The First Missionary Journey – part 2
Acts 13:1-12 (3- 5)
October 7, 2012
As you know we have entered a new section here in the book of Acts.
The Jerusalem church and Peter have now taken a back seat
To the Antioch church and Paul.
This shift in focus has nothing to do with
Each church’s faithfulness, for both where.
Rather, it deals with the fact that we are
Entering the time of the Gentiles
So it is a Gentile church that is now taking center stage.
Furthermore, we are grateful for this, for this Gentile church is giving us
A tremendous picture how a church ought to operate.
In them we see a missionary church.
They were really the first.
The Jerusalem church went on missions under compulsion,
This church eagerly does it.
And so while we are introduced to this church
We also get a picture of what it takes to be a missionary church.
And last time we met we saw the first two points of this text.
1) THE CHURCH
Any time you talk about missions you have to talk about the church.
The two are linked together.
If you have a mission, you have to have a missionary.
And God has so arranged things that He has now chosen
That the church would be that missionary.
However, that DOES NOT MEAN that every church
Is in fact used by God on the mission field.
• There are some churches like Thyatira who are too busy satisfying their own carnal appetites to seek or serve God.
• There are some church like Sardis who are resting on their past accomplishments, have entered spiritual retirement and have no desire to go on mission.
• There are some churches like Laodicea who could really care less what God’s will is at all. They have their own little system figured out and have no room to have their plan or routine interrupted by God.
So even though God desires to use the church, not all churches get used.
BUT ANTIOCH DID, AND WE SAW WHY.
They were a focused, God-seeking church.
• We noticed that they had not one, but five men committed to preaching and teaching the word of God.
• We also noticed that they were “ministering to the Lord and fasting”
While we have a mass of people today who go to church
To be ministered to, this church understood it correctly.
They were intent on finding out from Him what it was He desired.
It is no surprise then that Antioch became a great missionary church.
Consequently it is not our aim to be continually focused on missions.
It is our aim to be continually focused on God,
Otherwise we may not even recognize the mission He has for us.
2) THE CATALYST
And this of course was God.
We don’t start missions.
We don’t make mission trips happen.
The Holy Spirit has to be the catalyst behind our involvement.
WHY?
Because He is the necessary member of every mission trip.
• How effective can we really expect to be preaching the gospel if the Holy Spirit is not there convicting the hearts of men?
He is the catalyst.
And He certainly got this church started in missions.
His request was, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
This church sought God to find out what He wanted, and His answer was, “I want Saul and Barnabas”
And as we said this was no small request.
These were the two most seasoned pastors in the church of Antioch.
When we went to Sanyati this summer, God called out not only me, but also our music leader, both of our instrumentalists, and our sound man.
It would have been real easy for those in the church to pitch a fit and say,
“Well what about us? If you guys all leave, what are we going to do?”
That was the sort of dilemma hitting Antioch.
Their worship was going to cost them something.
God was starting a mission trip, and the sacrifice He desired
Was for this church to give Paul and Barnabas.
And so we are seeing how this missionary church began.
• A church with a heart for God.
• A God with a request for servants.
Let’s move on in our text and see more
About this missionary church and their mission.
The Church, The Catalyst
#3 THE COMMISSIONING
Acts 13:3
• And so this church was seeking God.
• God requested Saul and Barnabas.
And we love the response of this church.
“Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
Now I want you to initially notice.
• Scripture doesn’t say the church “let them go”.
• Scripture says the church “sent them”
Romans 10:15 “How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
This is an often overlooked part of God’s divine plan for missions.
Much of the time when a mission trip is planned,
Or a career missionary commits to go,
All of the focus is placed on the one going.
But don’t be fooled into thinking that
They are the only one being obedient, because they aren’t.
God’s vision of mission requires not only a goer, but also a sender.
God intends for His church to send missionaries into the world.
They didn’t just let Paul and Barnabas go, they actually sent them.
Let’s see how.
1) “Then, when they had fasted”
Now this is interesting.
We understand the fasting at the first.
At the first they did not yet know what God wanted
And so they were intensely seeking Him to find out.
But now God has made it evident. (Paul and Barnbas)
So what is the point of fasting now?
Let me put it this way.
• The first fast, I would call a fast of desire.
(They desired to know God’s will)
• This fast is a fast of discernment.
(They desire to make sure they’ve heard correctly.)
1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;”
That is to say, don’t go against the Spirit, don’t ignore when someone tells you God’s will, but also don’t just accept everything at face value.
Discernment is required.
Remember Paul’s concern for the Corinthians?
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”
Now why would Paul fear this?
Because the Corinthians had a reputation
For being undiscerning and gullible.
1 Corinthians 12:1-2 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.”
There when Paul is confronting their obviously mystical fascination
He points out that they even had a propensity to follow mute gods.
John wrote in his epistle:
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
So it is obvious that at times we can receive a definite leading,
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it was from God.
There are times when we can get a definite direction,
But it could be a false spirit, or a false prophet.
Furthermore it could be that our heart was misguided
And we literally put words into God’s mouth.
Have you ever done this?
You wanted God to say something so badly, that you were actually able to find it in the Bible?
(I have.)
At times we have to fess up to the fact that our hearts are carnal And just because we think we hear, we must make sure
That we aren’t manipulating the situation to our own will.
That is the reason for this 2nd fast.
• They aren’t doubting God.
• They aren’t pulling a Balaam here, going back to see if God will give a different answer the next time.
They are merely making sure
That what they heard was in fact from God.
I often times do this in my life and walk.
I have especially done it in regard to mission trips.
(In a way I am doing this now)
I’ll pray and ask God’s guidance about something in regard to my walk.
And I think I get an answer.
But I also know my heart can be selfish, and I can be deceived,
So after I get an answer I kind of bring it back to God.
“OK God, this is what I think I heard you say. This is the direction I think You are telling me to go. I’m going to lean that way, if I am wrong here please interject.”
That is what this church is doing.
God has spoken, they are making sure they heard correctly.
So they are fasting again.
2) “and prayed”
This obviously runs hand in hand with fasting.
While you can pray without fasting,
I don’t think there is any way you can fast without praying.
This church is pretty sure they have been given a directive from God
So they return to God to make sure they are walking the correct path.
And it is obvious that as they have fasted and prayed
God has confirmed His word to them.
And so we see the third aspect here of this commissioning.
3) “and laid their hands on them”
NOW WHAT IS THIS?
There are some today that say, “This is a transfer of power”
They link it back to incidents where Peter laid hands on the Samaritans
And they received the Holy Spirit.
Or one of the apostles laid hands on someone and they were healed.
In fact some see it literally as a sort of divine hand me down.
You know Peter laid hands on one of the Samaritans,
And eventually that guy lays hands on someone else,
And so on and so forth.
And if you are in that line, then you also get the special anointing
Passed down from the apostles and thus gain their authority.
And people literally today seek to have hands laid on them
By some well-to-do prophet who claims to have the ability to lay hands on you
And give you some extra dose of spiritual power.
Tell me how is that any different from Simon the Sorcerer
All that really is, is a hoax meant to attract men to themselves.
If the laying on of hands was a spiritual means of
Passing along power from one to another
Then the first thing we notice, is that they are doing it backward.
Shouldn’t it have been Paul laying hands on these Antioch believers?
But it wasn’t.
The laying on of hands here did not empower Paul and Barnabas with the Holy Spirit, neither did it somehow enable them to do their mission.
They had already received the power of the Holy Spirit.
In fact they had already been called.
What did the Holy Spirit say up in verse 2?
“Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I HAVE called them.”
• They were already called…
• They were already empowered…
• They were already Spirit-filled…
The laying on of hands did not accomplish any of that.
SO WHAT IS IT?
It was merely a means of endorsement and recognition.
Do you remember at the Day of Atonement,
What did the priest do with the scapegoat?
Leviticus 16:20-22 “When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”
Now did Aaron literally pass all of his sin onto the goat? No.
He merely identified himself with that goat.
This goat is going out in my place.
Let me give you another example.
Take the Levites, the priestly tribe.
They were holy to the Lord as His servants.
But the Levites were actually an exchange of what God originally required
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT GOD ORIGNIALLY REQUIRED?
Exodus 13:1-2 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”
However God worked at trade.
Numbers 3:12-13 “Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. “For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the LORD.”
And so, would you like to guess what the children of Israel did
When the commissioned a Levite to service?
Numbers 8:9-10 “So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.”
They were saying this Levite is in my place.
They identified themselves with the Levite.
• They didn’t give the Levites authority.
• They didn’t give the Levites power.
God did all that, the people merely recognized their place in it.
Consider Moses’ replacement.
Who picked Moses’ replacement?
God did.
And notice what God told Moses.
Numbers 27:18-23 “So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. “You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. “Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” Moses did just as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.”
This is not some sort of divine empowering,
Whereby you have to seek someone out to get empowered.
Actually this has very little to do
With the person on whom the hands are laid,
And everything to do with those who lay their hands on you.
They are the ones saying, “You are going out in my stead”
That is why Paul said:
1 Timothy 5:22 “Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.”
If you send someone out in your place,
You had better think about who you are sending.
Some will say, well what about Timothy?
1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.”
• That doesn’t indicate that Timothy received authority from them,
• It doesn’t indicate that Timothy received a spiritual gift from them
Scripture is clear where spiritual gifts come from.
Paul is merely telling Timothy
That he has a stewardship entrusted to him.
Those men entrusted him to go and be faithful to preach the gospel,
If he quits or is unfaithful, he brings shame upon them as well.
SO YOU UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE BETTER NOW.
Well that is what this church is doing.
They lay hands on Paul and Barnabas as if to say,
“You are going in our stead”
Any of us would have gone, but God selected you, and so we place our hands on you signifying that through you we are all on mission.
This church was not empowering Paul and Barnabas
They were merely commissioning them.
Through Paul and Barnabas this church
Would be obedient to God’s call to missions.
When God starts a mission, He calls those He wants to participate.
Those who are not called to participate still do so,
By sending others in their stead.
And that brings to the final aspect of this.
4) “they sent them away.”
Again, they did not let them go, they “sent them”
Implied here is obviously a concept of provision.
Remember what Paul told the Corinthians?
1 Corinthians 9:4-5 “Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?”
1 Corinthians 9:13-14 “Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.”
That is what is also implied here.
And we understand now why the commissioning is so important.
• God has a plan for missions, and when we seek God
He calls out those whom He would send.
• But also expected is that the church would be the sending agency
That sends these missionaries on their journey.
“Missions is not an individual effort,
Missions is a congregational effort.”
Missionaries are an extension of the church’s arms
And their ministry must be supported by the church.
That is one of the things we learn here about being a missionary church.
• It starts with seeking God (not necessarily missions)
• Next we submit to God’s leading through His Spirit
• Then we send those He calls as an offering to Him and our obedience to His
command.
The Church, The Catalyst, The Commissioning
#4 THE COMMUNICATION
Acts 13:4-5
And at this point the mission actually starts.
And in part I’m glad it has actually taken us a while
Just to get to the start of the mission.
If there is one thing I have learned even in regard to short-term missions Is that the mission must actually start long before the trip begins.
You don’t just go get on a plane and call it missions.
There must be that period of seeking and submission and praying and finding God’s will and obeying it.
Well, this church has done that, and now the trip begins.
(4) “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”
Again notice the phrasing.
Verse 3 said the church “sent them away”
And now we read that they were “sent out by the Holy Spirit”
There is certainly no contradiction here.
We have a church working in total harmony with the leading of the Spirit
So that it is difficult to distinguish who is doing what.
It is a thing of beauty.
And when they had been sent “they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”
If you are wondering why Cyprus, we aren’t told specifically.
But there are some logical reasons to be gleaned from Scripture.
• One is that it was close.
It was only about a two day journey.
• Another is that there was a high Jewish population there,
And the gospel was taken to them first.
• A third reason is that it was Barnabas’ home region.
Acts 4:36 “Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),”
So sometimes missions are a DIRECT CALLING TO A SPECIFIC PLACE;
Maybe even a place you wouldn’t have initially thought of.
(This will happen on the 2nd missionary journey)
But sometimes missions is to the most obvious place,
And that is what we have here.
It made a lot of sense why they went to Cyprus.
Verse 5 here is very important.
“When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.”
“Salamis” was a city in the northeast and that is where they started.
They will end up in “Paphos” which was the southwest.
But what is important is that they “began to proclaim the word of God”
Now I realize we are about out of time tonight and so we will have to wait until next time to develop this thought a little more fully.
But certainly we can understand the true purpose of missions.
• Traveling the world is not in and of itself missions…
• Humanitarian aid is not in and of itself missions…
• Cultural education is not in and of itself missions…
The Christian mission is and will always be to preach the gospel.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
This was the commission,
And you will notice there is nothing humanitarian listed there.
Listen to the commission given in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 24:46-47 “and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
Jesus put the gospel at the forefront and center of all Christian work.
• Can humanitarian things be used? Of course
• Can medical trips or construction trips be used? Of course
Those things can surely help open doors for the gospel.
But until the gospel is preached it is not missions.
• Paul could sympathize with people.
• Paul could even fix someone’s tent.
• Luke most certainly could have helped medically.
• We all know Barnabas was a generous man, who could have helped financially.
But at the end of the day, the mission is the preaching of the gospel.
In fact Paul said:
1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
And so hopefully you understand the point here.
• This church sought God and when God spoke they submitted to God
and sent those whom God had called.
• And when those who had been called went out they did what was
primarily expected in that they proclaimed the gospel.
This is the way missions is supposed to work.
Now next time we meet we’ll talk about
Why the gospel and not humanitarian aid or something else must be the forefront of all missions.
But tonight simply see that when we seek God
We understand that missions is on His mind.
And in that you or I can only fall in to one of two roles.
We are either the SENT who go and preach the gospel,
Or we are the SENDER who helps them go.
As the church we must fill one shoe or the other.
• If you aren’t going then you must be sending.
• If you aren’t sending then you must be going.
Otherwise you are being disobedient to the Great Commission
And are totally missing your purpose for being left here.
John Piper said it this way: “Go; send; or disobey.”
Those are really our only options.
Seek God,
Listen to God
Obey God
Either by going and preaching the gospel,
Or by sending those who will.
