Strengthening Faith

It’s good to celebrate and share God’s work in our lives.

On their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas have been through a lot. Amazing results from sharing the gospel, worshipped as gods, slandered before the crowd, evading a murder plot, being left for dead after surviving a Jewish stoning.

They’ve now made it back to their sending church. They’ve had an incredible trip filled with tough challenges and amazing successes.

We learn that we should let others know what God is doing in our lives, both good and not so fun.

Let’s take a look. Acts 14:26-28.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch (26)

They reported to their “sending church” on the work God had done. They had been gone at least a year, and it must have been exciting for them and for the church when they arrived back home.

They had traveled about 1,400 miles by both land and sea.

They had, by the grace of God, fulfilled the work God had given them to do; and they joyfully reported the blessings to the church family.

Antioch was their sending church, a community that had supported and prayed for them.

They had also committed Paul and Barnabas to the grace of God. They relied not on their strength, but on God's grace to accomplish their mission.

What does this mean for us?

Application:

Recognize Your Support System: Acknowledge and appreciate those who support you in your faith journey.

Depend on God’s Grace: Understand that it is through God’s grace, not our efforts alone, that we accomplish great things.

Next we see that…

They Reported All That God Had Done (27)

When they got back to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas gathered the church and reported all that God had done through them.

This is probably the first “missionary conference” in church history.

Warren Wiersbe tells of a deacon who once said to him, “I don’t care how much money you want for missions, I’ll give it; but just don’t make me listen to missionaries speak!”

How sad. Wiersbe says he felt sorry for him that his spiritual temperature was so low that he could not listen to reports of what God was doing in the difficult corners of the harvest field.

As we look back at Paul’s first missionary journey, you can see the principles by which he operated, principles that are still applicable today.

He worked primarily in the key cities and challenged the believers to take the message out to the more remote areas.

The Gospel works in the population centers, and we must carry it there.

He used one approach with the synagogue congregations and a totally different approach with the Gentiles.

The Gospel and Word of God never changes, but our methods and how we deliver the message must always be flexible and geared to those we’re trying to reach.

He referred the Jews and Jewish proselytes to the Old Testament Scriptures; but when preaching to the Gentiles, he emphasized the God of creation and His goodness to the nations. To use our vernacular, if they had used “churchy” language with the Gentiles like they did with the Jews, their eyes would have glazed over, the message would have been lost on them. The Gentiles needed a different starting point and language they understood.

His starting point was different, but his finishing point was the same: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The central point of their report was that God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

The word church is singular, even though surely there must have been many congregations meeting all over the big metropolis of Antioch.

When they came together, they met as one, emphasizing strong unity in the community of believers.

It’s possible the way that Luke says this introduces his next chapter, because he addresses the very point of the Jerusalem Council debate: under what conditions should this door of faith to the Gentiles be opened.

Paul majored on establishing and organizing local churches.

Jesus had the local church in mind when He gave what we call “The Great Commission” (Matt. 28:19–20).

After we make disciples (“teach”), we must baptize them (the responsibility primarily of a local church) and then teach them the Word of God. Merely winning people to Christ is only fulfilling one-third of the Commission!

It takes the local assembly of believers to help us fulfill all of what Jesus commanded us to do.

He grounded the believers in the Word of God. This is the only source of strength and stability when persecution comes, as it inevitably does come. Paul did not preach a popular “success Gospel” that painted a picture of an easy Christian life.

The amazing thing is that Paul and his associates did all of this without the modern means of transportation and communication that we have today.

Dr. Bob Pierce of Youth For Christ used to say, “Others have done so much with so little, while we have done so little with so much!”

Just think, if we took what we waste as Americans and invested it in world evangelization, just imagine how many more people could hear the gospel. It might lead to the salvation of millions of lost people.

Paul and Barnabas announced that the “door of faith” had been opened to the Gentiles.

That door is still open, to Jews and Gentiles alike—to a whole world! They’re only waiting for us to walk through that open door and help take the Gospel to them.

What does this mean for us?

Application:

Share Your Testimonies: Regularly share how God is working in your life. It encourages others and glorifies God.

Celebrate God’s love for everyone: Think about it. Is there anyone we shouldn’t love? Shouldn’t show love to? The Bible says God loves everyone. And we are commanded to do the same, even our enemies. Embrace and celebrate the diversity of God’s kingdom, recognizing that His love is for all people.

Lastly…

Paul and Barnabas Invested in Their Community (28)

The first missionary journey took just over a year. Luke’s long time would suggest about the same amount of time in Antioch.

What did the missionaries do during this year?

It would probably not be a stretch to understand that they were probably enjoying some much needed rest and renewed fellowship with the brothers and sisters at Antioch, as well as continuing their teaching ministry to those in Antioch.

And then they continued to strengthen and encourage them.

Building Community: They invested time in nurturing their community.

Long-term Commitment: Their commitment to the disciples showed the importance of ongoing support and growth.

What does this say to us?

Action Steps:

Build Relationships: Take intentional steps to build and nurture relationships within the church community. We have that opportunity when we come together as the churches part of Camp Pearl Ministries. Brothers and sisters in Christ.

Commit to Growth: Invest in your personal and our community spiritual growth through consistent involvement and support.

As we wind down,

We also know that during this year Paul most likely wrote the letter to the Galatians.

By the time he and Barnabas appeared before the Jerusalem Council in chapter 15, he had not only experienced a year of evangelism among Gentiles but also wrote down his understanding of the doctrine of salvation.

Conclusion:

Summary: Paul and Barnabas teach us to celebrate God’s work by acknowledging our support system, sharing God’s what God’s done, and investing in our community.

Challenge: Reflect on your life. How can you better recognize and celebrate God’s work? Who can you share your testimonies with? How can you invest more in our Faith community?

Encouragement: God is always at work in and through us. Let’s celebrate His grace, share what He’s done, and commit to growing together.