Acts 13 – The Journey Begins
Acts 13:1-3 - Called
God’s heart is
all through this chapter and He wants the gospel shared where ever we go. How open are you to introduce Jesus to others? Jesus was introduced to ordinary men as well
as influential leaders. God did this
through believers as in Paul and Barnabas.
There was a change in church leadership at Antioch. The leaders were Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius,
Manaen and Paul. All were diverse leaders,
but God created a oneness, the secret of Christ. There were two spiritual gifts - teaching and
prophesying. As they prayed and fasted,
they received instructions from the Holy Spirit. (Fasting means going without something for a
time to focus on the Lord.)
They were
available, surrendered to the Holy Spirit, and their hearts desired to be in
the center of God’s will. Does that
describe you? He set apart Barnabas
and Saul. (Acts 13:2) What does He want you to set apart for His
use?
Are you
serving without being called by the Holy Spirit? A
ministry outside God’s will is likely not to be fruitful. He has a work for everyone who receives
salvation.
Principle: The
Holy Spirit guides us where God wants us to go.
Acts 13:4-12 - Opposed
Barnabas and Paul
were sent on their way for the first missionary journey. When they left Antioch, they went to Seleucia
and then sailed to Cyprus. They were
sent for by the proconsul or governor, Sergius Paulus who wanted to hear the
word of God. There was a sorcerer and
false prophet named Elymas who worked for the proconsul. The sorcerer was full of the devil, deceit,
and trickery. He opposed them and tried
to turn the governor from the faith. Paul,
by the power of God blinded him. When
the governor saw what happened, he believed as was amazed at the teaching about
the Lord.
Principle: The
enemy of God does not want Jesus personally known.
The enemy wants
to keep people, especially leaders and anyone with influence from God. He doesn’t want people to depend on God. He wants to keep you from the presence and
power of God. He works against you, not
for you. So put on the full armor of God
and stand your guard. That’s what Paul and
Barnabas did.
Acts 13:13 - Disappointed
They traveled
the whole island of Paphos, and then to Perga were John Mark left them and went
back to Jerusalem. It is not known why
he left. Perhaps there was a
disagreement. Maybe he was homesick,
ill, or couldn’t stand the hardships. Because
of his departure, Paul lost confidence in him.
This reminds us that even godly men as these still had their problems.
Principle: The
spread of the gospel requires faithful commitment in the face of personal
difficulty.
Even today we
choose not to show up when we don’t feel like it or it doesn’t fit our
schedule. Paul modeled commitment, doing
whatever God asked. If you know you’ve
been called by God, don’t quit!
John Mark did
get back on track. He earned Paul’s
trust again and wrote the book of Mark. How
do you allow mistakes to get you back to God? How do you respond to others who make
mistakes and return to God? Giving
up creates a hardship for others. Our
choice impacts others.
Acts 13:14-52 – Keep Going
From Perga they
went to Pisidian Antioch. Paul was asked
to speak at the synagogue. In his
messages he gave historical references leading to the Messiah, which could not
be denied. He told of the crucifixion
and resurrection of Jesus, the message of salvation. All of which was supported by the Old
Testament scriptures quoting passages from Psalms and Isaiah.
The response was
mixed. Some came back to hear more. Some Jews rejected the message. Paul and Barnabas said,“We had to speak the word of God to you
first. Since you reject it and do not
consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.”
- Acts 13:46. “When the Gentiles heard this, they were honored and all who
were appointed for eternal life believed.” - Acts 13:48
(Acts 13:38-41) Paul message went on to say we are made
righteous by Jesus and through Him everyone who believes is justified. He warns them to not just wonder about Jesus and
do nothing or they will perish. We can’t
remain on the fence or we will suffer eternity in Hell. There are 2 places to go from here – Heaven
or Hell forever and ever. Where are
you going?
The word spread,
but some Jews stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled
them from their region. So Paul and
Barnabas shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and left. (Note: When Jews would leave a Gentile land,
they would shake the dust off their feet to not take any dirt from the land.) This is what Paul and Barnabas did to the
Jews as a protest saying the Jews were no different than pagans. This did not discourage the disciples. They were filled with joy and with the Holy
Spirit. (Acts 13:52)
Principle: Spirit
filled believers can experience joy in the mist of suffering.
Where would
you be in this story?
Would you be
asking for more truth?
Where would
you go after this life, if this were it - Heaven or Hell?
The power of the living God is available to you.
Are you
living with jealousy?
Concerned how
life will change if you let Jesus in your heart?
Are you being
expelled? Look how they handled it. You may have to forgive someone. You can keep on going with joy and not anger.
Note:
(The name change
of Saul to Paul is not clear and we do not know why it changed, but Acts 13:9 says, “Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit…”. Maybe he changed it so the Gentiles would
accept him better or maybe it reflected his new life since he was now a new
man.)
Acts 14 – The Journey Continues
Acts
14:1-7 – Poison Control
Even though Paul
and Barnabas were removed from their ministry, God created new opportunities to
minister. At Iconium Paul and Barnabas
preached effectively and boldly because of the power of God and many Jews and
Gentiles believed. The bolder they
became the more uncomfortable the Jews became.
Some refused to believe and stirred up trouble and turned the Gentiles
against them.
Like the Jews we
get uncomfortable when we see God differently.
We are threatened and become controlling - just like them. They thought they were following the Old
Testament laws and it was probably hard for them to change their thinking. They had centuries of tradition and now Jesus
was changing everything. But that didn’t
stop Paul and Barnabas from speaking and performing miraculous signs and
wonders. In Matthew 10:34 Jesus said, “Do not suppose
that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Being a good person will not bring you into a
relationship with God is insulting for some.
Paul and
Barnabas left Iconium and fled to Lystra and Derbe. Sometimes God says move and sometimes He says
stay put. God will give you information
so you will go where He wants you to go.
Principle: A
committed Christian encouragingly lives by God’s truth even when others refuse
it.
The enemy is at
work to poison our minds. How are you
being poisoned? God is the ultimate
“poison control center”. God’s motives
are love, goodness and grace and is willing to do anything to work on your
behalf. Contact the “poison control
center” – He will give you courage. Get
into His Word and pray. If in doubt, He
will give you hope for tomorrow. His
“poison control center” will remove the poison from your thoughts.
What is your immediate
response when someone opposes you?
Are you worn
out defending Jesus to your family or to your friends?
Don’t waste
energy – just speak the message of truth like Paul and Barnabas. God will tell you when to do it
differently. The gospel cannot be
stopped! Nothing can change God’s plan
to spread it to the world.
Acts 14:8-20 – Unwanted Worship
In Lystra as
Paul preached, he saw a man crippled from birth. Paul saw that he had faith and Paul healed
him. This doesn’t mean if you have faith
you will be healed. God does His will
and He may choose not to heal. Healing
can occur when someone has no faith.
Faith comes from hearing (Romans
10:17). How is your faith
evident to others?
When the people
saw this, they thought Paul and Barnabas were gods and wanted to offer
sacrifices and worship them. Paul knew
if this spread, it would be very hard to convince people otherwise. He told the people they were human just like
them, bringing the good news and telling them to turn from these worthless
things to the living God who made everything.
They were ignorant and needed to become knowledgeable of scripture and
of God.
How do we
know God is the Creator? First because He says so. Then just look around and see the sky, the
stars, the moon, the sun, the oceans, etc.
(Romans 1:18-20) – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible
qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Paul mentioned the created world so they
would realize how powerful God is and no one could do
what He had
done.
Some of the Jews
came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and left him for dead. But the disciples gathered around him and I
am sure they prayed earnestly. Another
answer to prayer - Paul got up and went back to the city. This showed Paul’s determination and
commitment in serving the Lord. He went
right back to preaching and didn’t give up.
This is one of many examples Paul gives us to live by. He knew how they felt. After all he use to persecute and kill
Christians himself and God forgave him.
He had forgiveness, patience and love even for his enemies.
Principle: A
committed Christian’s response to adversity should point others to God.
Are you like
one of those people Paul and Barnabas spoke to? Is
the Bible unfamiliar to you? Will
you yield to the Holy Spirit and accept Jesus as your Savior?
Acts 14:21-28 – Personal Care
Paul shows his
love and care for those he led to Christ:
Acts 14:21-23 – Paul encouraged disciples reminding
them that they must endure hardships to enter kingdom of God.
2 Corinthians 7:3 – Paul said he would live and die for
you.
Galatians 4:19 – Paul saw believers as dear children
1 Thessalonians 2:7-11 – Paul cares for believers as a mother
and deals with them as a father.
1 Thessalonians 1:19-20 – The people are Paul’s hope, joy and
glory.
1 Thessalonians 3:8 – Paul really lives when believers stand
firm in the Lord.
Principle: A
committed Christian has a testimony about God that will strengthen and
encourage the body of Christ.
Paul set a great
example of never giving up. He showed us
an example of determination, commitment, and faith through hardships. Paul and Barnabas strengthened and united the
disciples by their examples. They prayed
and fasted, encouraged them to remain true to the faith. We need to encourage others by telling them
God loves them in all their circumstances.
Tell them you are praying for them.
It means a lot to me when someone says they are praying for me. And –
don’t forget to pray. Every Christian
should be involved with the body of Christ.
Churches are not perfect. We need
to pray and help strengthen our leaders.
How do you
encourage others?
What leader
could you encourage in your church?
Do you
shepherd them with your time or your energy?
Join me here
next week. We will jump to the book
of Hebrews
for a few weeks. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
__________________________________________
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