To the ends of the earth (Acts 12:25-13:12) // On mission with the risen Jesus

So we are in Acts 13. So as most of you will know, as

we've mentioned already this morning, we've been praying a

lot over the last few weeks for the Wallace family in Nigeria,

for Matt and Lisa, for Joshua, Paris, and Lydia.

Some of us will be praying for them after the service like we

did last week in the Cherry classroom just down that

corridor. So if you're able to join us,

just get a cup of tea or coffee and just bring it with you down

there and we'll pray for a few minutes.

We'll also be praying for them tonight during the March family

meeting. As Chris said, for those of you

who don't know Matt and Lisa personally, you might be asking

the question, what? Why are they in Nigeria?

Why did we send a family we love to another part of the world

when there's still many people here in Leicester who are yet to

hear and respond to the good news about Jesus?

And as Chris has prayed, we've got other mission partners we've

sent out as a church family here.

Now working overseas, we've got the Harrison family, Simon, Ali,

Samuel, Mia and Maddie working in Ethiopia.

Why are they in Ethiopia? Why did we send them to another

part of the world closer to home?

We used to have an assistant pastor here at Ave.

Dan James Little over two years ago we sent Dan, Jamie, EFA and

a team of people from Ave. to the Eres Monso Estate.

Why did we do that? Why start another church in

another part of Leicester when there's so many people here in

Clarendon Park who are yet to hear and respond to the good

news of Jesus? Oh, I think the section in the

book of Acts we're looking at this morning helps us begin to

answer that question. Acts 13, It's it's a big moment

in the book of Acts. Back in chapter 1, we have the

opening lines of the book, The risen Jesus speaking to his

disciples just before he ascends into heaven after completing his

saving work for everyone who trusts him.

And Jesus says, he says, you will receive power when the Holy

Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in

Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the

earth. And some people refer to these

words of Jesus as if you like the contents page of the book of

Acts, because the three movements that Jesus describes

here are the three movements in the book of Acts.

So Acts chapter one to seven, that's the disciples living as

Jesus witnesses in Jerusalem. Acts chapter 8 to 12, the gospel

Acts 8 · chapter mention

reaches beyond Jerusalem into all Judea and Samaria.

And from Acts 13, our passage this morning, the good news of

Jesus finally reaches into the Gentile world.

The rest of the Roman Empire, or as Jesus puts it, the good news

reaches to the ends of the earth and it will extend there in the

rest of the book. And we thought last week about

one of the purposes of the book of Acts is it shows us the

priorities of a spirit filled church.

What were some of the things the early church committed

themselves to and what can we learn from that?

So last week in Acts 12 we learnt that a spirit filled

church is a church that prays together.

This week, as we turn to Acts 13, there's still a lot of

emphasis on praying together. But look has a particular focus

here. He wants to show us that a

spirit filled church is a church that is committed to mission

both locally and globally. The reason Avenues become a

church family that has sent people out on mission in recent

years both globally, Nigeria, Ethiopia and locally Eresmonsal

is because of passages like Acts 13.

We believe one of the priorities of a healthy disciple making

spirit filled local church is that we send people on mission.

We are committed to mission, so we want to listen to this

passage and learn from it together.

And again, Acts 13, it's, it's a big deal this passage because

for the first time mission isn't being done simply by a few

individuals. It's been planned and prayed for

and organised by a particular local church.

The church in Antioch, just up there at the top there.

And the gospel isn't spreading because of persecution, because

the Christians are being driven out of somewhere.

No, it's a deliberate church decision led by the Spirit made

by the leaders in the whole congregation in Antioch to send

Barnabas and Saul out from Antioch on mission.

And we want to learn from the church in Antioch how to grow as

a local church committed to mission.

And we want to learn from Barnabas and Saul as they arrive

on the island of Cyprus, what authentic gospel ministry looks

like, what we can expect as we live as witnesses for Jesus.

So turning to Acts 13, in this first bit, it's kind of a game

of two halves. This bit verses one to three,

the church in Antioch sends out Barnabas and Saul on mission.

And then verses 4 to 12, Barnabas and Saul on mission in

Cyprus. Now we were introduced to the

church in Antioch a few weeks ago.

If you were here in Acts Chapter 11, Antioch's one of the first

Acts 11 · chapter mention

places where the gospel was shared not just with Jewish

people, but with non Jewish people, with Gentiles as well.

It's a church made-up of mostly Gentile believers.

And it's the first place where disciples of Jesus were called

Christians. That's Acts 11, verse 26.

Acts 11:26

And from this point onwards in the book of Acts, Antioch

becomes central in taking the good news of Jesus to the ends

of the earth. And what do we learn about this

church in Antioch from Acts 13? The first thing we learn is that

this is a diverse church. Just look to the list of

prophets and teachers we get in verse one.

Presumably these prophets and teachers, they made-up the

leadership of the church in Antioch.

Now in the church in Antioch there were prophets and

teachers, Barnabas Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Menaean

who'd been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul.

And we need to see this is a remarkably diverse group of

people. It's a very odd group to have

together in the 1st century. So we have Barnabas and we

learnt earlier on Acts, he's a Levite from the island of

Cyprus. That's ACTS 436.

We've got Simeon called Niger, he's probably from Africa.

He's a man with darker skin. That's what Niger means in

Latin, it means black. There's even a possibility that

this Simeon, called Niger, could be the same man known as Simon

of Cyrene, the man who carried the cross for Jesus outside

Jerusalem, whose sons Alexander and Rufus were known to the

early Christians. That's just a possibility.

That is the Simeon recounted here.

We've got Lucius of Cyrene, he's definitely from North Africa.

We've got Meneen, I think is how you would say it, brought up

with Herod's family from Galilee in Judea.

This man grew up with a Herod who had John the Baptist killed,

who made Jesus stand trial. He's probably not a great

childhood friend. I would imagine you'd be a bit

nervous if that's your childhood friend.

But here he is. He's, for whatever reason, he

has become a follower of Jesus and he is here in the church in

Antioch as one of its leaders. And then we have Saul from

Tarsus in modern day southern Turkey, once a Pharisee, a

persecutor of the church, now one of the main teachers in

Antioch. We need to see there's a group

of people that should never hang out together in the 1st century.

They're from Africa, from Cyprus, from Judea and Samaria,

from Asia Minor. Some of them are Jews, some of

them are Gentiles. There's a Levite, A Pharisee,

one of Herod's childhood friends.

That's the beginning of a joke. They walk into a pub or

something. But these men, they should not

be friends. And yet here they are,

worshipping the Lord together and praying together.

I think Luke wants to see this, this small group in the church

in Antioch. It is a glimpse, a taster of the

global church that the Bible lifts our eyes to again and

again. This is God's new humanity,

God's new community that the crucified and risen Lord Jesus

has brought together. Once strangers and enemies,

there are now one in Christ sharing the unity of the Spirit,

each one of them calling godfather because of what Jesus

has done for them. This is a little snapshot, a

trailer of that description in the Book of Revelation,

Revelation Chapter 7, where the apostle John says, I saw a great

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe,

people and language standing before the throne and before the

Lamb. It's a diverse church, but also

we learned it's a praying church.

That's verses two to three. What are they doing when the

Holy Spirit speaks to them here? Well, Luke tells us verse 2 they

were worshipping the Lord and fasting and then verse 3 after

they heard the spirits call on Barnabas and Saul, they fasted

and prayed. This is a God centred church.

These aren't just a group of people trying to wing it and

work it out as they go. They are humbling themselves

before God and asking him to lead them.

They are worshipping the Lord for all he has done for them in

Jesus. They're demonstrating their

hunger for God by fasting for seasons of time.

They are praying to the Lord asking him to lead them where

they should go. And it's not clear in these

verses who the they are. If this is just the leaders of

the church, you're named in verse one.

Or this might be the whole church gathered together.

Certainly when when Barnabas and Paul come back from their

missionary journey in Acts 14, it's clear the whole church in

Antioch was involved in sending them out on mission.

But it's a praying church, and now and then fundamentally, it's

ascending church. Verses 3 to 4 in like so often

in Acts, Luke doesn't tell us exactly how they hear the call

of the Holy Spirit on Barnabas and Saul in verse 2.

It could have been through one of the many prophets who are

named here. The Spirit speaks to the

prophet, and the prophet shares that with the congregation.

It could be a conviction that comes on many in the whole

church. Whatever the method, they

respond to that verse 3 by fasting and praying.

They test God's call on Barnabas and Saul.

They need time to reflect together on whether this truly

is the word of God to them. But also they want to pray for

Barnabas and Saul as they prepare to send them out into

the ends of the earth. But whatever the detail of

what's going on in these verses, Luke wants us to see here,

mission is God's idea. It is the living Godfather, Son,

and Holy Spirit who is sending out these people into the

Gentile world. God leads us on mission by His

Holy Spirit. We've seen that again and again

in Acts. But we always need to remember

it. Mission is not something we need

to strategically come up with on our own.

It's so we need to to humble ourselves before God and say,

Lord, you've put us in this place at this time, what would

you have us do? That is what the church in

Antioch does together. And we need to see that actually

being ascending church for Antioch was costly for them.

It brings great blessings, but it also brings costs.

We need to remember the Barnabas and Soul.

They're some of the key Bible teachers and leaders in Antioch

at this time. You look back at Acts 1125 to

26, their ministries proving really successful.

Loads of people are hearing about Jesus.

They're kind of two of Antioch's best people.

And yet the Holy Spirit says those are the ones I want you to

send away. Sending people out on mission is

always costly, but it's what the Lord Jesus calls His people to

do. And and looking at this, I just

can't help but think about our own experience of that here at

Ave. in recent years. We sent Matt and Lisa Wallace

out to Nigeria. Matt was an elder here with us.

Lisa was our woman's worker for many years.

We sent Simon and Ali Harrison out on mission to Ethiopia.

They were Home group leaders here, trusted and valued members

of our church family. We sent Dan James to lead the

Eres Monso Community Church with a small team from Ave.

Dan was our assistant pastor, he was an elder, he was a a key

preacher and leader and musician.

I once described to someone like he's our best musician and Lily

was sitting next to me and challenged me.

But no. But the rest of the Eres Monso

Church, they were people we knew and loved.

We know and love. Sending people out on mission is

costly. It was for the church in

Antioch. It has been for us here at Ave.

but a spirit filled church look tells us is a church committed

to mission both locally and globally.

And alongside the costs of that, there is rich blessing as we

follow the Lord's lead on mission both locally and

globally. I think I've probably shared

this before, but on a personal level, I've been helped greatly

by Paul's words in Two Corinthians Chapter 9.

These are pinned up on my shared wall, have been for a few years

now. The primary context is giving

financially, but I've come to this passage frequently as I've

thought about what it means for us to be ascending church.

Each of you should give what you've decided in your heart to

give, says Paul, not reluctantly under compulsion.

The key phrase for God loves a cheerful giver.

I've wanted us to be cheerful as we've given people to mission

both locally and globally. And then that amazing promise

from Paul. God's able to bless you

abundantly. So in all things, at all times,

having all that you need, you will abide in every good work.

We have sent people away on mission, but we have not

diminished. We've actually grown with some

people joining us with new mission opportunities around us.

Alongside the cost of sending is the blessing of being in step

with the Spirit and following his lead.

So the church in Antioch, it's a diverse church, it's a praying

church, it's a sending church, it's a church every church in

history can learn from in those areas.

And for the rest of our passage this morning, Luke records for

us the first part of Barnabas and Saul's first missionary

journey. In many ways, actually, their

journey to Cyprus is like a snapshot of mission for the rest

of the book of Acts. A lot of what happens to

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus is what will happen to Barnabas and

Saul wherever they go with the good news of Jesus.

So the question really is why did Barnabas and Saul begin in

Cyprus? Seem to be a number of reasons.

Sorry, I've got a lovely Christopher who's there.

That's not as clear. But Cyprus, if you see it there,

it's a a key stopping off point. If you're travelling from

Antioch, you can stop off in Cyprus on your way to Asia

Minor, what is now southern Turkey.

It was an important mining and trading centre, a really

thriving community on that island.

And another possible reason why they go there is that we just

heard Barnabas is from there. Barnabas grew up on Cyprus.

He knew it well. He would have loved the people

there. He wanted the opportunity to

proclaim the good news of Jesus to people he knew and loved.

And what do we learn from Barnabas and Saul's approach to

mission in their time on Cyprus? Then we can learn a few things.

First thing we learn actually is that their approach was to go

first to the Jew and then to the Gentile.

That's a phrase that Paul uses later in one of his letters,

Romans one, verse 16. Look at verse 5 again.

Luke tells us when they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the

word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

So it seems there were a number of synagogues, a number of

Jewish people in this coastal town of Salamis.

So Barnabas and Saul began their mission there.

And it's worth noting throughout the book of Acts, wherever

possible, the apostle Paul preaches the good news of Jesus

to Jewish people 1st. And that shouldn't surprise us.

So Saul or Paul, he was Jewish himself, and Jesus is the Jewish

Messiah, the fulfillment of all God's promises to his people in

the Old Testament. I want you to remember here, the

early church never excluded or gave up on Jewish people, even

when Jewish people rejected the gospel message.

See, the church in the New Testament is made-up of Jewish

and Gentile believers who are now one in Christ.

Many of the letters we have in the New Testament, Gentile

believers seem to outnumber Jewish believers.

But the early Christians still sought to proclaim Jesus to

their Jewish neighbors. See, the church wasn't a

replacement for ancient Israel, not the sign that God had given

up on the Jewish people. No, the church with the new

Israel made-up of Jewish and Gentile believers united in

Christ. And the early Christians wanted

Jewish people in the church. So they proclaim the good news

of Jesus to them. And I think that's an important

thing to notice because we need to acknowledge in church history

right up to the present day, there has been a really dark

history of anti-Semitism among Christians.

Historically, Christians have wrongly blamed the Jews for

killing Jesus. We've airbrushed Jesus

Jewishness so as we've given up sharing the good news to Jewish

people and add that to our situation today with the modern

state of Israel. We may have deep concerns with

the modern state of Israel and some of its policies.

We may not like the leaders of Israel, but we need to remember

Jewish people still need to hear about Jesus.

Will we pray for the witness of Jewish Christians to their

neighbors when we pray for the gospel to extend to Jewish

people across the world in our local communities here in

Clarendon Park and even in the State of Israel as well?

That was Paul and Barnabas approach here in Cyprus, as it

was elsewhere. Another striking thing to notice

is that Saul becomes Paul the apostle to the Gentiles in verse

9. So from this point onwards in

the book of Acts verse 9, Luke no longer refers to Saul of

Tarsus as Saul. From now on, he refers to him as

Paul. And as a Roman citizen, Saul of

Tarsus would have had at least two names.

So Saul was his Hebrew name, Paul was his Greek name.

It wasn't a brand new name that he got after he became a

Christian. He would have had it for some

time. But from this point onwards,

Paul chooses to refer to himself as Paul, not Saul.

And I'm now going to just start saying Paul because that's

easier. But what was the significance of

that? Well, again, I think put simply,

Paul wanted to remove every obstacle between himself and the

non Jewish people. He was called to share the

gospel with. This former Pharisee, this

Hebrew of Hebrews, this persecutor of the church was now

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.

He changed his name to reflect Jesus calling on his life.

If you remember Jesus words to Saul on Damascus, he is my

chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their

kings and to the people of Israel.

And again, we can learn from Paul here.

Paul held fast to the central truths of the gospel, the life,

death, resurrection of Jesus, the call to repent and believe

the gospel, the call to discipleship and making

disciples. He always remained faithful to

the Lord Jesus and the Word of God.

But at the same time, Paul was culturally flexible and

adaptable so that as many people as possible could hear that good

news about Jesus. He thought if there was an

unnecessary obstacle in a way like his very Jewish name, he

then I'm going to go by my Greek name because that will travel

better. That is the name I'm going to go

by. That was Paul's passion.

He was inflexible when it came to the gospel, but he was

flexible. And just to buy everything else,

listen to Paul's own words. In One Corinthians 9 he says,

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a

slave to everyone to win as many as possible.

To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews.

To those not having the law, I became like 1 not having the law

so as to win those not having the law.

To the weak I became weak to win the weak.

I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible

means I might save some. I think every Christian and

every local church, every generation can learn from Paul

in this Will we hold fast to the central truths of the gospel

while being culturally flexible in how we proclaim those central

truths? Will we be inflexible when it

comes to the Word of God, holding fast, but flexible when

it comes to how we engage with the people around us?

That's what Paul models for us here, I think.

And what else do we learn about mission from Barnabas and Saul's

time in Cyprus? I think the headlines are fairly

simple. There will always be people

opposed to the gospel. There will always be people

hungry for the gospel. Acts is wonderfully realistic

and is wonderfully hopeful for us.

Opposition comes regularly to Paul and Barnabas wherever they

go in Acts, from Jewish and from Gentile sources.

Because the message of the gospel is fairly simple.

We need rescuing. God has sent a rescuer and his

name is Jesus. But that has an offensive

message. If you refuse to accept you need

rescuing, how dare you say I need rescuing?

How dare you say I need Jesus? So where's the opposition come

from on Cyprus? Well, verse 6, it comes from a

Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar Jesus, later

also named Elimas the sorcerer, now Jewish sorcerer.

Those two things don't usually belong together.

The Jewish scriptures condemn sorcery and magic.

And the name bar Jesus literally means son of Jesus or son of

Joshua. That could have been a family

name. It could have been just

literally his dad's name was Joshua or Jesus.

Or this could have been a claim to have the power to bring

salvation. Jesus and Joshua means the Lord

saves. Maybe this sorcerer was saying,

look, I've got the power to save people and he's got an influence

on this. This Roman governor is intrigued

by him, and when Paul and Barnabas arrive, Alamas is

threatened by them. There will always be people

opposed to the Gospel, says look, but the Roman governor has

a very different approach to Alamas the sorcerer.

Verse 7. The pro council Sergius Paulus

was an intelligent man and sent for Barnabas and Saul because he

wanted to hear the word of God. That reminds us there will

always be people hungry for the gospel.

They might be very unlikely people.

Again, Paul and Barman probably didn't expect a Roman governor

to want to hear from him, but here he is.

Why? Because Jesus is with them.

Jesus is committed to building his church.

Our God is a saving God, and Jesus loves to save unlikely

people. Paul went through that glorious

truth his whole life. I can't believe God saved me.

And that opened him up to saying God could save anyone who put

their faith in Jesus, Jesus building a global church.

And even Romans are invited. Paul learns here and again, it's

striking that even the rich and the powerful are looking for

life and meaning in this world. In Sergius Paulus, he's he's a

powerful man. He's a wealthy man, an

influential man. And he'd seen all that wealth

and power could give him. And yet he still is hungry for

more. He wanted something more.

He needed something more. So Luke tells us he wanted to

hear the word of God from Paul and Barnabas.

This Roman governor reminds us that no matter how impressive

someone may look, in the words of Saint Augustine, God has made

us for himself and our hearts find no rest until they rest in

Him. But verse 8, before Sergius

Paulus can hear the gospel from Paul and Barnabas, we're told

Elemas the sorcerer opposed them and tried to turn the pro

council from the faith. And this is one of those

fascinating moments in the book of Acts where where we get a

glimpse of a spiritual conflict that often remains hidden from

us. If you like, this is magic

versus Jesus. So like the rest of of the book

of Acts, the rest of the Bible actually, Acts just presumes,

takes for granted the existence of spiritual forces opposed to

God in this world. The apostle Paul says later in

his letter to the Ephesians, our struggle is not against flesh

and blood ultimately, but against the rulers, against the

authorities, against the powers of this Dark World and against

the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We need to be aware of that. Luke is aware of that there are

spiritual forces active in our world opposed to Jesus, but the

Bible is also clear that one effect of Jesus life, death and

resurrection is that he has defeated all those powers of

darkness and that followers of Jesus do not have to fear those

spiritual forces anymore. 1 John 3, verse 8.

1 John 3:8

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the

devil's work. Colossians 2.

Having disarmed the powers and authorities, those spiritual

forces, he made a public spectacle of them and triumphing

over them by the cross. So in this moment where this

magic versus Jesus, well, surprise rise.

Jesus wins. Jesus wins the battle here.

Verse 9. Then Saul who was called Paul,

filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Ellie mass

and said you're a child of the devil.

Again, that's a reference. You're not a son of salvation.

You're a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is

right. You're full of all kinds of

deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting

the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is

against you. You're going to be blind for a

time, not even able to see the light of the sun.

And immediately, mist and darkness came over him, and he

groped about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

It's no contest. Paul just says Jesus has power

over you. Jesus has authority over you.

And as a sign of God's judgement, El Amas is struck

blind. And of course, Paul knows all

about being struck blind as a sign of God's judgement that

happened to him on the road to Damascus.

And interesting here, we're told El Amas's blindness would be

temporary. He says you'll be, you're going

to be blind for a time. El Amas is given a chance to

repent of his sin and rebellion, just as Paul was at Damascus.

Luke doesn't tell us if he ever did, but this is the grace of

God at work. And not only did Jesus win here,

Jesus saves here. The Roman governor comes to

faith in Jesus, arguably the first totally Gentile convert in

Acts. Previous converts like Cornelius

the Ethiopian eunuch, they had a background in the Jewish faith,

but this man seems to have had none.

Verse 12 When the Pro council saw what had happened, he

believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

In part the governor believes because he sees Jesus authority

over LMS, but even more than that, he's amazed at the

teaching about the Lord. It's the Gospel of Jesus that

grips this Roman governor, the beauty of who Jesus is and all

he has done, just as Paul would say later in life.

It's that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation

of everyone who believes. It's the gospel that God uses to

save and transform and rescue people.

So as we prepare to leave Acts this week, what do we learn from

the opening of Acts 13? I had a big lesson is that a

spirit filled church is a church committed to mission.

A spirit filled church is ascending church.

That's what the church in Antioch shows us.

That is actually the privilege the Lord has given us here at

Ave. in recent years. So the question, will we

continue to be ascending church? Are we committed to praying

together to the Lord that He will lead us on mission wherever

He wants us to go? Will we allow our worship of

Jesus lead to our witness for Jesus in this world?

And are we willing to send away some people we love out of love

for the Lord and a love for the lost?

And also, we need to remember just the realism and the

hopefulness of Acts. There will always be people

opposed to the gospel, but there will always be people hungry for

the gospel. And all the Lord Jesus asked of

us is to ask him for opportunities to share the

gospel, to live distinctively as his witnesses, and then make the

most of opportunities as they come.

Acts 13 is only the beginning. This is the gospel beginning to

reach the ends of the earth. Eventually it reached even us in

the Uka long way away from Cyprus.

And one day in the future, God's Word tells us that everyone who

trusts in Jesus will be part of a global community, diverse and

glorious, worshipping at the throne of the Lamb.

Let me finish with these words from Revelation Chapter 7 before

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

I hand back to Chris Revelation 7.

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude

that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and

language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches

in their hands. And they cried out in a loud

voice. Salvation belongs to our God who

sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

All the angels were standing round the throne and round the

elders and the four living creatures.

They fell down on their faces before the throne and worship

God, saying Amen, Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and

honour and power and strength be to our God forever and ever.

Amen. Lord God, we thank you that you

are the God who cares for the whole of creation.

Thank You that your grace has extended even to us.

And would you lead and show us the part you have for us to play

in continuing to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth?

Help us to be a church committed to mission both locally and

globally, for we ask it in Jesus name, Amen.