FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF VILLA RICA, PCA

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A Case of Gospel Healing at Lystra

By

Rev. Todd W. Allen

Villa Rica 6/6/04

Acts 14:1-10 

¹In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. ²But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. ³Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. ⁴But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. ⁵And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, ⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸At Lystra in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb a man was sitting who had no strength, who had never walked. ⁹This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, ¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk. 

 

We talked recently about gospel madness and gladness, how that the preaching of the gospel makes some men mad even as it makes others glad. This became the typical response wherever Paul went. It is still the response today. Men either receive the gospel with gladness of heart or they react against it.

No doubt Paul faced that more vehemently than we would today in America. The gospel is not new in many places now as it was then. That doesn't mean that there is not still a reaction, but it is not as quick and sharp. The fact that there are many churches and many Christians blunts the reaction. Men are not as openly against the gospel. It takes a more subtle form. But today we see court protests against things Christian: objection to Bible reading in schools, a resistance to Christian symbols, even nativity scenes being displayed on public property.

I.  Iconium Divided By The Gospel

 1. The Lord Jesus had said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword. We find this the case at Iconium. Paul again entered a synagogue as he had done at Antioch. He began speaking in such a way that a great multitude believed.

We are not to believe that it was Paul's expert preaching that won men to the faith, rather it was due to the anointing that was upon him. He was so obviously a man on fire for the gospel, so certain of the message, so intense in his preaching, that men were impressed to believe. God uses such preaching.

But the opposition soon developed. We read that the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the

Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. We are not told what they said to stir up opposition. But those who disbelieve can always think of something slanderous and vicious to prejudice others against the gospel and those who receive it. But I want you to notice that this only served to make Paul and Barnabas bolder and more determined. They did not give up and run because of the opposition. They stood their ground and God granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

God's power was poured out in response to the opposition of the unbelievers. We can count on the Lord to uphold us when we stand for Christ and the gospel. We are not to grow discouraged. God allows persecution. Men who are in communist countries are no doubt stronger Christians than many in this country where it is relatively easy to profess Christ. God knows that the fire makes the iron into steel. Opposition can serve a useful purpose. It tests faith in a way that nothing else can do. Men who have endured the fires of persecution are men who can be counted on to endure to the end.

But the time came when God allowed the persecution to threaten the lives of the apostles and he moved them out of Iconium. Again, this was God’s way of letting that new church get on its own and he moved the apostles to the next assignment.

II. The Lystra Miracle

After leaving Antioch they traveled to the region of Lycaonia and the cities of Lystra and Derbe. Paul continues to preach the gospel at Lystra and we are told in verse  8 that  a man lame in his feet, from his mother’s womb was sitting who had no strength, who had never walked. ⁹This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, ¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk. 

The crippled man's physical condition depicts for us the hopeless spiritual condition of the sinner. Not once in his life had he ever walked. He was a cripple from his mother's womb. Even so, the sinner is a sinner from the womb and has no strength to turn from his sin. He is infected through and through with sin. His soul lies in a death shroud. This soul can make no motion God ward. He is bound with the impotency of a lifeless heart and a paralyzed will. Though he might wish himself capable of rising up from his weakness, he cannot make his wish come true.

When Adam sinned he lost his life in God and entered upon a Godless estate, and all his posterity with him. There was no human help for his sinful condition. Science cannot help him. He is doomed to a lifelong handicap. .

But the sinner's plight is worse than that. It extends on beyond this life, stretching out for ages without end. His deadness and lifelessness is a permanent condition. He may have no fellowship with God, cannot walk pleasing unto his Creator.

Like many other sinners, perhaps the cripple had reconciled himself to his condition. They do not complain. This life is short and I will get the most out of life that I can and be content.

The truth is, most men do not choose to be saved even if they thought they could be. They are accustomed to their sinful condition and have no desire to be any different than they are. The spiritually lifeless soul has no remembrance of anything better or different. The sinner is not conscious of being without that which he never had to begin with. Unlike the cripple in our scripture he does not think of himself as being different from other men. He looks the same physically and can compare himself favorably with all other men around him. So he lives his days in as much ease and contentment as possible and thinks about death as little as possible. Whatever lies beyond the grave he will face it when the time comes. This is the philosophy of many. Eat, drink and enjoy life and let tomorrow take care of itself.

But this miracle of God's grace defies all explanation. The man was not able to help himself and he knew it, but simply by hearing the gospel and hearing Paul's command to stand upright on his feet, he leaped to his feet and began to walk.

As Dr. Harry Ironside was preaching in a certain place, he noticed a man in the crowd writing on a card, which he presently handed to the speaker. The man was

Arthur Lewis, agnostic and lecturer.  He proposed a challenge to the speaker to debate the subject, "Agnosticism versus Christianity," and offered to pay all expenses involved.

               Dr. Ironside read the card aloud to his audience and then said: "I accept on these conditions:                "First, that you promise to bring with you to the platform one man who was once an outcast, a slave to sinful habits, but who heard you or some other infidel lecture on agnosticism, was helped by it and cast away his sins and became a new man and is today a respected member of society, all because of your unbelief.

"Second, that you agree to bring with you one woman who was once lost to all purity and goodness, but who can now testify that agnosticism came to her while deep in sin and implanted in her poor heart a hatred of impurity and a love of holiness, causing her to become chaste and upright, all through a disbelief in the Bible.

"Now, sir," he continued, "if you will agree, I promise to be there with one hundred such men and women once just such lost souls, who heard the gospel of the grace of God, believed it and have found new life and joy in Jesus Christ our Savior. Will you accept my terms?"

               As might be expected, the atheist could only walk silently away.

               "Wake up, old man; you're dreaming," yelled a passerby to a converted drunkard who was testifying to the saving power of Christ in a street meeting. The converted drunkard's little daughter, standing nearby, pleaded thus, "0, please sir, don't wake him up! Before he began dreaming, as you say, he would beat up Mom and me, and didn't provide for us. But now, since he has

begun to dream, as you say, he is good to Mom and me,

and he brings home his money and provides for us. 0, please sir, let him dream on! Don't wake him up!"

Why is it that some hear the gospel and it transforms them, and with others there is no change at all? It may be simply this...that they have no desire to break with their sins. The cripple in our scripture had come to a place where he both wanted to be healed of his weakness and he believed the gospel could be the means for his healing. Unless you come to the point of wanting to be delivered from your sins and also believe that the risen Lord Jesus is competent and willing to save you, then you will continue on in an unbelieving state of mind and heart. Faith must work in each of us that confidence that God can do for us what he did for that crippled man.

   A soap manufacturer and a pastor were walking together down a street in a large city. The soap manufacturer casually said, "The gospel you preach hasn't done much good, has it? Just observe. There is still a lot of wickedness in the world, and a lot of wicked people, too!" The pastor made no reply until they passed a dirty little child making mud pies in the gutter. Seizing the opportunity, the pastor said, "I see that soap hasn't done much good in the world; for there is much dirt, and many dirty people around." The soap manufacturer replied, "Oh, well, soap is only useful when it is applied." And the pastor said, "Exactly, so it is with the gospel.

Maybe you have heard the gospel and have heard the command to believe and get to your feet and walk, but you have not made a response to the command. The cripple got to his feet and began to walk and as he obeyed he found that God had done the miracle in his body and soul that had to be done.

Have you come to Christ in obedience to his command to believe the gospel? Trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and be made whole. Repent of your sins and trust in his substitutionary death on the cross for your sins. Stand up on your feet and be made whole today as we sing together Hymn 533, I Am Thine, O Lord, I Have heard Thy Voice.