An Open Door of Faith from the Lord

Journey's End and a New Creation

(Acts 14:24-28, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 29, 2012)

[24] Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. [25] And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, [26] and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

When Jesus died and rose again, one major period of history came to an end, and a new one began. Everything that has taken place from that moment until today and beyond is a part of a new age of resurrection. The church, led by Christ and filled with His Spirit, has the privilege of announcing the coming of this wonderful era of life to the world.

In chapters 13 and 14 of Acts we are blessed to have an account of a major new missionary thrust that took place in a time and place that was in many ways very different than our own. Paul and Barnabas were sent out by God with the blessing of a church in Antioch of Syria, in an area today that is part of the southeastern tip of Turkey. They went from there to Cyprus where they traveled throughout the island from Salamis in the east to Paphos in the west. It was there that they faced opposition from a Jewish magician and false prophet, but the Lord used that opposition to further His own plan of salvation that extended throughout that island.

From Cyprus they sailed to the region of Pamphylia, today in south central Turkey. It was in the Pamphylian city of Perga where John Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas to return home. From that coastal area Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to a different Antioch in the northern parts of Pisidia and southern Galatia. In that city and in their next stop, Iconium, they had great success followed by great opposition from those in the synagogues who rejected the message of Jesus as Suffering Servant of God and Messiah. Leaving behind new churches in both of these places, Paul and Barnabas journeyed into the region of Lycaonia, facing the astounding rise and fall of first being proclaimed gods and then facing the violent opposition of angry Jews from Antioch and Iconium who had come to hunt them down. Those visitors stirred up the Lycaonian mob which stoned Paul and dragged his body outside of their city. As the church in Lystra gathered around Paul he rose up miraculously, went back into Lystra and then continued on the next day to Derbe, another city of the Lycaonians where they made many disciples.

From there they began the journey back to their starting point, but not taking the shorter route of continuing east. They deliberately returned to the cities where they had faced such strong opposition, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the churches with the message of Christ and appointing elders in each of the cities. In this brief period of time Christian churches were being established in the midst of opposition throughout this region which is today central Turkey.

Paul and Barnabas then returned through the regions of Pisidia and Pamphylia to Perga and then finally to the coastal city of Attalia where they sailed back to the first Antioch in the southwest tip of modern Turkey. Whew! The trip covered about 1000 miles and took about two years from beginning to end. There were some tremendous moments of victory and some frightening episodes of grave danger and disappointment. Churches were established and strengthened. While these were certainly not the first missionary activities of the Christian church, this is the first account that we have of an acknowledged and deliberate partnership between God the Holy Spirit and a church that wanted to serve Him in accord with His call to expand His kingdom.

[27] And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

It was back to this great church full of Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles in Antioch of Syria that Paul and Barnabas returned. When they came back they gathered the church together and gave the exciting report on their labors mentioned in these brief verses.

It is worth noting three things about their own assessment of these great labors. First, they declared to the sending church in Antioch that all that had taken place in Cyprus, Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia was the work of God. This is still the case today. From before the first word of creation, “Let there be light,” through the words of Jesus on the cross, “It is finished,” and continuing beyond the coming trumpet blast announcing the fullness of the kingdom of the Alpha and the Omega, the kingdom is the Lord's. He is the one who is fulfilling His perfect purpose, and though we face many dangers and troubles, God will never be stopped.

Second, what God did on this journey he did through men that were yielded to his purpose and who were sent out with prayer and fasting by a church that was determined to be used for His sovereign will. God does everything, but He has determined to do what he does through us. The apostle Paul writes about this amazing plan of God extensively in Second Corinthians. See especially 2 Corinthians 4. Imagine that God has granted to people “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!” The Lord's method matches the message of a divine Savior who had his first bed in a feeding trough. “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” Everything looks too lowly, but God works His strong grace through our weakness.

Third, the saving grace of God has come to the world. This was announced so many centuries before to Abraham. All the clans of the earth would be blessed through him. Now with the coming of Christ and the Spirit-directed proclamation of His grace, a door of faith had opened to the Gentiles. God opened that door. If that was a reason to praise Him back in the first century because of a two to three year missionary journey in Cyprus and part of Turkey, how much more should the church praise the Lord who has saved us by His blood today. We have seen the name of Christ go everywhere! Churches have been established, and the love of the Lord is moving forward still today even through all the tribulations that have been appointed by the God who works all things together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose.

[28] And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Why not just get back on the road right away then? If God had opened a door why not go through it again? That day would come. The Lord knows what He is doing, and when He will do it. A great work is being accomplished in Turkey today through much suffering and opposition. But then every soul made alive by the grace of God and saved by the blood of the Lamb is a brave new world of resurrection life to be nurtured and loved.

They stayed in Antioch no little time with the disciples because the growth in the faith of the sending church mattered to God just as much as the new doors opening up in Cyprus or Perga or among the Lycaonian people. If you have passed from death to life in Jesus Christ you are a new creation in Him. The old way is gone. When the cover came off of Noah's ark, God told His servant to go forth from that place of rescue and to be fruitful and multiply upon the earth. A new day has begun in you. Walk out of the ark in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Let us explore together the new life of resurrection that Christ has purchased for us with His blood.

1. What surprises you about Paul's itinerary?

2. What message did Paul and Barnabas give upon their return to Antioch?

3. What is the biblical significance of the Lord opening a door of faith to the Gentiles?

4. Why stay in Antioch when a door of faith is opened in new locations?

OT Passage: Genesis 8