The Beauty of Fellowship

· INTRODUCTION: Good morning GPC! Would you turn in your Bibles with me to Acts 14? Today we will be in verses 24-28. While you’re turning there, I have a few announcements to go over. (Prayer meeting, Nauvoo at Night- PUMP IT UP!! Secret Church- April 21 (Also, it’s national tea and chocolate covered cashews day)- David Platt- mark your calendars and consider joining us for it!)

o Would you please stand with me for the reading of God’s word? This is God’s word! (Read, pray, you may be seated, drink)

· I know that I’ve talked about a guy named William Carey before. William Carey is sometimes considered the, “Father of Modern Missions.”

o Carey spent his life as a missionary in India. One of his most famous quotes about missions was to a group of potential funders. He said, “I will go if you will hold the ropes.”

§ In other words, Carey would gladly go, BUT, he needed others to make sure that he had the money he needed, the support he needed, the prayer that he needed!

o That’s a principle that is true in missions. A helpful way to look at worldwide missions is that every Christian is called to be involved. There are two ways to be involved. Either, we go, or we support and send!

§ I really believe that this concept is true. It’s our job here at GPC to send and to HOLD THE ROPE!

· Picture a big tug of war game with me. When I was in high school we would do tug-of-war between the classes during homecoming week. To win in tug of war, you had to be on the same page!

· You had to be unified. Imagine if ¼ of your team ran forward, ¼ of your team ran backwards, some jumped up and down and the rest just laid down on the ground!

o CLEARLY YOU WOULD LOSE!

o Now, imagine if your entire team worked together, utilized your different gifts, like strength or balance, and then you competed. Clearly, the result would be different!

o This entire game of tug of war is an analogy for us today. Instead of a game of tug of war though, I want us to consider how we are engaged in missions and evangelism AS A LOCAL CHURCH!

§ We each have different skills and abilities, but ultimately, our job is the same; we are to be actively involved!

§ The team we are on? We’re on the GLOBAL CHURCH team, but I want us also to consider how our local church is a part of that! Even in the local church, we each have a role to play in reaching our community and fulfilling the Great Commission!

§ Today, what we’re going to see is how Paul and Barnabas longed to be with their church family after their missions journey and how thye all supported one another!

o Theologically, we have a text that is very heavy in Ecclesiology, or the theology of the church. We also always see JESUS made clear WHENEVER we see the church talked about!

§ Our main point for today is, “The local Church has a unique ability to encourage, strengthen and support one another as we seek to fulfill the great commission.”

· BODY: Acts 14 concludes in such a happy ending. God has been working powerfully, but we’ve also seen the very real realities of spiritual warfare in this chapter.

o As we come to the conclusion of Acts 14 though, we see the JOYOUS ENDING!

§ So much of Acts 14 has been intense persecution of Paul and Barnabas, death threats, angry mobs, and a LITERAL STONING!

o Yet, as the chapter closes, there is a joyous ending.

· Acts 14:24-25 says, “Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia,”

o Last week, after Paul was stoned, Paul and Barnabas preached at Derbe and then began their journey home. We see that this journey continues as they go to Pamphylia, then to Perga and Attalia.

§ As Paul and Barnabas travel, they do not waste any time! Every step of the way, they are faithful to proclaim the gospel! This just shows the gospel centrality of their lives!

· What do I mean by that? I mean that the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST; that salvation comes through FAITH ALONE, is their total focus!

o Like we said last week, Jesus is the center of their lives! Everything that they say and do is driven by their love of God! The same is true in this passage!

§ Even as they return home, they TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR JOURNEY TO PREACH! They share the gospel faithfully PROCLAIMING SALVATION THROUGH JESUS!

o Here’s the awesome thing about this; they model an important behavior for us! Do we take the gospel with us wherever we go, or do we, “take-off the gospel” at times, like when we go to work or on vacation?

§ See, when I was in Tobago, I had a chance to talk to a few local restaurant owners and other locals. One of the things I found was that they were stunned that I genuinely just wanted to hear how they were!

· On vacation, what they had encountered was that every American was in too big of a rush, was rude, condescending, demanding and was frankly, irritating!

o This is not a statement on our culture, instead, I think this should be a challenge to us as believers!

§ DO WE BRING THE GOSPEL AND A GOSPEL-CENTERED LIFESTYLE WITH US EVERYWHERE THAT WE GO?

§ When we are on vacation, do we love people with the love of Christ?

· I remember one summer I worked at a YMCA resort in the mountains of Colorado right by Winter Park.

· While up there one day, I was eating in the café and a family sat down and literally pushed me out of this table.

o After they sat down, the dad very loudly told everyone that it was time to pray.

§ Does literally pushing someone out of a table show the love of Christ? We can’t just leave our faith at home when we go on vacation, WE MUST BE LIKE PAUL AND BARNABAS WHO TAKE THEIR FAITH WITH THEM EVERYWHERE!

o What I want to get at here is that our lives reflect what we believe. Our lives are a part of our evangelism and a part of how we share the gospel with our world! What do our lives say about us?

· Looking at verse 26 we read, “And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.”

o From Attalia, Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch in Syria. If you recall, Antioch in Syria is where they BEGAN THEIR JOURNEY! They were commissioned as missionaries in Antioch and they return to their home church!

o One of the beauties of missions in scripture is that like evangelism, it is always tied to the CHURCH, both globally and locally!

§ Paul and Barnabas were commissioned; that is sent out by this church. They are not just lone rangers out doing what seems best to them. There is a built in accountability because they are tied to a church!

· That’s a really cool aspect of missions! Missionaries have always been a part of the church and they have always been intrinsically linked ot a healthy church, once again, locally and globally!

· The reason that we “commission” missionaries is because we genuinely are SENDING THEM OUT!

o Thinik about those words- we SEND THEM OUT; that means that they are a part of US! Even though they are not here with us, our missionaries are a part of our church!

o We should pray for them and love them in that manner!

§ As I was reflecting on this I found it to be a very challenging concept! It’s easy to see a missionary report, glance through it and put it aside!

· But, when we do that, we let down our side of the bargain. When we do that, we are neglecting to pray and to support our missionaries through our prayer!

· Missions is intricately attached to the local church and that’s what we are seeing in verse 26! We see Paul and Barnabas going RIGHT BACK TO THE LOCAL BODY OF BELIEVERS THAT SENT THEM OUT!

o That will continue to be a trend and for good reason; EVERY CHRISTIAN IS CALLED TO BE IN COMMUNITY, which is typically found in a local church.

· In verse 27 we read, “And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

o Paul and Barnabas arrive and they gather with THEIR LOCAL CHURCH and give an update!

§ They want to share and rejoice, in what the LORD HAS DONE!

§ Look, the Church also wants to listen! The church listens and given that they soon commission them again, they clearly were rejoicing!

o Notice what Paul and Barnabas focus on. They don’t focus on numbers, or on methodology, they focus on WHAT GOD HAS DONE!

§ They focus on how GOD HAS SAVED MANY, HEALED PEOPLE, GONE BEFORE THEM, PROTECTED THEM, and PROVIDED FOR THEM!

§ I’m not saying that they don’t include a comment that includes numbers, or methodology. But, their main focus is on the glory of WHAT GOD HAS DONE!

· They may talk about their persecution, but not to gain sympathy, they do it to GIVE THE GLORY OF THEIR PROTECTION to GOD!

o Specifically, Luke records that they emphasize how God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

§ To be clear, Gentiles had already come to faith in Jesus, BUT, during their missions trip, Paul and Barnabas felt the Lord calling them to continue reaching specifically to GENTILES!

§ That is something very different from what the apostles were doing in Jerusalem.

· As Paul and Barnabas provide an update on what they are called to do, do you notice where their focus is? Their focus is FIRMLY ON GOD!

· As we close out chapter 14, we read this, “And they remained no little time with the disciples.”

o Paul and Barnabas longed to fellowship with the local church and they do! Do you long to fellowship with the local church? Do you look forward to Sundays? If not, why not?

§ The biblical example that we see is people longing to be in fellowship! It doesn’t mean that they were always best friends, or that they had everything in common; in fact, we know that they don’t! Even Paul and Barnabas are very different!

· Barnabas comes from Cyprus, Paul does not! Paul persecuted believers and was highly educated, not much is known about Barnabas’s background, but he was an early believer!

· These differences may seem like they would drive disunity, but instead, what we see in scripture are believers loving each other as CHRIST LOVED THEM!

o We see believers caring for one another, looking out for one another and gathering togheter.

§ On one hand, Paul and Barnabas certainly wanted to continue traveling; we’ll see that at the end of Chapter 15, but at the same time, they want to be gathered with the church!

· See, as we do evangelism and missions, the CHURCH, globally and locally, is our safe area!

o It’s like children playing tag or another similar game and they have a “safe area” or a “base.”

o The church, specifically the local church, is our HOME, our place for encouragement, for unity, for training, teaching, correcting, for loving and being loved!

o Our church is a place where we gather together and are able to truly pursue the Lord together!

§ The church is really like a home and we need to be gathered togheter in it!

· Coming to church is not just a thing to do on a Sunday, it is central to our lives as Christians! It isn’t because Church saves us, it’s because CHURCH IS WHAT ENCOURAGES US THROUGHOUT OUR WEEK!

o Charles Spurgeon once described the local church as, “An army of fellow laborers for Christ.”

o We come together as a church and encourage one another as FELLOW LABORERS!

§ This is what Jesus designed and wanted when he established the Church in Matthew 16!

§ Even in the Old Testament we see Solomon foretell this very gathering in Psalm 127 as he says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

§ THE LORD GATHERS US TOGETHER AND WATCHES OVER US! HE’S BUILT THIS HOUSE! WE SHOULD WANT TO BE HERE!

o The Church is a blessing! Let’s be gathered together in joy and make it a priority each and every week, whether our week has been good or not, whether we want to go or not!

· CONCLUSION: As we conclude today, I see a few takeaways:

· Paul and Barnabas journeying back to Antioch displayed two things that are important in the life of a Christian that we can practically apply TODAY!

o First, we saw the importance of living out the gospel

o Secondly, we saw the importance of a Church family in missions

Then, we have a third and final application from what we’ve been learning from the different Churches in Acts 14.

· Each of these has a practical application for each and every one of us!

o As we look at this first point of application, we see the importance of living out the gospel. Simply, I want to start this point with a question. What does your life say about the gospel?

§ We talked about this earlier, but does our life reflect the freedom that we have because of Jesus? Why or why not?

§ No one is expecting perfection, but, are we going through sanctification and becoming more like Christ? Or, are we living in a way that is opposite of Jesus?

§ As we’ve seen today, we each have a role to play. One role that we all have is LIVING OUT OUR FAITH!

· Evangelism requires words, but it also requires our lives to reflect what we say!

· So, does your life reflect how Jesus lives? Do you walk in love, do you care for your neighbors and their needs? Do you love the people at church? These can be convicting questions, but they need to be answered!

o We need to think about this! Do our lives and our actions reflect Jesus to the world?

§ Let’s say that we answer these questions realistically and see that there are areas where we have fallen short in.

§ What do we do? GO TO THE LORD! REPENT! GOD IS GOOD! ASK THE LORD TO HELP YOU GROW! RUN TO SCRIPTURE!

§ Learn! No one is perfect! This is why we have community! Learn from one another! Let’s be a church marked by evangelism, that is sharing our faith outside of the church and discipleship, which is essentially walking in our faith together, helping and teaching one another.

· 1 Timothy 4:12 is often quoted. It talks about not letting anyone look down on you because of your age. But, verse 16 provides us with an equally important lesson. Paul challenges Timtohy to NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE TEACHIGN!

o WHAT TEACHING? THE GOSPEL! EVERY SINGLE DAY, CLING TO THE GOSPEL!

o So what is the gospel? Whether you’ve believed this or not, HEAR THIS! If you hear NOTHING ELSE TODAY, please, hear this! The gospel is simple.

§ God is holy and perfect. We were made in the image of God. (Man) CHRIST! REPENT, BELIEVE, BE SAVED!

§ Do your lives reflect that? WHAT JOY WE SHOULD HAVE! Paul and Barnabas endured horrendous times for this good news! AND IT WAS WORTH IT!

· As I’ve talked to my grandma over the last week, do you know what she keeps talking about? How good it will be to see Jesus!

· The gospel is our hope and our lives should reflect it!

o Finally, today, we saw the importance of a church family in missions. At GPC, we are responsible for holding the rope for our missionaries! Financially, in prayer, in encouragement, in GOING!

§ Let’s hold the rope! Let’s be intentional in loving our missionaries. Let’s send letters, let’s give them a call, let’s be active and engaged in PRAYER!

§ Here’s a challenge for us today. Let’s not just be happy that some people are serving the Lord, let’s PRAY THAT THE LORD WOULD RAISE UP PEOPLE FROM GPC, people from HANCOCK COUNTY TO TAKE THE GOSPEL AROUND THE WORLD!

· This is a dangerous prayer. Here’s what I mean by that! GOD IS FAITHFUL TO ANSWER THIS PRAYER! LET’S GENUINELY PRAY IT! LET’S PRAY THAT GOD WOULD RAISE UP PEOPLE FROM GPC TO TAKE THE GOSPEL TO OUR JERUSALEM, SAMARIA AND EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!

Let me summarize all of this with a final challenge; our final takeaway from Acts 14.

Let’s think about our mindset for a second. Do we think of ourselves as an “army of fellow laborers” as Charles Spurgeon once said to describe his church? Or do we think of ourselves more as people who are able to come in to sit in a church building and then to leave.

I can promise you that the church in Antioch was not built just because of Paul and Barnabas and the faithful ministry of a few. It was built, because people were taking the gospel with them day by day to their workplace to their neighbors to their family.

In fact, one of the coolest things about Spurgeon’s ministry is how people at his church came to know Jesus! Some came to Christ through the preaching ministry, but far more are recorded as believing BECAUSE OF A FAITHFUL CHURCH MEMBER WHO SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH THEM THROUGH WORDS and then invited them to CHURCH!

I’ve heard of servants, husbands, coworkers and all sorts of others who were reached in the middle of London by this Church and not through a specific program; through simple one-to- one evangelism.

And here’s the thing; if we really believe what we teach, then if our friends, coworkers, etc. don’t put their faith in JEsus, they will die and go to hell and spend eternity apart from God. So, if we love that person, we should share the gospel with them, even if it is scary; which it probably will be!

So as my final challenge for us this week, “Who are you taking the gospel to this week and who are you bringing with you to church next week?”

This isn’t just about raising attending to the church building noon until this is because we have the hope that the world needs. And that hope; that HOPE is the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation to everyone who believes.

So who are you bringing? Who are you going to reach this week?

o Let me close us in prayer.