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The Apostle Paul did not give up till the end

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[Acts 14:19]

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.
They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

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Paul was sent as the first missionary, together with Barnabas and while they preached Jesus they met many oppositions and dangers. On their first evangelical trip, the Jews of a place called Iconium severely opposed and persecuted Paul and Barnabas so they left that place and went to places near Lystra and Derbe and preached the gospel there.

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While Paul preached the gospel in Lystra, there was a man who was not able to walk since his birth. Among many people that gathered, he was listening to the words of God especially with a sincere heart.

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Paul saw that he had faith to be healed so Paul looked him in the eyes and shouted in a loud voice. “Stand up on your feet!”

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Then, that man stood up and started to walk. God had healed this man. However, the people thought that the miraculous power came from Paul so they shouted in their Lycaonian words, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

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The people called Barnabas ‘Zeus’ and since Paul usually spoke, they called Paul ‘Hermes’. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, heard what Paul had done so they brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates and tried to offer sacrifices to the two of them.

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Barnabas and Paul heard this and tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd and shouted like this, “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We came here to tell you the gospel and make you turn away from these worthless things and return to the living God.”

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God created everything in the heaven, earth and the sea. God has done good things for you like giving the rain from the sky and making fruit.

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Also, God fills you with food and filled your hearts with joy.” Through these words, the two apostles stopped the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

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At that moment, the Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and shouted to the crowds. “Everyone, do not believe the words of those liars who fake God!! They are making their own stories to confuse the whole world!!”

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The Jews made the people throw stones at Paul. The people that were gathered there heard the words of the Jews and they got so worked up that they turned violent. Then, they dragged Paul who was telling the words of God and started to stone Paul.

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Paul got struck by lots of stones and ended up losing his consciousness. Then, he did not move anymore. The people thought that Paul was going to die so they threw the body of Paul outside of the city.

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The disciples stood around the beaten Apostle Paul. At that moment, an amazing thing happened. Paul, who seemed dead stood up. Paul’s body was bruised up because he was struck by stones but with that body, Paul walked into the city again.

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After resting a night in the city, Paul and Barnabas continued to preach the gospel. This time, they went to Derbe and preached the gospel but thankfully, God helped them have a huge number of disciples that they had never had before.

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There is one famous teaching of Jesus. “You are blessed when people say bad things to you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. A big reward is waiting for you in heaven! Rejoice and be glad! The prophets before you were also persecuted like this.” <Matthew 5:11~12>

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Paul and Barnabas in today’s story believed this teaching of Jesus. That is why even amid suffering, they were able to faithfully tell the gospel of God’s kingdom. They were true ‘disciples’ of Jesus who lived their lives with desire for their reward in heaven.

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Lots of Christians, who have kept their faith and went to the kingdom of heaven ahead of us, have become great inspirations to us. We believe that Jesus is watching us and cheering for us. Today, we, who are running the race of faith, should firmly believe that there is a big reward and comfort in heaven. Believe this and follow Jesus to live as His ‘disciples’.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM.
Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)