36. Build and Reinforce
Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsSharpening relationships are worth building and maintaining.
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If animals could talk, which one would be the funniest to talk to? Why?
Lesson
Lesson
Recap:
Missionary life has been far from easy as of late
Persecution in Antioch, Iconium
People of Iconium worship Paul and Barnabas
Stoning
They flee Iconium to Derbe
vs. 21
vs. 21
Paul, Barnabas, and their crew had been preaching the Gospel in the cities around them…
Very successful time in the ministry, lots of people are coming to Christ.
What do they do at the end of vs. 21? (Return to the cities they had just fled from)
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
Sometimes I wonder why Paul kept moving to a new city as soon as he’s doing well, but it actually reflects his mindset as a missionary.
Would you say Paul felt he was called to a place in particular? (No, he was called to a people group)
Who was Paul called to? (The Gentiles from everywhere)
So, to stay in one spot kind of defeats the purpose of his calling, right?
Where specifically does Paul and his crew return to? (Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch)
Paul would not be a good tour guide today. Imagine what his excursions would be. Instead of branding “Safe adventures for the family.” it would be “Life threatening thrills”
Paul was an incredibly bold man, he returned to the places where he was banished and was even stoned!
vs. 22-23
vs. 22-23
What’s the purpose for Paul going back where he’s been before? (Strengthening the souls of the disciples)
We have a word that describes this, anyone know what it is? (Discipleship)
Strengthening = Establishing/cementing the new believers in their faith
Exhorting them = Urging them to keep growing and stay in the truth…
Tribulations enter the kingdom of God… Paul and Barnabas were a living example of this!!
As far as we know, these churches were brand new… Which means these believers were also brand new.
Did these new believers need some guidance? (Absolutely!!!)
Because of this, Paul elects pastors in the churches in vs. 23…
23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Discipleship is hugely important…
How many elders/pastors did Paul elect in the churches? (Multiple!)
Why is that? (Because the work of discipleship needs lots of attention!)
Discipleship philosophy in missions…
- Church planting takes multiple years because of this
- Missions is not just sharing the Gospel with unbelievers
Turn to Matthew 28:18-20 (The great commission)
Before we read this, what do you understand the great commission to be about? (Evangelism is only 1/3 of the command!)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, [Exactly what Paul is doing here.]
Go = Get up; command to act, go somewhere.
Make disciples = Share the gospel with them.
Okay, that’s part 1…
What’s part 2 of the great commission?
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Once they are saved, we baptize them…
Okay, now, what’s part 3?
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Once new believers have been saved, we teach them in the faith. Equip them with biblical doctrine and teach them how to live a god-pleasing life.
So, now that we have that in mind, why would it be a problem to only do part 1 of the great commission? (Because we are leaving new believers on their own)
Who knows where they’ll end up! They could go to a Catholic church, or the Mormons could get them in their building, they don’t know any better!
Steven Furtick
- Quote: “If you know Jesus, I’m sorry to break it to you, this church is not for you. ‘Yeah but I gave my life to Christ just last week at Elevation Church.’ Last week was the last week Elevation church existed for you.”
What’s the issue about this? (PRIORITY)
Who is church for? (Believers, we gather together to worship God and sharpen each other)
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Can we exhort unbelievers to walk with the Lord?
“Man you’ve got to love God more!”
So, church is for believers mainly. That doesn’t mean we close the door fro visitors, we welcome them in. But it does mean that we’re not going to boil down our preaching, we’re not going to share the Romans road every week, we’re not going to have rock concerts to get more people in. The church is for Christians.
Paul realized this, and that’s why he goes back to the churches to encourage them and keep building them up.
What do Paul’s return visits teach us about discipleship? (It takes work, time. Discipleship is important too, it’s worth risking his life to return to and invest!!
vs. 24-26a
vs. 24-26a
Luke takes us out o the microscope view and takes the helicopter view (big picture). Paul and Barnabas are finishing their first missionary journey in these verses. Throughout vs. 24-26, they go from destination to destination.
Where does it say they go?
Show the Atlas on ipad
- Pisidia
- Pamphylia
- Perga (Stopped to preach the Word there)
Perga = Coastal town, Greek and Roman in culture. Worship was very Pagan (Huge theatre and grand temple for the goddess Artemis)
- Attalia
- Antioch
What does the end of vs. 26 have to say about Antioch? (Their sending church)
They return back to their sending church at the end of their first missionary journey…
vs. 27
vs. 27
What are they doing here in vs. 27?
27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Does any of this stuff sound familiar to you? Do we do anything similar today? (Furlough!!)
Missionaries finish their first term, and they go back to the churches that support them to tell them what the Lord had done through them.
We’ve sent out two missionaries (Burrills & Hunters) and we support many more. As a supporting church, we expect to hear back from these people.
Why is it important that missionaries give a report back to the churches that send them? (These churches are praying for the missionaries, they support them financially, it encourages the churches, keeps the missionaries accountable)
If you’ve ever wondered why missionaries even do furlough, look to this verse. It’ actually your responsibility to do this as a missionary.
Illustration: Holding the rope.
Churches back home are supporting you, praying for you, they deserve to hear what their support has done!
So, Paul and Barnabas are back in Antioch…
What in particular do they share with the church in Antioch at the end of vs. 27? (God opened the door to the Gentile people)
Why would this be encouraging especially to the Christians in Antioch? (Most are Gentiles with hearts for the Gentile people. To hear that your own people are being saved is super encouraging!!)
vs. 28
vs. 28
Our chapter ends off with vs. 28,
28 So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
They are back at home base for a while (probably a year), and I like to imagine they’re getting some much needed rest and fellowship.
Application
Application
Looking back over their last year of ministry, all the persecution, all the hard work, late nights… Would Paul say it was worth it?
Starfish illustration:
- Boy sees man throwing starfish in the ocean…
Boy: Why did you do that?
Man: The tide is going out, and the starfish would be stranded and dry out on the sand. They’d be long dead before the tide comes back in.
Boy: What difference would that make? There’s thousands and thousands of starfish in the ocean. What difference would it make if you throw just one back in the water so it can live?
Man: It makes a great deal of difference to this one.
Every person matters. Growing good friendships is not easy. It take time building trust to get to the level where we can challenge each other and sharpen each other.
But is it worth it? (Absolutely)
Think seriously about your friendships. If you don’t have a friend you are pushing towards Christ, and they to you, then start one! You have no idea how incredible a discipling friendship is until you try it out.
