Untitled Sermon

Introduction

Background:

The focus of the book of Acts is moving from the ministry of Peter to the ministry of Paul. In the first three verses of chapter 13, we saw that Paul and Barnabas were sent by the church of Antioch on their first missionary journey. From here on out, we are going to follow the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul.

Context:

I. Paul’s Ministry of Missions

When we think of callings to the ministry, there’s really only one that comes to mind, and that’s the pastorate, whether it be senior pastor, youth, or music, we think “pastor”. But God also calls people to evangelism, He calls them as Bible teachers, and God calls people as missionaries.

That’s what He’s done in the life of Paul, He’s called Paul and Barnabas to be missionaries.

And because we don’t think much about missionaries, it seems like our understanding of missions is limited. But here, in v. 4-5, we are going to see some truth’s about the call to missions.

Acts 13:4–5 NKJV

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

Affirms Holy Spirit Calling

The first line in v. 4 affirms what we already mentioned, that God calls people as missionaries.

And just like being called into the pastorate is a Holy Spirit filled decision, so is the call to be a missionary. When we think of missionaries, we kind of think of these celebrity types. We think of Lottie Moon whose reputation exceeds her because of her dedication to the people of China. We think of Myers and Mallory because we have a state designated offering that we give to them. Of course, we think of the Apostle Paul who took three missionary journeys, planted numerous churches, and led who knows how many to the Lord.

But church, there are missionaries who we know personally, and who need our support to do what God has called them to do. My calling to preach is just as real as the most prominent pastor that you know, and the calling of these missionaries that are from Lawrence County is just as real as Lottie Moon, Myers and Mallory, and the Apostle Paul.

Because of the nature where our two mission families serve, I can’t give their names, but many of our people know who they are.

But here is the truth I want you know about ministry

Whether it’s pastoring, mission work, evangelism, or serving on a committee in the local church, it cannot function with power unless it carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

When you become a Christian, Jesus Christ gives you the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit comes into your life, and He regenerates you.

Regeneration is the inner cleansing and renewal of the human nature by the Holy Spirit.

You see, we were dirty and stained with sin. Jesus paid for our sin on the cross, rose from the grave, and He unites us with God. In order for us to be united with God, we also have to be like Jesus, completely clean. So, when we are regenerated, we are what the Bible calls, “born again”.

And because we have been born again, the slate of sin has been wiped clean, and we have fellowship with God through His Holy Spirit.

So, just like the person Who is the Holy Spirit took Paul by the hand and led him into missions, the Holy Spirit has to lead you in every aspect of your life, and in every aspect of our church.

Now, remember, the Holy Spirit is a person, and He sent Paul out, and He can send you out. We’ll talk more about this issue of power from the Holy Spirit in v. 9-12, but for now, just know that the same Holy Spirit that sent Paul out as a missionary lives in you.

Not only do these verses affirm that the Holy Spirit calls people…it also

Establishes Missions as a Legitimate Calling

It’s not just that the Holy Spirit sent them, but it’s that the Holy Spirit sent them on a missionary journey.

Jesus says in His great commission, “Go”

Matthew 28:19 NKJV

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

Well, in order for some of us to go, we need missionaries in other countries to establish a ministry so we can serve along side them.

What are the ways we serve missionaries?

Praying for them

I doubt that there is another calling in ministry that understands the power of prayer like a missionary does. Almost all missionaries that I have come across won’t ask for money, won’t ask for advice, the thing that they ask for the most is just prayer.

I mean, imagine, you have your entire family in a nation where you may or may not speak the language well, and you are asking God to bless your efforts. Especially these men and women serving on mission where they can’t openly share the gospel because of the threat against their lives.

When your life, and your families life, is in on the line everyday because of where God has called you, I think that some of the material worries of the world just kind of slip away.

Pray for our missionaries

Going with them

There are opportunities to go and be part of missions. Elizabeth and I are in the process of praying through some additional opportunities for our church to go on mission trips.

We have stateside missions through our association, and Elizabeth is asking God where we belong on the foreign mission field.

Either way, there isn’t much that encourages missionaries like seeing their brothers and sisters showing up to work along side them.

Giving

Here’s what Paul says about missions giving.

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 NKJV

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

There are two ways I want us to understand giving.

We need to understand that as a church, our budget and giving to missions is a reflection of our heart for the Great Commission.

Paul says, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.”

When a church decides that it’s going to take all the money that the people give, and reinvest it into the church, when a church wants to build bigger barns and better facilities, the Bible says that we will reap sparingly. That means that God will cut off what He has given us financially.

If we want our church to continue to be blessed financially, then we are going to have to keep the focus outward.

Money is a tool to advance God’s Kingdom.

This doesn’t mean we neglect our needs, it doesn’t mean that we let our building decay…it simply means that we place an emphasis on missions giving as a church body.

You also need to understand that as an individual, God has given you what you have so you can be generous.

Here are some quick principles on generosity in your personal life.

God’s design is that 10% goes to the church. It’s called a tithe.

God’s not going to strike you dead for giving 5%, but if you sow sparingly, you will always reap sparingly.

Missions giving factors in when we give beyond our 10%.

Some people think, I’ll give to this mission or donate to this, and I’ll take it out of my tithe check.

Why is it above 10%? Well, because missions giving is a giving of generosity. It’s a giving of love, not because you’re supposed to. It’s not even required to give to missions, it’s just a generous thing to do.

Debt limits how God can use you

If you’re anything like me, you gotta have it right now. Some of you have so many bills you can’t even think about giving to God or to missions because you’re strapped. You’ve let the payments get waaay out of hand.

Proverbs 22:7 NKJV

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

Matthew 6:24 NKJV

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

If you’re a slave to debt, you cannot be slave of Christ.

In fact, you can’t even be generous with your money because you’d have to borrow to do it. You’re just being generous with the bank’s money and your credit.

What do you do if you’re in this place?

Start by giving God His 10%, for if you sow bountifully, you’ll reap bountifully.

Sit down with your family, have a discussion about needs vs wants, live within your means, and pay off your debts.

Then, when you’re free, God can use you to be more generous than you ever thought possible.

As a church, it’s our job to support missionaries through the ministry of giving.

Alright, here in v. 4-5 we’ve an affirmation of Holy Spirit calling, we’ve seen God establish missions as a legitimate calling and learned how we can be a part of that, now we are going to the purpose of missions.

The Purpose of Missions

Look again in v. 5

Acts 13:5 NKJV

And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

Ok, here is the definition of missions

Missions is going with the express intent to share the gospel

And what is the gospel?

The gospel is the truth that we are sinners, cut off from the presence of God, but that God, while we still sinners, loved us enough to send Jesus Christ down to pay for our sin…that if we trust in His promise of everlasting life, we will not perish in Hell, but we will have eternal life in heaven.

That message is the emphasis of missions.

Not only is it the emphasis of missions, it is the emphasis of preaching, musical worship, church business, and anything else you can think of. If the message of the gospel isn’t the focus, then we aren’t a church, we’re just a business club.

What does that mean for us?

It means that if we do anything in this church or through this church that doesn’t preach the gospel, then we aren’t missional.

It’s a good thing to hand out food. It’s a good thing to provide medical care. It’s a good thing to have grief ministries and to help people with finances.

But, as the Bible says, “What good does it do to gain the whole world but to forfeit your soul.”

Without an express intent to share the gospel, it’s not a mission, it’s a humanitarian effort.

Paul is there on the Salamis, and he is preaching the gospel of Jesus for the work of salvaiton.

By the way church, when we give to missions financially and through prayer, we partner with them to expand the Kingdom of God. We reap bountifully in more ways that just financially, we reap bountifully spiritually as well.

God is Using You Today

The end of v. 5 says that they had John Mark with them.

We get into our minds that wherever we are in life is God’s preparation for what’s next…but that’s not true. God is not preparing you today, He is using you. If you serve in ministry and you serve in the church with the mentality of, “God is preparing me for something bigger”, then you’ll never get there.

Why?

Because when your mind is always on what you’re being prepared for, you’ll always be ineffective where God has you now.

It would be easy to say that Paul and Barnabas are preparing John for his own missionary journeys, and it may be true…but it’s even more true that God is using John to build his kingdom there with Paul and Barnabas.

Don’t get so high minded in your spiritual walk and think that God is just preparing you…friend, take it from someone who knows, He’s not preparing you, He’s using you right now.

In the same way, don’t be so low minded spiritually to think that God is not using you. If you will understand that the Holy Spirit lives in you, and you will pray and ask God, “Open my spiritual eyes to what you’re doing.” You’ll be surprised to see that God is at work all around you.

Paul’s Ministry of Missions is off the ground…He’s been called by the Holy Spirit, he has been called as a missionary, which means that he is going with the intent to share the gospel, and God is not preparing them for their second missionary journey, He is using them right now to accomplish His will.

II. Satan’s Opposition to Missions

Acts 13:6 NKJV

Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,

This trio is on the island of Cyprus, and they eventually come to what was at that time, the capital of Cyprus, the city of Paphos. And when they get to the capital, they find a false prophet who is named Bar-Jesus, which means “son of Joshua”. He was Jew who falsely taught the will of God, and earned his reputation because he was a magician.

We saw another false prophet in Acts 8 that performed signs in Samaria. And just like Simon in Acts 8, This Son of Joshua is going to go from someone who seems powerful to someone who is very obviously powerless.

Now, I made this point in Acts 8, and I’ll make it again here in Acts 13…

There is a difference between your efforts and God’s efforts. There is a difference when you call yourself into leadership or ministry and when God does it…

When we produce something, and when we live our life by our own efforts and initiatives, it will look pretty good, until we are cleansed from our sin and begin to see the real power of God, then our efforts won’t look so good.

For a long time I played church league basketball, and I thought I was a stud athlete. I thought I was unstoppable… and after a few years, I got to know the other players and knew they were game planning on how to get the ball out of my hands …but when I stepped on that 7a high school court it was another story…no one was planning how to stop me because I barely got any playing time.

It was easy to look good when the talent level was low…but when I was compared to real power and talent, all of a sudden I didn’t look so good.

In just a minute, Bar-Jesus is going to find out that he is outgunned and outmatched.

Acts 13:7–8 NKJV

[Bar-Jesus] was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

They’re in the capital, and chief Roman official has gotten word that they are great and mighty preachers, and in my mind they are performing miracles and showing the power of God.

So, this intelligent man, as the Bible calls him, calls for Saul and Barnabas so he can hear about Jesus.

But anytime God’s word is being preached, and anytime His work is being accomplished, there will always be opposition

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare