now can you turn with me in your bibles to the book of acts acts chapter 14 in the church bible
that's page 1 1 0 9 as we continue to gain lessons from the life of barnabas as we continue to follow
paul and barnabas on their mission we come to iconium this morning and let's again hear god's
words at iconium paul and barnabas went as usual into the jewish synagogue there they spoke so
effectively that a great number of jews and greeks believed but the jews who refused to believe
stirred up the other gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers so paul and barnabas
spent considerable time there speaking boldly for the lord who confirmed the message of his grace by
enabling them to perform signs and wonders the people of the city were divided some sided with
the jews others with the apostles there was a plot a foot among both gentiles and jews together with
their leaders to ill treat them and stone them but they found out but they found out about it and fled
to the lycanian cities of lystra and derby and to the surrounding country where they continued to preach
the gospel i mean so this morning we're thinking about the message of god's grace as it comes to this
city this city that is then thrown upside down that begins to riot in some places sadly we've been
familiar haven't we in recent years with rioting cities we were in paris in the summer at the tail
end of those riots but as we watch our news and as we are sometimes there we see destruction we
recognize fear there are many causes sometimes it's racism sometimes it's an unlawful killing sometimes it's
political protest but there are many factors causing citizens to come onto the street and to see chaos
emerge well iconium stands quite different to that doesn't it because there is still riot and there is
chaos but its cause is quite different here we find barnabas and paul coming on their mission
a mission to speak god's grace to speak about god's love and god's kindness and god's forgiveness
and there's two very different reactions there's one group and they're united together in love for
this message and in love for the lord jesus as they come to discover him as the savior but then there's
this other group a mixed group are united by hate and by opposition there's an old saying i think
was the puritans that used to say the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay and we see that
same softening and hardening in those different heart responses to jesus back then and still we see it today
today we have a chance to slow down and to ask ourselves about grace what's so amazing about grace
what is it about the grace of god that would cause people in iconium to utterly change their lives to
gladly give up everything for the sake of following jesus what would cause john newton the former slave
trader to sing about it maybe the the world's most popular hymn why is it that 2 000 years after these
events do men and women and boys and girls still find joy and hope from the grace of god
that's what we're going to think about today we're going to get some encouragement remember barnabas his
name means son of encouragement here's how barnabas can encourage us today as we find ourselves in the
city of iconium which is right in the heart of modern day turkey barnabas is going to encourage us
to believe to believe to believe that god's grace really is amazing he's going to encourage us to
stand firm against bitter opposition and he's going to encourage us to boldly live for jesus
in a hostile world but we're going to spend most of our time thinking about barnabas encouraging us
to believe just how amazing god's grace is so back to our text verse one we are in iconium it's in the
the roman region of galatia and paul and barnabas they follow their usual pattern and they go first
to the jewish synagogue they begin speaking to religious people those who were looking to find
when their messiah would come but they don't just speak to the jewish religious folks they speak so
effectively that a great number of jews and greeks believed here we're seeing again that god's kingdom
grows that god's kingdom is wide they're a mixed group of people from different backgrounds and
cultures and religious backgrounds are being brought in to trust in jesus as lord now we're told they're
speaking effectively causing people to believe so we need to ask ourselves what was their message
and luke just gives us a summary sometimes we get details sometimes we get summary in verse one
and we did verse one we're told they spoke effectively in verse three we're told they're
speaking boldly for the lord who confirmed the message of his grace the message they bring
is of god's grace so that's what we need to think about today let's let's go by way of definition
first what is grace grace is one of those words that we hear a lot in church we also hear about it in
our world it's not an uncommon words biblically speaking grace is the love of god shown freely
salvation given freely through jesus to guilty sinners and that love comes freely not based on
our merit and that love that saves us despite our lack of merit so the grace of god is his love shown
freely to us and giving us salvation even though we are guilty sinners and it's not because we earn it
or deserve it it's because god chooses to be kind to us okay so that's grace and that's the message
that's doing two things in this city does always those two things in people's hearts it's it's
turning lives right side up because now there are people who are believing in jesus now they know god's
love now they're back in relationship with god it's what we're made for but it's also turning the city
upside down because some people fiercely oppose god and his grace and his works
i had a call with a missionary friend this week and we were talking about this and that and at one
point he stopped and he said you know what if if the city where i live if the society in which i am now
living if they would discover the doctrines of grace they would discover god's grace he said that would
change everything in this nation he was right god's grace is wonderful it's transforming we can think
about god's grace being like a precious diamond think about precious diamond it it does two things it
sparkles with beauty but we also know a diamond is is strong and powerful as we're going to think
about grace being like that diamond strong powerful and sparklingly beautiful and we're going to use
we don't have much as i said we've only got look somebody here in the book of acts we're going to use
a letter that i the people in iconium would have read the letter to the galatians to help us to
consider different faces of that diamond of god's grace that we might see and appreciate more of it so
paul just a short amount of time after these visits then wrote a letter to the churches in galatia
and iconium is one of those churches so we're going to turn to the book of galatians for a few moments
to think about how amazing god's grace is first of all we're going to go to galatians chapter 1
verses 3 and 4 to recognize how amazing it is that in god's grace there is rescue there is great hope
and freedom from god so i'm going to read galatians 1 verses 3 and 4 which says to us grace and peace to
you from god our father and the lord jesus christ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the
present evil age according to the will of our god and father before we get to that text there's a problem
that you and i share and we share it with all of humanity and that problem is guilt and our sense of
guilt perhaps it's because of things in the past perhaps it's because of things in the present
but our conscience we know this our conscience will tell us
maybe our family or our friends will tell us of our guilt and certainly if we read the bible openly
and honestly it will tell us that there are parts of our life where all is not well
all is not right between us and other people and ultimately between us and our god
but the challenge that we have in our day is that while guilt still remains
a lot of people in our society have lost a sense of god the reality of god therefore have lost a sense
that there is a god who forgives and so we're losing a sense of forgiveness which i think is why
you're much more likely to hear about people being cancelled than debts being cancelled
where people are as likely to pursue revenge as they are to seek reconciliation
and so we have this problem of guilt and we need to discover where is freedom from guilt to be found
well if we take that problem to to the bible and to the message of the bible we need to discover
first of all who god is and we discover that god is our creator that god is utterly holy he is without sin
and he's called us to be holy too to be sinless to be perfect and again as we examine our hearts we know
that we fail that test that we miss those targets the bible calls that sin the bible calls it sin when we turn
our backs on relationship with god the bible calls it sin when we break god's law the bible calls it sin when we choose
to worship created things rather than our creator and so the truth that we all need to face up to
is that according to god and his word that guilt that we experience that guilt is real
that we do stand guilty we do stand under judgment that we carry that burden of guilt with us and the
question remains how can we be free of it
as i was thinking about this i was thinking about the difference between traveling by airplane
and a backpacking holiday or euro star so i i we took the euro star to france and the euro star is
wonderful but the one drawback of euro star is there's never a point where you get to put your
luggage on the carousel and wave it goodbye you know a wonderful moment of relief i always carry a
backpack that moment of there was never that relief so rather than that you have this burden that just
gets heavier especially when you come back from holiday bags always get heavier the burden remains
life can feel like that because of our guilt where can we lay our burden down where can we see it being
removed on the carousel and that's where god's grace comes in that's where galatians chapter one
comes in verse three grace and peace to you there is grace from god our father and the lord jesus christ
how does this grace come it comes because jesus willingly gave himself for our sins to rescue us
and that salvation that rescue that freedom from guilt comes because of the will of our god and father
god chooses to love us freely and to remove our guilt when we don't earn it or deserve it the father
wills to save us jesus's son wills to sacrifice himself to take our sin to bear our burden of guilt to pay the
price in full so that when we trust in him by grace that burden of our guilt and our sin
it is removed not just on a carousel it's thrown to the bottom of the ocean and so jesus speaks grace
of freedom and rescue he says come to me all you who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest
how does he give us rest by dying for our sins to remove our guilt to rescue us from spiritual slavery
so that's one way that grace is amazing because it gives hope and freedom of an escape from the guilt
that we feel the second face of that diamond of grace takes us to the idea of acceptance and to galatians
chapter 2 verse 16 where paul says know that a person is not justified by the works of the law
but by faith in jesus christ
there's amazing security in god's grace an amazing sense of belonging and acceptance in the good news of what jesus has done
the story of your life and mine i imagine if we were to think about it in this way
is one where we're often seeking acceptance
that begins in childhood what behavior is acceptable
to my parents in a classroom
to this group of people i want to be friends with
that sense of seeking acceptance builds as we become teenagers
becomes really important to figure out really challenging how do i fit in
style matters music matters events matter
but it doesn't stop there does it it continues as adults
how do i fit in as i begin this new job as i try and find my place in the workplace
how do i find acceptance from my peers and in wider society
maybe we've discovered the problem that acceptance
can be really hard to win and at the same time really easy to lose
one false move
can be the end of a friendship
can mean exclusion from the group
can be a cause of real anxiety
what if i am unmasked
what if people discover something terrible about me and they want nothing
to do with me
and so we can find ourselves longing
for someone who knows us
who really knows us
but who won't walk away
who will see the worst but will stay committed to us
and that again is what god offers to us
in the gospel
because our acceptance is not based on us
it's based on our perfect savior jesus
we too have put our faith in christ jesus
that we may be justified by faith in christ
and not by the works of the law
how are we justified
how are we accepted by god
how are we approved of by a holy god
the good news is that it's not based on what we do
it's not based on our works
if it was we would have no hope
but it is based on what jesus has done
and our putting our faith in him
god's acceptance of us is not earned
it's not earned by your holiness
it's not earned by your religious efforts
that acceptance comes only by grace
the love of god freely shown to sinful people
who do not deserve it
and the good news is because it's grace
god's acceptance of us in christ
cannot be lost
even
even when believers sin
and we do sin
all of us
god's grace can't be lost
our approval can't be lost
because it's not about me
it's about jesus
and my faith in him
do we hear the
hear the strength of that truth
do we appreciate the beauty of that truth
when we're searching for acceptance
here is the voice of the king of the universe
here is the one voice that matters
here's the one audience to live for
and he says
if you're trusting in jesus
i love you
you're mine
you belong to me
and that's permanent
our friends and our families
maybe you've discovered this
when you become a christian
they may not approve
and that can be a hard
loss to bear
but to understand god's grace
and to understand the acceptance
that we have in jesus
that's a grace that can help to bear that
and any other loss
that we experience
one more face
in this diamond of grace
that we need to consider
and it's that of identity
galatians chapter 3
and verse 26
speaks to us
of our amazing privilege
so in christ jesus
you are all children of god
through faith
think about what this says
to our identity
but before we get there
we need to talk about taylor swift
for a moment
and i am not
let me just put it out there
i'm not a taylor swift fan
but i did discover
interesting fact
in her recent
i don't know how recent
two of the eras
16 wardrobe changes
in one concert
16 wardrobe changes
i doubt if i do that in a year
she can do it in two hours
amazing
do you know what it says
apart from the fact
she's good at changing clothes
it says the image
and identity matters
really matters
and we know
many of us
that that can be a source
of pressure
and confusion
and anxiety
again as we have lost
that sense
that we are made
in the image of god
as we've lost
that sense
that that's where
our identity
is to rest
even as christians
sometimes we forget
that we belong
to him through jesus
we can be profoundly
insecure
about our identity
and then we hear
the modern message
again and again
you can be anything
you want
you can be
anyone you want
you can be free
to redefine
your identity
over and over
in any way you want
a message
that is both
untrue
and really unkind
and so the question
then is
haunting our culture
what do my classmates
say is okay
this week
what do my colleagues
what does my culture
say is acceptable
this month
this year
so much anxiety
because of this question
of identity
think about what god's grace
has to say
to our sense of identity
in christ jesus
you are all children
of god
that's how we are
to see
ourselves
who am i
in christ jesus
i'm a child
of god
i live with god
he lives in me
if we had a spiritual
passport
it would say
child of god
citizen of heaven
that's who we truly are
above and beyond
anything else
that defines us
and that by god's grace
our prayer should be
that it would help us
to live out
that true
identity
so that when we struggle
with who we are
when we struggle
with what we see
in the mirror
that we would remind
ourselves of god's grace
that transforms
our identity
so that we become
new creations in christ
that we are loved
by our father
that we would tell
ourselves over and over
the story of the prodigal son
and the story
that jesus told
of the the son
who rebelled
against his father
wished his father
was dead
took his share
of the money
wanted to create
his own identity
living wild
and free
and made a wreck
and a mess
of everything
and came home
in shame
and disgrace
and confessing
his sorrow
how does his father
receive him
he runs to me
through his arms
around him
through a feast
for him
give him every sign
of honor
and welcome
that's grace
j.i. packer
a famous theologian
who died
just a year or two ago
he said
christians need to learn
to tell themselves
these truths
every day
to understand
our identity
i am loved
by my father
do we believe that
i am a child
of god
do we know
that's who we truly are
heaven
is my home
jesus
is my brother
and every christian
is my brother
or sister
grace is amazing
in the rescue
that we have
in jesus
in the acceptance
we have
in jesus
in the new
identity
we have
in jesus
it came to
iconium
changed everything
what about for us
today
has it changed
everything for us
are we believing
this to be true
are we resting
and receiving
jesus
and him alone
for salvation
are we enjoying
him today
barnabas encourages
us to believe
that grace is
amazing
very briefly
two more things
that barnabas
encourages us to
when we're going
back to iconium
in acts chapter 14
he also encourages
us to stand firm
against bitter
opposition
iconium does
many things for us
it also reminds us
that the christian
life is a battle
ground
not a playground
that spiritual
opposition
is real
so we see
that the church
is working
that god's grace
is transforming
as the word
is being preached
but we also see
the devil
is resisting
what shape
did it take
in the first
century
in turkey
do we see
parallels
to our own
day
verse 2
the jews
who refused
to believe
stirred up
the other gentiles
and poisoned
their minds
against their
brothers
poisoned their
minds
see that
barnabas
and paul
they're false
teachers
that jesus
they're talking
about
he's not the
son of god
he's not the
savior
he's a false
messiah
they're really
narrow-minded
saying that the
only way to be
saved is through
faith in jesus
they're bad
members of
society
their values
don't match
up to
society's
values
they gang
up
on paul
and barnabas
the people
of the city
were divided
some sided
with the jews
others
with the
apostles
and there
was a
plot
to ill
treat
and to
stone
paul
and barnabas
so the
gospel of
grace
wonderfully
breaks down
divisions
within society
so jews
and gentiles
together
understand that
jesus is the
savior for
them
but the
gospel of
grace
also
causes people
to come
together
into a
mob
to try
and destroy
the message
and the
messengers
and so
barnabas
and paul
they had to
flee
according to
verse 6
they flee to
the lycanian
cities of
lystra
and derby
but notice
what they do
in verse 7
they continue
to preach
the gospel
they're running
for their lives
and they're
preaching the
message of
grace as
they go
barnabas
encourages us
to stand
firm against
bitter opposition
acts
can helpfully
be thought
of as
part 2
of
luke's
work
that we
find in
the bible
part 1
of course
is his
gospel
and in luke's
gospel
in part 1
of his
work
as we
discover
jesus
mission
of salvation
there
we also
discover
many times
jesus
warning
christians
warning his
disciples
to be
ready
for
bitter opposition
here's just a few
examples
luke chapter 10
verse 3
i am sending
you out
as lambs
among wolves
we don't need
to know too much
about the animal
kingdom to know
that means that
being a christian
can be
scary
it can
mean
enemies
and opposition
chapter 12
verse 51
jesus said
do you think
i came to
bring peace
on earth
no
i tell you
but
division
exactly what
we see
in iconium
there is this
battle
raging
spiritual
battle
jesus does
bring peace
for his
people
but then
there are
others
who are
divided
and who
stand
against him
and ultimately
everybody is
either for
or against
jesus
and we all
need to decide
where we
stand
chapter 21
of luke's
gospel
verse 17
jesus puts
it very
bluntly
everyone
will
hate
you
because
of me
we just
need to
look at
what
happened
to
jesus
rejection
and
suffering
before glory
to understand
that that is
the pattern
that we can
expect in
the christian
church
too
and so
like barnabas
we need to
stand
firm
we need to
continue
to speak
and to
live
for jesus
how do we
do it
i think
first and
foremost
we need to
really believe
the gospel
of grace
if we don't
really believe
that we've been
rescued
we're accepted
by god
we got a
secure a
new identity
in christ
then maybe
we won't
take a stand
maybe we'd
be tempted
to give up
but when we
believe that
in jesus
we have
everything
that's the
first thing
we need
we also
need to
pray
we need
to pray
for help
and for
courage
that's what
we're going
to do
on wednesday
please join
us if you
can
we need
help
to stand
firm
we need
to rely
as the
apostles
did
on the
spirit
of god
remember
jesus
said to
his
disciples
when you
are
opposed
and when
you have
to give
an account
in front
of enemies
the spirit
will help
you to
speak
give you
words
when you
need
them
we also
need to
draw strength
from the
church
we need
to draw
strength
from one
another
not to
live in
isolation
because
opposition
is hard
and we
need to
have our
hope set
in final
victory
barnabas
encourages us
to stand
firm against
bitter opposition
and then the
last thing
that i want
us to notice
and again
this is just
brief
is that
barnabas
encourages us
to boldly
live for
jesus
in a
hostile
world
thinking
about
iconium
i got
to thinking
about
john g
paten
some of
you don't
know who
john g
paten
was he
was a
missionary
a scottish
missionary
in the
mid-19th
century to
what was
then called
the new
hebrides
which is
now called
vanuatu
and to
read
paten's
story is
to read
a story
of courageous
faith
because he
went to
work among
people known
to be
cannibals
man-eating
people
and he
was warned
before he
left
scotland
don't go
it will
literally
eat you
alive
you've got
a really
vital ministry
going on
here in
glasgow
why would
you go
over there
when you're
doing useful
things over
here
and what
you see
in paten's
life
is someone
who is ready
both to
live
and to
die
for the
lord jesus
to read
his story
he was
attacked
often
many of
the tribes
people tried
to poison
him
they tried
to use
black magic
on him
he could
tell story
after story
of being
hunted
by gangs
wielding
machetes
but paten
was a man
who boldly
lived
for jesus
and over
time people
became christians
and churches
were established
and one
historian
reckons
that paten's
influence
was such
in the
region
that towards
the end of
the 19th
century
one in six
of all
ministers
in australia
followed paten
in going
on
mission
that's
someone
living
boldly
for jesus
in a
hostile
world
that's the
pattern
of barnabas
and saul
and it's
always encouraging
i think
to see
this kind
of life
to read
those kind
of stories
to see
the impact
of men
and women
who have
faith
in god
and who
act
with courage
so verse
three
we see
that after
people have
been stirred
up and
after minds
have been
poisoned
against the
brothers
paul and
barnabas
spent considerable
time there
speaking boldly
for the lord
no one's
going to stop
them sharing
the good news
of god's
love
no one's
going to
stop them
talking about
god's grace
that saves
sinners
it's too
amazing
they won't
stop
verse three
we see them
boldly living
out their
faith
and god
confirmed
the message
of his
grace
by enabling
them to
perform
signs and
wonders
here's the
wonderful thing
god wants
people to
be saved
and so god
turned people's
hearts
by his spirit
working in
power so
miracles were
happening
to give
evidence that
yes people
should listen
to baul and
barnabas
and as we
saw in verse
seven even as
their lives are
threatened as
they're on the
run they
can't stop
speaking they
continue to
preach the
gospel
in romans
chapter one
verse 16
paul said
this and i'm
sure barnabas
would agree
i am not
ashamed of the
gospel for it
is the power
of god that
brings salvation
for everyone
who believes
barnabas and
paul saw the
power of god's
gospel at work
they saw lives
they saw
cities they
saw cultures
being transformed
do we believe
that the gospel
has that same
power today
do we believe it
for ourselves
that god's grace
can change me
from the inside
out
do we believe
that god can
change our city
and our nation
and the nations
of the world
to read the book
of acts to look
at the life of
barnabas and paul
is to be
encouraged
to be encouraged
to pray
that god would
work by his
power and
through his
grace to save
many
again come
on wednesday
pray do the
work of god
barnabas encourages
us doesn't he
to speak
to proclaim
jesus's good
news
to people who
are anxious
to people who
are confused
to people who
don't know
what the bible
teaches
and barnabas
encourages us
to practice
what we preach
to let our
light shine
so that men
might see our
good deeds
so as to
glorify our
father in
heaven
because the
world needs
the message
of god's
grace
we need
the message
of god's
grace
let's pray
together