Paul's First Missionary Journey

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it. We are jumping ahead to Acts 13-14 tonight and I originally wanted to spend some time looking at Peter’s ministry from the end of Acts 9 through the middle of Acts 12 today but since I was sick a few weeks ago, we just don’t have the time unfortunately to look at that because I’m still hoping to be done with Acts by the end of December. I highly encourage you to look at some of these chapters that we aren’t going through. They are still God’s Word, they are still important, and part of me wishes we could spend a couple years going through this book but that is just not in the cards at the moment. We don’t have YC next week because of Thanksgiving but my plan is to have a video that will be on our Youtube page next Wednesday that will look at one of my favorite chapters in the entire book of Acts, chapter 16 so make sure that you guys check that out. One thing that you may have noticed in these past few months as we have talked about the book of Acts is an emphasis on missions and evangelism. Last week we talked about Saul’s conversion and how if someone like Saul can be saved, who are we to say that God cannot save this person or that person and this hopefully will have encouraged us to talk to other people about the Gospel. One thing that I have noticed though is that even though we have talked a lot about missions, we haven’t really defined what we mean when we talk about missions so that is what we are going to do tonight as we look at these 2 chapters in Acts. We aren’t going to read the 2 chapters in full, but we will highlight some key moments and how they relate to what missions really is. Before we look at how the Word of God describes missions, how would you define missions? And have any of you been on a missions trip before? Before we get to what missions is, I want to open us up in prayer and then talk about the why of missions, so let’s pray together.

The Why and Goal of Missions

Acts 13-14 on Missions

Looking at Acts 13-14, what can we gather when it comes to what missions is.

It is God-driven

John Stott said, “It was God Himself who told the church of Antioch to set Barnabas and Saul apart, who sent them out, who led them from place to place, and who gave power to their preaching, so that converts were made and churches planted. The grace had come from Him; the glory must go to Him.”

It is Spirit-prompted

R.C. Sproul said, “We can commission people, but we have no power. We can license, ordain, and send people on sacred tasks, but unless the Holy Spirit anoints them, their labors will be in vain.”

It is truth proclaiming

It is awe-inspiring

It is Scripture-Based

It is rooted in the Gospel and the Resurrection

It is always divisive

It is Needs-Addressing

It is death-defying

It is a graciously-given gift to the sender and the receiver