A1 Objectives
B1 Describe how God used Paul to share the gospel in Iconium.
B2 Explain how the people responded to the gospel in Lystra.
A2 Scriptures
B1 Acts 14:1-20
A3 Notes
B1 Iconium
C1 City
D1 History
E1 The area was inhabited by 2,000 BC, so after the flood and about the time of Abraham.
E2 It has always been inhabited since.
E3 It has frequently been a capital of the area.
E4 It has a higher elevation that is dry.
E5 The winters are cool and dry with the summers hot and dry.
E6 The summer nights cool off quickly due to the low humidity.
E7 Most rain comes in Spring and Fall.
D2 Now
E1 Called Konya
E2 Population over 1.1 million
C2 Missionary Journey
D1 Fifth stop
D2 Iconium is about 45 miles southeast of Antioch.
D3 Paul and Barnabas
D4 Preached first in the Synagogue.
B2 Lystra
C1 City
D1 Approximately 19 miles south of Iconium.
D2 No one lives there now.
C2 Missionary Journey
D1 Sixth stop.
D2 Paul visited there 2 times. One time was on his first missionary journey and one on his second.
B3 Journey
C1 Somewhere between 46-50 AD
C2 Lasted about 2 years
C3 Traveled about 1,500 miles.
A4 Questions
B1 What did God want for the Gospel? (He wanted it to spread).
B2 What are some ways that He did that? (Philip's preaching, Christians going other places by persecution or choice, etc.)
B3 Christians went voluntarily preaching in various places. How did Paul do this? (His missionary journeys).
B4 Who were the two main preachers? (Paul and Barnabas).
B5 I thought Mark was with them? (He left in Acts 13:13 to return to Jerusalem. The last town he was in with them was Perga).
B6 Why did Mark leave them?
B7 Where did Paul and Barnabas first go when they got to the city? (Synagogue)
B8 In Acts 13:50 who persecuted Paul and Barnabas in Antioch? (Jews and certain women of the elite Greeks). Why?
B9 Do religious people persecute Christians today? What kind of Christians persecute those who take the Bible seriously and want to live by its rules?
B10 In Acts 14:1 who heard the Gospel?
B11 Why did the disbelievers do what they did? Why didn't they repent and believe?
B12 Were they disbelieving or disobeying? The Greek word means disobey but as A. T. Robertson writes regarding this passage--
C1 That were disobedient (ο απειθησαντες). First aorist active articular participle, not the present απειθουντες as the Textus Receptus has it. But the meaning is probably the Jews that disbelieved, rather than that disobeyed. Strictly απειθεω does mean to disobey and απιστεω to disbelieve, but that distinction is not observed in Joh 3:36 nor in Acts 19:9; Acts 28:24. The word απειθεω means to be απειθης, to be unwilling to be persuaded or to withhold belief and then also to withhold obedience. The two meanings run into one another. To disbelieve the word of God is to disobey God."
C2 Both the majority text and the Textus Receptus have απειθουντες, not απειθησαντες.
C3 Thus strictly it would be translated "would not believe" in this context as in John 3:36 and Acts.19:9 and Acts 28:24.
C4 What about atheists or any other disobedient, disbelieving person? Should we still pray for these people?
B13 Why were Paul and Barnabas so bold?
B14 Why were they doing signs and wonders? Why doesn't this happen today? What are signs and wonders?
B15 Does the Gospel divide? Why?
B16 The city was divided between those supporting the Jews and those supporting the Apostles. Why are they called apostles?
(The 12 that Jesus choose are the Apostles of Jesus Christ. He choose them. They saw him teach, preach, do miracles, get arrested, die, and living after the resurrection. The other apostles are Apostles of the church. These were specially gifted men that the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ recognized as apostles. After the Apostles of Jesus Christ died, there was no one to authenticate anyone else. There are no real apostles today, just false ones. Revelation 2:2).
B17 What type of treatment did the unbelievers come up with? (To abuse them physically, verbally, and emotionally. They were also going to stone them).
B18 How do we react when we are persecuted?
C1 We are to pray for ourselves.
D1 God help me not to deny you.
D2 God help me not to sin against my persecutors. (All sin is against God. We are to not want to do any sin that would displease God, no offense against them, as much as possible).
D3 God forgive them. I forgive them.
C2 We are to pray for our enemies.
D1 God have mercy on them that they may repent and trust in Jesus.
D2 God open their eyes to see what they are really doing (disobeying God's rules).
D3 We are not to pray for them to die or be hurt, etc., because then they have no opportunity to repent and trust in Jesus.
B19 What did the preachers do? (They heard about the plot and ran away to three different cities). Is it OK to flee in this situation?
B20 Who was born at Lystra? (Timothy, Acts 16:1).
B21 Acts 14:8. Whom did the preachers meet? (A man lame from birth). How far had this man walked? (0 feet, for he was "lame from birth").
B22 What does "seeing he had faith" in Acts 14:9 mean?
B23 Why did Paul say? ("Stand up straight on your feet").
B24 Is this what happens when modern faith healers hold meetings? (No)
B25 How many of the people at Lystra saw this healing? (Many)
B26 What we their reaction? (They proclaimed that the Apostles were gods and were going to worship and sacrifice to them).
B27 What would be your reaction?
B28 If you were in Paul's sandals, would you have refused worship? What about most people?
B29 By refusing these honors and worship what opportunity did the Apostles have? (To preach the Gospel).
B30 What points did Paul bring out about God when refusing the people's worship?
C1 Our God is the living God.
C2 Our God has let Gentiles live their own life.
C3 Our God has shown us good by giving us food and rain.
C4 Now what you need to do is repent. (To turn from idols)
B31 Why did the people of Lystra stone Paul?
C1 The Jews from Antioch and Iconium riled them up.
C2 They were mad at Paul for saying that their idols were useless things.
B32 Was Paul really dead or passed out?
B33 What did Paul do?
C1 He stood up.
C2 He went into the city.
C3 He left the next day.
B34 Was Paul brave or foolish to go back into the city?
B35 Questions from others?
C1 What was different in Paul's preaching at Lystra compared to other cities?
C2 What caused the lame man to have any hope of walking?
C3 Do we have a pattern of the Gospel we share; is it always the same? Is it better to not have a pattern or have a pattern?
C4 Was it wise to proclaim the Gospel in such a public place? What about today?
B36 What are some things we learned today?
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