Acts 13:1-12

All right, so today we're going to hear of Acts 13.

It's not the central chapter in the book of Acts, but it's definitely a central chapter.

So the book of Acts as a whole is Luke's account of how Christ continued to work in the world

through the divine person of the Holy Spirit and through the body of which he is the head,

that is, the church.

So this saga begins in Jerusalem and extends to Judea and to Samaria, but these are still

largely Jewish areas.

Gentile expansion is sporadic at best.

But here, Paul and Barnabas are set apart for that work, which is really good news for

all of us who happen to be Gentiles.

That is not Jewish, those of us who are not Jewish.

So let's read Acts 13, 1 to 12 together.

This is on page 921 in your pew Bibles.

Page 921.

And it reads as follows.

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, who was called

Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Mannaan, a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul.

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.

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

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they

sailed to Cyprus.

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews,

and they had John to assist them.

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.

He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and

Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

But Elamas the magician, for that is the meaning of his name, opposed them, seeking to turn the

proconsul away from the faith.

But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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?

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.

Then, the proconsul believed when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching

of the Lord.

So last Sunday, we celebrated communion, where we all partook of the body and blood of Christ

as a church.

My prayer is that this church never stops using crunchy bread.

Along with singing together, the collective crunch when we chew the crackers is a reminder

that when we gather, on Sundays especially, we gather as a body.

It's that function of the church that I want to focus on today.

So I want to try something that many of you probably haven't done before.

So in the churches that I was in growing up, sometimes the pastor would ask the congregation

to turn to their neighbor and say something, often the theme of the sermon.

So I will ask the same of you to remind us all that we gather to hear the sermon not just as a lecture,

but as a collective body feeding on the Word of God.

So first step, you have to identify your neighbor.

So it's either someone to your left, to your right, in front, or in back of you.

So first step, identify that neighbor.

Okay?

Okay?

Sounds like neighbors have been identified.

So I want you to turn to your neighbor and say, neighbor.

So three sentences.

I don't want to be a helicopter believer.

Second sentence.

Second sentence.

You don't want me to be a helicopter believer.

You don't want me to be a helicopter believer.

And third sentence.

Please help me not to be a helicopter believer.

You don't want me to be a helicopter believer.

See?

That wasn't so bad, was it?

So, to explain that, I'm going to need two big points from this text.

First, the church is a community on mission.

Meaning it's a community that has been sent by God into the world.

And it is a community of commission.

Meaning each of us, if we've been united to Christ by faith,

has been sent by God into the world, and he continues to send us.

So that's our first thing.

The nature of the church.

That we've been sent both as individuals and as a community.

Point two.

We're sent not into a world that's full of rainbows and puppies

that are ready to hug us at every turn.

But rather, a world that is hostile to us.

And especially to the one whom we bear witness to.

So the second point is the nature of our Christian task.

So I say these things, obviously, not to scare us, but to encourage us.

Because the resources that the Lord has given us are more than sufficient.

So let's get back to the text.

It begins in Antioch.

The new central office of the church.

Where the disciples were first called Christians.

Verses one to four.

You have the prophets and teachers.

And they're worshiping the Lord and fasting.

Now the first thing to know, which we see in verse one.

Is the diversity and abundance of prophets and teachers in the church.

You have Barnabas, the encourager.

You have Simeon, who's most likely from Africa, as his nickname suggests.

You have Manan, who's a foster brother of Herod the Tetrarch.

He grew up with Herod the Tetrarch.

And this is the same Herod of the Gospels,

who was involved in the deaths of John the Baptist and of Jesus himself.

So Manan grew up with royalty.

But now he's standing with the church, facing bitter opposition.

You have Lucius from a city in northern Africa.

And you have Saul, the former Jewish pharisaical superstar.

Persecutor of Christians turned evangelist.

Think of this as similar to having the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, at one church.

And this makes verse two a little bit more surprising.

Because when the church is ministering to the Lord, probably praying and fasting,

the Holy Spirit speaks.

Now we don't know if this was a voice from above or the still small voice that the believers are hearing.

But however it happened, the message was clear.

Verse two.

Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

So basically, the Holy Spirit says,

your two best teachers, I've got another work for them,

miles away in the middle of the sea.

So not only was this probably a little weird for Paul and Barnabas,

but it must have been tough for the congregation.

When you've got great gifted people in your congregation, you want to keep them.

But this is our first point.

The church is a community on mission.

And what is that mission?

Well, according to Christ, it is to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations.

Note, disciples, not just converts.

The goal is to train up learners in order to send them out into every sphere of human life.

So in that sense, the most important indicator of church growth is spiritual maturity.

And so it's in the following verse that we have an act of the church that shows this kind of maturity.

The word has been spoken in a clear way.

And verse three is the church's response.

It says, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them,

they sent them away.

The church is a place of commission.

Meaning the church is meant to send people out, not just keep people in.

We see this even in the language that Luke uses to describe the twelve disciples.

Throughout the Gospels, they're called disciples because they're learning from Christ in his earthly ministry.

But after Christ dies, is resurrected and ascends, the twelve are then called the apostles.

Because they're those who have been sent.

Emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Obviously, that doesn't mean that they stop learning.

But there has been a shift in their identity.

You likewise have been sent.

Do you work?

Your workplace is a mission field.

Are you home with kids?

Your children are an essential mission field.

Are you in school?

Students definitely need Jesus.

But you have not been sent alone.

This is big point number one.

You're part of a new community.

The church.

Your local body of believers.

Which brings us back to this main illustration.

That thing that I told you to speak to your neighbor.

I don't want to be a helicopter believer.

What in the world is that?

Well, let's think about a helicopter.

What's distinctive about what a helicopter can do?

It can hover.

One of the main tactical advantages of a helicopter is that it can escape congested areas easily

because it can just take off and land vertically.

When you're stuck in traffic on 95 or 15, like, this is the kind of transportation that you want.

You just want to lift up and roll on out.

But what does that have to do with the church?

Well, some of us want the versatility and the flexibility of a helicopter in our relationships.

If we're in the midst of an especially hairy church conflict, maybe we would just like to lift off and rise above it.

Love is too hard, so maybe we'll just hover for a little bit until things die down.

Maybe you think because you're only here for a few years or a few months, setting roots would be a bad idea.

Maybe you think, ah, it'll be a little too messy for me to get involved in people's lives and then have to leave.

Maybe you think, ah, it'll be a little too messy for me to get involved in people's lives and then have to be a little too messy.

Let's be honest.

Many of us have entertained these thoughts, or perhaps we are entertaining those thoughts right now.

In one way or another, we've acted like helicopters, hovering over the fray out of fear of pain,

or hovering over the joy out of fear of commitment.

Church, I'm here to tell you that this will not work, and it's dangerous to your spiritual health.

In one sense, the church does not need air support.

It needs foot soldiers.

It needs Christians who are willing to guard one another in the trenches.

Especially at a church like Trinity, it's easy to look at the fact that the population of the church is always shifting

and to think that you won't be able to have a meaningful contribution to the community.

But there is no time too short to commit to a local church.

There is no time that no one in the congregation needs encouragement, prayer, a moment of hospitality,

a reminder from scripture, or some other manifestation of the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you.

So that first sentence, I don't want to be a helicopter believer.

Hovering over the life of the church does not serve my soul well.

You deny yourself the love of your brothers and sisters.

Second one was, you don't want me to be a helicopter believer.

For you to hover above the life of the church is to deny your brothers and sisters your love and your gifts

and the opportunity to grow in the image of Christ with you.

And that last one was, help me not to be a helicopter believer.

We need one another for this to continue to work.

We need to continue to encourage one another to be involved in one another's lives.

To pray for one another, to encourage one another, to continue to challenge one another.

As members of the body of Christ, it is our joyous call to serve and grow with one another.

So, if you are a Christian and you have not made a local church your home,

I commend Trinity to you for membership.

Join a small group.

Talk to the elders more if you're interested.

But keep in mind that if you do join, you're not just joining a group of people.

The church is not just a social club.

The great thing about verse 4 is what it suggests about the purpose and the power of the church.

Verse 3 says that the church sent them off.

The Greek word really suggests that the church let them go.

Because it's clear who's calling the shots in this story.

The Holy Spirit is.

He's the one who sent Paul and Barnabas to Antioch in the first place.

And so he's the one who sent them away.

He's also the one who brought you here.

And he's the one who's given you the gifts that you have.

The church is the place and the group of people that he works through

to shape you into the image of Christ.

And the Holy Spirit is the one who is with us when we face opposition.

Like Paul and Barnabas.

I want to read verses 6 to 12 again.

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.

He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence,

who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

But El-Amas, the magician, for that is the meaning of his name,

opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

But Saul, who was also called Paul,

it's the first time he's called Paul,

every time after this he'll be Paul,

filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked intently at him 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?

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.

And immediately mist and darkness fell upon him.

He went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.

Then the proconsul believed.

When he saw what had occurred,

for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

So on the island of Cyprus,

our dynamic duo meets up with Bar Jesus,

a Jewish false prophet,

whose name means son of Jesus.

More on that later.

His compatriot is the actual focus of this story,

proconsul Sergius Paulus.

A few notes on this guy.

He's a smart man, a man of intelligence.

He's politically powerful,

as a proconsul is a governor of a Roman province.

Also, he's primed and ready for the gospel,

as it's clear that the Holy Spirit has done preliminary work,

getting his heart ready.

That's in the second half of verse 7.

The fact that he called for Paul and Barnabas

shows us that Sergius Paulus knows

that there's something different about what these men have to offer.

But Elemas can't have Paul and Barnabas

moving in on his territory.

Chances are this guy has spent a lot of time

building his political influence.

He has Sergius Paulus' ear.

He trusts him in matters of faith.

And now these pesky Christians are getting in the way.

And so, Bar-Jesus seeks to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

So why does Paul get so angry?

There's a legitimate rage in this utterance and in his gaze.

This is not just a benign stare.

Imagine the stare that a mother gives her child

when he's embarrassing her in public.

That stare that says,

if you don't get right,

when we get home...

But Paul doesn't wait.

Paul lets loose an indictment and a sentence,

calling him a son of the devil

and then blinding him.

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?

That sounds a little harsh.

Is Paul overreacting?

To that we have to say no.

Because of verse 9.

This is not Paul's overly emotional response.

This is the judgment of the Holy Spirit.

So how is bar Jesus

actually bar Satan?

What makes this man a son of the devil?

Well, understanding the father-son relationship

of this culture and time is necessary

for us to kind of get the full brunt

of what Paul is saying here.

So now in the 21st century,

we're in a time where you can hypothetically

basically do whatever job that you want to do

if you train for it.

But what we see in Christ's time

and in the time of the apostles

is a culture where as a child,

specifically a male child,

you do what your dad does.

Jesus is referred to as the son of Joseph,

the carpenter.

And according to Mark,

Jesus did a little carpentry himself.

It was customary for a father

to teach his son the trade

when he was about 12 years old.

It was really important

that children get into the family business.

As opposed to, for example,

someone like me who avoids the law like the plague

while my parents are both in law,

a first century Jewish man

would be carrying on his father's business.

And this is the sense in which we see

this same son of the devil language

used by Jesus in John 8.

When he speaks to a crowd

who doesn't believe him,

Jesus says this,

you are of your father the devil

and your will is to do your father's desires.

He was a murderer from the beginning

and has nothing to do with the truth

because there is no truth in him.

So to be someone's child,

this is for men and women,

to be someone's child, biblically,

is to do what they do.

So to be a child of the devil

is to do as he does.

It is to kill.

It is to steal.

It is to deceive.

It is ultimately to destroy.

So insofar as someone acts these things out,

one reveals one's parentage.

So bar Jesus,

in seeking to turn the proconsul

away from the faith,

performs an utterly demonic task,

attempting to keep Sergius Paulus

away from eternal joy and salvation

through the knowledge of Jesus Christ

as his savior.

So why does Paul get so mad

that Elemas makes crooked

the straight paths of the Lord?

If a drug dealer peddles drugs

to your child in front of you,

do you just walk up to him

and ask,

oh, could you kindly not do that?

I imagine there would be some anger.

Paul's anger is the anger

that we should experience

when we see a distortion of the gospel,

the clear good news,

the good news that we were created

for God's glory,

but chose to reject him,

becoming corrupt to our very core

and dead in our trespasses and sins,

worthy of the wrath of God.

But while we were yet his enemies,

God sent his son

in the person of Jesus Christ,

who lived a perfect human life

and died and took the punishment

that was due us as our substitute,

and after dying,

rose on the third day.

The good news

that if we trust Jesus Christ

solely and wholly

for our salvation,

our sins are forgiven,

and he clothes us

with his righteousness,

and he seals us

with his spirit,

through whom he shapes us

into his image.

That is the good news.

Anything substantively different

from that

is a despicable distortion.

Let's take an example

from the gym.

Imagine that for me

to secure my own salvation,

I have to lift

a 500-pound weight.

If we can imagine

the weight in front of me,

it's 500 pounds.

If I can successfully

lift this weight,

I will effectively

defeat my sin

and essentially

win at life.

Unfortunately,

I mean,

do I look like

I'm going to lift

500 pounds?

I do not spend

two hours a day

doing CrossFit.

500 pounds

would destroy

all kinds of muscles

and ligaments

or whatever I engage

in trying to lift

that monstrous weight.

So someone might say,

oh,

you just need

a really good spotter.

You just need somebody

to come alongside you

and just kind of

help you out.

Nobody's going to be able

to help.

That's not going to work.

And that's also

not what Jesus does.

Jesus is not someone

who just comes

alongside you

and kind of gives you

that little extra push

that you need.

We're not just

a little bit sinful

and we just need Jesus

to kind of come in

and shine us up

a little bit.

No, down to our thoughts

and our desires

we've been sullied.

We place our faith

in Christ alone

because it is in his death

and resurrection

that our sins

have been forgiven.

He took them

once and for all

and gave us

a new identity

in him.

We don't need

a spotter.

We need to step aside

and let him take

the weight

on his shoulders.

Whether it's

500 pounds of metal

or the guilt

and power

of my sin,

it's way too much

for me

but it is not

too much

for the Savior.

Anything that

purports to be

the gospel

but does not

revolve around

complete dependence

on the Lord

Jesus Christ,

his life,

his death,

and his resurrection

is a poisonous

distorted lie.

There's another

prominent teaching

that the Lord's

prominent teaching

today that the

Lord's primary

desire for you

is that you

be prosperous,

that you be

healthy,

that you be

wealthy,

that you be

happy,

that by your

words you can

kind of speak

these things

into existence.

This gospel

is toothless.

The true gospel

promises joy

in the midst

of suffering,

strength in the

midst of weakness.

Any power that

you have is not

yours but the

power of Christ

if you are

joined to him

by faith.

Anything less

is garbage.

Yes, that's

strong language,

I know,

but these are

matters of life

and death

and they require

the utmost attention.

And this is the

reason why the

judgment on the

false prophet,

bar Jesus,

is blindness.

You may be

reminded of another

story that

involved Paul

and blindness,

his own.

Do you remember

the story?

Paul,

breathing murder,

is on his way

to Damascus

on a rampage,

persecuting Christians

left and right,

tying them up,

bringing them to

prison,

and in other

cases,

even overseeing

their deaths.

If anyone was a

fervent enemy of

Christianity and

not likely to be

converted,

Paul was that

guy.

But God had a

different plan.

When Paul was on

that road,

the resurrected

Christ appeared

to him,

calling him out

and subsequently

blinding him.

Paul had to find

Ananias,

who nursed him

back to health,

restored his sight,

and had him

baptized so that

he could begin

the most fruitful

Christian ministry

ever.

Then,

a few chapters

later in the

same book,

this same Paul

comes across

a man just as

spiritually blind

as he was,

just as intent

on keeping people

away from Jesus

as he was.

I can't help

but think that

in the background

of this encounter,

Paul is seeing

himself

and recoiling.

Has this ever

happened to you?

Ezekiel 36

describes this

phenomenon.

God promises

in verses 26

and 27,

which we read

earlier,

in salvation

to remove

your heart of

stone and

replace it

with a heart

of flesh.

He promises

to place

his spirit,

his own spirit

inside of you

and to cause

you to walk

in the way

that he would

have you walk.

But a few

verses down

in verse 31,

he describes

how we will

view our

old selves.

He says,

then you will

remember your

evil ways

and your deeds

that were not

good,

and you will

loathe yourselves

for your

iniquities

and your

abominations.

Sometimes we're

especially sensitive

to see others

who are suffering

as we are

or who have

sinned

as we have.

Has your

faith penetrated

you this

deeply?

Has it

shaped your

affections?

Has it

shaped your

emotions?

Do you see

your sin

in the ways

in which you

rebel against

God and

recoil in

loathing?

Does that

then remind

you of the

joy of God's

grace and

his forgiveness?

This is,

I think,

the root of

Paul's anger

and the fruit

of the Holy

Spirit working

in him in

this moment.

He sees

in Bar-Jesus

a little bit

of his

former self,

blind to

the joys

of Christ

and seeking

to bring

others down

into his

own blindness.

So,

the Holy

Spirit,

through Paul,

makes Bar-Jesus'

physical situation

match his

spiritual situation.

But he does

so with

mercy.

Note,

he's just

going to

be blind

for a

time.

This is

not a

final judgment,

but a

warning that

would hopefully

lead to

Elamas'

own repentance.

So,

hearing all

of this,

you might

think,

well,

that's all

well and

good,

but I'm

just an

ordinary

believer.

I'm no

Paul.

I'm not

going to

be going

around blinding

people and

calling people

children of

the devil.

That could

get weird

really

quickly.

Yes,

you're right,

that could

get weird

very quickly.

But this

episode tells

us a lot

about how

a life

infused with

the Holy

Spirit should

look.

There will

be times

where you

will face

opposition and

a firm

rebuke will

be necessary.

Sometimes you

will need to

shut somebody

down.

But,

there also

will be times

where a firm

rebuke is

inappropriate.

Example,

let's say

that a friend

comes to

you and

tells you

that they're

really excited

about a

church.

You,

being the

savvy 21st

century person

that you

are,

go home

and the

first thing

you do,

you check

the website.

But in

looking at

the website,

you notice

a few red

flags.

Maybe

Christ is

just seen

as special

but kind

of one

among many

religious

options.

Maybe it's

a place

where the

Bible is

seen as

fraught with

error and

in need of

revision by

conscientious

believers.

upon finding

these things

out,

do you

find your

friend and

attempt to

call down

fire from

heaven?

Probably

not.

No, you

would engage

your friend

in conversation.

You would

determine what

it is about

that church

that draws

them and

you would

apply the

true gospel

to that

longing.

Sometimes

that's the

way to go.

Sometimes

what I

affectionately

call the

sledgehammer

method is

necessary.

But in

order to

discern which

is appropriate

when, we

must be in

constant prayer

and we

must be in

constant

community

because it

is the

Holy Spirit

that offers

that guidance.

This is why

Luke, in

recounting this

experience of

Paul's, prefaces

it by saying

that Paul is

filled with

the Holy Spirit

in verse

nine when he

does this.

It is

God's

power and

it is in

submitting to

God's

will that

that power

is manifested

in us.

And this

brings us to

the end

of our

passage.

The

joyous

climax.

Verse

12.

Then

the

proconsul

believed

when he

saw what

had occurred

for he

was astonished

at the

teaching

of the

Lord.

Two

things.

First, he

believed

when he

saw.

Here is a

case where

seeing really

does lead to

true believing.

But it's even

deeper than

that.

The

proconsul

seeing is

in direct

contrast to

the false

prophet's

blindness.

This is a

reminder of

the purpose

of this

passage and

of the

book of

Acts as

a whole.

This is

the story

of the

Holy Spirit

opening eyes

and hearts

through the

work of

believers.

A story

that we

as the

church are

a part

of and

that we've

been invited

to take

an active

part of.

Few

things are

more satisfying

than seeing

the light

in a

student's

eyes when

they finally

figure something

out.

That feeling

is multiplied

exponentially

when you

see the

gospel take

root in

someone's

life.

Point two,

the teaching

of the

Lord.

It says

that the

proconsul

believed when

he saw what

had occurred

for he was

astonished at

the teaching

of the

Lord.

That seems

weird.

It didn't

strike me as

a very

didactic

passage,

meaning it's

not like Paul

went through

kind of a

point-by-point

explanation of

the gospel

in this

passage.

What does

he mean by

the teaching

of the

Lord?

I think

this shows

us that

the gospel,

while it is

primarily a

message,

yes,

it is also

a way of

living,

thinking,

and breathing

in the

world.

The

proconsul

was amazed

at the

power that

a believer

in Jesus

Christ and

partaker in

his spirit

has access

to.

The word

is a powerful

thing,

brothers and

sisters.

The church

is a powerful

people,

a people who

have been sent

out on a

mission,

and a people

who have been

sent to

commission.

That is who

you are.

that is who

we are.

Each of us

has a full-time

Christian ministry

because it's

part of our

identity.

My faith and

my relationship

with Christ

are not just

things that I

reckon with on

Sundays or

whenever I have

small group.

These things

ought to extend

to and fill

our thoughts,

our words,

and our actions.

Because in the

world that we

face,

whether it's in

the office,

whether it's at

home,

whether it's in

church,

whether it's

a stop-and-shop,

whether it's

in your car,

whether it's

on your way

to class,

we face an

enemy who

wants nothing

better than to

make us fall

and take us

off of the

straight ways

of the Lord.

But we have

the word of

God in the

scriptures.

We have the

very spirit of

God as a

gift of faith.

And we have

one another.

Father, let's

go out in

power.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Father, before

your son went

to the cross,

he told his

disciples, it

is to your

advantage that I

go away.

For if I do

not go away,

the helper

will not come

to you.

surely this

was as

confusing for

the disciples

as it may

be for us

sometimes.

But Lord, I

pray that you

continue to

remind us and

solidify in

us the fact

that having

the Holy Spirit

inside of us

is even better

than having

Jesus beside

us in this

present life.

May the

believers this

morning come

to a deeper

communion with

you through

your son in

your spirit.

Lord, may the

non-believers

here come to

a saving

knowledge of

you through

repentance and

faith.

Lord, we thank

you and we

praise you.

In the name of

your son, Jesus

Christ, and by

the power of

your Holy Spirit,

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, to

respond, we're

going to sing a

song about being

sent forth and

sent out with

the gospel.

So let's

stand and

let's

stand.