FAITHFULNESS TO THE MISSION - Acts 14:24-28

Hey, let's do this before we dive into

our sermon. Let's let's take a moment.

Let's as best as we can, let's steal our

mind and let's steal our our hearts. If

if if anything, I know this is this is a

good spiritual practice for myself,

especially around this time of year.

Things seem to get really busy. And if

you're anything like me, you want to be

involved in everything. And oftent times

because of our busy schedule and because

of our rushed routines, we could really

miss out on the beauty of just being

still before the Lord when when we talk

about entering into the Advent season

and and that's what Christmas is.

Christmas is entering into the Advent

season. We share a reading from the

prophet Isaiah this morning. We let we

lit the first Advent candle which

represents the hope that we have in

Jesus Christ.

That's what we're remembering. We we're

remembering the first advent, which is

the birth of Jesus. And now we are

awaiting with hope and expectation the

second advent, which is the return of

Christ. And uh during our morning huddle

after praise and worship practice um we

were we were hearing about how the

people in the Old Testament they waited

with this holy anticipation, this this

excitement, this this eagerness that

would just took root in their heart and

and manifested itself in the worship and

the praise and and the way they lived

their life because they knew one day the

Messiah, the lamb of God who takes away

the sins of the world was going to come

and was going to set us free from the

bondage and slavery of the sin in our

life. And that's what they celebrated on

that Christmas morning. And so we now

that we have seen and we've heard as

John writes in his letters and and we

can know and experience the beauty and

the reality of that first advent. We

now, just like our Old Testament

brothers and sisters, we await with

eagerness and expectation the return of

of the Lord. And so before we dive into

our passage in Acts, let's just take a

moment. Let's still our hearts and our

minds and and let's use this as an

opportunity for some confession of sin.

Maybe we walk into this building and

there's some heaviness in our life.

Maybe because of a sin that we've been

engaged in for a long time and we've

been fighting tooth and nail to break

free from its bondage. I want to let you

know today that as long as you fight and

battle in your own strength, you will

remain in bondage to that sin.

It is only through the power of Jesus

Christ and the power of his word that we

can break free from the stronghold of

sin in our life. And so maybe that's you

this morning. Maybe you come in here

with some sin that has shackled you that

has put you in bondage and has enslaved

you. And I want to speak this over us

this morning. Today is the day that

chains are loosed and shackles are

broken. Not because of anything that we

do in and of ourselves, but because of

everything Jesus Christ has done. And

so, let's take a moment. Let's steady

our minds. Let's steady our hearts. And

if there is some sin in our life that we

just need to confess before the Lord,

you take it before his throne. You

repent from it. And you turn to him in

faith. Let's study our hearts right now.

Lord, would you move powerfully in our

service and as we continue in a spirit

of worship through the reading of your

word and through the proclamation of the

gospel. Lord, I know that there are some

heavy hearts here this morning, whether

it's burdened by sin or or burdened by

some pain. Lord, that that we would come

before you knowing that our father who

is in heaven loves us to the point of

sacrificing his only son

to die on the cross, to rise from the

grave, to show us the way to liberty and

freedom. And Holy Spirit, would you fill

us?

Would you stir within us the assurance

of faith? And maybe for some of us,

would you just rock us to our core,

knowing that we we should not leave here

still holding on to the sin in our life,

but we can leave here filled with your

mercy and grace. In Jesus Christ name we

pray. All God's people said,

>> amen. Hey, if you have your Bibles, meet

me in Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

We're going to close out Acts chapter 14

Acts 14 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 24. We're going to

look at these final verses

of this journey that Paul and Barnabas

have been on on what historians and

theologians estimate to be about a year

to two months or I sorry a year to two

years uh that they've been on this

missionary journey. Remember this began

way back in the city of Antioch just

north of Jerusalem. They were

commissioned by the church. They were

prayed over by the church and sent to go

and proclaim the gospel to the then

known world. And and we've learned this

over the last couple of weeks that what

Jesus proclaimed

prior to his ascension, if you remember

in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, Jesus gave a

Acts 1:8

commission to his disciples and as

believers in Christ, as sons and as

daughters, as those who are part of the

New Testament church today, that

commission is given to us. He said that

we are to go and proclaim the gospel

around the world. that we're to begin

locally, then we're to take that

regionally, then we're to take that

nationally, and ultimately we're to take

that around the world. That's the

commission that we've been given. This

has really been the laser focus of Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13 and 14 as Paul and Barnabas

have been filled with the spirit, led by

the spirit, proclaiming the word of God,

calling people to respond in faith to

Jesus Christ. churches being planted,

leaders rising up, disciples being

formed, all of this in the name of the

gospel of Jesus Christ. And what we find

is what happens when the gospel takes

root.

What does that mean for us today? It's

very easy for us to sit in a service or

to participate in a Bible study and to

read the word of God and to be filled

with great information,

historical information,

information regarding the wonders and

the miracles and the movements of God

through his people then. But what about

now?

How does the stories and the truth and

the power of God's word relate and

translate into our lives today? Well,

this is where our passage speaks.

We're going to learn, well, what does it

mean to continue in faithfulness to the

mission of God? We've said this several

times throughout our series in the book

of Acts. By the way, we're halfway done

now. There's 28 chapters in the book of

Acts. We're concluding Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

We're going to take a break uh over the

next couple of weeks as we dive into a

Christmas sermon series and then around

March, we'll come back and we'll

continue in our story over the book of

Acts. But we're about halfway through.

And you might notice that there is no

official conclusion to the book of Acts.

There's 28 chapters. And it has often

been said that the church as it exists

today is the Acts 29 church. We're a

continuation of what God began right

here on the day of Pentecost as the

spirit continues to empower us, move

within us, and work out what it means to

be a servant of the most high God. So,

so what is faithfulness? To the mission

at hand. And remember, you have a

mission. You've been called by God to

engage in what we call ministry. You are

a minister of the gospel. You may not be

a pastor of a church. You may not be a

Sunday school teacher. You may not be a

kids ministry leader or a student

ministry leader. But make no mistake, if

you have placed your faith in Jesus

Christ, you are a minister of the

gospel. As a matter of fact, the Apostle

Peter, he'll write two letters in the

New Testament. First Peter and can you

guess what the second letter is called?

Second Peter.

He'll remind us of who we are.

And he reminds us of who we are by first

pointing to who's we are. We're children

of God. And because we're children of

God, we're chosen children. We're a

royal priesthood

who have an inheritance that has been

given to us by our father who is in

heaven. Elsewhere in the New Testament,

we read how this inheritance is

incorruptible,

free of stain, and it is stored up for

you and for me. And as his chosen

priesthood, as people who have been set

apart by our father who is in heaven, we

have a duty. We have a role and a

responsibility which is to engage in the

ministry of the kingdom of God to call

people to repentance to call people to

receive in faith Jesus Christ. And we've

talked about this before. If you're a

teacher, your ministry is the classroom.

If you're in sales, your ministry is

your clients.

You have a ministry that God has given

you. So, Acts chapter 14, beginning in

Acts 14 · chapter mention

verse 24, we'll read to the end of the

chapter. Here's what Luke writes.

They passed through Pacidia. Pacidia is

also known as Pacidia Antioch. This is a

different Antioch from the original

Antioch that's just north of Jerusalem.

They talking about Paul and Barnabas

passed through Pacidia and came to

Pilia.

After they had spoken the word in Perga,

they went down to Atalia.

From there they sailed back to Antioch

where they had been commended

to the grace of God for the work they

had now completed. Let me let me pause

there for just a moment because this is

what we need to be mindful of. They had

been commended

for the work, but it's commended to

what? For the work. Did you pick up on

that? It's to the grace of God.

So ministry and faithfulness to the

mission should always find its birth and

its root right here. The grace of God.

That means if if anything that we do is

filled with a motive and an intention

that is anything but a desire to point

heart towards the gospel of Jesus.

Whether it's for selfish gain, whether

it's de uh develop a platform, whether

it's for monetary purposes, then we have

missed the point.

What we do here in this place, when we

gather weekly, when we do community

events, when we pack the place out on

Wednesday nights for kids and student

ministries, when we participate in the

parades that the community does

throughout the year, all those things

serve a purpose. They're not so that we

would point an arrow to the grove. That

that's part of it. I'm pretty biased. I

think we have a an amazing church.

But it's not so that we would say, "Look

at the grove." It's not though we would

say, "Look at Roland or look at our

leaders or look at our staff as amazing

as all of them are." But it's so that we

would say, "Look at Jesus.

He's the one who brings change. He's the

one who grants purpose.

He's the one who loves you.

Listen, I love you. Our staff loves you.

Our servant leaders love you. The

leaders in this church love you. But

make no mistake, we will fail you.

We will fall short.

We're not perfect.

And though we don't mean to, we might

even hurt you.

But there's one who won't do those

things.

And it's because of his grace that we

are even here. It's because of his grace

that we can do the things that we do. It

is his grace to what we've been

commended for the work of ministry. This

is powerful. This is key because

everything that has taken place in the

book of Acts, people coming to faith,

the church rising victoriously over

opposition, persecution, and suffering.

the the fact that Paul was stoned and

left for dead and rose up and continued

to preach the gospel in the very towns

that opposed and persecuted him is not

because of any strength or might in and

of himself.

Churches succeed not because of any

strength and might in and of themselves,

but because of this. When we understand

that as people of God, we've been

commended to the grace of God for the

work of God.

And here in verse 26, that work has now

been completed. We're going to unpack

that here in just a moment because that

doesn't mean finished.

That doesn't mean it's done. That

doesn't mean that that Paul and Barnabas

kick off their boots, hang up their

coats, and say, "I'm done. and I don't

need to engage anymore. And let me just

stop there for just a moment. This this

is going to be a dig at at some of you.

I don't mean it that way, but where the

spirit holds people accountable, you got

to press in.

Some of us, because of our older age, we

feel I'm done. I'm done with church

ministry. I don't need to engage anymore

in what God is is doing. But first, let

me commend you and let me say thank you

to the senior adults in the room. It's

because of your faithfulness to endure

that the grove is still even here. It's

because of your faithfulness to press

into what God is doing that we have

younger families now bringing their

children. And hopefully that trend

continues. Hopefully, should the Lord

Terry the grove is here for another 80

years, for another hundred years,

impacting the community, proclaiming the

kingdom of God.

But what we need is not for our older

saints to kick off their boots and hang

up their coats, but as much as you are

able to press in to what God is doing

to serve as an example of what it means

to endure, you have so much wisdom.

So much wisdom that you're able to share

with younger families, with younger

couples, with younger parents. Not

because you know it all, but because

you've endured, you've experienced,

and we can glean so much from you. And

let me just tell you, older saints in

the room,

because of the way the culture is wired

uh and and the way just just

this generation uh kind of goes about

itself, more than likely, they're not

going to approach you. And so, what we

need is for you to open the door.

Maybe God lays somebody on your heart

and it starts with a simple invite to

lunch.

Maybe come over for a cup of coffee.

Share your story.

I think some of the greatest successes

that I've personally have experienced in

pastoral ministry began in my 20s. Some

of you may not know this, but I pastored

my first church when I was 20 years old.

And I'm so grateful for a church that

allowed a young 20year-old, man, I was

full of energy. I still think I'm full

of energy, but man, I was cocky,

you know, and I'm just so grateful for

an older congregation who trusted me

enough to say, "We love you enough. You

can skin some knees here. You can trip.

We're going to help you up." Because at

20 years old, you think you know it all

and you realize you don't. When you get

41, you realize what a punk I was.

But Crystal and I, we we would sit with

older people and just hear their

stories, hear their wisdom. And some of

our biggest supporters to this day

are people who I pastored when I was 20

years old. And so, we've been called by

God

to work forward in this mission. all

commended by the grace of God for what?

For pointing people towards Jesus. Let

me continue verse verse 27.

After they arrived and gathered the

church together, they reported

everything God had done with them and

that he God had opened the door of faith

to the Gentiles. Notice how the report

involves everything God had done. We'll

unpack that as well.

And they spent a considerable time with

the disciples. And all God's people

said,

>> "Lord, would you bless your word? Holy

Spirit, would you stir our hearts

today?"

It's a short passage, but there is a lot

to unpack here. Anywhere from 12 to 24

months, Paul and Barnabas have been gone

from their sending church over in

Antioch. They now return. No doubt

tired. no doubt ready for some

welldeserved rest. They faced suffering.

They've faced opposition. Paul

has been left for dead. Just a couple of

verses earlier, he was stoned. He was

surrounded by his people. The Lord

healed him. and many of Paul's ailments,

many of Paul's later sicknesses in which

Luke, who is the author of the book of

Acts, would now accompany Paul on his

missionary journeys in order to become

Paul's personal doctor. All of that

traces itself right back to the

persecution and suffering that they

faced.

And they're welcome back. This church is

eager to hear about how God moved, about

how God worked.

and they've traveled through these final

cities.

This journey comes to a close

and this is the kind of faithfulness

that God calls you and I to live out

today. So, so here's here's what I want

to do. We're going to go back through

our passage and we're going to pull out

some truths. We're going to pull out

some application about what it means to

be faithful to the mission of God. This

is not just an incredible story of

Paul's first missionary journey, but

this is a testament to what faithfulness

can look like for you and for me. What

faithfulness can look like this week,

at school, at work, in your

neighborhood, at the restaurant. What

does it look like to be faithful to the

mission? If you're taking notes, here's

the first one. Faithfulness

begins with God's

grace.

I love this because if you remember back

in Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

the church in Antioch, they prayed, they

fasted, they laid hands on Paul and

Barnabas, and they sent them out. And

you see this pattern really laced all

throughout the scriptures is when God's

people are sent out for God's mission,

they're filled with God's presence.

And the filling of God's presence is key

because everything that we do absent of

God's presence lacks power.

There's a part in the book of Exodus

where God tells Moses, "It's time to

pack up camp and it's time to continue

this journey forward to the land that I

have promised you, that land flowing

with milk and honey." And do you

remember what Moses says?

Moses says, "God, we're ready to go, but

if you are not leading us there,

if you are not going with us, then then

then we're not leaving because where you

are, we want to be." Did you know that's

what ministry is?

It's where God is already moving. God

does not have to use us.

Here's what makes the gospel so

beautiful. God uses us despite us.

It's a ministry is happening all the

time.

When we understand what faithfulness to

the mission looks like, particularly

when it begins with God's grace, it

allows us to look at the work of God

with spiritual eyes to listen with

spiritual ears so that we can step into

the work God is already doing. And it's

all centered on what? It's all centered

on his grace. Go back with me here to

verse 26. We talked about it. From there

they sailed back to Antioch where they

had been commended to the grace of God

for the work they had now completed.

I love how Luke, you've noticed this

because we've talked about it as well.

Luke is very intentional with his words.

Luke was a historian. He was not just a

doctor, but he sought the facts of both

history and theology.

And this is why he recorded the Gospel

of Luke and he recorded the sequel to

the Gospel of Luke, the followup to that

work in what we have as the book of

Acts. He's very intentional in the words

that he chooses, in these scenes that he

paints and unpacks before us. And I love

how he is so specific to acknowledge

that the mission begins with God's grace

and the mission returns to God's grace.

So, it was commended to the grace of God

for the work that had now been

completed. Maybe you've heard it phrased

this way here at the grove. God is with

us from the start.

He's with us till the end and everywhere

in between.

The author of Hebrews will say it this

way that God is the perfector,

the author, and the finisher of our

faith.

God moves and works in every facet of

your life. And don't you ever for a

second believe the lie that you are

unusable by God.

The enemy wants you to focus on your

failings and shortcomings

and to use that as the filter by which

you see the mission and ministry of your

life. Well, no one will listen to me.

This is what I used to be.

No one will think I actually changed

because my past is so filled with sin,

chaos, addiction, and darkness.

But did you know the gospel is so

powerful in fact that when God changes

your life, the beauty of your changed

life is indicative of the power of the

gospel.

So that like Paul, people would look at

your life and say, "Man, this guy used

to be a persecutor of the church. Now

he's the biggest proponent of the

church. He proclaims the gospel."

Yes, this guy used to be a womanizer. He

used to be a drunkard. He used to be a

thief. But look at him.

GOD HAS TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE. And I want

to say this. You and I are works in

progress.

We're not perfect. Anybody perfect in

the room? Nobody's perfect.

We're works in progress.

And if anyone ever looks at your life

because you're testifying of the gospel

with your words and your actions and

they say, "Yeah, but but but look at

this moment. You're a hypocrite. You

say, "Yeah, but God saves hypocrites

>> and God saves me." God is involved from

start to finish. The mission begins

right here with God's grace. Your life,

the start of your new life begins with

God's grace. I said it earlier. Maybe

you've come in here and you are shackled

and enslaved to the sin that has kept

you under for so long. right here.

Freedom begins with God's grace.

It begins in a moment that you recognize

that he is more powerful than anything.

That his light outshines my darkness.

That his love, grace, and mercy is

greater than any hate, anger, or

bitterness that fills my heart. Any

resentment that takes over and causes ME

TO LASH OUT. It's God grace that sets us

free. And it's a work in progress.

This is why I often say the I hope that

the Christian I am tomorrow is not the

Christian I am today. Here's what I mean

by that. I hope that tomorrow my

affections for the Lord have grown.

I hope tomorrow that I'm a more godly

husband, that I'm a godlier father, that

I'm a better shepherd. I want to

continue to be growing and moving closer

as I aim my heart towards the upward

call of God in Christ Jesus. But church,

where does that faithfulness begin? It

begins with God's grace. I want you to

know that that's true for all of us.

It's true for your marriage. It's true

for your job. It's true for your

challenges. It's absolutely true for

your ministry, for your spiritual

growth, for your testimony. God is

involved in every facet of it. So here's

a challenging question for us. Have you

been commended to the grace of God?

And where do you see God's fingerprints

in your journey? How do you see God

moving and working? Because faithfulness

to the mission involves recognizing it

to the point where you step into it.

And so often we we endure the trials and

hardships that we are enduring

because one, we may be refusing to

acknowledge what God is doing.

And we don't want to step into what God

is doing because we're more in love with

the sin in our life than we are with our

father who is in heaven.

Faithfulness begins when we finally say,

"Lord, this mission belongs to you."

Here's the second thing that we see. I

love this part. Faithfulness requires

strategic obedience.

Well, what do you mean by that? It means

that that our faithfulness to the

mission, it takes work. It requires

discipline. You don't accidentally grow

into spiritual maturity.

You've got to discipline yourself into

spiritual maturity.

That means you have to read God's word

when you don't feel like reading God's

word. That means you have to attend

church and you have to serve his kingdom

when you don't feel like it. You have to

pray and cry out to God when you don't

feel like it. And and let me just say

this,

God knows

the root of your heart.

And so if if your prayer is one of God,

I'm just angry right now.

I don't like the life I have right now,

God, and I'm angry at you because I feel

it's all because of you. Hurt people, we

we we want to point the fault at

someone.

And often times, not all the time, but

often times the fault lies within our

own choices and our decisions.

That's not 100% of the time. Sometimes

the environment around us, the people

around us, they make poor decisions,

wrong decisions, sinful choices that

affect us. They have ripple effects and

we're just caught in the wake of it all.

But when we come before the father

and we understand the mission and the

call that he's placed on our life, we

have to step into some work into some

discipline. And let me just make a

clarification here because I don't want

us to leave here thinking Roland says I

have to work to be approved by God. No,

you are approved by God. You are chosen

by God. You are saved by God. Not

because of you, but because of Jesus

Christ. I want you to know that. That's

the gospel. That's grace.

God saves us because Christ is the one

who gave his life for us. Without Jesus,

we're lost eternally. We're condemned.

and damned to hell forever.

Not because God sends us there. Not

because God looks down on us and says,

"How dare you? You tarnish my name."

Make no mistake, God's wrathful. And he

has stored up his wrath and vengeance

for the day of judgment. But what makes

the gospel so beautiful is that wrath

was taken by Jesus. You make no mistake,

our sin angers God. But do you know who

took the wrath and the anger of the

father? Jesus took it on the cross for

us.

So now when we place faith in him, our

lives are set free. Our our lives are

changed. And we get to step in. Not that

we have to. I know I've used that word a

lot, but we get to step into a life

>> where we honor him. And listen, that

takes strategy. That takes discipline.

That takes

effort.

So Luke, what he does, if we go back to

verses 24 and 25, he begins to list

cities.

And maybe you think, why why is he

listing these cities? Is is he just

naming them at random? He's not. There's

there's strategy. There's purpose here.

Beginning in verse 24, he says, "They,

Paul and Barnabas, passed through

Pacidia. They came to Penilia, and after

they had spoken the word in Perga, they

went down to Atalia."

What is Luke doing? Why? Why? Why does

he write these names? Why does Paul and

Barnabas travel through there? They're

not tourist stops.

Paul and Barnabas are not going

sightseeing. They're not saying, "Let's

take a detour back home so that we can

check out this monument."

They're strategic hubs.

Remember, the gospel has just started to

spread around the then known world. And

if you're commissioned

with the greatest responsibility the

universe has ever known to take the

lifesaving message of the gospel of

Jesus Christ to a world who without him

is destined for eternal darkness and to

be lost forever. What are you going to

do? You're going to strategize and

you're going to say, "You know what? We

need to go to that port city because

when we proclaim the gospel there and

people receive the gospel in faith,

they're going to get on boats and

they're going to go across the sea to

another city and they're going to share

the gospel that they heard. Hey, we're

going to go to this town because that's

a central hub for trade, for travel, and

for all these people coming from

different parts of the world to come

together. We're going to preach the

gospel there so that when they go back

home, the gospel is being multiplied.

The gospel is spreading.

There is strategy to the mission.

There's forethought. There's planning.

There's intentionality

here. And I want to say this because if

you're like me, you immediately come up

with a rebuttal.

Planning and organizing doesn't mean you

lack the spirit.

As a matter of fact, you often find that

the spirit works through our planning

and organizing

because strategy can be a means of

faithfulness.

God honors strategy.

So the question is where have you been

positioned

and what is your plan and what is your

strategy

to further the gospel in your ministry?

We strategize here at the Grove all the

time. Ask any staff member. We have a

filled calendar of things we want to do.

This is why kids and student ministry is

a big part of what we do in the

community. There's strategy behind it.

If we can reach the kids of this

community, maybe we can reach their

families. And if we can reach the

families of this community, then maybe

the gospel spreads its way further into

our area. There's a reason that we're

doing a community block party on

December 17th for Christmas.

so that we can show people there is a

church here who loves Jesus, who is here

for you and is calling you to a better

way, the way and the one who knows all

things. But let's take this a little bit

further, men. What is your strategy for

your marriage?

What is the strategy for your family?

How are you being intentional and

growing spiritually with your wife, with

your children?

Do you have a strategy?

And it's not wrong to say no. It's wrong

to say no and stay there.

But get get with other men in the faith

and discover how together you guys can

lead your families towards deeper, more

intimate spiritual growth. Faithfulness

to the mission requires strategic

obedience. Here's the third thing.

Faithfulness celebrates gospel

partnership. I love this. Verse 27.

After they arrived and gathered the

church together, they reported

everything God had done with them and

that he had opened the door of faith to

the Gentiles.

This is incredible because the church in

Antioch didn't go physically at least on

this mission with Paul and Barnabas,

but they supported in many other ways.

They were co- lababorers to the mission

because they prayed for them,

they sent them, they supported them

financially, they sacrificed

for them. So when Paul and Barnabas came

back home, what did the church do? They

got together and they celebrated. They

celebrated the work of God. And let me

tell you how this translates for us

today.

If one church is successful, that

translates into the global church being

successful.

As a church that first is called to

honor and glorify God, we are never in

competition with our brothers and

sisters across town. But we celebrate

how God moves there. We pray for them

for Living Water, for the cowboy church,

for our Lutheran brothers and sisters.

We pray for them and we lift them up

before the Lord that the mission God

does here, he would do there.

that the people God saves here, that

that same spirit, that same work would

continue to work there.

>> We celebrate

gospel partnership.

And so when a church in the community

grows, we celebrate. When a church is

hurting, we pray. When a church baptizes

people, we rejoice. Why? Because we're

not in competition. We are co-

lababorers for the gospel. And let me

tell you something, it is extremely easy

for pastors to start playing the

comparison game.

To start looking at other people's

churches, and to start wishing that you

had that type of church,

those many members,

that type of budget, those kinds of

buildings. And it's very easy to miss

what God is doing here and now.

Don't ever be so consumed with what you

don't have

that you miss out on how God is working

now.

And so celebrate how God moves in the

lives of your brothers and sisters.

Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who

Romans 12:15

rejoice, weep with those who weep."

Faithfulness to the mission means we see

beyond our walls to the greater kingdom

of God.

But I want us to see something else real

quick. We mentioned it earlier. It's

it's not at all about Paul or Barnabas.

It's all about who? It's all about God.

They gathered the church together and

what did they report? Everything that

God had done.

Not the miracles that Paul did or the

miracles Barnabas did or the fact that

Paul and Barnabas were mistaken for

Greek gods. No, they said, "Look, this

is what God has done." And the door

that's now open to the gentile world is

because God opened it.

If you are not faithful to the mission

of God, God will call someone who is.

Which is why the scripture says that if

we don't praise him, the rocks will cry

out in praise in our place.

God will get his praise one way or

another. Here's the fourth thing that we

see. Here's the last one. Faithfulness

continues through ongoing disciplehip. I

think a lot of us need to hear this.

Spiritual growth is ongoing. Disciplehip

never stops. Your obedience to the

gospel continues forward. That's the way

it should be. Until the day you draw

your last breath and go to be with our

father who is in heaven, you should be

growing as a disciple. You should be

growing as his child. Verse 28.

And they, this is Paul and Barnabas,

they spent a considerable time with the

disciples. So historians, theologians,

if if they look at the writings of the

early church fathers, they look at oral

and even church history and tradition,

they estimate that Paul and Barnabas

spent time in Antioch for about 8 to 12

months.

They had just been on a two-year

missionary journey. They come back, they

rest in their home church. But though

they rest, the work doesn't stop. I want

you to know that it's very easy,

particularly in Western culture, when we

think of rest, we think of a seizing of

work,

doing nothing, being on the couch,

having a lazy day. Now, I'm all for lazy

days. I had one yesterday.

I'm all for waking up early in the

morning, grabbing my cup of coffee, and

committing to doing nothing.

Those are great days. But when we talk

about biblical rest,

it's not talking about seizing from

everything. As a matter of fact,

biblical rest is about you pursuing the

Lord because that's where the greatest

rest is found.

Where his yoke is easy and his burden is

light.

Because if all I ever do is rest absent

of a pursuit of God,

then my physical body, yeah, it may

recuperate. That soreness might might go

away, right? The ache in my joint might

get a little better. I might find some

reprieve from that, but my spirit is far

from rested because I've not sought the

one who gives me the rest that I really

need and I really crave. And so we see

here in verse 28 that they spent a

considerable amount considerable amount

with the disciples. What does that mean?

It means that they didn't come home to

retire.

They didn't come home to sit down and

say that's enough ministry for me. They

rested, but their rest wasn't retreat.

Their rest was further engagement. It

was renewal. It was preparation. It was

disciplehip. How do we know this? Well,

Luke includes the word considerable time

with the disciples to be strengthened.

And then we know from the context of the

rest of Acts, Paul will go on more

missionary journeys. The work does not

stop because

faithfulness isn't a moment, church.

Faithfulness is a lifetime.

And that's what God not just calls us to

do, be faithful, but he calls us to be

to be faithful.

Because we can do faithfulness on

Sundays, on Wednesdays, in moments when

optically it's necessary. But if we're

not, if that's not in our being,

then it's off for not. Jesus faced this

with the Pharisees. They did everything

right, but their hearts were far from

God. They did all the faithful things

right, but their heart was unfaithful

before the Lord. So what does

faithfulness

look like? It continues through ongoing

disciplehip. That means family families

have a strategy for spiritual growth.

One of the ways

that you can grow spiritually is by

downloading our advent guide.

We've put out a free guide that you can

get online that will walk you through 25

selected passages with discussion

questions over the passage that just

show you the wonder of the Christmas

story.

Five minutes at the dinner table on the

car while you're dropping the kids off

at practice in the morning before you

drop them off to school. five minutes to

read a passage and to say, "What do you

think about?" or "Why do you think

Matthew wrote this?" and be able to

unpack it and be able to grow in your

affections for the Lord in faithfulness

and in ongoing disciplehip. And let me

just close with this. Please know

faithfulness isn't about your pace.

It's about your perseverance.

God works through people who are running

100 miles per hour, but he works through

people who are also just slow trotting

it. The goal is not your pace. The goal

is perseverance.

Faithfulness to the mission

is a responsibility for all of us.

Let's be a people

who aim our hearts towards Jesus. Let's

pray. Lord, we thank you for today.

We thank you for your word.

We thank you for how you move and work.

And Lord, I know that you are not done

with us.

I know that if we are alive, that there

is a mission to be lived out. And maybe

for some people today, that mission

begins by placing faith in you as Lord

and Savior. Holy Spirit, would you

continue to do a mighty work?

Would you stir hearts, call people to

faith? In Jesus name we pray. All God's

people said, "Amen."

>> Hey, would you stand to your feet with

me?