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Lessons from Lystra (1)
'When the crowd saw what Paul had done...' Acts 14:11
Ever had an adult ask: "what do you what to be when you grow up?" Currently a common answer young people give is "I want to be famous". They might not know what they want to be famous for DOING, as long as they get to be famous.
Celebs are like gods in our culture. People worship and adore them. Let's look at what happened to Paul, in a town called Lystra, after he prayed for a disabled man who then started walking for the first time; 'When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out..."These men are gods!"...Paul finally realized what was going on...calling out, "We're not gods! We are men just like you"' (Acts 14:11-15 TM).
God used Paul to do something awesome but instead of focusing on God the people start to big up Paul. This is so easy for US to do in a celeb-crazed culture.
1) Don't get giddy about "famous Christians": Festivals and events are full of young people who "worship" the bands, preachers or even the worship leaders. They are just doing God's stuff so get excited about HIM not THEM.
2) If God uses YOU don't let it go to your head: The next day in Lystra, the same people who were cheering were chucking rocks at Paul (v19) It was a good job Paul was doing it for God and not for the cheers!
written by Bob Gassns from Lystra (1)
'When the crowd saw what Paul had done...' Acts 14:11
Ever had an adult ask: "what do you what to be when you grow up?" Currently a common answer young people give is "I want to be famous". They might not know what they want to be famous for DOING, as long as they get to be famous.
Celebs are like gods in our culture. People worship and adore them. Let's look at what happened to Paul, in a town called Lystra, after he prayed for a disabled man who then started walking for the first time; 'When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out..."These men are gods!"...Paul finally realized what was going on...calling out, "We're not gods! We are men just like you"' (Acts 14:11-15 TM).
God used Paul to do something awesome but instead of focusing on God the people start to big up Paul. This is so easy for US to do in a celeb-crazed culture.
1) Don't get giddy about "famous Christians": Festivals and events are full of young people who "worship" the bands, preachers or even the worship leaders. They are just doing God's stuff so get excited about HIM not THEM.
2) If God uses YOU don't let it go to your head: The next day in Lystra, the same people who were cheering were chucking rocks at Paul (v19) It was a good job Paul was doing it for God and not for the cheers!
written by Bob Gass
'When the crowd saw what Paul had done...' Acts 14:11
Ever had an adult ask: "what do you what to be when you grow up?" Currently a common answer young people give is "I want to be famous". They might not know what they want to be famous for DOING, as long as they get to be famous.
Celebs are like gods in our culture. People worship and adore them. Let's look at what happened to Paul, in a town called Lystra, after he prayed for a disabled man who then started walking for the first time; 'When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out..."These men are gods!"...Paul finally realized what was going on...calling out, "We're not gods! We are men just like you"' (Acts 14:11-15 TM).
God used Paul to do something awesome but instead of focusing on God the people start to big up Paul. This is so easy for US to do in a celeb-crazed culture.
1) Don't get giddy about "famous Christians": Festivals and events are full of young people who "worship" the bands, preachers or even the worship leaders. They are just doing God's stuff so get excited about HIM not THEM.
2) If God uses YOU don't let it go to your head: The next day in Lystra, the same people who were cheering were chucking rocks at Paul (v19) It was a good job Paul was doing it for God and not for the cheers!
written by Bob Gassns from Lystra (1)
'When the crowd saw what Paul had done...' Acts 14:11
Ever had an adult ask: "what do you what to be when you grow up?" Currently a common answer young people give is "I want to be famous". They might not know what they want to be famous for DOING, as long as they get to be famous.
Celebs are like gods in our culture. People worship and adore them. Let's look at what happened to Paul, in a town called Lystra, after he prayed for a disabled man who then started walking for the first time; 'When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out..."These men are gods!"...Paul finally realized what was going on...calling out, "We're not gods! We are men just like you"' (Acts 14:11-15 TM).
God used Paul to do something awesome but instead of focusing on God the people start to big up Paul. This is so easy for US to do in a celeb-crazed culture.
1) Don't get giddy about "famous Christians": Festivals and events are full of young people who "worship" the bands, preachers or even the worship leaders. They are just doing God's stuff so get excited about HIM not THEM.
2) If God uses YOU don't let it go to your head: The next day in Lystra, the same people who were cheering were chucking rocks at Paul (v19) It was a good job Paul was doing it for God and not for the cheers!
written by Bob Gass