From Praise To Paphos: How Worship Drives A Church To Give, Send, And Go

Thanks Drew for reading the Scripture and to our youth for setting the scene so memorably. That video actually represents at least two or maybe three hours of work. Job well done and we look forward to that becoming a regular feature.

Our text in Acts today begins about two or three years after the story about Peter and more than 12 or 13 years after the beginning of the book of Acts.

A lot has happened since then.

When we started with the book of Acts, it had only been a few weeks since Jesus died and rose again. At that time the disciples asked Jesus, “Look, are you now going to finally set up your kingdom from Jerusalem and rule over our enemies?” Jesus said, nope. Jesus said, I’m going back to my Father. Your’e going to take the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone and you’re going to tell people outside of Jerusalem. You’re going to move further and further out into the world, to Judea, to Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus also said, “I will not leave you alone. I will send you my Spirit and He will go with you and before you. He will continue on earth through you what I have begun. He will give you power and boldness and the gift of speech and everything you need to carry my message of salvation to the ends of the earth.”

When we pick up today in Acts 13, that mission is well underway. Peter is beginning to fade into the background. Paul is showing up more and more. Already, Christianity has another base of operations. No longer is Jerusalem where everything is happening. More and more the church at Antioch is where things are happening. Christianity is becoming less and less a subgroup within Judaism and more and more of a global movement, moving out to the Gentiles, just as God promised through the prophets centuries before.

But our text this morning records something unique that had never happened up to that point. Acts 13:1-3 records for us the first planned “mission trip” of the church at Antioch.

‘The church at Antioch does not just put money in an envelope and send it to mission agencies. The church at Antioch does not merely pray for the missionaries who are already out there serving. God calls them to appoint their own missionaries and send them out into the world. And the main thing I want you to see this morning is this: the main takeaway is this: Are you ready? Just four words.

[SLIDE: TODAY’S TAKEAWAY]

Today’s takeaway:

Worship leads to missions!

[SLIDE: THE PLAYERS]

The players:

Barnabas: an encourager, from Cypress

Niger: a man of African descent

Lucius: an evangelist w/ a heart for Gentiles

Manaen: a believer w/ friends in high places

Saul: the apostle Paul

[SLIDE: FROM WORSHIP TO MISSIONS]

From worship to missions:

The church gathers

The church worships

The church obeys

The church prays

The church gives, sends, & goes

Five things today. Worship leads to missions. How? The church gathers, the church worships, the church obeys, the church prays, and the church gives, sends, and goes. Let’s get going!

#1: The church gathers

The first thing we see is so obvious that we might well miss it. We don’t start with worship. We start with gathering. Coming together as the one people of God precedes the worship of God.

Look at verse 1 with me: “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers...” There was a strong teaching and preaching ministry at Antioch in the church there. This would continue long after the apostles were gone. But that is not the focus here.

Notice that our focus is immediately drawn to a particular church in a particular city. Our attention is drawn not so much to the who and the what but the where. At Antioch. You can’t see this in my translation but you might be able to see it in yours. How many of you have the NKJV? How about the old KJV? They both have it. If you don’t have it I’ve put it on the screen for you.

Acts 13:1 (NKJV)

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Before the church worshiped or gave money or prayed or sent, they gathered. They gathered together as the church in a particular place and time.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

We often think of churches in terms of what we get or don’t get out of it, and we know better, that church is not only about getting and receiving but about giving and serving. But for the moment, let’s think in terms of what we get from worship.

Live-stream vs. in-person

You will never grow as a Christian watching church at home

You can never get from a livestream all that God intends you to get

You can never get from a livestream all that God intends you to get from worship, which is why livestream will never work toward your sanctification and growth as a Christian like in-person worship will.

Reality check!

Sunday worship service is not about you & God alone. Your personal devotion is about you and God. But corporate worship is about you, and God, and the other people in the room.

Why is this? This is because the Sunday morning worship service is not about you and God. Your quiet time, your devotional time, that is about you and God. But once you come in and sit down in here and corporate worship begins, it is about you and God and the person beside you, the person in front of you, the person behind you. Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, Jesus says, and then right after says “and your neighbor as yourself.” Church is about both.

And it is biblical. “Pastor, show me where in the Bible it says I have to go to church”? Right here, Heb 10:24-25.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

We sing the great hymns of the faith together. We sit under the preaching of the word together. We go to Golden Corral and stuff ourselves together. That is how God has ordained it and it is very good. The church gathers.

Next, the church worships.

#2: The church worships

When we gather together as a church, we do so for a purpose: we gather together in order to worship together.

Notice how verse two presents the worship of the church at Antioch, almost — not as an afterthought, but as a given. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting...”

Note too the object of worship: “while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting...” We are not here to give glory to our church leaders or our music or anything of that sort. All of that is a means to an end. They are tools; they are not the thing itself. We worship the Triune God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, revealed in the person of His Son Jesus, as He is portrayed in His word, the Bible, OT and NT. We worship Him

So from that, what is worship and what is it not?

[SLIDE: WHAT WORSHIP IS & IS NOT]

What worship is and is not:

It is not about self-expression, but self-forgetfulness

It is adoring God for who He is, not who we wish He would be

It is seeking God Himself, not His gifts, blessings, or help

The church gathers. The church worships. Eventually this leads to missions but we’re not there yet. The church gathers, worships and obeys.

#3: The church obeys

Any Star Wars fans in the room?

Well, here’s a little tip for you. You can go to howstuffworks.com and take a quiz that tells you what your Star Wars force “aura color.” Obviously I don’t put a lot of faith in those kinds of things, but just for fun you can take this quiz.

Now if you take the quiz, here are a few of the questions you’ll have to answer:

- What is your favorite Star Wars movie?

- Whose side are you on? The good side or the bad side?

- Which force power would you use the most often?

- What would you use your force power for?

- Which saber crystal do you like the most?

Obviously I’m not going to divulge my answers but my Star Wars “aura color” is green. Here’s what the website says about my color: “The green force aura has been said to represent growth, balance, and reliability. People who have this aura color have been said to have the qualities of a Jedi in the making as not only are they extremely hard-working, but also because they are driven and fast learners.” [https://play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/what-color-is-your-star-wars-force-aura?srch_tag=2k6dmixh2nruql7tevtp2jbtxfi2r7wm, accessed October 29, 2022].

Now in case any of you are not Star Wars fans, you may be asking, what is the force? Well, in the Star Wars universe, the Force is basically God - but not the god of the Bible. The force is not a person, like God; the force is a form of power. Everything in the Star Wars universe is connected with the force. In fact there’s not a real distinction between the force and you, or the force and this pulpit. You can tap into the force and use its power in your life.

Now the thing about the Star Wars force - a lot of people often talk God and particularly the Holy Spirit like He’s the force. But the biggest difference between the Force in Star Wars and the Holy Spirit portrayed in the Bible is that the Holy Spirit is not an it; the Holy Spirit is a He. The Holy Spirit is a Person, the third person of the Trinity. And that means that He can speak to us in a way that we can understand. And that is exactly what He does here.

As they worship, the Holy Spirit speaks, giving them instructions, and they act; they obey. What are the instructions? We find them in verse 2. And by the way, we don’t know how the Holy Spirit spoke, whether it was an audible voice or not; that’s not what Luke the author of Acts draws our attention to. The focus is on what is said: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”

He says, take these men, Barnabas and Saul, and set them apart for me. The prophet Jeremiah described his call like this: “Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet for the nations.”

When Jeremiah said, Lord, I don’t know how to speak; I’m not good with words. How will I possibly be able to carry out the role of a prophet? And the Lord responded, “Whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them” - and how could Jeremiah know that God would give Him what He needed? “Do not be afraid of them,’ the Lord said, “for I am with you, to deliver you, declares the Lord” (Jer. 1:4-8 ESV).

God calls each one of us to some type of service. And the Holy Spirit gives us the necessary spiritual gifts to carry out that service. Remember this? You can serve at Buffalo, because every believer has a spiritual gift; and we need you, because you have a spiritual gift. This is really true, church, and it means this: If you are not using your spiritual gift to serve here at Buffalo, there are ministries that God may have for us that we cannot do without you.

At the church at Antioch, God had prepared Barnabas and Saul. It’s been more than 12 years since God grabbed hold of Saul on the road to Damascus and saved him and changed him and called him into service. God didn’t tell Saul exactly how He would use him.

But now Saul discovers what God’s work is for him. For Saul and Barnabas, that purpose was to go to the nations carrying the gospel. This was only the beginning.

God has spoken just as clearly to us. “Make disciples of all nations,” Jesus said to us. Pour your energies and resources and gifting and finances — as a church, invest all of that, pour all of that into helping people in your community know me and teaching them how to follow me. And then, teach them how to help others follow me, just as you helped them follow me; and then the promise of God will be fulfilled that says “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14 ESV).

The church gathers, the church worships, the church obeys. Are you seeing how worship leads to mission? The church gathers, worships, obeys, and prays.

#4: The church prays

The church already knows what they’re supposed to, who they’re supposed to send. They already know these men will go. It would seem everything is done — all t’s crossed and all i’s dotted. So why pray? The answer is simple. God has things He wants to do for us, and He’s waiting on us to ask.

I have to confess that I have learned a lesson in the last two years that I should have learned long before, and I’ve learned it as your pastor. I have learned that if there is something that I need to carry out my calling here or Shawn needs or Brandon or Natalie or Kay, all we have to do is ask. If it’s reasonable and necessary, we have learned our church will meet our needs.

But there’s another lesson that I’ve learned in the last two years and I think they’re related: I have also learned, really learned, that God has things He is waiting to do for us as a church and all He is waiting for us is our request. The Bible says, “you have not because you ask not” (James 4:3 ESV). I can tell you it’s true. God has done so much for us in the last 2-3 years. He got us through COVID-19. Compared to some churches, we fared really well. We have bounced back and are continuing to bounce back. We’ve lost some brothers and sisters who have gone on before us to be with the Lord and we miss them; their absences are felt.

Let me tell you, church, if you have any doubt whether God is working in our church, let me put those doubts to rest for you. We have taken in 12 new members this year. Some of our youth have made professions of faith. Many of you are discovering gifts you didn’t know you had, you’re getting to know God more deeply than ever before. We are seeing people step up and get involved in ways we haven’t seen before. To God be the glory!

He has provided for our needs and more than what we need. I believe God has done all of this in answer to specific prayers of specific people. And I believe that what is happening now at Buffalo is just the beginning of how we’re going to see God move and work here in the years ahead. I have never been more excited about being a pastor and being your pastor.

The church gathers, the church worships, the church obeys, the church prays, and lastly the church gives, sends and goes. The church gathers, worships, obeys, prays, and gives, sends and goes.

#5: The church gives, sends & goes

If we look ahead a couple of verses we see that the church sent Barnabas and Saul and then we see that Saul and Barnabas did indeed go. Verse 4 says this: “So, being sent by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived as Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain false prophet named Bar-Jesus” (Acts 13:4-6).

Those names of those places mean almost nothing to us because we are hundreds of years and thousands of miles away. On the screen is a map showing Paul and Barnabas’ mission trip. His mission was to plant numerous.

Over the next 20 years, Paul would travel thousands upon thousands of miles on foot, by donkey, by ship. Paul didn’t just go and stand on a street corner and preach. Paul wasn’t content with individual evangelism. Paul went from city to city, preaching the gospel of salvation by grace alone to anyone who would listen. Everyone who responds and is saved would be baptized by him, and he would not leave a city until he had gathered the new believers into a brand new church with leaders he raised up and trained. The early church grew and the gospel spread through the work of churches sending out their own missionaries, and Paul and Barnabas had the great honor of starting most of those churches.

Why did Paul do this? Because God had called Him is one answer and that’s accurate. But because God had called him, Paul couldn’t do anything else with the same degree of joy, confidence, and success. When God calls you to a task, believer, He will give you joy in the work and make you successful in His way and His time. “Necessity is laid upon me”, Paul said; “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1Cor. 9:16 ESV). “I make it my ambition,” he said, “to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told will see, and those who have never heard will understand’” (Rom. 15:20 ESV).

Paul likely traveled over 10,000 miles and planted at least 14 churches. This is God’s way of reaching the world: through local churches... supporting missionaries and sending missionaries...unreached areas of the world... to plant churches that in turn plant other churches. “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world,” Jesus promised, “as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14 ESV).

And all of this missionary activity in a sense was birthed in an ordinary worship service in a church in Antioch. Gathering led to worship, which led to obedience, which led to prayer. And then to giving, sending and going.

It’s natural if you think about it that God would ordain that the worship of the church is the inspiration for the mission of the church. Because, what is worship if not our expression of our delight in God? And what we delight in, we naturally want to share with others.

When you believe in something or love something or see the value of you something, you automatically become a missionary. “Man, I’ve got the best chiropractor; you’ve gotta check him out.” “Yeah, I met someone and they’ve become a really good friend; you’ve got to meet him or her.” “I have met Jesus and He has changed and is changing my life; His beauty and His love have become everything to me. You’ve gotta let me tell you about Him and you how you can know Him too.”

The church gathers, the church worships, the church obeys, the church prays, and the church gives, sends and goes.

[SLIDE: TODAY’S TAKEAWAY]

Today’s takeaway:

Worship leads to missions!

Conclusion and call for response

So here’s what I’m praying for now, and this is what I hope you’ll join me in prayer for. We already give to missions and we pray for missions.

[SLIDE: WE SEND A LOT OF MONEY…]

We send a lot of money to missions!

NC Baptists will send $12 million to overseas mission this year

Our church will send around $33,000 to missions this year

Praise God!

…Let’s match our giving with sending and going!

Everyone is called to involvement:

All of us can give to missions

All of us can pray for missions

By God’s grace, we will become a sending and a going church

I’m going to show you a video of an opportunity for us to do that.

[SHOW VIDEO: BAPTIST ON MISSION/HUNGARIAN BAPTIST AID]

If the Lord allows us to, Shawn and I will go this year when the first trip from our association is organized. We’d love to take some of you but at least the two of us will go. Next year, we’d love to take a dozen of you. And double that next year.

Why are we wanting to do this? Here’s why: We already give to missions, generously; and all of us can pray for missions. But God is calling us to add sending and going to our giving and praying.

There is a desire for greatness is in the heart of every single human being. We all want to be better than the present version of ourselves, and we all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

So here’s the challenge.

If you have not trusted in Jesus as your Savior, do so today. Say, “God, I am a sinner and i know that my sin separates me from you and I do not want that to be the case anymore. I trust that you sent your Son to die on the cross for my sins in my place. I believe that. And I can’t be perfect but I do want to live for you from this day forward. Please forgive my sins and give me peace today.” Don’t worry about cleaning yourself up first; all he wants right now is for you to come to Him in faith; He’ll take care of cleaning you up. “Come to me”, Jesus says, “all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:29-30 ESV).

If you need to recommit to Jesus as Lord, do so today. Say, “God, I have drifted away from you. I have left my first love. But I do love you and I want to live for you, so take the mistakes I’ve made and the sins I’ve committed and forgive me. And help me from this day forward to live for you.”

And then the challenge for both of you, and for everyone else: start living on mission today by doing two very simple things: 1) invite someone to church next Sunday, and 2) tell someone what Jesus has done for you.

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