Sermon

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May 16, 2004
6th Sunday of Easter
Acts 14:8-18
Pastor Robert Raasch

The Two Natures of Success

1. A Blessing Given by God
2. A Trap Set by Satan

If you were asked to choose one word to describe your life, which of these two words would you choose: success? or failure? Well, that's a no-brainer, isn't it? Who wants to be regarded as a failure? I mean, the word "failure" has the connotation of being a loser. You're someone who didn't live up to expectations, who didn't' reach your potential. If you get an "F" on your report card, it means you failed! For most of us, failure is something we want to avoid at all costs. It's something we dread. In fact, modern psychiatrists even have a word for the fear of failure. It's called atychiphobia-the fear of failure. Personally, I think every human being has a little bit of atychiphobia in them. We all see failure as something bad.

But success-well, that's a different story, isn't it? We see success is a good thing. Success is something we want. It's something we enjoy. It's something we work hard to achieve. For most of us success is not something we have to "cope" with. It's not something we try to avoid at all costs. It's not something we dread. In fact maybe that's why there is a word for the fear of failure, but not for the fear of success. As normal human beings, we don't fear success. We enjoy it! Ah, but there's the rub. Because success is something we want, sometimes success creates real problems in our lives. Sometimes we have more trouble coping with success than we do coping with failure. But we're not the only ones who are challenged by our own success. In our text for today we meet a pair of men who were also forced to deal with the ramifications of their own "success." God's Word today gives us an opportunity to take a little closer look at what we might call:

The Two Natures of Success

On the one hand, success can be:

1. A Blessing Given by God

But it can also be:

2. A Trap Set by Satan

First, success can be a blessing given by God. Certainly that was the case regarding the ministry of Paul and Barnabas here in our text. In the verses immediately preceding this section, the writer of Acts describes their preaching of the gospel with these words, "They spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed." Now, from a human perspective, we'd say that sounds like a pretty successful ministry. Lots of people were converted by Paul's preaching. And yet, St. Paul would be the first to say that his "success" was not the result of his oratorical skills or his persuasive personality, but rather, it was purely the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul says just that when he writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 2, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Cor. 2:3-5). With those words, Paul gives credit where credit is due. Paul realized that the "success" he was having as a preacher of the gospel was truly a blessing from God. And yet, the number of people being converted to Christ was not the only blessing the God was showering on Paul's ministry.

What other type of "success" did God give to Paul? Our text tells us, "In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, 'Stand up on your feet!' At that the man jumped up and began to walk." Wow! Talk about a blessing from God. God granted Paul the ability to heal this man's physical ailment. God was using Paul as an instrument in his hand to perform a miracle-a miracle that not only relieved this man's suffering, but more importantly, substantiated that Paul's message about a Savior for bodies and souls was a message truly from God.

Tell me, does this account have any application for our lives? I think it does. Paul recognized that the success of his ministry was not the result of his human talent, or his personality, or his programs or his fine building. No rather, God blessed his ministry through Paul's faithful proclamation of Law and Gospel. Isn't the same thing true for our congregation today? As we consider the history of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, as we consider the number of lives that have been touched, souls that have been rescued from the prison house of sin, when you think of the young and old alike who have been guided in the paths of righteousness-let's make sure that we give credit where credit is due. When it comes to the growth of the invisible church, when we're talking about Christian faith being created and nourished, let's understand that God is the one doing all the work. When God blesses a Christian congregation with spiritual growth, when he allows us to successfully carry out the mission he's given to us, then to God be the glory!

Now, let's understand that God sometimes does bless our efforts with success, whether it's our efforts here at church or at home or at the office. Sometimes we can actually see the results of our labors. Sometimes we can experience what we might call "success" in our efforts. And even though such success can be seen as a blessing from God, it can also become: II. A Trap Set by Satan.

Certainly, that was the case here in the second half of our text. After Paul and Barnabas healed the man who was lame from birth, the people of the area began shouting, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" They figured that Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes. In fact, the priest of the temple of Zeus came out and tried to offer sacrifices to the Apostles. Now, why would the people do something like this? Well actually, Roman history tells us that there was a legend at that time that said Zeus and Hermes had come down to this region disguised as humans. Of all the townsfolk, only one couple welcomed the gods into their home-and the gods punished the town because of it. Well, when the people of Lystra saw Paul and Barnabas perform this miracle, they were going to take no chances. They were going to treat these two fellas like gods!

Tell me, can you imagine the temptation what this would have represented for Paul and Barnabas? It would have been pretty easy to let all this adulation go to their heads, to take just a little credit for what had happened. To allow their popularity with the people to become more important than their faithfulness to God. If you think about it, their "success" in the eyes of the world had the potential to become a real stumbling block in their relationship to God.

My friends, don't you and I face the same temptation today? Could it be that the biggest stumbling block in our relationship to God these days is not our failure, but rather, our success-I mean in the eyes of the world? When you walk out of church today, take a look at the parking lot, the cars, vans, SUVs that line the street. $100,000's of dollars worth of shiny chrome and steel. Each one newer than the last. Let's face it. When it comes to earthly wealth, somebody is doing very well. And that somebody is not some other guy. If we're honest, that somebody is you and me. When we compare our material wealth with the rest of the world, you and I are very "successful." Now, the question is, have we allowed that earthly success to go to our heads? Have we grown so accustomed to having so much that we've lost sight of where it comes from? Have we developed a standard of living that is so high that we feel that returning to God a tenth of what he's given to us is simply out of the question? No way could we afford that! We need that money for ourselves! Could it be that they very success that God has granted us in life has become a trap that Satan has used to ensnare our hearts and rob us of the joy that comes from returning to God a generous portion of the gifts he's given to us?

Or maybe our success has affected us in another way. Maybe our desire to be successful in the eyes of the world has led us to devalue our role as Christian fathers, and mothers and church workers. Could it be that the desire to be famous has replaced the desire to be faithful?

I don't know about you, but I know that I have succumbed to the siren song of earthly success. I've found that the more I have, the more I want. I've been guilty of treating my possessions like they're all mine. I've been guilty of stealing from God-not by taking money out of the offering plate. No, I've been guilty of stealing from God by taking his portion and spending it on myself. I've brought grief and discontent into my heart and home by focusing on earthly success. Is there a solution for my problem? Is there a way to get back on track? Yes. St. Paul offers it here when he addresses the people of his day, "Turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and everything in them."

Isn't this a clear call to repentance? Not only for the people of Paul's day, but also for you and me as well? Paul is calling on us to turn our attention away from the attractions of this world and instead focus on the one who created our world in the first place. Granted, sometimes that is hard to do. Sometimes we can't seem to take our eyes off the things of this world-even if those things are bringing disaster into our lives.

Reminds me of what happened to that tour boat down in Texas. Did you hear about it in the news this week? Apparently, the boat was passing by the only beach in Texas where, what shall I say, "clothing is optional"? And what happened? Everybody ran to the one side of the boat to get a better look-and the whole boat capsized. Threw everybody into 40 feet of water. I'm thinking, "Ha, serves them right for wanting to look at that sort of thing!" But aren't we often guilty of the same thing? We can't take our eyes off of the attractions of this world: the cars, the clothes, the toys, the entertainment, the recreation, the retirement home on the Gulf coast. When we worship the created things rather than the Creator, we run the risk of being thrown into more than water, we run the risk of being thrown into the fire of hell. Do you know what God says in I John 2? "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. {16} For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:15-16).

Tell me, is there any hope for people like you and me? People who time and time again have chased the things of this world? Yes there is and our hope is found 100% in God and the grace he's shown to us in Christ. God has taken people who were good for nothing, people who have squandered his gifts and he's paid the highest price to set us free. In Christ, he's wrapped his arms around us and said, "You are mine. Everything I have is yours. In Christ, I have given you the treasures of heaven. You have forgiveness for every sin, and a purpose for your life."

And yet, in addition to all those spiritual gifts, what else has God given you? He's given you the same things he gave Paul's listeners. Paul says to them and us, "God has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Isn't that the truth? Has God ever failed to provide for our earthly needs? Can you ever say that there was truly nothing for you to eat? And maybe even more important than keeping our stomachs filled with food is the fact that God has kept our hearts filled with joy. When you and I can say, "I don't know everything, but I know that God loves me. I know that he hears and answers my prayers. I know that he's causing all things to work for my eternal good. I know that if I die tonight, I'll be with God in heaven-if we know all that, that's what truly fills our hearts with joy!

Friends, when it comes right down to it, isn't that the kind of success that you and I really crave? To just know that you're all right with God. God has already granted you that kind of eternal success in Jesus Christ. Cherish it. Thank God for it. And let it that eternal success move you to use your earthly gifts in service to God and your fellow man. Rather than feeling guilty about the earthly success God has granted us, let's channel that success into something that has eternal meaning. Let's invest a larger portion of our material wealth in gospel ministry. For as we do that, a larger number of people will be able to hear the gospel, and will come to trust in Jesus as Savior and will then receive the eternal blessings we already have in Christ. You want to talk about success. There it is: more precious souls won for Christ, through our gifts to God. Yes, to God be the glory. Amen.