Tag Archives: Iconium

THE BOOK OF ACTS – CONFIDENCE WORTH HAVING

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CHAPTER 14

CONFIDENCE WORTH HAVING

“When they got to Iconium they went, as they always did, to the meeting place of the Jews, and gave their message. The Message convinced both Jews and non-Jews — and not just a few, either. But the unbelieving Jews worked up a whispering campaign against Paul and Barnabas, sowing mistrust and suspicion in the minds of the people in the street. The two apostles were there a long time, speaking freely, openly and confidently as they presented the clear evidence of God’s gifts, God corroborating their work with miracles and wonders.” Acts 14:1-3 (The Message).

Wherever they went, Paul and Barnabas created a stir that affected the entire city. They were sowing into the soil of human hearts that were saturated with religion. There was no such thing as sacred and secular in the world view of their day.

In the Roman world, everyone was religious. They all believed in and worshipped someone or something. The Caesars insisted that they be worshipped as gods, seeing themselves as invincible saviours and arrogantly elevating themselves to the level of deity to the extent that they slaughtered believers for refusing to confess “Caesar is Lord.

In our world, everyone is also religious, though many deny that they worship anything. Superstition rules in societies where western scientific culture has not penetrated. Some people worship what they do not understand. Others insist that their ancestors or evil spirits are in control of their lives. In the western “developed” world, many people are self-made and worship themselves.

Whatever we look to as our source, is our god; money, education, image, position and prestige, achievements, or even other people — all these are things people believe in and rely on to keep them going.

The point is that man, in and of himself, is incomplete without someone or something greater than himself on which to rely. But we have to ask ourselves the questions, “Is the person or thing I rely on to complete me, worthy of my trust and confidence? Can I be sure that what I believe in will meet my need and complete my life when it comes to an end?”

When we examine the nature of our gods, we might find, to our horror, that we have placed our lives and our destiny in a mirage or a fantasy. On what authority do we base our trust? How can we be sure that the thing we worship will not fail us when we need it most?

Will my money, for example, be there to give me peace and hope when I am diagnosed with an incurable disease, when I lose a treasured child, or when my relationships fall apart? Can I go to my image or my achievements for comfort; will my possessions sustain me in trouble? Can my ancestors offer me strength to cope with cancer or permanent disability? Can my god take away my guilt, shame, fear, anxiety or even my fear of death?

When Paul and Barnabas delivered the good news of the forgiveness of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, they were not offering another religious hoax or pipe dream based on human imagination. They were relaying verifiable fact, based in history, and backed up by the power of God Himself. “…God corroborating their work with miracles and wonders,” and bringing peace and assurance of the truth to the hearts of those who believed.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” the saying goes. To those who believed the apostles’ message, the proof came in the form of such joy and assurance that they were willing to lay down their lives rather than lose what they had received. To the Apostle Paul it meant, “To me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Now that’s a confidence worth having!

THE BOOK OF ACTS – IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

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IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

“Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.” Acts 13:50-52 (The Message).

Well, now that’s a strange way to react to bad treatment! Why didn’t they fight back to protect their fledgling disciples? These young believers needed much more teaching before they could leave them on their own, yet they had to get out and leave them.

They didn’t have much option, really, if they wanted to stay alive. Their Jewish opponents were ferocious enough to do them in if they resisted. It would seem that law and order was not very well maintained if a mob was allowed to take action against individuals without repercussions.

The attitude of the two missionaries is also astonishing. At this point in their missionary enterprise they didn’t seem to turn a hair at the treatment they were receiving from their fellow Jews. Surprisingly enough it was their own people who harassed and hounded them from city to city, not the pagan Gentiles from whom one would have expected the most resistance.

Instead of being angry and upset at the treatment they had received, they simply moved on to the next city and carried on their work as though nothing had happened. Were they becoming bitter and hardened inside? Not at all! Luke specifically informs his reader that they were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

There is a place in God that allows one to bypass the emotional upheavals that accompany life’s reverses and remain at peace in the middle of them. Like the chicks that are safe and dry under the mother hen’s wings in the storm, these two men knew where to go and what to do when adversity hit them and they found themselves in a hostile environment.

The prophet Isaiah, living in turbulent times with Assyria, a powerful enemy empire from the north bent on world domination and harassing Israel, knew the secret of perfect peace. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4 (NIV).

Paul’s experiences on his journey through life taught him the same great lesson. How could he write words like “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV), had he not been permitted to go through the things that shaped his confidence in God?

Wherever you are on your journey right now, what is it in your life that is giving you the opportunity to find that resting place in the eye of the storm? You can so easily miss the grace of God and throw away the opportunity to learn to trust, if you are too busy fretting and bucking at your circumstances. God intends for you, in whatever comes your way, to find His peace that covers you in a blanker of protection and confidence in the midst of it so that no storm can ever bother you again.

Like Paul and Barnabas, you can walk away from conflict, opposition, adversity and even rejection with your heart filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit because of your trust in God’s unfailing love.