It is a joy to be with you this Sunday. It is a joy every Sunday to worship with you, to sing with you. It was a joy this morning, a unique joy this morning to not be here but be here and look around and hear, be part of the choir of the congregation, be amongst you this morning, to see the joy on your face as you sing the song we sing every week that Jesus came like he said he would, lived, died so we could have the opportunity to be with him forever. It's just a joy to hear you sing. Today I'm John. Every day I'm John. And I'm the deacon for liturgy and student ministries. And today is It's the anniversary of when my beautiful wife Ashley and I got married. We have been married for 12 years now. She is the love of my life, the best mommy to our girls, the best wife I could ever ask for, and I can't wait for at least 60 more years. And if you know her, she doesn't love being the center of attention, but I have the microphone this morning, so I get to honor her. Love you so much.
Would you turn in your Bibles to Acts 14? And while you're turning in your Bibles, in your copies of the scriptures to Acts 14, I want to remind you of where we are in the book of Acts. We're in a series this month called Sent, where we're looking at Paul's first missionary journey, and we are on a trip with Paul and Barnabas through kind of around where Turkey is today, modern Turkey, modern-day Turkey is today. And Alec, a couple of weeks ago, helped us see at Antioch in Paul and Barnabas' time, that they reminded those people to be a light for the gospel wherever they are. When Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch, they preached the gospel and many believed. What you'll notice as the gospel spreads throughout the book of Acts, many believe, the church grows, the Spirit catches like wildfire through the region, and every time that the gospel spreads and people respond positively to the gospel, there is also negative opposition. There is persecution. So Paul and Barnabas in Antioch, they preached the gospel, many believed, the word spread about the region, but persecution was also stirred up. So Paul and Barnabas, as the word says, shook off the dust from their feet, went to Iconium filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Then they arrive in Iconium, they preach the gospel, many believe, and it says they stayed there for a long time. But near the end of their time there in Iconium, An attempt was made, as the word says, to mistreat and stone them. So they flee 20 miles to Lystra, which brings us to our text today.
Let's read together starting in verse 8. Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet!" And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men." Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways, yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. 'Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.'
May God bless the reading of his word. Would you pray with me as we dive in this morning? Heavenly Father, help us to see what you would have us see in this text this morning. As we dive into your word, help us remember that it is good, it is true. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear your truth. In Jesus' name, amen.
Paul and Barnabas have been on a journey sharing the gospel, and in this account, God reveals himself in a miracle and a message. I wrestled really hard with our big idea for this— for today, and what— I was on the phone with Todd last night. And he couldn't have known, I think I told you this last night, Todd, but he couldn't have known that throughout my study of this, the hymn that was on repeat was that old hymn by Fanny Crosby, "To God be the glory, great things he has done." So I'm like talking to Todd and he goes, "You know, it's like that old hymn, 'To God be the glory, great things he has done.'" I was like, "There it is! That's our propositional statement for today." So, here's our big idea: To God be the glory, great things he hath done.
We start with God's glory displayed.
6 · The preacher establishes the narrative context: a man lame from birth is present and listening to Paul's preaching, setting up the miraculous healing that follows
Luke begins this account of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra by sharing a miracle. A man who never walked, as he was crippled from birth, was listening to Paul as he was speaking.
7 · The preacher signals that he will use a Spurgeon quotation to enter the lame man's interior world, preparing the congregation for an imaginative reconstruction of the man's faith
Hear what Charles Spurgeon imagines the internal dialogue of this man to be. Again, this is Spurgeon.
8 · Spurgeon's imaginative reconstruction enters the lame man's progressive faith journey—from initial curiosity about the gospel to confident belief that Christ is willing and able to heal him
Paul looked at the man, we are told, and perceived that he had faith to be made— to be healed. What meaneth this faith to be healed? In this man's case, I think it was something like this, poor fellow. As he listened to Paul's preaching, he thought perhaps, well, that looks like true, that seems to be the truth, it is the truth, I'm sure it is true. And if it is true that Jesus Christ is so great a Savior, perhaps I may be healed. These lame legs of mine, which would never carry me anywhere, may yet come straight. I think they may. I hope they may. I believe they may. I know it can be done if Christ wills it. I believe that, and from what Paul says of Christ's character, I think he must be willing to do it. I will ask the apostle the first convenient season that I have. I will lift up my cry, for I believe it can be done. I think there's a perfect willingness both in the mind of the apostle and of the Master that it should be done. I believe it will be done, and that I shall stand upright. Then Paul said to him, 'Stand upright on thy feet.' And he did so in a moment. 'For he had faith to be healed.'
9 · The preacher moves from Spurgeon's illustration to theological interpretation, arguing that the Holy Spirit worked both an internal miracle (granting faith) and an external miracle (granting physical healing)
Again, that's a great imagination of what that internal dialogue of the healed man, the man who was to be healed, might be thinking. It's fair to say that as Paul is preaching the gospel, the Holy Spirit is working through the preaching and in the heart of the man who is unable to walk. It's almost as though two miracles take place here. First, the faith placed in the heart of the man to be healed. And second, the actual healing.
10 · The preacher interprets the immediate and complete nature of the healing as a witness to God's power
When Paul says, "Stand upright on your feet," not only does the lame man stand up, the Word says he sprang up and began walking. This helps us to see that healing is— this healing is definitive, immediate, and is a witness to the power of the one true and living God. God does the work of bringing the man to saving faith, and God does the miracle of making him walk. So remember, this guy would have been known in Lystra as someone who was unable to walk. He was recognized daily by the people of Lystra, and so when he sprang up and walked, it surely caught the attention of the crowd in a significant way.
11 · The preacher invites the congregation into imaginative identification with the Lystran crowd, asking them to consider their own likely reaction before examining the crowd's actual response
So here's my question to you: if you were in that crowd, knowing that man, seeing him spring up and walk, what might your reaction have been? Think about that for a moment. Put yourself in their shoes. And then let's look and see how the crowd actually responded to the miracle.
12 · The preacher reads the crowd's response: they identify Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes speaking in Lycaonian (their native language), and the priest of Zeus prepares to offer sacrifice
Verse 11 in your copy of the Scriptures, Acts chapter 14, verse 11. And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men." Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
13 · The preacher highlights the linguistic detail—the crowd's use of Lycaonian means Paul and Barnabas initially don't comprehend the content of the worship being directed at them, only the emotional intensity
So first, what do we see? The miracle, the crowd sees the miracle, but then they start shouting in their native tongue, Lycaonian. This tells us at this point, that's a really important detail because it says that Paul and Barnabas probably don't understand at this point what they're shouting, just that they're excited. They see that the people are excited in response to a miracle.
14 · The preacher unpacks the cultural background: the Lystran legend of Zeus and Hermes visiting in human form, being denied hospitality repeatedly, and then destroying the town in judgment—explaining why the phrase 'in the likeness of men' carried such weight and urgency for the crowd
So then the next thing we learn is what the people are shouting. They're saying, "The gods have come down to us in the—" what? "In the likeness of men." Why this phrase here? Why does it say, "in the likeness of men," and why is it important? The people were obviously interested in the spiritual realm and quick to recognize this miracle as divine in some way. In Lystra at this time, there would have been a well-known legend of the gods Jupiter and Mercury, also known as Zeus and Hermes, coming to the town seeking hospitality. They wander through the town. They're saying, "Hey, can we have hospitality?" They look for hospitality place after place after place, and person after person after person denies them hospitality until they're on the outskirts of town— Zeus and Hermes on the outskirts of town. They find hospitality with a poor couple who out of their poverty shows them hospitality. So Zeus and Hermes, like any good gods do, lay waste to their people. They destroy the village. They destroy the town.
15 · The preacher interprets the crowd's motivation: their worship was driven by fear of repeating the past disaster, not by genuine reverence for the divine
Zeus and Hermes, when the gods of the people, Zeus and Hermes, condescend to earth in the likeness of men, what happens? They bring a vindictive judgment on their followers when their followers reject them. It's no wonder then that upon seeing this miracle, the people of Lystra respond with fear and reverence. This clearly is Zeus and Hermes again in human form. We don't want to repeat the past, so let's show them reverence.
16 · The preacher draws a stark theological contrast between the vindictive pagan gods and the self-sacrificial God of the gospel
Now contrast that story, contrast their perception of the gods of Lystra shown in the crowd's response with the gospel that Paul and Barnabas have been preaching all over the region thus far. That is this: that the true and living God condescended in the likeness of man, Jesus, to forgive, redeem, and restore a rebellious humanity. Not through the destruction of his creation, but through the destruction of himself.
17 · The preacher pauses to address non-Christians or new believers directly, unpacking what 'destruction of himself' means by summarizing the gospel: incarnation, sacrificial death, resurrection, and redemption
Now you may be here this morning and you're a new Christian, or you're not a Christian, And you're like, the destruction of himself, what does that mean? Let's look at that for a moment. Jesus took on flesh, the likeness of man, sacrificed his own life in death for the redemption of his people, and rose from the grave, conquering sin, death, and the grave for the good of his people and his own glory. When faced with his rebellious people, he redeems them. It's a contrast. From the vindictive nature of the Lystran gods.
18 · The preacher narrates the moment when Paul and Barnabas finally comprehend the crowd's intention: the priest of Zeus arrives with sacrificial animals and garlands, making the misdirected worship undeniable
The crowd's response seems to be born of fear and awe of Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes. It is at this point that the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. Now Paul and Barnabas realize what's happening. They've heard the excitement and the people bring out their praise and worship.
19 · The preacher synthesizes the theological error: God displayed his glory through the miracle, but the crowd misdirected their worship toward human instruments instead of the divine author
God's glory was on display through a miracle, the healing of the man, and the crowd began to give honor to Paul and Barnabas as false gods in human form instead of giving glory to the author of all good gifts and miracles, the God of all creation. The crowd throws their garland at the wrong objects of worship.
20 · The preacher presents the first hypothetical response available to Paul and Barnabas: accepting the worship and glory for themselves, which would have ended their persecution and provided comfortable lives
Now, in addition to the crowd's response, which is pretty obvious, it might be helpful to acknowledge that Paul and Barnabas had an opportunity to respond based on the response of the crowd to the miracle. Option 1 is this: Paul and Barnabas are being worshiped, so maybe they give in to what the crowd is chanting. They draw attention to themselves and say, like, you know what, we did do a great job healing that guy, didn't we? We are pretty awesome. Come on, keep giving us your worship. We are Zeus and Hermes. Look at us! Remember, they've been facing persecution and death threats on behalf of the gospel. Accepting the praise of the people would be like, "Yeah, we're done with the death threats. Give us the glory." They would have lived their life in probably lavishness supported by those who were worshiping them.
21 · The preacher presents the second hypothetical response: deflecting worship to God and calling the crowd to repentance, which would have meant continued persecution and hardship
And then they have another option. The other option is to deflect attention away from themselves, knowing the mission that God has sent them on. Direct the attention to the source of all truth and say, "No, this is not our work. That healing was not our work. It's the work of the Lord. Repent of your false worship. Believe in the one true God." What this likely would have meant is a continued life on the run, a continued life preaching the gospel, people responding to the gospel, but also being persecuted for the spread of the gospel and preaching of the gospel. The challenges they have been facing would not end.
22 · The preacher narrates Paul and Barnabas's actual response—tearing their garments and rushing into the crowd—and explains the cultural significance of garment-tearing in Scripture (death, distress, or blasphemy)
Paul and Barnabas— spoiler alert, choose option 2— the text says that they run into the crowd tearing their garments. Think about what you know about the stories of people tearing their garments in Scripture. There's 3 things that they tear their garments for. One is death, or mourning. One is distress. And one is perceived blasphemy. Those are the reasons in the ancient world for rending one's garments, for tearing our clothes. Once the chief priest of Zeus comes out and starts offering sacrifice to them, Paul and Barnabas realize this is an instance of blasphemy. So, they quickly run into the crowd, tear their clothes, and shout, "No, it's not us. Don't worship us."
23 · The preacher reads Paul's mini-sermon in Acts 14:15-17, which denies his and Barnabas's deity, redirects worship to the Creator, and establishes God's witness in creation
Paul starts preaching, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of like nature with you. We bring you good news." that you should turn from these vain things to a living God. This God who made heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways, yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. In this mini-sermon, Paul is attempting to correct the perspective of the people as they— he's trying to give and draw their attention to the true and living God. Which brings us to our third point of the day: a corrected perspective.
24 · The preacher announces the third major structural movement of the sermon, signaling a shift from exposition of Paul's corrective sermon to theological reflection on proper worship
Which brings us to our third point of the day: a corrected perspective.
25 · The preacher unpacks Paul's rhetorical strategy in two moves: first denying his own deity and affirming his common humanity, then redirecting the crowd to the living God
Paul first makes sure to deny the perception of his own deity. He says, "Barnabas and I are men just like you." There's nothing special about us. He then says, here's the good news. Turn from these vain things. Worship a living God. Paul moves the focus away from him and Barnabas and to the living God. This is important because the pantheon of gods in this ancient world were often statues and legend. They were inanimate objects with perceived value and influence. So what Paul is saying is turn from all these worthless things and worship the true and living God who is over all.
26 · The preacher explains Paul's strategy: establishing God as Creator first before moving to Christ, because the Lystran audience lacks the foundational knowledge to receive the gospel properly
He says that this God made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in the sea. As much as he would like to get to Christ in this moment, he has to establish that the gods that the people of Lystra worship are not true gods and they can know the one true God. Then to emphasize this point, he says— he points to how they can know the one true God. The things that witness to God over all creation. He recognizes that God has allowed the nations to walk in their own ways, but also for witness to himself. He references the good he did by giving rain and abundance of food and gladness. Later on in chapter 17, Paul ends up at the Areopagus and gets to give a really long sermon about this stuff, where he gets to expound on all this stuff and cause people to turn to Jesus. But right now he needs to start with this mini-sermon because he recognizes the need and attention and affection of his audience.
27 · The preacher synthesizes Paul's rhetorical aim: redirecting the crowd's misdirected worship from the human messengers to the divine author of all miracles
Paul's audience in Lystra desires to see their gods satiated. They want to make sure that they don't invoke the wrath of their gods, as was the legend. Their desire, their excitement, their adoration was because of a miracle they perceived Paul to have performed as one of their many gods who was finally in front of them. So, Paul attempts in this mini-sermon to avert their affections from himself and redirect their response to the object of all affection, the one true and living God, who is the author not just of that miracle, but of all miracles. He realizes that when he establishes that, then he can preach the fullness of the gospel. Which he eventually gets to do again at the Areopagus. He has to take right now the attention from the messengers and turn the attention and affection to the message and the one who sent the messengers.
28 · The preacher cites the Gospel Transformation Study Bible to frame the theological lesson: gospel proclaimers are Spirit-filled instruments, not independent agents
Listen to what the Gospel Transformation Study Bible summarizes this big picture as: Those who proclaim the gospel must realize that they are no more than rescue centers filled with the Holy Spirit sharing the good news. Paul, being filled with the Spirit, knows and understands the big picture, his place and God's place, and proclaims the good news accordingly.
29 · The preacher transitions from exposition to application by reaffirming the text's historicity and asking what God intends the congregation to receive from this passage
So we've walked through this story together. We've gone on this journey. And remember, when I say story, this is not a fictional story. This is a historical event of a healing that took place and God's glory displayed through it. This is a historical, uh, walking through of a journey that two missionaries saved by God did, and a way that Christ built his church through the work of the Holy Spirit. So as we read this story, this account, what might God be wanting to take from us to take from his word here?
30 · The preacher frames the sermon's two primary applications: the temptation to worship created things like the crowd did, and the temptation to steal God's glory like Paul and Barnabas could have done but refused
When I look at this text, I see two big temptations for us being walked out. One, we have the opportunity to respond like the crowd did. We have the opportunity to place our affections where they don't belong. To place our worship where it doesn't belong, give glory where it's not deserved. That's option temptation 1 for us in the example of the crowd. Or temptation 2 is what Paul and Barnabas thankfully didn't do, is to steal the glory meant for God and give it to ourselves.
31 · The preacher signals the beginning of the first major application section with a repeated imperative: identify what draws attention from God
So let's apply this. First, identify what or who is drawing your attention from God. Let me say that one more time. Identify what or who is drawing your attention from God.
32 · The preacher translates the Lystran crowd's literal idol worship into contemporary forms: the modern world's veneration of skill, excellence, wealth, and power
When we give in to the temptation to place our affection or attention where it doesn't belong, we might not be sacrificing oxen and throwing garland at Greek deities, but think about how the world shapes our affections for a moment. Our world gives honor and glory to the skillful. Performers are sought after and honored. People pay massive amounts of money to see people who are the most gifted and talented in their craft. Honor is given to the most excellent of athletes or most respected of musicians. The highest capacity C-level executive or the people who make the most money or have the most power are honored the most. I listen to a lot of podcasts and you would be astounded at how many podcasts are dedicated to the process of becoming the best at whatever it is that you want to become the best at. Do these things, just do all the things that we say and you will be the best and you will be honored in your field. The process to become the best is coveted and encouraged and sought after. The perception of greatness is worshiped and sought after in virtually every field, every sphere of modern life. Help makes us go— want to throw our metaphorical garland at people and things we deem deserving of godlike respect all the time.
33 · The preacher applies the warning specifically to the church context, identifying the danger of celebrity pastors and teachers
And the church is no exception. Think about this for a moment. Can you picture a gifted teacher, a gifted author, somebody who seems to have the gift of dividing the word rightly but is very popular, who grows in popularity because of the way that they speak or the way that they write. They're charismatic in the way that they communicate. We have a tendency to seek out every new book, podcast, or sermon they produce. It's not sinful to appreciate the good gifts that God gives, but it becomes dangerous when we elevate these people or things to godlike status in our hearts, minds, and actions. When we create the cult of personality and worship the cult of personality, worship the messenger rather than the message that they bring.
34 · The preacher provides a diagnostic test for misdirected worship: how you respond when a Christian leader falls reveals whether you were trusting God or trusting the person
A good test of this, a good test of whether we've thrown our garland at the feet of people or gifts instead of a living God is what happens when somebody like this falls. When it comes out that the person you read or listen to or glorify as a domineering leader, or they deconstruct their faith, or it's found out that the leader you've been following is abusive, what happens in your heart? Where is your heart drawn in that moment? Do you trust in the goodness and faithfulness of an unchanging, great, gracious God to keep his promises in spite of the failures of sinful people? Or does your faith get rattled to the point of distrust in God because what the fallen human did in sin? Test that in your hearts regularly.
35 · The preacher summarizes the first temptation with three diagnostic questions, each targeting a different form of misdirected worship: created things, gifts, and messengers
We are regularly faced with the challenge of either worshiping the God of excellence, or pursuing the God of greatness in our everyday lives, or chasing the cult of personality, but these gods will let us down every time. Every time. So an application question for us at this moment: where do you worship the created rather than the Creator? Where do you worship the gift rather than the Giver? And where have you worshiped the messenger rather than the Message, capital M? We must wrestle with this in our hearts. As followers of Christ.
36 · The preacher signals the transition to the second major application section, naming the temptation to steal God's glory for ourselves
Now, number 2, that was the temptation of the crowd, the crowd's response. Second temptation is to be a glory thief. So, our big picture question here is, or application is, don't be a glory thief.
37 · The preacher holds up Paul and Barnabas as a positive model for refusing glory, issuing a direct imperative to flee the temptation to take credit for Spirit-empowered gifts
Paul and Barnabas had every opportunity to draw attention to themselves. The crowd was literally throwing their worship at these 2 messengers from God. The example of Paul and Barnabas can really be helpful to us today. Follow their footsteps. Flee the temptation to draw undue attention to the gifts that God has given you that the Holy Spirit empowers you to use.
38 · The preacher cites Paul Tripp to establish the theological framework for glory-thievery: sin corrupts humanity's original design to glorify God, turning us into creatures who demand worship for ourselves
Paul Tripp says this far better than I can. Listen to what he says. Sin turns you and I into glory thieves. The original design was for human beings to live in a glorious world and exist in perfect relational harmony with a glorious God. But sin corrupted the original design, and now you and I have the desire to live for ourselves. Instead of living for the glory of God, we try to steal that glory for ourselves. We demand to be in the center of our world. We take credit for what only God could produce. We want to be sovereign. We want others to worship us. We want to establish our own kingdom and punish those who break our laws. We tell ourselves that we're entitled to what we don't deserve, and we complain when we don't get whatever it is that we want. It's a glory disaster.
39 · The preacher shifts to personal testimony, vulnerably confessing his own struggle with glory-thievery
Now, when I read this, I thought, "Hey, it's me. I am a glory thief. That is my nature. I am so quick in my heart to take credit for what God deserves the credit for."
40 · The preacher applies glory-thievery to the school context (8-12-year-olds and high schoolers), giving concrete examples of wrong responses to compliments about talent and achievement, then modeling a right response that acknowledges God's gifts without false humility
Think of the different realms of life. Let's walk through a couple of these realms as an exercise. Think about work or school. Let's move to school for a second. There's 8 to 12-year-olds in here and there's people from high school in here. You're in school. You play a sport. You are a part of a musical or a theater presentation. You have— we are at the end of the year, which meant it was awards season recently. You have opportunities to be up for awards. When you win an award, lots of people come up to you and they say, "Wow, you're awesome. Wow, what a great job. Wow, you're so talented." And here's what the temptation, giving into the temptation to be a glory thief might look like. Your response when hearing, "Man, you're just so talented," might be, "I sure am. Thanks for noticing. It's about time somebody recognized how awesome I am." They're like, "Oh man, you won the MVP for your team this year." You're like, "I sure was the most valuable player. Check it out." Maybe you were the soloist for the musical and everybody comes up to you and you're like, they're like, "Man, your voice was just amazing. And the makeup was cool too." And you're like, "I know. It was great, wasn't it?" A right response, while avoiding false humility to these things when people encourage, Thanks for that encouragement. I'm super grateful to be able to steward the gifts that God has given me.
41 · The preacher applies glory-thievery to the workplace, giving three concrete scenarios: closing a big deal, achieving a milestone, or being passed over for recognition
Let's move out of school for a moment and let's look at the work world. We've all either been in school or work, so I think this could apply for any of us, right? Maybe the work world, you finally close a huge deal that you've been working on for 6 months. You're like, it's huge, you close it, and you're like, pfft. I am so good at what I do. Maybe you win, maybe you achieve a milestone in your job for something that like you've been working towards for a long time and you're like, it's about time somebody recognized how awesome I am. Or maybe somebody else gets that award and you're like, they shouldn't have gotten that. Don't they see how awesome I am?
42 · The preacher uses a personal story from his own athletic experience to illustrate both God's providence in limiting opportunities for pride and his own persistent temptation to glory-thievery when recognition does come
Now look, I have to admit something. This is a mirror for me. This temptation is a mirror for me. By the grace of God, I went to a school, I played sports, I loved playing sports, and again, by the grace of God, our teams were terrible. I had very little opportunity for pride in those. I made the paper once for the opposing team for getting obliterated by 3 of the opposing players. It was a team, it was just like, psh, like this, and just getting destroyed. So the Lord in his kindness allowed our teams to be terrible so that I wouldn't be able to be proud about those things. But there have been times in my life where I have been offered things or I've been recognized for things, and often the first reaction in my heart is like, yeah, I totally deserve that. Instead of, Lord, thank you for giving me the gifts, Help me to steward them well. Maybe you relate.
43 · The preacher applies glory-thievery to church service through extended personal testimony beginning in 7th grade, confessing his lifelong temptation to serve for human recognition rather than God's glory
The church. Now this is an interesting one because the church can be a realm of temptation for glory thievery. And it's sneaky. Think about it this way. What's your first response when someone compliments or encourages you for an area of service? I have someone in mind. Me. Again. Because since 7th grade, I often find myself deserving compliments for the things that I do. In 7th grade, I started serving in the church, Amherst Alliance Church. My parents still go there today, and I was serving in the nursery, and often people would come up to me and say, "Man, you're so good with babies." And I'd be like, in my heart, I'd be like, "I sure am. Babies love me, it's the best. Thank you for recognizing that." That was 7th grade. My whole life, I've had to deal with this issue of like, am I serving for God to be recognized by God, Or am I serving to be recognized by other humans? Is my desire to serve someplace because I have to, because I want to get recognized by somebody for the great service I'm giving in light of what God has done? Or like, "Hey, look at all the things I'm doing." Or is it in light of what God has done? You serve out of a grateful heart and your audience is one. I will tell you, I tend toward the first one. My whole life I've tended towards the first one, that temptation. I'm happy to take credit for all sorts of things the Lord is doing.
44 · The preacher constructs a hypothetical but plausible scenario of missions trip reporting that gradually shifts from God-glorifying testimony to self-glorifying narrative, showing how subtly the language of glory-thievery 'creeps' into Christian witness
Maybe you've had this experience in church. You've gone on a missions trip. When you get back, you're sharing what the Lord has done. And as you're sharing over and over again, the language turns from, "Man, look, the Lord gave us so many opportunities. I'm so grateful he gave us the opportunities to serve in this various ways," to, Man, I was able to address a ton of issues with these people, and I think I gave them hope with my amazing words and communication skills. Man, I led worship for these people, and it was awesome. They responded so well. Or like, I, man, these people don't have medicine, so I healed them with my medicine. Or like, I, and you see how this creeps? This like, this, you started giving glory to God, but then you're like, it's really easy for people to encourage me and give glory to myself.
45 · The preacher uses a remembered camp illustration (domino analogy of salvation) to deconstruct the 'soul winner guy/girl' fantasy—the desire to be present at the moment of conversion and take credit
Maybe you just shared the gospel with somebody and they responded and gave their hearts to Jesus. I was at a camp one time in Michigan, and the speaker for the camp talked about a number line of dominoes, and zero was the point of salvation where the Lord caused eyes to go open. But there's people, there's maybe— let's go down to negative 5 dominoes. There's people that are leading up to that moment that the Lord is using to lead up to that moment of salvation, and then there's people that the Lord uses for sanctification. And so he talks about soul winner guy or soul winner girl being that last domino that falls. We all want to be soul winner guy or soul winner girl because we want to be at that moment where we're in the gas station and somebody's like sobbing and you're like, what's wrong? And they're like, I just want to give my heart to Jesus. And you're like, done, let's do it. And then you get to be there for that moment and then you're like, I did pretty good there recognizing that that guy needed Jesus, huh? And, and, but that's not what the Lord wants in that moment. He's been working in that person's life up to that moment. He just used you at that moment, and he's going to use a bunch of other people moving on. So the temptation in that moment is to say, "Look what I did," instead of realizing that the Lord used you for something he didn't need you totally for. And you could say, "Hey, look what the Lord did here."
46 · The preacher applies glory-thievery to parenting with extended personal testimony about his temptation to accept praise for well-behaved kids despite his own failures
Now let's talk about another super easy topic: parenting. Someone tells you your kids are so well-behaved, and maybe they are in that moment. I can tell you, I can tell you that there is not a moment I feel more like a parenting expert than when somebody tells me my kids are behaved. Like, "Oh, your kids are so well-behaved." And I go back and, "Can I show you the book I wrote on parenting?" I have a 4 and a 5-year-old. That's the farthest thing from expert as humanly possible. If you are trying to write a book— side note— as a parent of a 4- and a 5-year-old, just don't. Just don't. Find somebody with like a head full of gray hair that's parented for a long time. My great-grandpa used to call you Q-tips, and the Q-tips are the ones that are full of wisdom. So go find someone full of wisdom and ask them to write the book. Don't give in to the temptation to say like, "You know what? I am the best parent." Because the irony is this, we regular screw up. And I'm gonna just talk about myself here. I regularly screw up and fail in my parenting, but I don't wanna call attention to that. When you say to somebody like me, or just anybody, any parent, like, "Man, you were so good at that parenting moment," we all wanna say, "Yes, we were," because there are so many moments that we absolutely weren't. And these are opportunities to call attention to how much grace gives us. In the hard moments of parenting. I'm happy to give the glory that people give me, to take the glory that people give me, but man, is it so much better to give glory to the one who gave us grace and gives us grace in our parenting. Maybe your kid professes faith in Christ and you're like, man, I shared the gospel with my kids so good, and pat yourself on the back for how great a parent you are, realizing God just used you as a tool. He's the one who does the drawing to himself, not you.
47 · The preacher synthesizes the glory-thievery application: the mundane moments of life present the same temptation Paul and Barnabas faced in the dramatic miracle at Lystra
Look, my hope in these stories is that it helps identify how easy it is for us to be tempted to be glory thieves. The catalyst for temptation will rarely, if ever, be a miraculous moment of healing in front of a pagan crowd that you're trying to preach the gospel to. The moments are far more mundane than that, but the temptation is just as great. God has given his people good gifts to steward well. He has given talents and abilities to his people that reflect his image. He is the giver of good gifts, and it's okay to appreciate how God may be using those gifts, but we must direct the attention of people to the giver of the good gifts, not how well we execute or utilize those good gifts. Look for opportunities to shine, the light on God instead of yourself. Look for the opportunities that God gives you to share about the giver of gifts with non-believing friends and coworkers through situations like these. Kids, 8 to high school, if you're in co-op, if you're at school, wherever you are, wherever you're with a group of kids, take opportunities to share what God has done in your life. These are— there's opportunities all over the place to do that.
48 · The preacher transitions to his final application point by anticipating an objection: why emphasize the Holy Spirit in a sermon about giving God glory? He clarifies that the sermon is not moralistic self-effort but depends on the Holy Spirit's work, rejecting any notion that self-awareness or effort can produce salvation
Our last point is trust the work of the Holy Spirit. And we might be getting to the end of this thing and you're like, why after a sermon on the glory of God would there be an application about trusting the Holy Spirit? We didn't really, like, we didn't, like, talk about the Holy Spirit in the passage. But I think it's important to recognize that this is not a "be better" sermon. This is not something where I'm telling you, you just have to be better. It's not a message that by being aware of these temptations, you'll be able to save anyone, including yourself. There's no amount of good work you can do, No amount of weight you can lift, no amount of music you can play, no money you can make to save anything or anyone.
49 · The preacher establishes the Holy Spirit's comprehensive agency throughout the Lystra narrative—granting faith and healing, empowering preaching, directing mission—but then confronts the sobering reality: most of the Lystran crowd remained unconvinced despite the miracle and Paul's corrective sermon
The Holy Spirit was with Paul and Barnabas as they arrived in Lystra. We know that from context. The Holy Spirit was the one who gave the lame man the ability to believe and then to walk. The Holy Spirit helped allow Paul and Barnabas to continue to preach the gospel, to preach the good news. And the Holy Spirit is ultimately the one who sends them to their next destination. He's present and working the whole time. However, look at the response of the people of Lystra in verse 18. Even after God performs a miracle through Paul and Barnabas and Paul provides the corrected perspective, the people of Lystra seem to remain unconvinced and continue in their misdirected affection. Verse 18 says this: Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
50 · The preacher applies the Lystran crowd's unbelief to contemporary gospel witness: when people remain unconvinced despite our faithful proclamation, we must trust the Holy Spirit rather than despairing
Maybe you regularly share the gospel with people. Maybe you regularly give glory to the one who deserves it. But your people are not like the lame man who believed and was healed. Maybe the people you're sharing the gospel with are like the people of Lystra. They seem to remain unconvinced, and they continue in their misdirected affection and worship. Here's why that's okay. Because we need to trust the work of the Holy Spirit. As we'll see in a few weeks, God continued to build his church. Come back in a few weeks, we have a couple guest preachers while Ricky is continuing his sabbatical. They're doing great, by the way. Uh, and we have a couple guest preachers, and then Ricky's going to come back and he's going to preach on the stoning of Paul. After this time in Lystra, Paul gets stoned. Gets rocks thrown at him, and thinks he's— there it is. So they think he's dead, right? They think he's dead, and God uses that moment to say he's not dead and encourage the elders, and his church continues to be built, right?
51 · The preacher reiterates the Gospel Transformation Study Bible quotation from earlier, framing gospel proclaimers as Spirit-filled instruments, not saviors
Now, remember this, that those who proclaim the gospel must realize that they are no more than rescue centers filled with the Holy Spirit, sharing the good news. Christian, don't be discouraged when your audience to the gospel proclamation seems to remain unconvinced. Remember this: your job is not to save with your good gifts. It's to be filled with the Spirit, share the good news, and point to the giver of good gifts.
52 · The preacher directly addresses non-Christians present, using Paul's words to diagnose their condition (separated from God, worshiping false gods) and issue a gospel call: see God's goodness, hear the good news, repent, believe in Jesus, and join God's family
Finally, Paul says in this passage, "Turn from these vain things to a living God." I would be remiss if I did not address those who do not believe in our group today. If you're not a Christian in here and you're here today, this text presents a challenge for you. If you've not given your life to Christ, then you have effective gods that are ruling your life. You are like the crowd, worshiping and responding to false gods. You are separated from God. Without the hope and forgiveness found in Christ. But our hope today is that you would see the goodness of God, hear the good news, repent of your sins. As Paul says here, turn from these vain things to a living God. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and paid for your sins, past, present, and future, through his death and resurrection. See that God desires to move your affections from the vain things of this world to himself and join the family.
53 · The preacher closes the sermon with a restatement of the controlling thesis (to God be the glory for what he has done and continues to do), then prays for the congregation to resist temptation, be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and give God glory in every sphere of life
To God be the glory. Great things he has done, and may I add, continues to do. Let's pray before we take communion together. Heavenly Father, we need your help. Help us to notice where these temptations are happening and to flee them. Give us power through the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, help us give glory to you in our everyday lives, in our work, in school, and sharing the gospel, in our families, in our homes, here at Cross of Grace. Help us, Lord, to give you the glory you deserve and not take it for ourselves. Thank you for your goodness and your faithfulness that you continue to remind us of. In Jesus' name, amen.
54 · The preacher transitions from sermon to communion liturgy, framing the Lord's Supper as an appropriate response to a sermon on God's glory
Would you take the bread and the cup? It seems appropriate today that we gather at the table to celebrate the Lord's Supper. So as we celebrate together, let's confess our sins through the reading of God's word.
55 · The preacher leads corporate confession using Psalm 51, inviting the congregation to agree with the words as he prays them aloud
Would you, as I, uh, pray these words from Psalm 51. Would you agree in prayer with them, with me, as I read them? Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy, blot out our transgressions, wash us thoroughly from our iniquities, and cleanse us from our sins. Let's take a moment and remember those moments and ask for forgiveness.
56 · The preacher proclaims assurance of pardon using Titus 3:4-7, emphasizing that salvation is by God's mercy through Jesus Christ, not by works
Hear our assurance of forgiveness. From Titus chapter 3. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
57 · The preacher reads 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 on worthy participation in the Lord's Supper, fences the table (inviting believers to partake and non-believers to observe), and calls non-Christians to examine their hearts and turn to Christ
The account of the Last Supper says this: Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. Himself. We have just confessed our sins. We have just been assured of the pardon of Christ. If you have believed in the name of Jesus and have been saved, you are invited to participate in this shared meal. If you're not yet a Christian, we'd ask that you just observe this family meal. Search your heart. Ask the Lord what might be drawing you away from him. Turn to him. Open your eyes to his saving grace today. And come to the table.
58 · The preacher leads the congregation through the communion liturgy, reciting the words of institution from the Gospel accounts and 1 Corinthians 11, administering the bread and cup with the congregation partaking together
The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it. He gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat. This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Let's take the bread. In the same way, he, Jesus, took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me." Let's take the cup. Every time you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes.
59 · The preacher closes the communion service by inviting the congregation to stand and sing in worship, declaring Jesus as the object of all affection, hope, and glorification
With thanksgiving, would you stand? As we offer our praise to the Lord, we declare, "What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer!" He is the object of our affection, of our hope, of our glorification. So let's declare that the world not see us, but Christ in us.