Paul preached the Gospel again, but this time it was a little different. He said,

“Why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 

“In past generations He allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet He did not leave Himself without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

And I read this in its entirety for two reasons.

One, notice that Paul changes his Gospel message according to the context. This is a component of fields one and two, and it’s worth noting. Earlier, Paul was addressing educated Jews. They knew the Scripture. They had the background. The Lycaonians did not. They had a different background. A different context.

About fifty years before Paul and Barnabas hit the scene, the Latin poet Ovid had told the story of Zeus and Hermes visiting Phrygia, which is only about 30 miles away. When the gods visited, they were not shown hospitality, and they flooded the homes of those who rejected them. The Lycaonians were expecting the gods to return, and this time they were ready.

This time they were going to show hospitality. This time they were going to be righteous.

Last week I said that nature is not your church. It’s not. But I also said that nature makes evident the existence and essence of God. That’s the teleological argument. 

The teleological argument assumes that a design has a designer. William Paley used the example that finding a complex watch on the ground implies a watchmaker. In the same way, a complex universe implies a creator. 

That’s the argument Paul used.

He said, “[God] did not leave Himself without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from the heavens and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (14:17).

So Paul demonstrated the goodness of God by using a universal cultural touchpoint—nature. We know that much. Perhaps this was because he knew their local superstition regarding the return of the gods.

We also know that he told them the “good news”—the Gospel (Acts 14:15). But in his recorded speech, we don’t have any clear reference to Jesus. 

However, adjusting his message to the culture because he had a broad level of general knowledge, he could have said something like, “You think the gods came down to visit you in human form, and you’re waiting for them to return? Well, have I got good news for you!”

Second, while we don’t have a specific mention of Jesus, we see one similarity between this sermon and the one in Antioch: “generations.”

Paul said, “In past generations [God] allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16).

But what he is implying is that this is a new generation.

This is a new generation worth replicating. Echoing what Peter said, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation”(Acts 2:40).

“We bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.”

The living God. The reigning Christ. Maker of heaven and earth. This new generation with Jesus at the head.

But the people didn’t turn away from their paganism, at least not right away. They continued to worship Paul and Barnabas as Hermes and Zeus. Sometimes the gospel takes time. But some believed. We know that.

That’s what brings us to this morning’s text.

But before we get into it, I’d like to point out that all of this—from being sent to preaching the gospel to making disciples to planting churches to appointing elders—happened in the span of one-and-a-half chapters. You could read about Barnabas and Paul’s first missionary journey in about ten minutes. It’s easy to forget that this took them about one-and-a-half years. 

It’s easy to see the first three fields worked out along the way: going, gospel-preaching, and growing. But we might forget that Paul and Barnabas planted churches in each of these cities. They gathered these new disciples. 

These are the four fields. And I have spent the last month going through each of these fields with you, encouraging you to go and participate in the performative power of God’s spoken word to create new life. I’ve been encouraging you to be or make disciples, and gather together in fellowship.

But today, we’re not in the four fields per se. We’re in a fifth field. A transition field. A field overlooking the other fields—which, if you recall, is all God’s field. This is different. This is “Guide.” This is leadership.

This is a different kind of leadership than discipling. Instead of one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread (the Gospel), discipleship is one beggar telling another beggar how to bake bread.

The other Fields are mandatory: Go, Gospel, Grow, and Gather. This one is not. 

This one is hard. Not everyone is called to it. Some are prohibited from certain positions. Some people are gifted differently, and find other ways to serve God and build the Kingdom. Each has been given a different measure of faith with various accorded gifts (Romans 12:4-8).

Some people do not desire a deeper responsibility, at least not at this time in their lives. And that’s ok. They are no less justified and sanctified by Christ. God is sovereign, but as Spurgeon said, He’s still a gentleman. He won’t force you to do anything He did not equip or call you to do.

But some of you aren’t comfortable merely standing off to the side, as much as you think you’d like to be.

And I pray that by the end of this message, after hearing about how difficult and relentless Christian leadership can be, you’ll be more excited than before to step up and go.

Because the work is hard. It can be painful. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Let’s get into the text.

Where we picked up this morning, Barnabas and Paul are plowing the second field in Lystra. They are preaching the Gospel but have not yet discipled any new believers. These are baby Christians at best, and still easily manipulated because their roots have not grown. They aren’t staked yet.

Acts 14:19 says,

“But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing he was dead.”

And is that not just the perfect picture of Christian ministry? Christian leadership? 

Go back to Acts 14:18—“They scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifices” to Paul, and the very next sentence he’s left for dead. 

They’re calling you a god one second and stoning you the next.

Jesus experienced the same thing (except He actually is God).

That’s Christian ministry. And if you want to lead like Jesus, you’d better be prepared to get beat up like Jesus. That’s what Paul says. 

In Galatians 6:17, he said, “I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” That very well could be in reference to the scars he obtained during this stoning in Lystra.

He recounts his experience as a Christian ministry leader in more detail in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28,

24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles,  danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 

27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

That’s Christian leadership.

But I’ll tell you, when you step into leadership—into Christian ministry—these hardships are the confirmations. The shipwrecks and the danger and the wilderness and the beating are all little commissions to get up and go out again. These are the reassurances.

I think Paul saw his stoning the same way. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, Paul says,

“I know a man in Christ [he’s talking about himself] who fourteen years ago [around the time he was in Lystra] was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.”  

Michael S. Heiser said,

“You can make a really good argument that what Paul is saying [in 2 Corinthians 12] is that his calling to be an apostle, although the Lord told him when He knocked him off his horse, [is] ‘I have a purpose for you. I’m going to send you to the Gentiles.’ 

“His real commissioning was this transcendent experience that he refers to in 2 Corinthians 12. So it’s not a near-death experience, but it is an Isaiah 6 like event in his life where he sees the throne of God, and he is commissioned to the Gentiles. 

Because fourteen years later, apparently because of this revelation, Paul went back out with Barnabas and, this time, Titus (according to Galatians 2:1-2).

You get beat up, left for dead, and God draws you closer to Himself than ever before, He revives and re-empowers you, and then you get up and do it again. And it’s invigorating. I wouldn’t trade this for anything.

We share the marks of Christ, but also we share in His resurrection—in part now; fully, in the end.

Let’s get back to Acts 14. Paul is lying dead in the street, presumably talking to God and saying something like, “Here I am, send me.”

Acts 14:20

“But when the disciples gathered about him, [Paul] rose and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.”

Luke records this as if it’s a miracle, and it is. God must give you life. Christ must sustain you. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses…”

That’s how this works. You need God, but you also need fellow co-laborers.

It was when the disciples gathered around Paul that he rose. I have no doubt they were gathered around him in prayer. Furthermore, he reentered the city with Barnabas—he did not go alone. 

You need prayer and you need companionship.

This is another kind of ministry. This is another kind of calling.

You may not be called to be a Paul. The frequent beatings may not appeal to you. 

Maybe you’re called to be a Barnabas. A “son of consolation,” which is what his name means (Acts 4:36). Maybe you’re called to go with the Pauls and plow the fields with them.

Barnabas was no less a leader simply because he was left standing. Paul and Barnabas were fellow co-laborers—synergoi—working equally in God’s field. 

As you all know, I’m planting a Church in Springfield. And while my reception has not been as violent as Paul’s, it’s still not easy. I need Barnabas-es. 

I make this known with the blessing of Pastor Paul and the elders of this church; if any of you here feel called to go with me, let’s start talking about it. Let’s pray about it. Let the elders send you, as Barnabas and Paul were sent. 

I can’t do this on my own. Nobody can.

“And when they had preached the Gospel to that city (Derbe) and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.” (Acts 14:21)

I want to camp here for a moment. 

They’re back in Lystra. This is where Paul and Barnabas were worshipped as gods. This is where Paul was stoned. It happens quickly, so you have to pay attention.

They were in Lystra, then left and preached the gospel in Derbe (about 50 miles away), then they came back. 

They went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (Pisidia) on their way back to Antioch (Syria). This was the scenic route. It would have been much easier just to go south. 

But Paul retraces his steps because he was strengthening the disciples and setting up leaders in each of the churches he planted in these cities along the way. He’s guiding by making guides and appointing elders.

Acts 14:21-23

And here’s the really fascinating thing: these disciples have not been gathered all that long. They haven’t even been disciples all that long! At most 18 months; at least, a few weeks.

Fred F. Bruce said in his commentary on Acts,

What that means is, these Christians—these disciples that Paul and Barnabas appointed as elders—had not been Christians all that long. They hadn’t been to seminary. They hadn’t taken online leadership classes. They hadn’t even subscribed to the Gospel Coalition so they could read articles about best practices in church stewardship. 

They dedicated themselves to the apostles’ teaching and, most importantly, they had been called, convicted, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

They didn’t overthink it. They didn’t hem-haw about it and check their schedules and say they’d pray about it later. They prayed and fasted and committed. 

They said, “We have turned away from the vain things of this world to a living God who pulled us out of and apart from a crooked generation. This is the least I can do to serve Him and my community.”

They knew what they were getting into, because they had been told, “Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

Bruce, again, said,

“It is almost taken for granted throughout the New Testament that tribulation is the normal lot of Christians in this age: it is those who suffer for and with Christ now who will share His glory. ‘No cross. No glory.’”

So they answered the call. “Here I am, send me.” And “with prayer and fasting they [were] committed… to the Lord in whom they believed.”

This is a very big deal. This is an answer and commitment with implications that echo through eternity. I’m not overstating it.

Whether you lead and empower like Paul, support and encourage like Barnabas, or pray and fast like Simeon, Lucian, and Manaen, you are making a significant impact on the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

If you facilitate or host a T-Group, you may not be an elder, but you are leading or supporting nonetheless. You “serve [your] fellow-believers as guides and give them the further instruction and encouragement they require.”

This is a really big deal with eternal consequences.

If you’re not stepping up because you think you’re incapable of making a difference—because you’re not ready—you’re deceiving yourself. 

There are ways to lead and ways to serve no matter where you are. Consider the disciples in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, who had maybe only been believers for a few weeks.

Lead a T-Group. Host a T-Group. Come with me to Springfield. Stay and support Paul and the elders here at Trinity and become a ministry leader. Plant a new church. The EFCA is looking to plant 30 churches in the next 10 years. You could be one of them with me.

Obey, even as you are being called, even if you do not know where you are going. 

This is a big deal, and this morning I would like to recognize a few from Trinity who have answered the call to become emerging leaders.

This morning, we will break the bread in Communion as the church gathered in fellowship. I would like to invite some who have stepped up to “Guide” by either leading or hosting a T-Group, to serve the elements.

Conner, Kiana, Kevin, and Donna, would you please step up?

As they are stepping up, and Pastor Paul is taking his place at the table, I will step down. Because that’s how this works.