Lord Be Magnified

Acts 14:5–18

“There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet He has not left Himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.”

God protects His servants, the Holy Spirit revealed the plot against the lives of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas and helped them escape (vv. 5-6). With this, we can be assured of discernment and forewarning of impending dangers especially when in the work of the great commission. In Lystra, God affirmed the work of the Apostles once more with the sign of healing and wholeness and people saw His power! The LORD Jesus responded to Martha in the place where her brother Lazarus was laid, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank You for hearing Me. You always hear Me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe You sent Me (John 11:40-42).” To God be the glory always! However, the world is an idol-maker (v. 18), from stars, other things to fellow humans, all creation, missing the Creator, the prophet Habbakuk writes, “woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it… (Hab 2:19).” Similarly, we are finite mortals, of limited knowledge and of the same fallen flesh, myths of the Olympian gods and goddesses tell us of severely flawed deities much more like us, chief of them is Zeus himself who was a philanderer if nothing else. Besides the LORD, the God of Israel, the great I AM, there is no one. “But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him (Hab 2:20).” So we “turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them… He has not left Himself without testimony: He has shown kindness” by giving us rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides us with plenty of food and fills our hearts with joy (vv.  15-17). Rightly, the Apostles refused reverence and strived to redirect worship towards the only One worthy of it, God, who alone is goodness (Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19), wisdom (Jude 1:25, Rom 16:27), and awesome power (Dan 4:35, Isa 43:13). The Living Life writer asks us today, how has God worked through you to bless another person? How can you use the attention and praise people direct toward you as opportunities to magnify God?