Spirit Sent

Introduction

I have changed up the schedule a little…

we were supposed to go through the end of 13 today

as I was getting into the message, going through the text I realized there is no way that I am going to get through this in one sermon

so this is the first point of the message you were supposed to get today

Spirit Sent

Paul and Barnabas have been ordained and sent out by the church in Antioch

the Holy Spirit said to set them aside for the work they have been called to

the church fasted, prayed and laid hands on them, then sent them out

this is known as their first missionary journey

SHOW MAP

hard to see, they left Antioch for the island of Cyprus

Cyprus looks like a fist with a finger that almost points to Antioch

you can see the island from the cost and not a far trip on ship

they arrived just under the the finger of the island and traveled on the south side across the island

Acts 13:4–12 (CSB)

4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

9 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas

10 and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

11 Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

12 Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

PRAY!

This is the first leg of their first mission trip

when we go on a mission trip we can expect to share the gospel, do ministry stuff

God has called us to proclaim his word. We will face opposition, but his power and the truth of his word will prevail.

Sent to Proclaim

Kids at TeamKID playing games

They had to lead another person who was blind folded

chaos ensues…

but eventually one figures out that the calmness you can hear the leading

God sends us with tasks, but we often need to listen closely for His guidance to succeed!

Remember how they were sent

Acts 13:4–7 (CSB)

4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

Sent by the Spirit

Luke makes a point to remind us who is sending these men out

We forget this from time to time

Well the Pastor is us there ranting again on sharing the gospel

I know that I am easy to ignore, I have kids

I would not expect you to do something because I said to do it

the Holy Spirit sent them, and if the Holy Spirit sends, the Holy Spirit goes with you

Matthew 28:20 (CSB)

20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus did not just tell them they were to go, but that he would go as well

we show a real lack of faith when we are fearful to share the gospel

when we look at our limitations and not at his power

you will receive power… to be my witnesses

just like when Moses tried to say that he could not go back and lead the Israelites

God said, did I not make the mouth?

Proclaimed in Synagogues first

the Jews were waiting for the messiah to come

they had the wonderful news that they were no longer waiting

the freedom that they did not know they needed was available

they were too busy talking about the messiah to recognize when he came

balance in sharing the gospel and talking about it

most church’s grow by taking people from other churches

80% of church members have never shared their faith with somebody outside their immediate family

do not misunderstand

your family is the first responsibility in terms of discipleship

but the Lord did not tell us to make disciples of our families and then ignore everyone else

make disciples of ALL nations, or all people groups

this is sharing the love that you have for the Lord

Church people talk about sharing the gospel a lot

there are books, bible studies, conferences and classes that can be had on sharing your faith

the truth is, we share what we love

the shema…

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (CSB)

4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.

7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.

9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

This was to be a life of sharing the love they had for God with their kids and for everyone else to see as well

you cannot wear is on your arm, your forehead without others noticing

phylacteries - a little box that held the shema in them

Love God and teach it… share it

discipled as they went

Paul and Barnabas did not simply share the gospel

they taught others to share the gospel as well

we see this with Paul all throughout the NT in his letters about who is with him,

in Titus and Timothy we see him writing to the ones that he has discipled and sent to the ministry

so they were not simply people who gave the instruction, they did it as well

Sent to Opposition

Think about the classic film 'Finding Nemo.' Nemo faces opposition from the ocean's dangers, but with the quirky and comedic Dory by his side, every challenge turns into an adventure.

When we encounter obstacles, a light-hearted perspective can shift our fear into fun and learning. Let’s embrace our own Dory’s, reminding us that a positive attitude can navigate troubled waters!

TeamKid games- blindfolded had to go through obstacles

Acts 13:8–11 (CSB)

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

9 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas

10 and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

11 Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Romans valued omens and divination

we see a lot of this in our world today as well

people want a religion that will bless them and do good things for them without changing their lives

humanity chases blessings and good luck

its like a diet, we see somebody who has lost a lot of weight and we ask how have you done it

when they talk about a restriction on food and then say they exercised we become disinterested

no, I want the diet with no change to my life and still lose all the weight

thought the Jews cornered the market on spiritual matters

a very religious group

the romans had heard all of the stories of the exodus, the great kings and the prophets

Bar Jesus opposed because it would ruin his gig

two reasons people oppose the gospel; Pride and materialism

Bar - Jesus had a good thing going with the Roman ruler

he was listened to and seen as important

this might go away if he is found to be a false prophet

notice his name Bar Jesus

son of Jesus or son of the savior, his name says that he

Luke calls him elymas, or sorcerer

he is not a magician that is doing certain tricks

he is calling on dark spirits

the OT tells the Jewish people to stay away from this

now, one who is called the son of the savior is practicing sorcery and leading people away from the true God

we will face opposition to the message about Jesus

we often think that the ones farthest away from Christ will be the toughest opponent

people of other religions or atheists

the toughest, most cynical are the one who know just enough to argue

those who claim to be Christian and have no relationship with God

this happens because the church for a long time has made praying a prayer and asking Jesus into your heart the proof of salvation

Just because somebody asks Jesus into their heart does not mean he has to come

we do not tie his hands or catch a loophole by saying a prayer,

we cannot think that we can ask Jesus to come into a hard heart, continue to live as we want and think that we are saved

this is something that has been taught for lack of better terms when talking to kids

what does the Bible say…

come and die so that you can live

die to yourself, your desires and offer yourselves and a living sacrifice

it says that we are to confess him as Lord

meaning he is the master and we are his servants, doing whatever he calls us to do

slaves and servants do not question what the master tells them

the mark of a disciple is obedience

you are not obedient so that you can be a disciple

but as a disciple you are obedient

if there is not a desire for obedience to the Lord in your life can you call yourself a disciple

we must recognize the spiritual battle taking place

Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit

the relationship with the Lord, submitting to him, comes with the greatest gift, the Holy Spirit

Paul does not speak in his own authority

Luke is very careful to show us that this judgement and sign that has come is from God, not man

we are not going to speak to people, get mad when opposed and call a curse of blindness on them

God is the one who judges, we are simply to be obedient

Elymas is filled with deceit and trickery

trickery = sorcery

though his name means son of the savior, he is sent there for the opposite

notice that this is no match for the Lord

the one who is supposed to be leading to salvation is left in the dark

then Paul and Barnabas can share the true light of the Lord so that everyone can truly see

We will face opposition… but God has all things under control

he will use all things for his glory, the battle is his

the obedience is ours

Sent to Win

Levi and I coached Jr. High basketball together

if they win the first game in protection we had to go back two more times

we told them, if you’re going to drive all this way, you might as well win the whole thing!

and they did

We tend to go in with a defeatist attitude

shocked when somebody actually says yes

do you want to hear about my Jesus

sure… YOU DO?

that might be the bigger fear

we always act like we do not want to offend

they might get angry with you

they might say yes and then we would have to have a spiritual conversation

Would you like to go to church with us…

sure… YOU WOULD?

Acts 13:12 (CSB)

12 Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Darkness fell on Elymas, light of salvation came on Sergius Paulas

I love how Luke explains what happened to Sergius Paulas

he saw the condemnation that came down on the one who he had been listening to

and he is now blind

but that is not what convinced him or caused him to believe

he has seen amazing things through the sorcery of Bar Jesus

because as we have shown before, the miracles and acts of the Spirit confirm the message

he saw Bar Jesus blind and was astonished at the teaching of the Lord

We worry about speaking the gospel, knowing enough to argue, making people mad we do not take into account the power of the Gospel

Romans 1:16 (CSB)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

When we share the gospel some will repent and believe

We like to talk about how to handle the loses

well… its not you they are saying no to, it is the Lord

and that is true, I just saw that in Ezekiel this week in my quiet time

but it also says the responsibility is ours

that we have a responsibility and will have to answer for a message that we did not give

but also a credit for those who turn to the Lord

we should expect that people will be saved and not go in with a defeatist attitude

God draws, God saves, God tells us to go

Matthew 28:18–20 (CSB)

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

but God also goes with us as we do… and it is God that is working

The Spirit sent them out, the Spirit spoke through Paul,

the Spirit drew Sergius Paulas’s heart to be amazed by the hearing of the word of God

your Sergius is out there waiting

will you go

for some it is as simple as crossing the street, speaking at a ball game, the coop or where ever

for some, it is a calling to go farther, possibly to the mission field

may we raise our kids with that thought in mind… you are going to serve the Lord

you will have a ministry…

then if they are not sent out, they will be prepared to share the gospel in a secular position

will you pray…

pray beginning today for one lost person in your life

if we are not willing to pray, how will ever be willing to go

Discussion Questions

What prompted Paul and Barnabas to be sent out for their missionary journey?

How can you identify the Holy Spirit's guidance in your life?

In what ways can you practically share the gospel outside of your immediate family?

What significance does it hold that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit when confronting Elymas?

What does the reaction of Sergius Paulus tell us about the impact of Paul and Barnabas's teaching?