Don't Be Afraid to Lose People

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Introductory information

The church in Antioch had sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (map)

They had sailed to Cyprus, preached across the island, sailed to Pamphylia (modern day southern Turkey) and had been invited to speak in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (modern-day Yalvac, Turkey)

They preached the Gospel during the gathering and warned the Jewish people not to reject God’s message, as their ancestors had done

The people were so interested in what Paul and Barnabas had shared, that they begged them to speak again the following week

And that is where we pick up...

READ

Question to consider as we read:

What people should you be trying to reach?

Acts 13:44–52 CSB

44 The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him. 46 Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district. 51 But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

EXAMINE

What are the key points in this passage?

#1 | Everyone in town shows up to hear the Gospel - and the Jews are jealous

The town would have been mostly Gentile, so if everyone showed up, that’s a mostly a Gentile crowd

Acts 13:44–45 … almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy...

The Jews jealousy drove them to reject the message rather than allow Gentiles to receive it too

Acts 13:45 ...they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.”

#2 | Paul and Barnabas didn’t flinch - they understood their assignment

They knew they had to preach to Jews first, because the message was about their Messiah (1)

Acts 13:46 Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first...

Paul and Barnabas already knew God had called them to reach the Gentiles

Acts 13:46–47 “...Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The assignment God had given Paul and Barnabas, was actually a quotation of the assignment God had given the Jewish people in Isaiah 49:6

As Jews themselves, God was calling Paul and Barnabas to fulfill the assignment that their Jewish brothers were failing to do

#3 | Paul and Barnabas weren’t afraid of losing people

They didn’t take the blame for other people’s choices - they let others choose for themselves

Think about what they said to the Jews: “you judge yourself unworthy of eternal life”

Note the connections between:

Acts 13:51 But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.

Luke 9:5 [Jesus said] “If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

This is an important lesson: Do not take on a burden that God did not give you

Paul and Barnabas only carried the burden that God had given them, which was the burden to preach the Gospel

We don’t carry the burden of who will and will not receive the Gospel - that burden belongs to God only

This is reflected in the mysterious description of the Gentiles salvation: “all who had been appointed to eternal life believed”

This statement is unlike any other made in the scriptures, and is highly debated

It is possibly a way of Luke affirming that God had chosen the Gentiles to also be His people - rather than Luke saying something like people being hand-selected for salvation

No matter the interpretation however, one thing is clear: other people’s decision to accept Christ is not up to us - it is between them and God

Consider the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

APPLY

Explore and apply the passage with these questions:

[These questions must be focused, yet very open-ended. Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want to encourage everyone to share and explore the topics of the passage. You don’t have to ask all these questions. Sometimes a group may only get through one or two questions. Select the questions you think are right for the conversation. Then, as it comes time to wrap up, refocus the conversation to “land the plane.”]

What stood out to you in the way Paul and Barnabas reacted?

Do you know your assignment? What pressures tempt you to abandon or neglect your assignment?

Why do we fear losing people?

How can trusting God, give us the boldness to share the Gospel?

Where we want to “land the plane”

We must be led by God and understand our assignment - rather than being led by the demands of people and the fear of losing them.

REFLECT

Prayer Points for Today

Ask the Lord to teach us to trust His assignment and trust Him with people

Devotional Question for the Week

People-pleasing is really about loving ourselves. We want to be accepted. We want peace. We want to be affirmed. Reflect on Galatians 1:10. Are you trying to please people or please God? Are you loving Jesus or loving yourself?

FOOTNOTES

Paul and Barnabas gave a straightforward answer to their disparaging words. It was right and proper, they affirmed, that Jews should have the first opportunity of hearing and believing the good news.102 Had the Jews of Pisidian Antioch accepted the message, theirs would have been the privilege of evangelizing their Gentile neighbors, in accordance with the terms of Israel’s world mission laid down in the Isaianic servant songs and their contexts.103 102 See p. 247. 103 See exposition of v. 47 below. F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 265–266.