==acts 14:1-15:

And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4 But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
5 And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
6 They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
7 And there they preached the gospel.
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

==acts 14:1-16:

 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

​He is the living God who speaks from the fire (Deuteronomy 5:26). He dwells with his people and drives out their enemies (Joshua 3:10). When David confronts the giant Goliath, he is particularly incensed that the uncircumcised Philistine has defied “the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:26, 36). Likewise, Hezekiah appeals to Yahweh for deliverance when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, mocks “the living God” (2 Kings 19:4, 16). He pleads with Yahweh,
Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone. (2 Kings 19:17–19)
King Darius, after being tricked into casting Daniel into the den of lions, calls Daniel the “servant of the living God” (Daniel 6:20). When he sees that God has preserved Daniel, he decrees that all peoples “tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end” (Daniel 6:26). In the New Testament, Paul echoes the prophets when he urges the inhabitants of Lystra to “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” (Acts 14:15).

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==acts 14:17:

​Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

​When Paul addresses the crowd gathered at the Areopagus in Acts 17, he opens his appeal with a reference to a local altar to the unknown God and quotes their poets in his appeal for Christianity. His speech is undergirded by two critical assumptions: all can see signs of God’s existence, and Christians should recognize and utilize cultural opportunities to proclaim the gospel.
This cultural appeal can sometimes make Christians uncomfortable because they are concerned about the false, which mingles with the truth. But Paul assumes the world’s ignorance: Their limited knowledge is a starting place, incomplete and incorrect, but enough to warrant hearing what Paul has to say. We should be listening to when artists get it right: when they see that God has not left himself without a witness (Acts 14:17).  --Justin Thomas; Calvary Chapel Bible College 9/17/24

==acts 14:18-21:

18 And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

==acts 14:22:

"That we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" 

​Acts 14:22 describes Paul and Barnabas strengthening disciples in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch during their first missionary journey. They encouraged believers to remain faithful, warning that entering the kingdom of God requires passing through many hardships, tribulations, or persecutions. This emphasizes endurance in the faith. 
Key Takeaways and Themes:
Encouragement to Persist: The apostles urged believers to continue in the faith despite trials.
The Reality of Suffering: The verse teaches that persecution is a part of the Christian experience.
Kingdom Focus: Passing through hardships is described as the pathway into God's kingdom.
Context: This occurred after Paul was stoned in Lystra and left for dead, yet returned to encourage the church

Danson Ottawa

True Christian hope is not an escape from pain. It is endurance through pain, with eyes fixed on a coming glory that makes present suffering “not worth comparing” (Romans 8:18). This is not resignation. It is resurrection-shaped hope. This is how Paul encouraged the new believers in Acts 14:22, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” The cross-bearing church does not deny suffering; it understands it as the appointed road. Why? Because Christ walked it before us. -Danson Ottawa; Gospel Coalition Africa

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​There are few things in the spiritual history of the child of God more really helpful heavenward than sanctified trial. He treads no path in which he finds aids more favourable to advancement in the divine life, circumstances which contribute more to the development and completeness of Christian character—the teaching, the quickening, the purifying—than the path of hallowed sorrow; sorrow which a covenant God has sent, which grace sanctifies, and which knits the heart to Christ. The atmosphere is not more purified by the electric storm, nor the earth more fructified by the descending rain, than is the regenerate soul advanced in its highest interests by the afflictive dealings in God's government of his saints. 'Sweet are the uses of adversity' to an heir of heaven. Its form may appear 'ugly and venomous', for 'no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous'; nevertheless it 'bears a precious jewel in its head', for 'afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby' (Heb. 12:11). Affliction is to the believer what the wing is to the lark and what the eye is to the eagle, the means by which the soul mounts in praise heavenward, gazing closely and steadily upon the glorious Sun of righteousness. Chastening seals our sonship, sorrow disciplines the heart, affliction propels the soul onward. We should have a more vivid conception of the power of affliction as an ingredient of holiness if we kept more constantly in remembrance the fact that all the afflictive, trying dispensations of the believer are covenant dispensations, that they are not of the same character nor do they produce the same results as in the ungodly. They are among the 'sure mercies of David'. In the case of the unregenerate, all afflictions are a part and parcel of the curse and work naturally against their good; but in the case of the regenerate, they are, in virtue of the covenant of grace, transformed into blessings and work spiritually for their good. Just as the mountain stream coursing its way meets some sanative mineral by which it becomes endowed with a healing property, so afflictions, passing through the covenant, change their character, derive a sanctifying property, and thus become a healing medicine to the soul.
--Octavius Winslow

“Faith in Jesus as Savior involves the willingness to suffer in this life. We gratefully endure all the miseries of the life of faith during this present age out of a desire to have Christ forever when our present trials will be over. It is often said, ‘No cross, no crown.’ We cannot expect to have Heaven without first going through ‘the suffering of this present time’ (Romans 8:18). Or, as Acts 14:22 says, ‘through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’ -Maurice Roberts (The Happiness of Heaven)

==acts 14:23-28:

23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
24 And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
25 And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
26 And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
28 And there they abode long time with the disciples.