Foundations in our Faith

Acts 14:21-28

Acts 14:21–28 CSB

After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.

When did they start their return journey to Antioch?

It would seem through this recap of what they did upon their return to Antioch in Syria that their intent was to build churches rooted in a faith in Jesus Christ. The key that we need to continually remember is that they made disciples. When things are continually repeated in scripture, especially in one book and chapter, we need to pay close attention to that. Paul was not just a preacher but also a teacher. Someone who preaches should have the gift of teaching but not all teachers are specifically preachers in the sense that we understand today. It would seem that the people that became disciples through Paul’s ministry were teachers at least in the sense that they were all encouraged to share the good news of the gospel. That is the same with us today. We should all strive to know enough and be able to teach and share enough to explain the Gospel and truths of Jesus to those He calls us to do so with. They returned once they had made disciples and identified and trained leaders in each town.

What characteristics would they look for in the leaders of the churches they were planting?

Acts 6:1-4

Acts 6:1–4 CSB

In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

We know that Barnabas was with the disciples when this had taken place since he was first mentioned in chapter 4 of Acts. He would have been the one to have seen how the church leadership was put together. They would have needed to place both the ones preaching and those “waiting tables.” The character attributes they looked for in both would be the same. The gifts might be different though but again we saw how those that were appointed to be the administrators at the food bank in Jerusalem were also ones that were preaching and teaching as we saw in Stephen and Philip. Good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom were the requirements that we see in chapter 4.

What do these new churches look like and what were they teaching?

Acts 2:41-42

Acts 2:41–42 CSB

So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

This is a basic review of what we have seen so far. We know that Paul was the chief communicator of this ministry team but we need to remember that Barnabas took Paul under his wing and discipled Paul. Paul did not spend as much time with the original disciples as Barnabas. We can safely assume that the pattern used that was effective in Jerusalem was the way they did things here. It was effective and it was done by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God does not change…His ways of doing things are the right way to do things. How do we incorporate that here at PV and even in our youth group?

What hardships do we endure as followers of Jesus today and why do you think Paul told the new believers it was necessary?

This is something that we have to really look at in light of our comfortable lives in the western world. We live in the most prosperous nation to ever exist. We have freedoms in our system of government not had by any other before us. If it is necessary, do we need to go out and look for hardships? I think that what was true back then and is still true today is that the message of Jesus will be met with opposition in many forms. We may see it more subtly than they did but it still exists! Paul knows that when we profess the truth of Jesus that the enemy will try to stop us. We must endure through whatever hardships preaching the gospel brings. That requires that we are sharing the Gospel...

They prayed with fasting, why do we see prayer and fasting together so much?

Acts 13:2

Acts 13:2 CSB

As 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.”

Matthew 6:16-18

Matthew 6:16–18 CSB

“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Fasting is the act of purposefully neglecting something that you desire so that you can focus on the Lord. Prayer and fasting should go hand in hand and we see this in scripture. We see that in times of decision making, it is accompanied with prayer and fasting. It is often associated with food but is not limited to food only. Think of something that may be a distraction from you focusing on Jesus. Eliminate that thing and when you think of it, make that a reminder that you need to pray to the Lord. When done right, fasting will bring clarity to you because you are relying upon God instead of worldly things. Matthew 4:4

Matthew 4:4 CSB

He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

What was the response of the church in Antioch upon their return?

Luke leaves this up to our imagination but we have seen other times when reports were given and rejoicing and strengthening occurs. We know that this led to another missionary journey soon after this one. Which we will look into in a couple of weeks. This was regarded as a success by both Paul and Barnabas and those at Antioch and Jerusalem. The important thing is that they gathered all of them together and gave an account and report of what transpired on their journey.

What was the response of Paul and Barnabas upon their return?

Similar to the response of the disciples at Antioch. They gathered together. I think that the last line of this passage is telling. They spent considerable time with the disciples. It doesn’t designate what they spent time doing. I like that. They are disciples as well. They are leaders and were specifically called to do what they were doing, becoming missionaries. That does not discount the others that were not called to go. Those that were called to stay had been doing ministry as well. They had stories to share as well. This was a time of refreshing and encouraging for all involved in the early church at Antioch…and everywhere as we will see.