Acts 14:16 - Prayer Tents



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Acts 14
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14When 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.G1161G1096G1722G2430G846G1525G2596G846G1519G4864G2453G2532G3779G2980G5620G4183G4128G5037G2453G2532G1672G4100 2But 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.G1161G544G2453G1892G1484G2532G2559G5590G2559G2596G80 3The 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.G2425G5550G3303G3767G1304G3955G1909G2962G3588G3140G3056G846G5485G2532G1325G4592G2532G5059G1096G1223G846G5495 4But then there was a split in public opinion, some siding with the Jews, some with the apostles.G1161G4128G4172G4977G2532G3303G2258G4862G2453G1161G4862G652 5One day, learning that both the Jews and non-Jews had been organized by their leaders to beat them up,G1161G5613G1096G3730G1096G5037G1484G2532G2453G4862G846G758G5195G2532G3036G846 6they escaped as best they could to the next towns—Lyconia, Lystra, Derbe, and that neighborhood—G4894G2703G1519G3082G2532G1191G4172G3071G2532G4066 7but then were right back at it again, getting out the Message.G2546G2258G2097

Gods or Men?

8There was a man in Lystra who couldn't walk. He sat there, crippled since the day of his birth.G2532G2521G5100G435G1722G3082G102G4228G5225G5560G1537G846G3384G2836G3739G3763G4043 9He heard Paul talking, and Paul, looking him in the eye, saw that he was ripe for God's work, ready to believe.G3778G191G3972G2980G3739G816G846G2532G1492G3754G2192G4102G4982 10So he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Up on your feet!" The man was up in a flash—jumped up and walked around as if he'd been walking all his life.G2036G3173G5456G450G3717G1909G4675G4228G2532G242G2532G4043 11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out in their Lyconian dialect, "The gods have come down! These men are gods!"G1161G3793G1492G3739G3972G4160G1869G846G5456G3004G3072G2316G2597G4314G2248G3666G444 12They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes" (since Paul did most of the speaking).G5037G2564G921G3303G2203G1161G3972G2060G1894G846G2258G2233G3056 13The priest of the local Zeus shrine got up a parade—bulls and banners and people lined right up to the gates, ready for the ritual of sacrifice.G1161G2409G2203G3588G5607G4253G846G4172G5342G5022G2532G4725G1909G4440G2309G2380G4862G3793 14When Barnabas and Paul finally realized what was going on, they stopped them. Waving their arms, they interrupted the parade, calling out,G1161G652G921G2532G3972G191G1284G846G2440G1530G1519G3793G2896 15"What do you think you're doing! We're not gods! We are men just like you, and we're here to bring you the Message, to persuade you to abandon these silly god-superstitions and embrace God himself, the living God. We don't make God; he makes us, and all of this—sky, earth, sea, and everything in them.G2532G3004G435G5101G4160G5130G2249G2532G2070G444G3663G5213G2097G5209G1994G575G5023G3152G1909G2198G2316G3739G4160G3772G2532G1093G2532G2281G2532G3956G1722G846 16"In the generations before us, God let all the different nations go their own way.G3739G1722G1074G3944G1439G3956G1484G4198G846G3598 17But even then he didn't leave them without a clue, for he made a good creation, poured down rain and gave bumper crops. When your bellies were full and your hearts happy, there was evidence of good beyond your doing."G2544G2532G863G3756G1438G267G15G1325G2254G5205G3771G2532G2593G2540G1705G2257G2588G5160G2532G2167 18Talking fast and hard like this, they prevented them from carrying out the sacrifice that would have honored them as gods—but just barely.G2532G5023G3004G3433G2664G3793G2380G3361G2380G846 19Then some Jews from Antioch and Iconium caught up with them and turned the fickle crowd against them. They beat Paul unconscious, dragged him outside the town and left him for dead.G1161G1904G2453G575G490G2532G2430G2532G3982G3793G2532G3034G3972G4951G1854G4172G3543G846G2348 20But as the disciples gathered around him, he came to and got up. He went back into town and the next day left with Barnabas for Derbe.G1161G3101G2944G846G450G1525G1519G4172G2532G1887G1831G4862G921G1519G1191

Plenty of Hard Times

21After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch,G5037G2097G1565G4172G2532G3100G2425G5290G1519G3082G2532G2430G2532G490 22putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn't be easy: "Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times."G1991G5590G3101G3870G1696G4102G2532G3754G2248G1163G1223G4183G2347G1525G1519G932G2316 23Paul and Barnabas handpicked leaders in each church. After praying—their prayers intensified by fasting—they presented these new leaders to the Master to whom they had entrusted their lives.G1161G5500G846G4245G2596G1577G4336G3326G3521G3908G846G2962G1519G3739G4100 24Working their way back through Pisidia, they came to PamphyliaG2532G1330G4099G2064G1519G3828 25and preached in Perga. Finally, they made it to AttaliaG2532G2980G3056G1722G4011G2597G1519G825 26and caught a ship back to Antioch, where it had all started—launched by God's grace and now safely home by God's grace. A good piece of work.G2547G636G1519G490G3606G2258G3860G5485G2316G1519G2041G3739G4137 27On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in.G1161G3854G2532G4863G1577G4863G312G3745G2316G4160G3326G846G2532G3754G455G2374G4102G1484 28Then they settled down for a long, leisurely visit with the disciples.G1161G1563G1304G3756G3641G5550G4862G3101


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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