Untitled Sermon (20)

Called by God

In the late 1930s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a quickly rising star in the world of theology. He was visiting the London in 1939, and when he got ready to leave, his friends begged him not to return to Germany. The whole world knew that what was happening under the Nazis there was not good, and the world was already on the verge of war by that point. Bonhoeffer decided to go to the United states, but as soon as he got there he got the deep sense that God was calling him back to Germany. When he arrived back in Germany, things began to get worse. It was clear that God had called Dietrich back to Germany, because the Church there needed bold people to stand up against all the evils being done by the Nazi party. Before he knew it, Bonhoeffer found himself involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The plot was discovered, however, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer was placed in a concentration camp. God’s call was still on Bonhoeffer, however. Even in prison, he served as a chaplain and spiritual leader for both the prisoners and even some of the guards. Finally, in April of 1945, US troops liberated Flossenburg concentration camp where Bonhoeffer was being kept. By the time they arrived, however, Bonhoeffer had already been executed, just two weeks before.

Many, like Bonhoeffer, are called by God to carry the gospel even into the darkest places on earth. But many, like Bonhoeffer, also understand that such a call is not a guarantee of an easy, safe road ahead. As Bonhoeffer himself said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

The ministry of Barnabas and Paul also begins with a call. They are set apart by the Holy Spirit. God had chosen them to bring the gospel to places it had never gone before, and without God’s hand and the Holy Spirit’s call they had no chance of success in their mission. But if they had any illusions that this call was to be an easy and painless one, they would very soon be proven wrong.

Powers of Evil

Find great opportunity to share the gospel

Evil powers intervene

Magic showdown -> throwback to Exodus

Bar-Jesus-> Irony

“Son of Jesus” revealed to be son of satan

Bar-Jesus very much like Paul

Forces of Spiritual evil will stand in the way of the gospel

Powers of Man

Spiritual evil is not all we have to worry about, however.

Paul and Barnabas are chased out of nearly every city they come to.

Spiritual opposition often comes in the form not only of magicians, but of physical assault and persecution

Humanity itself often resists the gospel strongly

Calling Good ‘Evil’

If persecution does not work, the forces against the gospel offer temptation instead

Paul and Barnabas treated as gods, offered same temptation as Herod

Greek gods often thought to come in human form

Crowds mistook the power of God for the power of Paul and Barnabas

The temptation is to claim God’s power as our own

More than you can bear

Paul’s death and resurrection -> Jesus’s Death and Resurrection