Next Week’s Service

Have you ever felt that buzz of excitement when you’re looking forward to something really big? Maybe it was counting down the days until your favorite concert came to town, or the night before a trip you'd been planning for months. There’s something about anticipation that heightens our experiences, making the actual event even more exciting.

Today, we’re reading about anticipation, but it’s not about a concert or a vacation. It’s about something much deeper and more significant. It’s about a group of people, the Gentiles, who were so captivated by a message they heard that they couldn’t wait to hear more.

They were eagerly anticipating the next week’s service, ready to dive deeper into the teachings that Paul and Barnabas were sharing with them.

As we explore Acts 13:42-52, we'll see how their anticipation not only prepared their hearts to be changed by the message but also broke down barriers that had stood for generations.

This story is a vivid reminder of how we, too, can approach our weekly gatherings with excitement and expectation, ready to be transformed and to transform the world around us.

So let's prepare our hearts for what God has to teach us today through "Next Week's Service!"

Paul and Barnabas are on their missionary journey to Pisidian Antioch.

They attend synagogue on the Sabbath (Saturday for them). Obviously the Jews living in the city were there, but also God-fearing Gentiles were gathered there as well.

We’re beginning to see the shift from the Gospel focusing on the Jews to a Gentile focus in Paul’s ministry.

And Paul’s message in the synagogue piqued some curiosity among the Gentiles.

Let’s read about it.

The Power of Anticipation (42-43)

(42) The Gentiles asked to hear more, showing they were hungry for a message from God.

I heard about this pastor who had a lady come out after the sermon and shake the pastor’s hand. She said to him, “Pastor, that sermon reminded me about God’s peace.”

The pastor looked confused because his message was sweeping overview of various end-time views.

But before he could ask for clarification, she said, ‘Pastor, the peace of God surpasses all understanding and that’s exactly what your sermon did today.”

Thank God Paul’s message in the synagogue at Antioch Pisidia was not that way.

It’s interesting that the majority of Jews went out of the synagogue with a different perspective than the Gentiles.

The Jews should have been hungry for the word of God, but they seemed indifferent at this point.

Luke reminds us that the Gentiles begged the preachers to preach that same message to them again the next Sabbath.

Begged: (KJV: Besought) from par-ak-al-eh’-o, to call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration, beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhortation, entreat, pray.

The Gentiles begged Paul and Barnabas to preach those same words the next Sabbath.

In my years of preaching I’ve never had anyone “beg” me to preach that sermon again!

I’ve heard:

I enjoyed that Pastor

That was a good sermon Preacher

That was a powerful message

It was good to be here (they say that when the message wasn’t that good)

Paul and Barnabas had to have been encouraged because they had further opportunity to preach the gospel.

The people were looking forward to next week’s service right after this week’s service. It was so good to them they wanted more!

Wouldn’t it be great if church was exciting and encouraging and inspiring so much that we couldn’t wait to get back?

We’ve learned in verse 42 about the pleading for the preaching. We also see in verse 43:

(43) Paul and Barnabas encouraged them to continue in the grace of God, setting up anticipation for what's next.

Paul persuaded them to go on with the Lord Jesus to continue on and not give up on the Lord Jesus.

It is the grace of God that gets us in;

it is the grace of God that keeps us going;

and it is the grace of God that will carry us home.

The people were excited to hear more. That’s the power of anticipation. Next we see..

The Impact of a Welcoming Message (44-45)

(44) There’s a buzz in the air. Here’s the power of word of mouth and genuine excitement.

A massive crowd shows up next week to hear from God from the mouth of Paul.

See it! Almost the whole city showed up to hear Paul’s message about Jesus. Forgiveness of sin! Clean before God! Something the law of Moses could never do.

Freedom and a new life! It was almost too good to be true! They were excited to hear about this great news.

Standing room only.

Can you imagine if just our surrounding neighborhood showed up next Sunday morning?

They wouldn’t have a place to park

They wouldn’t have a place to sit

We wouldn’t have enough bulletins

It would be great if people got out of bed, got in their cars, to come to hear about Jesus and what He can do for them.

But reality is, they won’t. We’ve got to go to them. Gone are the days of people getting up Sunday morning and making their way to church because it was the culturally expected thing to do.

That notion doesn’t even enter most people’s minds today. It’s not so much they don’t want to go to church – they don’t even think about church.

So it’s as it’s always been. It’s our responsibility to go into the world and share the good news of Jesus with them.

But God is still at work. And His Holy Spirit is still convicting and drawing people to God. Some people are waking up and feeling something inside drawing them to see if God’s got the answer to what’s missing in their life.

And we need to be the place where they’re welcomed so they can experience God in their life.

These people from the synagogue told their friends and neighbors about what they had heard.

Luke tells us they gathered. Verse 44 also tells us why they gathered.

To hear the Word of God.

They didn’t come for pleasure, they came for preaching

They didn’t come to see a show, but to hear a sermon

They didn’t come to see a super star, but to learn about the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus

Why do you come to church?

If the word of God is not center in all that we do then we are not being the church! If we are not here to hear God’s word then we are here for the wrong reason!

Paul and Barnabas had further opportunity to preach the word of God. We’ve studied about the power of anticipation, the impact of a welcoming message, and then we see:

(45) The Jews were jealous, so they slandered Paul, and argued against what he said.

Luke even said they were blaspheming. What does that mean?

From Luke’s perspective, opposition to the gospel is directed not so much against the messengers as against the content of the message—Jesus himself. They were rejecting Jesus.

Satan often uses envy to disrupt, damage, discourage, and divide.

How did Paul and Barnabas respond?

They Were Bold in the Face of Opposition (46-48)

(46) They had the courage to rebuke the crowd.

It’s not “un-Christian” to defend the faith.

There are times when it’s right to stand up and speak up for Jesus.

What was Paul’s response to them?

It was necessary that the Gospel come to the Jews first. After all, they were God’s chosen people.

But they rejected it.

Paul tells them that they have themselves judged themselves as unworthy of eternal life.

The message that Paul brought to the people at Antioch of Pisidia was the message of eternal life. Everlasting life is found in no one else but Jesus and in no where else but faith in Jesus Christ.

Have you pushed the gospel away from you? Do you know someone that has rejected the gospel?

They have judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life.

NOTE: No one deserves eternal life with God in the sense that we are good enough, smart enough, well behaved enough. We are not worthy to receive salvation.

But when God in His grace allows us to hear the gospel He wants us to respond in faith and thank Him for allowing us to come to Him.

To drive the point home, Paul says, “behold.”

APPLICATION: We only have so long to live and we have only so many times that we will truly hear the gospel, be convicted of sin, be drawn by the Spirit to the Savior, and have an opportunity to be saved.

The day of grace is coming to an end!

Some people may have already rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ for the last time!

Be careful what you hear, how you hear, and how you respond!

(47-48) v. 47 - Paul quotes Isaiah 49:6 to say that Paul didn’t say this out of anger or frustration. His authority was the Word of God. It was God’s will that the gospel should go to the Gentiles.

Look at the Gentiles’ response (48)

They were so excited to hear that they could be part of God’s family.

They believed the message about Jesus and trusted Him.

The Gentiles in Antioch Pisidia put many of us to shame with their eagerness and gladness to hear the gospel.

They were not just glad inwardly. Their gladness translated out into praise for the Lord.

Luke tells us that they “glorified the word of the Lord.”

This word “appointed” – also translated “determined”, “chosen” is a passive participle which is in the perfect tense. This signifies that that the appointment took place in the past but is relevant in the present.

Verse 48 shows us the divine side of evangelism and verse 49 shows us the human side of evangelism.

There Was Both Joy and Rejection (49-52)

God does not remove our free will from us.

J. I. Packer wrote, “Man without Christ is a guilty sinner answerable to God for breaking His law. That is why he needs the Gospel. When he hears the Gospel, he is responsible for the decision that he makes about it. It sets before him a choice between life and death, the most momentous choice that any man can ever face … when we preach the promises and invitations of the Gospel, and offer Christ to sinful men and women, it is part of our task to emphasize and re-emphasize that they are responsible to God for the way in which they react to the good news of His grace.”

When people trust Christ and follow Him, word about Jesus will get out.

The good news about Jesus was spread by God’s people throughout the region.

But there was pushback from the Jewish leaders.

(50-52) They stirred up the people and rode Paul and Barnabas out on a rail.

How did they respond? They shook it off and kept going.

The disciples in Antioch of Pisidia didn’t let the persecution of their brothers shut them up or shut them down!

They were filled with joy because they had been saved by the grace of God. They had life in Jesus and they were filled with the joy of the Lord!

God calls for His saints to be faithful to proclaim His word as He gives us further opportunities and open doors.

Do you need prayer today? Are you grateful as you should be for God’s word and His work?

Do we look forward to being back here next week with the saints of God to hear the word of God?