Paul, the Untold Story (part 5)

Scripture of the week

Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.

Review: What do you remember/know about Paul?

Also called Saul is his Jewish name, Paul is his Greek name

Saul in the OT, king before David

Saul in the NT, apostle we know mostly as Paul

persecuted Christians at first

held coats for people so that they could stone Stephen

arrested Christians by dragging them out of their homes

wrote 13 or 14 NT books

Tribe of Benjamin

Pharisee

Educated by famous teacher, Gamaliel

Was a strict follower of Jewish laws

became a Christian on the road to Damascus

became an apostle, but not one of the original 12

nicknamed “the apostle to the Gentiles”

believed to have died by beheading

gets credit for explaining in depth what Christians believe

Paul became a christian overnight, but he was not an “overnight success” (10 years)

early preaching in Damascus

time in Arabia

short time in Jerusalem

long time in Tarsus

back on the “Scene” in Antioch at Barnabas requests

Review: What do we call descendants of Abraham?

Jews, Hebrews, Israelites, Children of Israel

Review: What do we call people who are not descendants of Abraham?

Gentiles

Catch up Review

1st believers were all Jews

1st Gentiles to become believers were preached to by Peter

more gentiles became believers as jewish believers fled persecution

Antioch had a large percentage of Gentile believers

1st place that believers were called Christians

Paul becomes one of the main leaders there

Acts 13:1 NLT

1 Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.

very muti-cultural/ethnic and multi background church (reflected in its leadership)

jews and gentiles

people from different areas/

Simeon who was called Niger - Nigeria area (Niger and the other word have nothing in common, just happened to almost be spelled the same in English)

Lucius of Cyrene - Northern Africa

different social classes (childhood friend of King Herod, rich, elite)

Christianity should be able to unite us (it will during hard times)

Acts 13:2–3 NLT

2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

they were worshiping and fasting (which means fasting and prayer)

they believe Holy Spirit wants to send Barnabas and Saul on a special mission

Lesson 1: Need to hear from God? Consider praying, worshipping, and fasting.

good way to seek God

The very 1st Gentile Christian was fasting

Cornelius was fasting and praying

1st to preach to a gentile was Peter, and he heard from the Lord during his regular prayer time

Anna the prophetess always fasted and prayed and identified Jesus even when he was a baby

Daniel was known for fasting and prayer

three times a day

we still have the Daniel fast

incredible prophecies!

God can and will still speak to you out of the blue, but you can demonstrate that you want to hear from him through prayer, worship, fasting

put some music on, pray, fast for a period of time

worship God at church services, “set the atmosphere for God speaking” (often overused phrased to hype people up, but good advice when used sincerely)

Lesson 2: Christianity is not a solo religion.

It is not an “every man is an island” religion (despite the I don’t need church culture)

God likes more than one witness

trials (OT), be established with two witnesses

AT Jesus baptism - spirit and voice of God gave witness

Jesus said two or three gathered in my name

He sent disciples out in twos

Barnabas and Paul are sent out together

God likes togetherness and unity

We are described as the body of Christ, one body with many members

Day of Pentecost, they were together

great things happen when people are of one mind, one accord

Agreement between Christians provides an important safeguard for Christians

we all have the same Holy Spirit, so there should be lots of agreement

they fasted, they prayed, they heard from the Lord, they laid hands on them

is an important safeguard of the church (hearing from God)

it’s wise to have confirmation from a fellow believer or group

if every Christian disagrees with you, most likely that’s a sign that you are off base (it doesn’t mean that you’re deeper than everyone else)

ex. You got a revelation from scripture that no Christian over 2,000 has ever figured out . . . real bad sign

TC3 - text, context, consistency (Bible, historical interpretation), character, common sense,

all reasons why church family is important

so they are going to set out on the first, “Church Mission on purpose”!

Submitted Question: How many miles was the island of Cyprus from Antioch?

they first sailed(?) to Seleucia, 16 miles, and the sailed from there to Cyprus (Salamis), 130 miles

146 miles all together . . . long trip for back then

Acts 13:4–5 NLT

4 So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

sent out by the Holy Spirit, this is not their bright idea, this is God’s plan

it’s more than just Barnabas and Saul, they also have John Mark with them (he wrote the book of Mark)

Matthew - written by one of the 12

Mark - written by John Mark, who also traveled with Peter (Peter’s gospel)

Luke - traveled with Paul, historian and researcher

He also wrote Acts

he wrote to Theophilus

(you will see “We” and “they” in Acts)

John - one of the 12

Pattern established: start with Jews of the area and reach out from there (word would spread)

go to the Jewish Synagogue and start there

easy way to get a platform (Saul was Pharisee), so a good chance a visiting Pharisee would be invited to speak

Jews knew the OT, so you are not starting from scratch with them

Acts 13:6–12 NLT

6 Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing. 9 Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

an important leader of the area wanted to hear them speak

but one of the leader’s advisors, Bar-Jesus (Elymas) tried to block Barnabas and Saul

called a magician - apparently did some things to impress people, but he was false

tricks or power from a demon

Submitted questions: Why did the fake prophet call himself “Bar-Jesus”

possibility 1 - Jesus was a common name, so that might have actually been his birth name

ex. there is a Jesus called Jestus in Colossians 4

Jesus and Joshua have the same name (Hebrew/Greed)

Jesus means “salvation/savior”

the angel told Mary, “and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Possibility 2 - He named himself that because Bar means “son” (Barnabas) and Jesus means “salvation” and “son of salvation is an impressive prophet name”

great question because Paul is using a play on words when he confronts Bar-Jesus

instead of son of salvation, you really are a son of the devil! (that’s a cold line!)

so yes, the Holy Spirit gave a word to Paul to give to Bar-Jesus

paraphrase - “You are evil and are trying to stop the work of the Lord, so you will be blind for a while”

when the proconsul saw what happened to Bar-Jesus, he became a Christian.

It’s not a good thing to try to block someone from knowing God

Lesson 3 - You can be an example or become an example

so willingly choose to be a light for the Lord or . . . be example of what happens when someone rejects the Lord

Moses vs. Pharoah - we learn from both of them

generation that died in the wilderness vs the younger generation that went to the promised land

Esther vs. Haman

David vs David - we learn from his good and bad

There is no middle ground, no neutral . . . you are either for him or against him

God will get glory through you or over you

Since God will win, why not join the winning side?

you are not “safe” by not submitting to God

Review

Review: Need to hear from God? Consider p__________, w______________, and f____________

prayer, worship, fasting

Christianity is not a _________ religion

solo

You can be an example or ____________ an example

become

Announcements

Saturday, August 30 – Fellowship – Couples Appetizer Cook Off at Jones Home

Church will start at 10:15 (in order to go to Abundant Grace)

if a visitor comes at 10:30 they will still hear the sermon