True Prophets and False Prophets

We're in Acts chapter 13 today, going from verse 1 to verse 12.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father,

we have gathered around your Word and around your table again,

because we are your people.

You are our Lord, our King, our God.

We worship you.

We want to hear you speak to us in your Word.

Amen.

Address us.

Bring conviction by your Spirit.

And as we incline our ears, our hearts to you,

we pray that you would make us a church

that exemplifies the truth that we find in this passage.

A church that has a heart toward reaching the lost.

A heart to go to the end of the earth.

A church where missionaries are set apart

and sent out for your glory.

For the glory of the name of your Son, Jesus.

We pray that you would do that mighty work among us

even as we go,

as we hear.

Use me, Lord.

May the words of my mouth

and the meditations of all of our hearts

be pleasing in your sight.

Oh, Lord, our rock and redeemer.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Acts chapter 13, verses 1 to 12.

Acts 13:1–12

Now there were in the church at Antioch

prophets and teachers,

Barnabas,

Simeon who was called Nigel,

Lucius of Cyrene,

Manan,

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 Elimas 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,

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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Far from being of Western religion

or white man's religion

that it's frequently made out to be nowadays,

Christianity from its very inception

has been a multi-ethnic

and trans-regional movement.

The entire Gospel of Luke

has a general movement toward Jerusalem,

where Jesus dies on the cross

and is raised from the dead

for the salvation

of all those who put their faith in him.

And the entire book of Acts,

which is Luke's sequel,

has a movement away from Jerusalem,

outward from Jerusalem to Samaria

and to the end of the earth.

And we have seen the Gospel spread

in Jerusalem and in Samaria,

and starting in chapter 13,

in earnest we begin to see

the mission go forward

among the Gentiles

to the end of the earth.

And at first,

the Gospel of Jesus, as we know,

took hold primarily in Asia,

Africa, and Europe,

reaching Jews, Samaritans,

Romans, Greeks, Armenians,

Copts, Ethiopians, Indians,

Berbers, Syrians, and Persians.

But then,

it spread out even further west and east,

reaching the Vandals,

the Celts,

the Anglo-Saxons,

Vikings, Slavs,

Turks, Russians, and Chinese.

Obviously, it has continued to spread

even beyond that,

taking hold in North and South America.

Just 100 years ago,

the countries with the largest

population of Christians

were in the order.

U.S.,

Russia,

Germany,

France,

and Britain.

But today,

it's, again,

in order,

U.S.,

Brazil,

Russia,

China,

and Mexico.

Just in 100 years.

the gravitational center of Christianity

has moved all across the earth,

and the gospel has flourished

in every single continent,

so that one can truly say

that there is no such thing

as a particular Christian culture

or Christian civilization.

In fact,

there has already been

multiple Christian cultures

and Christian civilizations.

civilizations.

Why is this the case?

Well, one,

because our God

is the God of all peoples.

And just,

not,

He's not just for one

people group.

And two,

because Christianity

has been,

from the beginning,

a missionary religion.

That's what we see here

in Acts chapter 13.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

This passage teaches us

that missionaries

are sent out by the Holy Spirit

to the end of the earth

to proclaim

the Word of Christ.

And we learn

several important things

about Christian missionaries.

They are,

one,

sent by the Spirit,

two,

set apart by the church,

three,

opposed by the devil,

four,

filled with the Spirit,

and five,

focused on the Word.

So first,

let's look at this

in order that missionaries

are sent by the Spirit.

Look how,

look at how Luke emphasizes

the initiating role

of the Holy Spirit

throughout this passage.

It says in verse 2

that while the church

at Antioch

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.

The Spirit of God

is speaking directly.

The triune God

reigns over the church

and the Lord Jesus

is King

over His church

and for this reason

it is His Spirit,

the Holy Spirit,

that provides

the initial impetus

for this commissioning

of Barnabas and Saul

for mission.

There's a conceptual

connection between

the Holy Spirit

and His command

to set apart

for Him

Barnabas and Saul.

The word holy

itself means

set apart,

consecrated.

So then Barnabas

and Saul

are being set apart

for the work

of God

who is set apart.

when you go to weddings,

usually the first

two rows of seats

have a sign

that says

they are reserved.

You may have noticed

that there is no such sign

on the first two rows

in our church.

You guys can move up

whenever you like.

That is not part

of the sermon.

But,

I lost my place.

Sorry.

You have seats

reserved at weddings

because they are

seats that are

set apart.

They are consecrated.

It is reserved

for family members

of the bride

and the groom.

And similarly,

Barnabas and Saul

have been

set apart.

Meaning,

they are to be

set aside

for a special purpose,

for God's

missionary purpose

in this case.

this is an important

point.

Because it is not

the church

or a missions

agency

or a spiritual

mentor

that calls

people into

ministry.

It is the spirit

of God

who calls

people

into ministry.

Some Christian

denominations

use the language

of search

and call

to refer to

local churches

hiring their ministers.

So,

they form

a search committee,

they start

interviewing

candidates,

they search

for ministers,

and then

when they find

someone that they like,

they call them.

But,

strictly speaking,

it is not the church

that calls

a minister.

It is God

who calls them.

Set apart

for me,

says the Holy Spirit,

Barnabas and Saul,

for the work

to which I

have called them.

That means,

at the very least,

that it is incumbent

upon missionaries

and other Christian

laborers

to do

God's will.

God's will.

They serve

the church,

yes.

And they evangelize

for the sake

of the lost,

yes.

But their Lord,

their commander,

is not other people.

It's not an agency.

It's God.

It is their delight

and privilege

to carry out

the will

of their master.

And this is

a liberating truth,

especially when

various people,

agencies,

institutions,

and cultural

forces,

say and demand

conflicting things

of us.

God's labors

are not

like politicians

who must carry out

the will

of their voting

constituency.

We sure can listen

and learn from

what other people

have to say,

but ultimately,

the Christian laborer

must obey

the word of God

and the spirit

of God.

They are sent

by the spirit.

But this doesn't

mean that every

Christian missionary

or minister

is a freelancer

that is unaccountable

to any other

group of people.

The Holy Spirit

calls and sends,

but it is the church

that sets apart

Barnabas and Saul

for their missionary work.

Look at what the Holy Spirit

says in verse 2.

Set apart for me,

Barnabas and Saul,

for the work

to which I have

called them.

the Holy Spirit

commands the church

to set them apart,

to consecrate them,

to dedicate them

to this mission.

It's not the called

missionary alone

who has a role

to play.

The local church

has a role to play

in the sending out

of missionaries.

Why do I say that

this is the role

of the local church?

Verse 1 says,

Now there were

in the church

at Antioch

prophets

and teachers.

Barnabas,

Simeon,

who was called

Niger,

Lucius of Cyrene,

Manan,

a lifelong friend

of Herod the Tetrarch,

and Saul.

It is the local church,

a gathering of God's people

in the city of Antioch

that while they were

worshiping and fasting,

together they received

this revelation,

this instruction

from the Lord.

This short verse,

verse 1,

tells us a number

of things about

the church at Antioch.

One,

it's a local church.

It's not the universal church

all over the world.

It's a church at Antioch.

It's the local church.

Barnabas and Saul

are not sent off

by a separate group

or agency.

They are sent off

by the local church itself.

Nor are they sent off

to Jerusalem

to get approval

from the apostolic headquarters

or to be sent out

by them.

Or to use a modern day

analogy,

they are not sent to Rome

to get

to papal headquarters.

They are not sent

to Louisville

to get denominational

headquarters.

No,

it's the local church

that sends them.

Two,

the gifts of the Spirit

were functioning

in this local church.

There were prophets

and teachers among them,

though this verse

doesn't mention

all of the five-fold

ministries listed

in Ephesians 4.11,

the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the teachers,

and the pastors.

We can tell

from chapters 12 and 13

that in fact

all of those gifts

were functioning

in this church

at Antioch.

And prophets

and teachers

are explicitly mentioned

as serving in the church.

Prophets receive

and communicate

what God reveals to them,

what the Holy Spirit

wants of them

to a specific group

of people

at a particular time.

That's what prophets do.

Teachers,

on the other hand,

expound and proclaim

the timeless Word of God,

stuarting the apostolic

deposit of the Gospel,

which is for all people

at all times.

And these two gifts

complement each other.

Both are necessary.

Prophets ensure

that the church

is open

to new insights

and initiatives

of the Holy Spirit.

Teachers ensure

that the church

is always grounded

in the unchanging,

universal,

and authoritative

Word of God.

This doesn't necessarily

imply that prophets

and teachers

are different people.

It seems here

that Peter,

Paul,

and Barnabas

all functioned

both as prophets

and teachers

and apostles,

in fact.

And the important

takeaway is that

all of these gifts

were functioning

within this local church.

Third,

we see that this church

was not defined

by ethnicity,

race,

or socioeconomic class,

but by their common

commitment

to the Lord Jesus.

Christians.

We know this

because verse 1

gives us a portrait

of a very diverse church.

We already know

Barnabas and Saul

pretty well.

That's why Luke

doesn't give us

another introduction

of who they are.

And Barnabas

was a Jew

from the tribe

of Levi.

He was originally

a native of Cyprus,

but he had most recently

lived in Jerusalem,

which is where we first

encountered him

in Acts 4.

Saul,

as we know,

is a Jew

of the tribe

of Benjamin,

named after King Saul.

He was from Tarsus.

And then in this church

also there was

Simeon who was called

Niger,

and the word Niger

means dark complexion

or black.

So Simeon

may have had

African origin.

Lucius of Cyrene

is also mentioned,

and Cyrene

was in North Africa.

And lastly,

Manan,

a lifelong friend

of Herod the Tetrarch.

Herod the Tetrarch

is not Herod Agrippa

that just killed

Apostle James

in the previous chapter.

This is Herod Antipas

who is the one

ruling at the time

of Jesus' ministry

that you see

throughout the Gospels.

And this man

was a lifelong friend

of Herod the Tetrarch,

which means

he was likely

a member

of the nobility

with access

to the royal court,

a very prominent

member of society,

a high-ranking

socioeconomic class.

All of these men

had diverse

racial,

ethnic,

and socioeconomic

backgrounds,

but those things

were not brought

together.

They were not brought

together by common

interests

or common hobbies

other than

their common

commitment

to the Lord Jesus.

Four,

this was a local church

that regularly

prayed and fasted.

Note that the

prophetic revelations

of the Holy Spirit

in verse 2

is bracketed by

mentions of prayer

and fasting.

Verse 2,

the Holy Spirit

spoke to them

while they were

worshiping the Lord

and fasting.

And then verse 4,

after prayer and fasting,

they laid their hands

on them and sent

them off.

To pray is to speak

with God in the context

of our relationship

with Him.

To fast is to

abstain from food

and drinks

and sometimes

other things

that ordinarily

occupy our time

in order to give

ourselves more fully

to prayer,

to discern God's will.

It's our way

of declaring

that we need God.

We need the bread

of God more

than even food

to sustain us.

This church

was attentive

to God,

was receptive

to the voice

of the Holy Spirit

because they

prayed and fasted.

And it's this

prayerful,

Christ-united,

Spirit-empowered

local church

that set apart

Barnabas

and saw

for this

particular

missionary work

that the Spirit

of God

had called them to.

After fasting

and praying,

it says in verse 3

that they lay

their hands on them

and sent them off.

In the book of Acts,

the laying on of hands

often is associated

with the impartation

of the Holy Spirit's power.

It is probably

for that reason

that the church

in Antioch

lays their hands

on them in this moment

and sends them off.

Just like in Acts

Acts 6:6

chapter 6,

verse 6,

when the 12 apostles

appointed the seven

to take charge

of the distribution

of food to widows,

they lay their hands

on them to authorize

their role

in the church.

So this shows

that the church

in Antioch

is officially

commissioning

Saul and Barnabas

for and publicly

recognizing

their role

as missionaries

being sent off.

And they're investing

in them

with the authority

that they need

to discharge

their duties.

And this is why

it's only after

this official commissioning

by the church

at Antioch

that Barnabas

starts being called

an apostle.

In Acts 14,

Acts 14:14

verse 14,

he is called

an apostle.

The word apostle

comes from

the Greek word

apostello.

Sounds similar,

which means

to send.

And that's very similar

to a word

that we often use,

maybe more often use,

the word missionary,

which comes from

the Latin word

missio.

They mean the same thing.

They both mean

someone who is sent out.

And though

it's the,

I prefer to use

the term missionary

in our context

because using the term

apostle can cause

confusion

because people

can confuse

someone who is

called an apostle

with the twelve

or with other

foundational apostles

who are commissioned

directly by the risen

Lord himself,

which none of the

apostles or missionaries

nowadays are like that.

However,

there are

modern day

lowercase a

apostles

who are missionaries

sent out to proclaim

or assist

in the proclamation

of the gospel,

the good news

of Jesus Christ.

I add the phrase

to proclaim

or to assist

in the proclamation

of the gospel

because that's

what some missionaries

in fact do.

For example,

my friend

Joyce Lynn

who was a seminary

friend of mine

was a pilot

with Mission

Aviation Fellowship.

She flew planes

to remote villages

that are parts

of the world

that are difficult

to access

to supply missionaries

who are proclaiming

the gospel.

She died in May

2020 last year

while transporting

food

and COVID

rapid test kits

and school supplies

to a village

in Papua

because her

plane crashed.

She wasn't

the primary

evangelist

or teacher

but she was

a missionary.

She was called

the missionary pilot.

She was sent out

by the church

to discharge her duties.

This is very similar

to the way

Epaphroditus

is called

an apostle

in Philippians 2.25.

Epaphroditus

was not a traditional

preaching missionary

whether he was

sent out

by the Philippian church

to minister

to Paul

and his temporal needs

because Paul

was a preaching

missionary.

but Epaphroditus

was an authorized

representative

of the Philippian church

who delivered

to Paul

their letter

and the supplies

a care package

for him

while he was

in prison.

And so

because of that

role

the ESV

translates

the word

apostle

as messenger.

He calls

Epaphroditus

a messenger

but it's the

exact same word

that is used

throughout

the New Testament

it's the apostle.

So missionaries

are those

who proclaim

the gospel

who are sent

out by the church

to proclaim

the gospel

to assist

in the proclamation

of the gospel.

So because of that

by definition

being an apostle

or being a missionary

involves

a kind of travel.

It entails

a change

in geographic

locale.

Verses 4 to 5

tell us that

Paul and Barnabas

assisted by John

traveled 16 miles

to Seleucia

where they got

on a ship

to sail

62 miles

to Cyprus

and then

arrived at

Salamis

and then

later

they traveled

to Paphas

which is

another

112 miles

away from

Salamis.

All that to say

it is the church's

role to set

apart missionaries

and send them

out from

their congregation.

I'm focusing

on this

because we

as a church

are walking

through this

right now.

We're trying

to learn

about how

we can send

out missionaries

from our midst.

And I think

setting apart

missionaries

as a local

church

at the very

least involves

assessing

and affirming

their missionary

call

and in preparing

and dedicating

them for that

call.

Remember that

the Holy Spirit

commanded the church

to set apart

the missionaries.

Assessment

is necessary

because some

people romanticize

traveling to

exotic places

as missionaries

without understanding

the price

and the persecution

that missions

work entails.

the church

needs to

ensure

that

what

motivates

these

missionaries

are God's

call

and not

their own

fancy.

The church

needs to

make sure

that they

are suited

for the

task

that they

are being

sent out

for.

If they're

going to

be primary

teachers

then they

better be

scripturally

competent

and theologically

equipped.

They better

have a strong

personal walk

with Jesus.

Robust

spiritual

disciplines

because

switching

your locale

doesn't

automatically

make you

a more

devout

Christian.

A Christian

that does

not read

his or her

Bible

or pray

here at

home

is not

all of a

sudden

going to

start

doing that

just because

they were

sent out

abroad.

Note that

Barnabas and

Saul have

already proven

their worth

by this time.

Barnabas had

a proven

record of

proclaiming

the Lord

Jesus.

He was

already

recognized

by the

apostles

for his

godliness

in chapter

4.

In Acts

Acts 11:24

11

verse 24

he described

Barnabas as

a good

man full

of the

Holy Spirit

and of

faith.

And that's

why the

Jerusalem

church sent

him out

in the

first place

to Antioch

to minister

to the

new

converts

there.

Similarly

after his

conversion

Saul

it says

in Acts

9

19

to 20

for some

days

was with

the

disciples

at

Damascus

and

immediately

proclaimed

Jesus

in the

synagogue.

Saul

loses

no time

he knows

that he

is called

to proclaim

the gospel

and right

there where

he was

in Damascus

where he

was converted

he starts

proclaiming

the Lord

Jesus

and then

he does

this in

Arabia

according to

Galatians

1

16

to 18

and then

he goes

to Jerusalem

to do

the same

thing

in Acts

9

26

to 29

and then

presumably

he's doing

the same

thing

in Tarsus

which is

where

Barnabas

finds

him

and recruits

him

for

this

ministry

work

in

Antioch

they're

not

sending

there's

I mean

there's

no

expendable

member

in the

church

but

to use

the term

today

they're

not

sending

expendable

people

they're

not

they're

sending

their

very

best

the most

faithful

men and

women

that's

what

the

church

should

do

it

appears

to me

that

God

has

called

some

of

us

as

missionaries

and that

means

in the

coming

months

and years

we will

have

to do

the

hard

work

of

setting

them

apart

and

sending

them

off

to

set

apart

for

missionary

work

necessarily

means

that

we

may

not

use

them

for

other

work

it

means

that

we

lose

them

at

least

for

a

time

from

our

local

congregation

it

means

we

will

miss

their

contribution

to

our

church

we

will

miss

their

personality

their

character

their

gifts

but

that

hard

work

is

necessary

because

there

are

people

in

the

world

who

have

not

heard

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

and

our

Lord

Jesus

has

commanded

us

to

go

to

the

end

of

the

earth

in

3

John

5

to

8

apostle

John

commends

believers

who

are

actually

supporting

these

missionaries

who are

visiting

them

and then

sending

them

off

and he

says

this

you

will

do

well

to

send

them

on

their

journey

in

a

manner

worthy

of

God

for

they

have

gone

out

for

the

sake

of

the

name

accepting

nothing

from

the

Gentiles

therefore

we

ought

to

support

people

like

workers

for

the

truth

John

is

saying

here

that

instead

of

expecting

missionaries

that we

send off

to be

supported

by the

people

that they

are

ministering

to

that

we

should

support

them

furnish

their

needs

pay

their

expenses

because

missionaries

are

ministering

and

they're

usually

going

to

areas

where

there

are

not

other

established

churches

and

that's

why

missionary

work

is often

a

lonely

work

that's

why

in the

early

church

their

mode of

operation

is always

to send

out

teams

in this

case

Barnabas

Saul

and

John

Mark

who

is

assisting

them

so that

missionaries

go as

extensions

of

the

sending

church

assuming

that

they're

not

joining

an

existing

church

where

they're

going

and

they

will

need

the

church's

financial

support

emotional

support

spiritual

support

they need

the

church's

prayer

isn't

it amazing

3 John

5 says

we ought

to send

them off

in a

manner

worthy

of

God

what a

call

we ought

to give

them a

send off

worthy

of

God

why

because

they are

God's

workers

because

the

Holy

Spirit

called

them

because

they are

Christ's

representatives

because

remember

that's

the Lord

that they

serve

that's

the Lord

that they

represent

if we

were hosting

and sending

off

the king

himself

would we

be sparing

in our

expenses

would we

treat him

like a

beggar

we must

not shirk

our

responsibility

as a

church

to set

apart

and send

missionaries

because

churches

have

sometimes

not done

this

sometimes

missionaries

are not

sent

they

just

go

but

that's

not

the way

it

should

be

it's

the

church's

responsibility

to set

apart

the

missionaries

for the

service

of

God

third

a

missionary

that is

sent

by

God

and

set

apart

by

the

church

will

undoubtedly

be

opposed

by

the

devil

that's

my

third

point

please

follow

along

as I

read

verses

6

to

8

when

they

had

gone

through

the

whole

island

as far

as

pathos

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

Elemus

the

magician

for that

is

the

meaning

of

his

name

opposed

them

seeking

to

turn

the

proconsul

away

from

the

faith

just

as

Peter

confronted

Simon

the

magician

in

chapter

8

Barnabas

and

Saul

encounter

Elemus

the

magician

here

in

chapter

13

like

Simon

Elemus

was

not

a

magician

in

the

sense

of

someone

who

uses

sleight

of

hand

or

illusions

to

entertain

people

like

Daniel

that's

totally

fine

activity

Simon

the

magician

and

Elemus

the

magician

are

sorcerers

they're

men

who

practice

witchcraft

they're

people

who

are

associated

with

the

occult

who

traverse

in

the

realm

of

evil

spirits

and

demons

who

call

down

curses

on

people

who

use

incantations

and

he

is

described

here

as

a

Jewish

false

prophet

named

Bar

Jesus

he

was

a

Jew

but

evidently

not

a

faithful

Jew

because

he

is

described

as

a

false

prophet

unlike

the

true

prophets

of

the

Lord

in

the

church

at

Antioch

who

received

the

command

of

the

Holy

Spirit

this

Elemus

is

a

false

prophet

who

opposes

the

voice

of the

Spirit

the

Word

of

God

Elemus

was

with

the

proconsul

it says

which

implies

that he

served

as an

advisor

a

of

the

Roman

province

was

appointed

by

the

Roman

senate

and

the

proconsul

himself

was

interested

in what

Saul and

Barnabas

were

proclaiming

all

throughout

the

region

however

Elemus

the

magician

opposed

them

he

was

contradicting

what they

were saying

he

was

undermining

what

they

were

saying

he

was

trying

to

discredit

Saul

and

Barnabas

they

stood

in