Sermon Tone Analysis
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· INTRODUCTION: Good morning GPC!
Would you turn with me to Acts 13:44-52?
This morning we get to finish Paul’s time in Antioch.
While you turn there, I just want to highlight a few announcements from our bulletin.
(Announcements)
o Would you please stand with me for the reading of God’s word?
This is God’s word.
(Read passage, pray, you may be seated, drink).
· Do you ever have a plan or think you know how something is going to go, just for it to go completely differently?
Or do you ever eagerly await something just to realize when the event comes that your hope was misplaced?
o I’ve often heard people talk about meeting their heroes with some level of disappointment because they quickly realize that their hero is just another person like them!
o In some ways, I think this is similar to what the people of Antioch experienced in Acts 13:13-43.
They got to hear a message of hope and they felt cheered up by it!
§ Yet at the same time, as we will see today, some reject the message because the more that they think about it, the more underwhelming the message is to them!
§ After all, the Christian message is a simple one; you are not enough, but through God’s GRACE, YOU ARE SAVED!
· It’s a simple message, but that does NOT mean that it is an easy message!
· In fact, as we will see today, many people don’t simply REJECT IT, THEY are VISIBLY AND PHYSICALLY ADVERSARIAL TO THE MESSAGE THAT WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE!
o Yet as we will see, God is going to use those actions by some to bring even more to know HIM!
§ What an amazing God we serve!
§ This morning our main point is that God’s grace is worthy of our praise regardless of our situation.
· BODY: This week we get to study the conclusion of Paul’s time in Pisidian Antioch.
That places him in what is now Southern Turkey.
Remember, last week, we saw him go into the synagogue.
He preached the gospel clearly and directly.
o He showed from prophecy how God has given us salvation through Jesus!
o At the end of his message, the people at the synagogue asked him to return the next week and tell them more!
§ So, it’s now been 1 week for us and we are going to see what is going to continue happening in Acts 13!
§ It begins by saying, “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.”
· True to his word, Paul and Barnabas show up to preach the next week on the sabbath!
o Almost all of the city is present!
Word has spread quickly about this Jewish teacher who has a message about the forgiveness of sins!
o Remember, Paul and Barnabas’s message was a message of GRACE!
It was a message to CLING TO THE GRACE OF GOD!
o The gospel is simple!
We are saved not by our own deeds, but by GOD’S GRACE!
§ How wonderful is that!?! That’s what Paul and Barnabas are going to proclaim again!
§ It’s also the message that we proclaim!
In fact, more than that, it’s the message that our world needs!
· Unfortunately as we see in verse 45, not all people are happy with this message!
Luke writes, “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.”
o What a horrific thing!
The Jews are jealous and they allow their jealousy to overwhelm them!
Remember, just last week, literally, one week before this, Paul challenged the Jews to PAY ATTENTION AND SUBMIT TO GOD!
§ Rather than doing that, they are following their sinful, human-nature!
And let’s be honest; jealousy is a huge part of human nature!
· The Jews see that they are losing power and they DO NOT LIKE IT! So, they feel that they need to contradict Paul, despite them being the people who called him to preach in the first place!
o Yet, when push came to shove, they did not want to actually be impacted by the gospel; they just liked the idea of having a new few insights!
§ That can be us so easily.
Someone at our job, or in our lives is younger, more popular, more skilled, whatever the exact thing, and then we go from being friends to being jealous!
· Sometimes, we skip straight over the FRIEND part and just are jealous!
o Have you ever watched a group of teenagers interact for the first time?
If so, you’ve seen that typically there is a period of feeling each other out.
o During this period, everyone wants to impress the others!
§ But occasionally, you’ll have someone who just DOES NOT CARE!
§ This is somewhat like what is going on here!
The Jews want to be influential and popular, but here comes Paul!
§ Paul doesn’t care about popularity, he just wants the gospel to be proclaimed!
§ What drives Paul and Barnabas have; not because of human gain, but because of the HOLY SPIRIT!
· In verse 46 and 47 we read, “And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you.
Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”
o How do Paul and and Barnabas respond to the Jewish people?
They offer a sharp rebuke!
§ They remind the people that GOD SPOKE TO THEM FIRST!
Yet, they have rejected God!
§ Now, the Gentiles are hearing the word and they are believing!
o Paul and Barnabas then say that God has made them to be a light for the Gentiles, which is actually a quote from Isaiah 49:6.
THIS WAS ALWAYS GOD’S PLAN!
§ God was always going to open this to Gentiles!
He sent Jesus not just to save someone based off of ethnicity, but to give his life as a sacrifice for ALL PEOPLE!
§ God’s plan is for ALL PEOPLE to be able to be saved through FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!
· THE GOSPEL IS NOT JUST SOMETHING FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE, OR THE FIRST CENTURY!
THIS IS FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, AT ALL TIMES!
o Let me make a note of clarification.
As I just said, the gospel is for everyone and this includes the Jewish people!
§ The Church did not abandon their efforts to reach them!
In fact, that’s what Peter and James did very effectively in Jerusalem.
But, Paul refocuses on gentiles.
§ There are a couple takeaways from this.
· First, God uniquely equips each one of us.
God uniquely equipped Peter to reach the Jewish people and Paul to reach gentiles.
o It sounds weird because Paul was a Jewish religious leader, but he was uniquely qualified to reach the Gentiles!
God had totally TRANSFORMED HIM and softened his heart!
§ His ministry to the gentiles was consistent proof of this total heart transformation!
o So, we each have our unique giftings.
What does that mean for us?
Well, it leads us to the second takeaway; that God has a unique role for us.
· God’s unique role for us is set up for us before we are ever born!
That’s what Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10!
That God has prepared things for us to do in advance!
o But everyone’s role is different!
I’m not gifted musically and God has not called me to be a worship pastor!
(And churches everywhere should be thankful that they don’t have to hear me lead singing!
Sarcastic)
o God has given us each a unique role and has set that up for us!
· So we are uniquely equipped for our unique role and that leads us to our third takeaway; that God perfectly positions us to serve together for His glory.
o This isn’t just something that I’m saying, this is something that Paul talks about in Ephesians 4 and Romans 12.
§ In Ephesians 4, Paul talks about how we each are given various gifts, something that he mirrors in Romans 12.
He also talks about this in 1 Corinthians 12 .
§ In 1 Corinthians 12:14-26, Paul talks about how we each have a unique role to play!
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