The church on Mission

Acts 13:1–3 ESV

1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Today will mark a significant change in the books of Acts. Prior to this passage it could be said that the church was hard at work in seeing God’s people hear the gospel. And by God’s people I am referring to the Jewish people in and around Jerusalem.

The church’s obedience to our Lord’s command in Acts 1:8, that they would, “be his witnesses in jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth...” will now be dramatically revealed to us as we continue to work through the book of Acts.

This is going to mark the first on many missionary travels to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. but we will also learn the true gospel ministry is all too often met with suffering, trials, and even spiritual opposition.

Al Mohler said it this way, “Where you find the kingdom of God advancing, you find mounting spiritual opposition.” This may be the best way to summarize what we will see in the rest of the book of Acts.

I think what we will see from this early record of the church, is that Christian discipleship means difficulty. The ideas of a life of ease, comfort and prosperity is not what people who are zealous for the kingdom of God can expect. In fact allow me to double down on that statement and press it further saying it this way… The book of Acts shows us immense suffering typically awaits the faithful servants of Christ. However, despite that suffering, we also see a beautiful picture of the grace of God and his faithfulness revealed in his power and glory upon his church and vindicating his people.

Nowhere else in the NT do we get such a contrasting picture between the kingdom of this world, this temporary kingdom and the kingdom of God, an eternal kingdom. When the kingdoms of this world try to hold back the Kingdom of God with extreme persecution and tribulations, God’s kingdom only spreads and expands greater. And right in the middle of it we have God’s faithful people just trust him to make right the things they know are wrong.

I feel as though everything I just said about the book of Acts , I could have said about our church in January of 2021.

But the great encouragement I want us to see, is what a church on mission actually looks like. A true church on mission mas leadership, hears from the Spirit, and sends qualified people out on missions as the rest of them remain faithful to the ministry of prayer and the Word.

let’s look at this text together.

Acts 13:1 ESV

1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Notice that Luke is now shifting his focus from the church in Jerusalem to the church in Antioch. This is a large church of Non Jews called gentiles. Antioch is in a strategic location right near the sea but just high enough in the mountains that it was a crossroads of many different commerces. It was the third largest city and will serve as a sending church to reach the rest of the world.

There are 5 men mentioned here in the leadership of this church and there is some interesting connections to make about the description that Luke gives us.

And while I do not want to jump over it, I will also not be making much of the office of prophet here. As I have stated in other sermons, the office of prophet was still around during the beginning of the church as there was no written word for God’s people to read and hear outside of the OT at that point. But either way, a prophet is known as someone through whom God by his Spirit speaks. And while we are not given a distinction between these 5 men, we known they are prophets and teachers within the church at Antioch.

Notice the order and a few details about who these men are.

Barnabas - Sent by the Jerusalem church to see if this is a legit move a God where Gentiles are receiving the gospel. He himself was from Cyprus, which is close to that region. His name is actually Joseph, but the church called him Barnabas because it means “son of encouragement”. So as we see him talked about within the context of the church he is always called Barnabas.

Simeon who was called Niger - In Latin Niger means “black” which is to imply that Simeon was most likely a man of color who came from Africa. Some believe him to be the same Simeon of Cyrene who carried Christs’ cross.

Lucius of Cyrene - Cyrene was the capital of a Roman province in what we know to be modern day Libya. Please notice the ethnic diversity found in the early church. While the church in Jerusalem wasn’t sure if the gospel would reach people who were not jewish, the early church is a picture of every nation, race, tribe and tongue.

Manaen - all we know is that he was, “a lifelong friend to Herod the tetrarch”… Who is that? Remember that there was 3 Herod’s we see in scripture. The Herod that killed the baby boys at the coming of Christ, the Herod that killed John the baptist, and the Herod that killed James and was eaten by worms. This is the second one that Killed John the Baptist. Manaen was his lifelong friend it says. No doubt he came from a prominent family and had some kind of dramatic conversion.

And Finally we have Saul - We will notice soon that this Saul is who we call the Apostle Paul. He is listed last as if he is of least importance and prominence within the leadership structure here.

So what we see about the beginning of the church is that it had healthy leadership. And that would be my first point...

The church on mission has healthy leadership

Anywhere we look in the NT for instruction on how churches should be cared for we find the office of Elder, and see ministry gifts like Pastor/ teacher. We find over and over that the scripture tells us to make sure there are those who will give an account for the church and devote themselves to the ministry of the word and the ordinances.

Healthy churches start when other churches send or plant them. They do not start when disgruntled people pull up roots and start meeting around a common affinity outside of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the early church always had healthy leadership that was clearly diverse.

Acts 13:2 ESV

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

I wish I could fly by this verse without spending too much time on it but I cannot… The implication of the Spirit speaking here is far to great of an idea to not stop and explain. But before I can get there please notice that this is first time we see the word Worship used within the context of a NT church.

The word worship has only been used in an OT understanding of Priest that stand in service in the temple in Jerusalem. Here is Acts 13 in the 2nd verse we have the first occurrence of the word worship being used within Christian practice.

When Luke does this he shows a continuity with the past but also subtly points to a different spiritual emphasis. In this new form of worship we do not see a priest at an altar, but rather every believer at church in Prayer.

The church on mission prays

Any and every NT church gathers believers to pray as an act of worship. It is prescribed for us in the scriptures and we see it as an example to us in how to continue the work of the mission of the church.

Prayer is such an integral part of the life of believers who believe what Jesus said when he told his followers, “Apart from me you can do nothing”. We still need to recognize that God is calling his people to do a work that they cannot do in their own strength and they will need to rely on him solely. And so prayer becomes a normal rhythm of the church who continues to ask the Lord for help.

And now please notice that the Holy Spirit said… And here is the important thing to notice… Not who the Spirit said these things to. God could’ve allowed the scriptures to be recorded in a way in which we knew exactly who the Spirit said these things too, and then we could make much of an office like Prophet. But he doesn’t… And I would submit to you the idea that we do not know who the Spirit spoke through because this was most likely something that happened internally with all the men that scripture has already pointed out as being the leadership of the church.

And please hear what I am saying… I am not saying that the Spirit only speaks to church leadership, but here we have it recorded that these leaders are consider Prophets and teachers. For prophets this is normal, and this isn’t just some random event, but also this is happening when the Church in Antioch is gathered in worship. And their worship consisted of prayer and fasting, which was part of jewish worship and reserved only for special events.

So what I am saying is that this is not common or normative. And that rather than getting caught up with ideas like, “How do I get the Spirit to talk to me like that”, we should see that there was a specific work that God wanted done, and so he, by His Spirit made that known.

So if God wants to make something known to his church… he will. And the something wasn’t trivial and common, it was specific. Two of them were to be set apart for work which God is calling them.

And finally please notice the Holy Spirit speaks as a person, because he is the third person of the trinity. He said they were set a part for, “the work which I have called them.” The Spirit didn’t say it was the work that God called them to, because the Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father is and the Son is, so also the Spirit is.

let’s continue...

Acts 13:3 ESV

3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So it would seem as though once they started to confirm that they all were aware of the Spirit speaking to them they continued to fast and pray. It doesn’t say the Spirit interrupted their service, but rather he spoke and they continued to fast and pray. Once they were done then commission them in an official way.

And what is that way? They lay their hands on them. This imagery is important for the church, because we see it all over scripture. When Saul was blinded by Jesus on the Damascus road, a brother named Ananias laid his hands on him and his sight was restored and Paul recieved the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We have many references in scripture to the laying on of hands being a moment when people can look back to and realize that God was doing a work within them. And this is that within the church, because missionaries and the church are united in mission work.

The church on mission sends missionaries

A church and its missionaries should be very connected, and in this case it was from the leadership of this church that missionaries were sent.

A healthy church is a sending church, that has healthy leaders who are willing to go pioneer a new work if necessary. Healthy churches plant more church and send more people than they keep. After knowing all we know about Barnabas and Paul who would want to see them go from the leadership of that church. When things were just getting started and were messy they were the guys who stabilized it, by teaching the gospel.

Instead of holding on to them they send them. The Spirit shows them these are the right guys to go and the church lays hands on them and sends them. And while it is hard to know for certain in real time If god the Spirit really was showing them this, what happens next shows them that God is in it.

What we have now is the first step in the first missionary journey recorded in scripture.

Acts 13:4–5 ESV

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

Interesting that Luke says they were sent by the Holy Spirit. Because even though the church at Antioch sent them, it was because the Holy Spirit told them to. God always gets the glory.

Now, they went from Antioch down to the seaport city of Seleucia in order to sail to Cyprus. Remember that Barnabas is from Cyprus, so he would’ve been familiar with the area.

And please notice where they go first. To the synagogue. They are still going to the Jew before the Gentile even though they will be known as Apostles to the Gentiles. The reason for this is to ensure that every person who was looking for the Messiah to come would hear that he has come. They respected the Jewish influence in those regions because many were being converted. And this was the pattern of the early church, to the Jew first, then the Gentile, as Paul wrote to the Romans.

And also please see this other man with them. John who we will become acquainted with more under the name John Mark. He is a Jewish believer who was there to assist them. That word we have for assist means he did whatever they asked him to do. A better translation of that word to Assist is the word ‘underling’. So while it doesn’t play a prominent role in this text we will see this man again later and I want you to see his beginning is that of a minor underling helping Saul and Barnabas.

It does n’t say the Holy Spirit picked him or that the church in Antioch sent him, but he is there helping none the less. Never despise small beginnings in ministry.

Acts 13:6 ESV

6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

Does this seem odd to you? A Jewish Magician??? Any good Jewish God worshipper would know that god’s people are strictly forbidden to engage any kind of witchcraft or magic. And I don’t mean magician like what we see nowadays. These people were engaged in dark spiritual worship and supernatural things that no one who believes in God would have anything to do with. And yet, he is described as a Jewish Magician???

What do we call people in the church that teach of false things that scripture is against??? We call them heretics. They teach false things about God and they are denounced by scripture.

And so scripture calls him a false prophet. And the name Bar-Jesus was actually common, meaning son-of-Jesus or son-of-Joshua.

And they find him in Paphos which is on the other side of the island that have just sailed to. Paphos was a city that Rome controlled and even rebuilt after an earthquake destroyed it, because it was the center of administration and religion for the whole Island, as well as the home of the roman leader, a man called the proconsul.

To come here would be to reach those who are important in seeing weight brought to their testimony. It is like going to the state capital because you know the governor lives there. And when they show up this false prophet is a prominent figure.

Acts 13:7–9 ESV

7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

Now stop for a moment… there are a couple of name changes we need to take note of. First that false prophet Bar-Jesus is known as Elymas, which means magician.

So he was close to the proconsul, as someone who would’ve been there to school this roman governor on the Jewish traditions so he could govern the people well. And somehow the Proconsul hear about Barnabas and Saul teaching in the synagogues and he sends for them so he can hear what they are teaching.

And here we have this false prophet trying to keep the governor from hearing the truth about the gospel. We do not know what he was telling the Proconsul but he was trying to turn him away from them by opposing their message.

And then we have the moment where Saul is no longer known as Saul. It is at this moment that we realize that Saul was his Jewish name, and Paul is his Gentile name, a very roman name. Paul is someone who will be preaching the gospel to gentiles primarily, while also being able to teach in synagogues as well.

And I stopped it here because the text shows him as a Gentile who is filled with the Holy Spirit. While all the other apostles are in the Jerusalem such and were witnesses to the resurrection Paul was not originally thought of as one of those. His name means, “the little one”, and this is why Paul refers to himself as, “the least of the apostles”. It reveals that he didn’t think highly of himself.

Watch what happens when someone commissioned by God, Sent by the church and filled with the Holy Spirit is opposed by a false teacher.

Acts 13:9–12 ESV

9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Because this man was trying to stop the gospel from being preached, Paul rebukes him by the power of the Holy Spirit. But notice it wasn’t in his might that Paul did this but rather it was, “by the hand of the Lord” that this man becomes blind, and actually needs someone else to lead him around.

And what we have here is a picture of what it looks like to be spiritually opposed for preaching the gospel. And while people like getting all caught up in the miracle, please notice that this miraculous work only got the attention of the Proconsul to hear the word of the Lord. Why is that important?

Miracles validate the message

Miracles are not in scripture for us to see and try to do, but rather they happen when God wants to arrest someones attention to hear the gospel.

There are many that want to teach through Acts as if we need to be seeing these miracles now, but they don’t even preach the gospel message that the miracles are getting peoples attention to hear.

And we know this is true in Acts because it says that the Proconsul believed, and he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord, meaning he continued to learn about the gospel after this moment. Can you imagine, this man now becomes a believer, and he literally had a heretic trying to get him not to believe.

See when God wants to save someone he will bring about the right circumstances for that person to hear the gospel even if they have a false prophet in their ear trying to get them not to believe truth. That is why the church cannot give up preaching the gospel when they are opposed.

The church on mission continues to preach the gospel especially when they are opposed

It is because of stories like this that we as elders re encouraged to continue to preach the gospel and not leave it to talk about others things in every season of life for the church.

There are churches around the world this very day that are coming under attack, and we need to be praying that they continue to faithfully preach the gospel.

we ought to be praying that we continue to be found being led by Godly leaders full of the Spirt, in prayer and fasting, sending missionaries, and continuing to preach the gospel in the face of opposition.

That is what we see from this text and that is what we will continue to do here. Why?

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

People will never know of the God who loved them enough to send his Son to take their place and forgive their sin unless that word is being heard.

They must hear us tell them that their sin will put them in opposition to a Holy wrathful God who will judge them. They must see their sin and confess their sin and ask for Christ to be their Lord, because he died and was raised again. They must hear the gospel and be saved. Have you heard it? Do you believe it?

Romans 10:9–17 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

May our church on Mission continue to be faithful in preaching the Word of Christ.