7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear th
Sermon Series: The Jesus Life: Learning, loving,Living Acts 13 & Selected texts “Going out” Pastor Mike Brill: May 13th, 2018 Big Idea: God is calling us all to go out on mission.
Well, Good Morning to each of you. Thank you pastor Brian for the introduction. My name is Mike and I am the Young Adults Pastor here at Church of the Foothills. As we get started I would like to extend a warm welcome to those listening online, as well as with Pastor Dillon in the Chapel. I am excited for our time in God’s word this morning. We are continuing this week through our Jesus Life series in Acts chapter 13 we are going to look at Paul and Barnabas being set apart by the Holy Spirit to “go out” and how God might be calling us to go out. If you have been following along with us, the last couple years Alyssa and I have been on staff here at Church of the Foothills as missionary candidates and moving towards the field. Alyssa is going to give a recap this morning on our journey up until our interview. We are filled with a mix of emotions. We are overwhelmed with joy at the clear leading of the Holy Spirit in this and the confirmation that He wants to do something in Moroccan immigrants in Spain, and that we get to be a part of it. We have some grief as we think about leaving this community, as well as some fears for entering a new one. As we share about our going out, Today I want to look at what it means to be sent out by looking at Paul and Barnabas’ journey in Acts 13. Will you pray with me and invite the living God to come speak to us this morning? Open your bibles up to Acts 13, if you don’t have a Bible this morning you can find one underneath the row of chairs in front of you on a rack. Acts 13, picking up in verse 1. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabus, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a
lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said “Set apart for me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. As we look at this scene I want us to notice the setting that they are sent from. It is in an atmosphere of worship and fasting that they are sent out. The early church understood that it is in the Upper Room , that believers are prepared, called, and anointed for the ministry that God calls them to. The Upper Room is the place where they spent time worshipping and praying, in fellowship with God. Maybe you have your own “Upper Room” a favorite place where you commune with God. They knew that they needed that to be clothed with power from on High to fulfill the mission Jesus had given them in Matthew 28:19 where He says to: 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. The early disciples recognized they have just been given a command that they are unable to complete apart from God. That is why they were in the Upper Room in Acts 2 at Pentecost that we talked about a few weeks ago. They had been waiting about 50 days in Jerusalem when we see them filled with the Spirit and empowered for that mission that God has given them. We see a similar scene here. Acts 13 the Church at Antioch realizes that they cannot begin to accomplish the command that Jesus gave to go and make disciples without having intimate connection with God. The church in Antioch understood that it is in the Upper Room that believers are prepared, called, and anointed for the ministry that God calls them to. And it has been that way ever since.
One reason why the setting apart of Paul and Barnabus is so interesting to me is because it seemingly contradicts the message of Jesus in that Matthew 28 verse we just read. The command for followers of Jesus to go make disciples seems universal to me-if you are a follower of Jesus, go make disciples.
So what is up with the Holy Spirit setting aside these two men, Paul and Barnabus, to the work that He had prepared for Him? Look in the verses with me. Do you see all of the names of the Antioch church leaders there-Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, these 3 men did not go out. And it is not that the Holy Spirit is not using them. The Holy Spirit had an assignment for them in Antioch! That is really exciting! The difference for Paul and Barnabas is that in these verses, God is setting them apart through the Holy Spirit in order to go to cities where there is no witness of Jesus yet. There is a difference. Some are called to make disciples where they are at currently, and for others, they are called to make disciples in places where there is no church yet existing. But as we look at Paul and Barnabas journey this morning I want us to understand that this “Going out” principle does not just apply to a select few who are set apart, but every single follower of Jesus has a call to make disciples. Some of us might be called to make disciples in Antioch and some in far away places, but every single follower of Jesus is called to make disciples. If you are unsure where you should begin, you can always begin with the place you are waking up tomorrow morning. In fact, I would argue that we see this “going out” principle as we look at the disciples lives in the New Testament. There is a cycle to the life of every healthy believer or follower of Jesus that we see in Scripture. I use the following four words to describe it: Follow, Grow, Emulate, Multiply.
Follow- Not just a 4 step process or a checked box but a total life commitment to Jesus. This is what Paul speaks of in Gal. 2:20. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me Grow-As we mature we move further in distance from sin and our old life and closer towards living th Jesus life—living and loving like Jesus. Emulate- To Copy. For the disciples, doing the things that Jesus did. In John 14:12 Jesus declares a powerful promise for His followers: Multiply-Make . Helping people see their need for a savior and connecting them to Jesus then helping them to grow to love and serve him. That is what our church is all about. Every single disciple of Jesus should find themselves moving along this cycle. Now of course, you can be in multiple stages and sometimes you go backwards to fill up again to go out, but this is the natural stage of progression for every. Single. Believer. For the rest of us this morning, as we look at Paul and Barnabus going out, I want to study what going out looks like, and then apply it to how every single one of us might be “go out” on mission this week. What can we learn from Paul and Barnabas for our journey?
Let’s keep reading. What happens? Pick up with me in Acts 13, verse 4. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning
of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. The first thing that happens when Paul and Barnabas obey the Holy Spirit’s call to go out is that they run into opposition! I think as believers one of the things we should expect as we seek to obey God is opposition! The ruler of this world wants nothing more than for us to ignore the command to make disciples. The ruler of this world, recognizing his own defeat in believers lives through the precious blood of Christ freeing them from the curse of sin and death has nothing left but to tempt us into a complacent life of always growing but never obeying God’s primary command! He wants us to stagnate on the cycle of discipleship I described earlier. He says, If I can just get them to fill their time and schedule with a myriad of other good things, they will ignore the call of God to make disciples, and set the captives free. Friends, may we not be complacent with the primary call of God on our lives in this time! May we have a hunger for more than sitting in our services being fed continuously until we become gluttons never receiving enough because we don’t put to use what God has given us! It is like receiving food! If we eat and eat, but never work out or put the nutrients we are taking to good use, we become gluttons we know that. It takes working out to put nutrients to good use for our body. Spiritually, we often take in so much that we can become unsatisfied with what we are eating, saying Why have you not spoken to me lately God? I wonder if sometimes in the times when we are waiting He might not be speaking because He is still waiting for us to go obey what He already told us to do! It is no secret that we do not like really like opposition. I am sure Paul didn’t wake up and think, wow I sure hope some magician comes and opposes me today.
But this morning I want us to think about how we might respond to opposition as believers. No, Not all of us will be like Paul in this verse who filled with the Holy Spirit rebukes the guy and then blinds him. That’s when you realized ya messed up. You get blinded. But we all have the decision of how we will respond in the face of opposition? If opposition is promised, and I believe it is, how will we respond? Lets think in our context for a moment. A current method of opposition might be what is being considered for legislature in the state of CA. Many of you may have heard that we are going to lose some freedom in the state of CA because of three bills that might soon be passed. Can I assure you that believers will not lose one ounce of freedom in the state of CA? We have as much freedom as we are willing to pay the price for. We have been given freedom by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. John 8:36 tells me that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. We have freedom, the cost of that freedom just changes depending on what context you are in. As believers in the United States, I think the danger for us is that we can rewrite our faith and our “going out” to not include opposition. That is another time, another place, something to be avoided at all costs. At a convention for workers working in dangerous places for Jesus followers, the workers reported on an interview that they had all done on those they are leading and discipling. The question was this, what have you learned from the international workers? And of course, many of the respondents began by talking about the many wonderful things that they had seen in the missionaries, how thankful they were at the teaching they were receiving them, and how much they admired their sacrifice of leaving everything behind to come to a new culture.
But as they continued, and answers got a little more transparent, a less appealing trend came forth. A large trend in those interviewed eventually came to admit that their missionary friends had taught them to fear. To fear opposition and run from it. So often as believers who live in relative peace and harmony we want to think how we might : 1. Stop the opposition 2. Punish the opponents 3. Raise funds to aid other believers in avoiding opposition at all costs
Whereas when we look at opposition in Scripture, it is promised for the believer in Jesus.
Matthew 10:24 says
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[f] above his master.
25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household?
As believers, I think it is time we stop avoiding something that comes with our obedience. Of course, we aren’t going to ever get excited, but I think we see in this passage that God receives glory when we don’t run at the first sign of conflict.
As we are thinking about opposition this morning, I also want us to redefne what success is for our opponents. Let’s think about the goal of satan? Many might suggest that the goal for him would be to have believers kicked out
of homes, their jobs taken away, and their marriages destroyed. These things are terrible.
But if persecution is defined in this way, countries we typically associate with persecution such as China, Somalia, and North Korea are not among the most persecuted places on earth. Why Not?
Because a country actually has to have a significant amount of believers present for them to be persecuted. None of those countries make the top lists anymore as we are used to defining it anymore simply because there are few to no believers present. They have all been silenced or put out.
I would argue this morning that the primary goal of opposition is not to beat, torture, or even kill believers. The primary goal of Satan in opposing is to silence believers, to make believers lose or give up their voice, and diminish their witness.
Opposition wins when we give up our voice and become silent. Opposition loses when we remain steadfast.
Every single day, as believers in Jesus we make the choice to side with the persecutors or the persecuted. We side with the persecutors when we withhold our witness, and we side with the persecuted when we are open in sharing our faith. Let’s not be silenced in the face of small consequences when brothers and sisters around the world face great consequences while holding to their voice. We will face opposition. Let’s be people who are faithful in the midst of opposition.
We see here for Paul and Barnabus their faithfulness produces fruit! The proconsul believes when he sees what happens. And I believe that when
we are faithful in the midst of opposition today, God continues to use difficult circumstances for His glory. What else can we expect as we “go out?” Let’s continue in verse 14 14 they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand began to preach: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 1 Peter 3:15 says I wish I could go back and tell him about the way that Jesus Christ has touched my heart while I was still a sinner, how He has freed from the bondage of sin and death, how He has transformed my life and invited me into His family and now I want to live my life sharing that same living hope that I have been given, and the thought of people coming and going with no testimony of Christ in their culture breaks my heart. How much it would mean to me knowing Him and His goodness for someone to come and share about Him with me. And oh by the way, have you met Him yet? May the word humanitarian never leave my lips in that context again because I care more about where someone spends eternity than if I possibly offend them today with what I say. Our lives present us with all sorts of opportunities to thrust aside fear and to take these faith-filled risks for the sake of the Gospel. Where are some of the different places that God has opened doors for you to share?
The second thing we notice is that Paul is given an opportunity to share the Gospel and takes it! We have to take advantage of the opportunities God has created for us. As we love others and continue our journey, we have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Let’s be a people known for Being bold when God gives us opportunities to share. but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. If I am being honest, I don’t always do the best at this. A common occurrence for me to share my faith comes when people ask what I do for a living. A couple weeks ago I was driving my neighbor home from playing basketball and I ask him what he does and he tells me he is an electrician, and then asks me what I do. And at times I am tempted with those who don’t know Christ to share in a way that is culturally appropriate. So I begin by saying that I work at the church as a Pastor, and I am going overseas, and try to describe what I will be doing. I might go and serve the community, and I eventually end up sounding like I am doing humanitarian work. For students, it could be in your classroom or around your lunch table. For those in homes or apartments it could be your neighbors. For mothers and fathers it could be your children. Jesus teaches us that it could be children, prostitutes, tax collectors, gentiles, the outcast, abandoned, and overlooked of society. One of the most common places for us might also be our places of work. A good example of reaching your workplace can be found in Paul as he goes out. In Acts 18 we see that Paul uses his trade, tentmaking-for ministry. When he arrives at Corinth he works with other tentmakers during the week and preached every synagogue on the Sabbath.
Often when we study Paul through Scripture we see his tentmaking or as a peripheral piece of who Paul is, done to provide for his more important missionary enterprises. I would suggest that Paul is just as much a tentmaker as He is a missionary. He would have learned the trade from a young age from his father. Based on apprentice contracts from the 1st century, we know He would have had tentmaking contracts in locations for 1-2 years. Sound familiar? Perhaps some of the reason Paul is able to come and minister and then leave again in cities that he then writes too such as Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae are because Paul was able to obtain a tentmaking contract in that area. The tools necessary for the cutting and stitching of leather to make tents would have rolled up into about the size of some of the study Bibles we carry today. It was easy to carry from place to place, which helped him as He traveled. I think He was as much Paul the tentmaker as He was Paul the missionary. But everything He did was towards making disciples. His occupation, Tentmaking, was central to who Paul is as a person as well as His calling to ministry. We know Paul as the missionary, but His work was not compartmentalized or separate from His ministry. I think we can learn so much from Paul’s example! For many of us today, if we are being honest, we struggle to live such an authentic, integrated life. Sometimes it’s hard for us to be the same person on Sunday in a church service that we are on Monday in our office or classroom, but is so important for those looking at our lives. Let’s not just put on our Sunday mask and then our work mask. We should be people so authentic that the way we praise on Sunday should be the way we praise on Monday. And the way we speak, act, and even joke on Monday should be able to transfer to a Sunday worship service.
Don’t compartmentalize your faith. It just confuses those watching, and it might just start to confuse you too. Paul says it this way: Let’s be faithful when we encounter opposition, and be bold when Godgives us opportunities. And Paul knocks this opportunity out of the park to his audience in Antioch here: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Col. 3:17 Be bold where God has given opportunity to share the Gospel. In our homes, in our schools, and in our workplaces may people be able to see and hear the testimony of Jesus in us. He tells them how God delivered His people- Israel, but they still wanted to have their own ruler. 1. Alright, what else might we learn from Paul and Barnabus. Let’s pick up down at verse 48 of Acts chapter 13.
Paul just finished his sermon, check out what happens next: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” And that leads us to the final truth for going out. As believers we cannot go out without being filled with the Holy Spirit.
We have a mission given by God that cannot be completed apart from the resources of heaven. We cannot complete a God-sized mission with human sized resources. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is involved in the beginning of Jesus ministry as He is baptized there on the Jordan river, we had better believe that the filling of the Spirit is crucial to our going out as well. I want us to get practical for a moment-
What might cooperating with the Spirit look like for me and you as we go on mission? Ask the Holy Spirit for power as you witness.
Again and again in Acts we see the power of the Holy Spirit at work through disciples as they witness. Acts 4:8- Peter was filled with the Spirit as He presented to the council in Jerusalem after Healing a lame beggar How many of us are like that still today? We are no different, we still want to have ownership and leadership of our lives. My greatest concern this morning for this audience, is that you miss the significance of what Paul is preaching. That Jesus died on the cross and gave us the opportunity for new life. That when He said “It is finished” what is finished is the penalty for the life you have been living. Jesus is offering you abundant life here and in eternity. An eternity with no weeping, sickness, or pain. That sounds pretty good to me. If you want to accept that gift today, please don’t leave without talking to me or somebody next to you this morning. This room is full of people who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, who have expiereinced God completely transforming their life. Have that conversation. Acts 6 Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Jews could not believe the wisdom that he spoke or the power with which he ministered.
Acts 11 Barnabus was filled with the Spirit and a large group of people were added to the Lord Over and over again we see the Holy Spirit move with power to point people to Jesus. As you are going out, ask God to do things that you would not be able to do apart from Him! Be bold as you ask Him for opportunities to share, for Him to encounter those who don’t know Him yet, and then step out in faith when He provides! I cannot overemphasize the connection between prayer and fasting and mission. We cannot expect to be able to complete a God-sized mission with human sized resources. We have to be empowered by the Spirit for Mission. Be attentive to the Spirit’s direction for mission.
Another theme we see as we look at the Spirit’s involvement with mission is at times, the Holy Spirit directs us to the place He has prepared for us.
Two interesting stories for you to check out-the first in Acts 16 the Holy Spirit mysteriously directs Paul not to enter Asia to preach the Gospel, but in Acts 8, Philip is instructed by the Holy Spirit to go talk with a man in a chariot that results in the baptism of this man.
There are times the Spirit will direct us to a person, or a strategy, or a message. Let’s be attentive for his direction as we go on mission.
Be in Relationship.
Almost everytime I have sensed the manifest presence of God has been in a corporate setting like in a worship service or as I am praying for someone. Not always but usually when you are in relationship. It is extremely difficult, to make disciples where there is no relationship. Find someone to mentor, build relationships with people, go deep.
The Spirit most often communicates along relational lines.
As we go out, we must be filled with the Spirit.
As we close, I’d like to invite the band to come back up.
Like Paul and Barnabus, when we go out, lets Be faithful in the face of opposition. Be bold when God gives us opportunities to share. And Be filled with the Spirit to take part in God’s mission.
God is sending each one of us out, some to places far away, and some right here in our community. The primary mission for us as believers is to make disciples. So lets do that this week. Greet somebody. Have a conversation. Listen to how the Lord might be leading you. Let’s take part in His mission boldly this week friends.
Let’s pray.
Jesus you are Lord of the harvest. You are my King and the one I adore. Thank you for the imperishable inheritance that awaits us in heaven and the precious blood that you spilled in order for me to be grafted in to your family. Thank you for the many that you are speaking to in this room, just as you spoke powerfully to those in Antioch so long ago. I praise you and worship you this morning. Amen.
One of the things Alyssa and I have been praying for as we go out is that those who are called are able to look at our lives and say, hey if they are doing it-I can too. And believe me, if you are feeling unqualified that the same undeserved grace of Jesus given to us to be children extends to qualify and equip you for what God is preparing you for. I want to give the Holy Spirit the space and opportunity to do what He has done here in this scene. Today I believe there may be someone or multiple people whom the Spirit is calling to missions. To carry the Gospel to places that have never been reached. If that is you, would you stand up right now where you are at?
Is there anyone at all?
Praise God. If you are around one of those people could you gather around them, lay hands on them and pray for them? For the rest of us (whether here in live or in the chapel), we know that we too have a calling to make disciples in our Antioch, God has called us here to the Foothills area for such a time as this. Would you join me as we enter into worship by gathering in 4s and 5s and praying for our calling through these prompts up on screen?
© Church of the Foothills 2018
