The First Missionary Journey

Wow, just what you prayed there at the end, that we are filled with joy when we respond

! As we were worshipping, I was reminded of one of my favourite books. It's called The Boy,

! The Mole, The Fox, The Horse. If you've heard me talk about it, Queenie's nodding because

it's her favourite book. You've bought 10, 20 copies over the years, at least, I'm sure.

It's just these bite-sized quotes. I'm not a very intellectual person, so I need to read

cartoon pictures with short sentences, and there's one page that says this, one of the

greatest freedoms we have is how we react to things. And as we were singing, I was like,

God, you're so good. I was like, why do you have us sing that song to you, God? Where's

that coming from? Are you kind of self-centred and narcissistic, and you want us to focus on

how good you... And then I realised, wow, when we do that, when we respond to his goodness,

we are just filled with joy. I don't know what you've been going through, and I've been

at a conference this week, a little bit under the weather, but being filled with joy because

I've had friends and colleagues from all around the world, from young life, and that verse,

Hebrews 12, keeps popping up, that song keeps popping up, so turn your eyes to Jesus, and

why? Why does he say look at him and not at anything else? Because he says when you look

at anything else, when you worship anything else, when you focus on anything else, those

things all have the power to consume you, to corrupt you, but if you look at me, I am

the only one who can complete you. And that's what he's saying, and when we focus on him,

I think that's why we gather here, right? That's the first one, that we would know him

and that we would enjoy him, that there would be joy in what we're doing here, and then we

respond out of that joy. And that's really what it's all about, and it's just so great

to see all these faces that I am growing and growing to love, that we get to do live

together. Or just a slight update, I see Hank and Agnes here, so it reminds me to remember.

We have completed signing the agreement on the fifth floor, so that's done. We have got

contractors in giving us quotes, and we've chosen one, so that's done. So now we are putting

in a kind of application to the building to let us start working, and so hopefully in a

month or two or three, we will be able to worship downstairs, which will be great. We'll have

a bit more space than this, and the kids will be able to be released from those rooms of chaos

as well. So that's just a little update. My prayer is that we'll have a wonderful Christmas

service down there at the very latest. That's what I'm hoping. But just know that it is

happening, things are happening behind the scenes. There are lots of WhatsApp groups and lots of

chats that are talking about this. So I just thank you for bearing with us as we pile on top

of each other. But we pile on top of each other, we gather because we're responding to the gospel.

And I hope that's why we're here. Those gathering statements, we just keep reminding ourselves

of that. And then I say, let's gather, but then let's scatter. Because we don't want this

place to be too comfortable. We don't want those couches to be too comfortable, because

if you end up staying on that couch, then the good news doesn't get to be spread to other

people. And so we've been going through the book of Acts, and we've been just seeing time

after time from Acts 6, when they chose some deacons to help distribute food. And then one

of them gets killed, but his face is just glowing just before he gets killed. Stephen, why?

Because his eyes are on Jesus. And then in Acts 8, you see Philip just go from Samaria and

then go to meet the Ethiopian, and he is just filled with joy and bringing joy to the city

of Samaria. Acts 9, Paul responds and sees the glowing light of Jesus and is blinded, but

then is completely converted. Acts 10, Peter is praying. Cornelius is praying. And then Jesus

encounters them, and they are converted. The story just continues. Acts 11, they get to

Antioch, and you see Gentiles, people who weren't Jews, not the originally chosen group, not the

OGs, but the OGs turned the gospel down. So now it goes to the Gentiles, and now phase 3

kicks in where we are going towards the ends of the earth. And of course, last week, Gabe

preached so wonderfully well for us on Acts 12, where you saw Herod respond poorly to the

good news. He responded with pride, and it didn't end well. And yet you see Peter just

humbly just walking through door after door after door. And now we reach Acts 13, where

actually the church itself is really starting to grow. And before we read the word of God

here, I want to ask you a question. How are you responding? What is your response to the

gospel right now? How have you been responding? Maybe you've been a Christian for, I don't know,

Hank, how long have you been a Christian for?

45 years. Wow. And so whether you've been a Christian for 45 years, or whether you are not

yet a Christian, is how are you responding to this good news? First of all, in your own heart, and then

to the mission of actually keeping this news as news, because it only stays news when you keep passing

it on. Otherwise, it just becomes stale, and it just becomes within you. How are you responding to

the good news? We see here something is really interesting that happens is Paul, Barnabas,

Peter, Cornelius, they keep responding, and they keep acting, putting it into action. You might sit

here and go, well, okay, I kind of want to. I have kind of become a Christian, a bit of a lukewarm one,

to be honest, because I'm so distracted and so busy with my life here in this city. But I am trying to

respond to him. But James, what you're saying, I'm okay with the gathering. You're actually already

quite lucky that I'm gathering here at church today, because I used to be able, I used to be

doing it online during COVID, and that was much easier. But now I'm actually here, so I'm responding

in some way. But the scattering part, where you're saying that I have to go and share with Jesus,

share people about Jesus, oh, that's hard. And I would say, if you feel insecure about that,

I'm going to challenge you and encourage you at the same time. I'm going to pat you on the back and

then slap you at the same time and say, actually, that insecurity that you have is actually pride.

Because actually, pride and insecurity are the same thing, in my eyes. It's just a continuum. It's

just a loop. Think of the most, and I've said this before, think of the most proud person that you know,

the one who feels as though they have to tell you everything about everything they've done,

where they studied, everyone they know. At their heart, what are they? Insecure. Because they're

trying to show you that they belong, that they want you to see them. And someone who's insecure,

or if you say, well, I can't do that. I can't come up and open up the Bible and talk. I just don't know

enough. Well, actually, I would say, well, actually, you're prideful too. But because who said anything about

that you're the one who's doing it? Have we learned anything from the book of Acts? Not the acts of the

apostles, but the act of the Holy Spirit through the apostles. All of this is the Holy Spirit. And you will see

this again and again. And it always seems like, wait, this is getting a bit tedious. The Word of God.

Why do you keep reminding us that it's the Holy Spirit that's doing this stuff? It's because,

well, I don't know about you, but for me, I always forget. I always think it's me that's doing it.

But I don't think that's what Peter felt. I don't think that's what Paul felt. I think they were

just like, what is God doing? What is the Holy Spirit doing? I would love to just follow and just

go along with him. And you see it here in the chapter 13. And actually, the mission starts,

actually, I've got a, I just wanted to briefly introduce you to, I've got a group of friends here,

all from Young Life in different parts, from Latin America, from Africa, and from Europe.

There's been a global leaders conference where all the leaders of Young Life get together

to talk about, well, just how to continue to share the good news and share the mission.

And we've been talking a lot about how to do that, how to strategize, how to plan. Of course,

the other evening, we had a mentor of mine come and speak to us and kind of blew all that out the

window. Because the whole goal is to keep your eyes on Jesus. And it's fascinating. You see it

aligned here that the strategy and the mission of the kingdom of God moving starts with a church

service. And I want to challenge you here today. You may have just showed up because it's what you do.

It's part of your muscle memory now. But what if God showed up today and spoke to you

and said, I want you to do something? One, would you hear it? And two, would you respond to it?

My prayer is that now, not all of us are going to get that. Not everyone gets it here.

But can we be prepared? Can we be prepared for the living God who's right here now,

probably sitting next to me here to speak to us and for us to respond? On that note,

I'm going to invite us to stand for the word of the Lord. And I'm going to ask, actually,

ask my friend Kathy from Canada to come and read it to us. Acts chapter 13, verse 1 to 12.

Acts 13:1–12

All right. Hello. Okay. Acts 13.

Now, now they 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. 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 procouncil, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul

and sought to hear the word of God. But Elimus, the magician, for that is the meaning of his name,

opposed them, seeking to turn the procouncil 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 procouncil believed when he saw what had occurred, for he was

astonished at the teaching of the Lord. The word of God. Praise be to God. Thank you, Kathy. Please take a seat.

Holy Spirit, we pray, as you were there at that time in that church service, we know that you are here.

And you've called us to be set apart. Lord, we are ready. Would you speak? Your servants are listening.

We seek to respond to you in any and every way that you call us.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

So, the church starts to grow in Antioch, the city that's so connected. And actually, it's beautiful just

to have friends come and, I know we have Young Life, we have Bible Project friends coming here, and

it would have felt a little bit like this. A group of people gathering in one place, and then visitors

coming in as well. And actually, you see here later in this chapter, that actually, then they were,

Paul and Barnabas would visit different churches, and then they would be asked to speak. Now, whether

they were received well or not is what we're going to find out, but that is how it would have felt.

And so, they're in this church service, and it starts out, and I'm just going to go through verse by verse.

And so, if you have your Bibles,

remember, only paper Bibles.

Mrs. Brown, do you have your paper Bible with you?

You don't. Every time you...

Never mind. We'll leave it there.

52 verses.

So, I'm going to have 52 points this morning,

but we're just going to go through each one.

First, now there were a church in the Antioch,

prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon,

who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,

Manine of a lifelong friend of Herod,

the Tetrarch, and Saul.

Talking about different people in the church, I was like, why are you writing

this list, Luke? I think he's telling us again

that, hey, this church was eclectic.

It was a mixed bag of people

from all over, of different kinds

of races and cultures.

And you hear this time and time again,

and later in Acts 16, you'll see the birth

of the Church of Philippi, and again, a random

collection of people. There's a prison officer,

there's a slave girl, there's a businesswoman, and they're

all sat together in the same room.

This is really interesting to me, because

how often do we go looking for churches

to find the people who look

like us, sound like us,

and basically think like us?

And then we're looking for small groups that I

need to find people who I vibe well with,

who are in the same stage in life

as I, who are single like me,

who are married like me, who are married for

five years like me, who are married for

25 years like me, who have children who are

newborn like me, who have children who are just

about to enter the teenage years like me,

who have adult children like me, and you

wonder, oh, I don't

know if I saw that

in the early church. And I'm not

here saying, hey, actually,

those complaints are invalid, because I think

there is something about doing life with a

group of people who truly understand

where you're coming from. I get that.

But there's also this beautiful chance where

you're talking to someone who is from a

different place, different

country. My friend Power here

serves in Africa and is the lead

for Zimbabwe, and he's going to be developing

Young Life in Nairobi and in Cape Town,

and I'm like,

God, him and I

don't look alike,

don't think the same

way. And if I'm honest, it's

harder talking to him than talking

to my brother, who grew up in the same house

as me. But he's so much better

and smarter and better looking than my

brother. There's something there that really

blesses me.

There's something

beautiful about being with different people, and so

there's that balance, and I get it.

But if you're sat here looking around

at this church and going, there's no one who

is like me here,

I'll say then, perfect, you're in the right

place. You are representing you.

The church of God is a mosaic of different

kinds of people, not just one

copy and paste across the whole land.

I think that's why Luke is showing that

to us here. And verse 2, while they were

worshipping the Lord and fasting,

the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me

Barnabas and Paul for the work

to which I have called them.

I would love that. I would love that for me,

and I would love that for you.

Well, when we're worshipping and praying,

suddenly God says,

all right,

Josh Shum and Josh Piano,

set them apart.

They're going to head

to Latin America to serve.

That'd be so clear.

But yet,

that's often not what happens.

What happens afterwards, they hear that,

and then after fasting and praying,

they lay their hands on them and set them

off. This tells me one thing.

The mission of God is not ours.

We did not invent the mission of God.

David Platt says this,

missioning, just being missionaries

or just pursuing and growing the mission

is not our idea.

It's not because we're doing it

out of the goodness of our own hearts.

This is God's idea.

And we're just simply just

going along for the ride.

You know, and for those of us,

maybe not for the average person

who's working in an office

and just trying to figure out

how to involve Jesus in your life.

For those of us who have given

our lives up to trying to follow,

we're trying to think,

well, what's the strategy?

How do we do this?

For a few years,

I was strapped in fear of the verse,

without vision,

people perish.

And so I kept thinking,

what's my vision?

What's my strategy

to go and spread the gospel?

Until I found out that passage

in Proverbs 29

isn't talking about my own vision

and my own strategy.

It's without prophetic vision,

people lack restraint.

Without a visual on God,

without seeing God himself,

you won't know where to go.

You will lack focus,

is what it's actually saying.

The first kickoff

of missions committee meeting here

was through prayer and fasting.

That was it.

Francis Chan says this,

we've made the great commission

about our strategies,

but the early church knew

it was the spirit's work.

They just obeyed.

Tozer says the spirit himself

is the very strategy of God.

That's it.

Do we as a group

come together enough

to worship and pray

and fast and go,

God, where do you want to send us?

And it will all be

to different places.

Paul and Barnabas get sent here.

Josh and Danny get sent there.

And that's the beauty of it.

As followers of Christ,

we're following.

Yet so often we think,

okay, as leaders,

we have to make up

where we're going.

We have to decide,

no, no, no.

If you look at the leaders here,

they were simply following.

And so they go.

Well, actually,

after that,

they hear that

and they continue

to then fast and pray

and then they lay

their hands on them

and then they are sent off.

Verse two says,

the Holy Spirit says.

In verse four,

so being sent out by who?

Not by the church.

By the Holy Spirit.

Again, so it's,

can I,

have I said that enough?

Did I say that today?

It's all about the Holy Spirit.

It's all about God.

It's all about going,

God, where do you want to send me

and will you come with me?

And so they go,

verse four,

and they actually,

they start their missionary journey.

Something else here.

Acts nine,

which was only three,

four chapters ago,

that's when Saul was converted.

We think,

sometimes we look at this,

we read this,

all the highlights of it

and we think immediately

he then went to

his first missionary journey.

He spent about 10 years.

He went home

and he was just

mulling over the scriptures.

He was mulling over his encounter

for 10 years

before it was time

to go on this first missionary trip.

Sometimes we're just in a rush.

Sometimes we want to

out of our eagerness,

out of our passion for God

and yet here

we see Paul wakes 10 years

before God sends him out.

And so he goes

and they go on this little journey.

They go on this little road trip

and they go to Cyprus first

and then

what I'm going to focus on today

is actually

as they share the gospel,

there are different reactions

to the gospel

and I think they are

the different reactions

that we will see today also.

Actually, just as a show of hands,

who's ever attempted

to share the gospel

with someone

who is not a Christian?

Can you just put your hand?

Amazing.

I was so afraid

that there'd be

five people

and they'd be all in this corner.

Can we just see that again

and then just look around?

If you've ever tried

to share the gospel,

that is so

harmony.

That is it.

If you haven't put your hand up,

don't worry.

You will put your hand up

at some point

because as long as you're open,

God will use you.

But I want to warn you today,

when you do do that

or those of us

who have done that,

we often receive

with different responses.

Pastor Gabe,

when you've shared the gospel,

what responses have you had?

Sometimes people

say, like, I don't believe.

Yeah.

It's like, okay,

that's good that you believe this.

That's good for you.

But, you know,

I'm happy living my life.

Yeah.

It's a cool story, bro.

Someone, yeah,

but it's for you,

but it's not for me.

I don't believe.

And then,

or just,

I just don't care.

Shigala,

what about you?

When you share the gospel,

what reactions have you received?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So,

there she goes,

Shigala,

talking about that Jesus again.

Wouldn't it be amazing

if Shigala made it

into the Bible

and the one line

of descriptor for her

was she just kept

talking about Jesus.

Wouldn't that be cool?

Wouldn't that be cool

of all of us?

Caleb,

what about you?

Indifference.

Indifference.

I think that's probably

the biggest one.

And I actually think

that might be

the most dangerous one.

When they're kind of like,

hmm,

okay.

And we move on.

And then we're,

because sometimes I find

I get,

I do better,

I mean,

I've told you before

when I argue with my wife,

I get smarter and smarter

and wittier and wittier

when the fight gets

more and more heated.

Sometimes I find

when I get more resistance,

I know what to say more,

or at least

I know what not to say more.

But when it's indifference,

when there's nothing

to bounce off,

it's kind of like,

hmm.

Well,

we see here

that actually there are

lots of different kinds

of responses.

The first one is a guy

called Bar-Jesus.

Ironically,

that means the son of Jesus,

but Luke does tell us

another name,

which is Elimas,

which means magician.

So they go to Cyprus

and they start sharing

the gospel there

in the synagogue.

Again,

Paul and Barnabas

at this point,

their strategy,

Holy Spirit sends them,

but where do they go

when they turn up to a new town?

What do you do?

Well,

first of all,

I'll find where the best place

to have noodles is.

Once I've found out

where the noodles are,

I'll have noodles,

and then for them,

they will then head

to the synagogue.

That is the first place

they go.

Why?

Because the gospel,

the message will come

through the Jews.

And so,

okay,

I'm going to go

and speak to whoever

will listen in the synagogue

because that's what they do.

They get there

and they see two guys.

They see two people.

The first guy

that Luke talks about here

is the false prophet Bar-Jesus,

also known as Elimas,

and the other

is the proconsul,

the governor of Cyprus,

basically,

Sergius Paulus.

I'll talk about Bar-Jesus first.

His name is Elimas,

the magician.

Often in those days

for powerful people,

they would surround themselves

with, well,

yes men,

and they would also

surround themselves

with sorcerers.

Magicians.

Why?

To tell them the future.

Hey, tell me,

mirror, mirror on the wall.

Tell me how I will continue

to be the most powerful

of them all.

And so these magicians

would stay around them

and whisper into their ears

and say,

Bar-Jesus,

one of these people.

And so you can imagine

he was very hostile

to Paul and Barnabas.

He was like,

do not come near my territory.

This is how I make a living,

talking to this governor,

trying to strike fear

into him

so he can remain in power

so that I can remain in power.

And so I can live a life

of money and wealth

and fame.

And so Elimas goes to them

and actually what he does,

he does something in verse 8

and he opposes them,

seeking to turn the proconsul

away from the faith.

So he's trying to completely

sow deceit

into this conversation

right here.

But on the other hand,

there is the governor,

Sergius Paulus,

who, again,

I would love to be described

as this,

a man of intelligence,

who summoned Barnabas

and Saul

and sought to hear

the word of God.

This guy was smart

and this guy was hungry

and this guy was powerful.

So he hears about Paul

and Barnabas,

hey, can you come

and tell me about this

because I've heard

that some things

are happening here.

Would you tell me

what you are talking about?

The magician next to him

goes, don't.

Don't listen to them.

It's false.

This tells me one thing.

When we go and share

the gospel,

we will have opposition.

You will.

Every time you try

and stand up,

Ephesians 6,

talking about the spiritual

warfare that happens,

what's the thing

that is that just stand,

just remain firm

and stand

and the wind will blow

and the resistance

will come.

So let's not be surprised

when that comes

in my earliest.

So when Christine and I,

we first decided

we're going to quit our jobs

and go into ministry.

In that moment,

in those first few months,

we just kept getting

wave after wave of attack

of different kinds of things.

And on one hand,

you know what, God,

I don't, I don't,

I actually don't know

if this is worth it.

I think it might actually,

maybe I'll just go back.

Maybe I'll just lie back down again.

It's like if you're standing

in a typhoon,

maybe it's easy just to lie down

and just let it go over you.

And then Ephesians 6

just tells you,

stand,

stand

and stand.

We will get opposition.

This has happened

multiple times here,

especially when I invite friends

and who,

who come and share

the word with me

and that week

is just a terrible week.

Why?

Nothing,

nothing special,

but other than just

to distract,

discourage,

divide.

Be prepared.

So I hope you are ready

for this as you put,

if you put up your hand

or you will put up your hand

or you pray that one day

you'll be able to put up your hand

that you will have shared

the gospel.

Just be prepared.

That isn't always easy.

In fact,

you will have opposition.

Even like here,

you see that happening.

And of course,

it's not even Paul.

Jesus himself says,

blessed are you

when others persecute you

and utter all kinds of evil

against you.

So I don't want to,

I don't want to oversell it

in a way that's false as well

because it is good

and it's just beautiful

when you see people

responding to the good news

of Jesus.

But there is,

there is,

it often gets harder

before it gets better.

And we see that here.

But,

whilst there are people

who are opposing,

there are also people

who are genuinely hungry.

This intelligent,

powerful man,

hungry for God.

Can we just appreciate

Sergius Paul is here?

He didn't have to do this.

He's already got all the power.

He's the governor.

He's,

he's in charge

of this whole island.

He doesn't need

to seek a higher power.

Especially,

what it would do

to him

in front of his colleagues.

In front of the empire.

And yet,

here he is saying,

you know what,

I just want to know the truth.

And it continues to reaffirm

that message

that even though

you have everything

that you think you want,

you get to the end

and you realize,

oh actually,

there's still something more.

And I think Sergius Paul

is exactly in that space.

I have everything I need,

yet I still don't have

the one thing that I need.

And so there will be people

who are hungry.

There will be people

who are asking questions.

There will be people

who are watching us.

Because how else

did he hear about them?

Be prepared

for all kinds

of responses.

Whether those

who are opposing you

or those who are

actually hungry

and wanting to ask you.

And then the most

crazy thing happens,

verse 9.

Saul looks at Elimas

and says this,

You son of the devil,

you enemy of all righteousness,

full of all deceit

and villainy,

will you not stop

making crooked

the straight path

of the Lord?

And now behold,

the hand of the Lord

is upon you

and you will be blind

and unable to see

the sun for a time.

And immediately,

mist and darkness

fell upon him

and he went about

seeking people

to lead him by the hand.

Isn't it ironic

that only a few chapters later,

Saul,

who was blinding himself

as a sign

and a symptom

of his own

spiritual blindness

is now dishing it out?

I like to think

that actually Saul,

and he says

it's only for a time.

I'm almost like,

I hope Saul's praying

for this guy going,

Hey, you don't know now.

Once you know,

you're going to know.

But don't worry,

you're going to be blind

for a few days

just like me.

We don't actually hear

what happens to Elimas

after this.

But in that,

can you just see

the just radical transformation

when someone meets Jesus?

The courage that it takes now,

hey, he's calling it out.

So this is something else

that we have to do.

When we are sharing

the gospel with people,

this is my own personal experience,

when I'm trying to share

the gospel with Trevor,

there'll actually always be

voices on either side.

It's our job to discern

what the Spirit wants us to do

in that moment

because actually

everyone here needs Jesus.

Everyone here needs

to hear the gospel.

But sometimes

there will be truths

that will come out

that are just so piercing

and so destructive

to the good news

that we actually

have to call out.

Do we have the courage

to do that?

And honestly,

this, of course,

I'm not saying

anyone should go out now

and find someone

and call them

the son of the devil.

That's not what I'm saying.

But how could this look?

This could look like

when you're in the office

and someone's asking Kenneth,

hey, Kenneth,

like,

bankers aren't usually kind

and you didn't used to be kind,

but now you're a little bit kind.

Why are you kind?

And then Kenneth will go,

well,

I still want to make

as much money as I can

and have my business go well,

but actually,

ultimately,

I trust that God is in control.

And ultimately,

it's not about money.

Someone on the side

will then say,

that's a load of rubbish.

Money is the only thing

that makes the world go around.

And then,

do we have the courage

in that moment to go,

actually,

that's not true.

Actually,

I don't believe that.

Respectfully,

humbly.

I don't believe that

because I see people

who have all the money

in the world,

they are just,

their lives are just

completely broken.

They're not happy.

They're not satisfied.

And I believe that

the love of money

is the root of all evil.

Are we willing to stand up

and say it in the most,

I mean,

Jesus,

John 1,

filled with grace and truth.

Can we do the same

is all we're really

looking for here.

So Paul confronts him

and the guy gets blind,

again,

just a symptom

of his spiritual blindness

here.

But we see here

that actually the gospel

is for everyone,

even the Gentiles

and even the elite.

Even the elite.

Actually,

in Hong Kong,

we have something

which is we are surrounded,

of course,

by capitalism and money

and you see all these

people of influence.

And sometimes you think,

well,

how about we go

to the people of influence?

Maybe they will change the world

and sometimes I'm resistant

to that because,

well,

Jesus didn't choose

the people of influence,

he just chose anyone.

But it doesn't mean

the people of influence

are excluded

from the gospel either.

In fact,

they have their role

to play.

The Ethiopian,

the CFO of Ethiopia

was converted by Philip,

by the Holy Spirit.

he probably goes back

to Ethiopia

and continues to spread

the gospel

in the chambers

of the queen.

We all have our role

to play

whether we are elite

or not.

And you see,

when he's preaching,

he's really preaching

about one thing,

Jesus.

So they finish one place,

oh,

the proconsul,

the governor,

looks at the magician

and goes,

oh my goodness,

he's blind.

And there's two things.

One,

he's astonished

by that power.

He's like,

did you just,

how did you just do that?

There's something here

that I don't understand.

And second,

he's astonished

by the teaching.

What would have been

the teaching?

The teaching would have been

just only one thing,

Jesus,

about who Jesus is.

And you see a glimpse

of that as we move on

into the next passage.

So after that,

they then move on

to Perga.

Perga from there

in Pamphylia.

And then they go,

what do they do again?

They go into the synagogue again.

This is just,

that's what they do now.

This is the basically

laying down

the strategy for them,

which is to go

and speak to the Jews.

And so they go

into the synagogue.

They're noticed

by the people

in the synagogue.

And then the people

in the synagogue,

hey,

would you like to come up

and share a little bit?

And then Paul goes,

well,

I don't mind if I do.

Because actually,

I've been waiting

10 years for this.

I've been studying

my whole life,

the scriptures.

And I was blind

the whole time

until 10 years ago.

And now I want to show you.

So he jumps into a sermon

and you'll probably

be mildly relieved

that I'm not going to go

through the sermon

verse by verse.

But what he does

in this sermon,

he splits it

into three parts.

He does a Tim Keller

three-point sermon.

And the first point,

he says,

actually,

I need you to remind you

about God's faithfulness

to Israel,

the covenant

that he had

for you guys.

And he mentions

some key people.

Of course,

he talks about

the wilderness here.

We're in verse 18 now.

And for about 40 years,

he put up with them

in the wilderness.

And after destroying

seven nations

in the land of Canaan,

he gave them the land

as an inheritance.

All this took

about 450 years.

I'm an impatient person,

so this speaks

to me all the time.

I respond to Jesus

and I want results

and I want fruit

immediately.

And yet,

Saul meets Jesus,

goes home for 10 years

to study,

finally goes on his journey

and then things happen

and he preaches the sermon

and he reminds them,

hey,

the Israelites

were out there

for 450 years

before they got

what God promised.

40 years

of just wandering around.

And he goes through

and he reminds them

of this

and he talks about Samuel,

he talks about David,

the son of Jesse

after God's own heart

and then he talks

about John the Baptist

and what he's doing,

he's simply reminding them

of Israel's history

and then he's saying,

actually,

you know this history

as well as I do

but the one part

you don't know

is that actually

Christ is the hinge

of the history.

Christ is that moment

where things turn.

God had a covenant

with you guys

and you kept messing up

over and over and over again

and you had no way

of saving yourself

and then one finally

who came

who had clean hands

and a pure heart

and he comes

and he ascends the hill

and he dies for us

and sacrifices for us

so that now we through him

have access to the Father

because of his spirit.

And so that's what

he's trying to,

so he says,

I know what you know,

Moses,

Abraham,

David,

Samuel,

I know all this stuff,

I know you do too

but you're missing

the final piece

that makes it all

work together.

Jesus,

I met him,

I met him 10 years ago,

I was trying to kill

his people

but then I realized

when I met him

that I was actually

trying to persecute him

because he told me so

and then I changed my life

completely around

and please don't call me

Saul anymore,

call me Paul

because that's my mission now

to the rest of the world

because I'm going to be

sharing the gospel

to the ends of the earth

just like Jesus told me so,

I need to tell you

about Jesus

is what his sermon

was about.

He gives this

lightning tour

of the history

of the Bible

and points it all

to Jesus

and when he talks

about Jesus

and this is actually

you and I can learn

from this,

he then goes into

the Bible.

He goes into the Bible

and he actually brings up

three different passages

from the Old Testament.

Remember,

Paul did not have

the New Testament,

he wrote a lot

of the New Testament

but he didn't have it

himself,

right?

So he would have

just had the Old Testament

that he's been studying

for the whole of his life

and he picks out

some key passages

that he wants to highlight

to people

and I want to quickly

show you those things

because it will make sense

and we will then

be able to apply it.

So the first thing

he does when he talks

about Jesus,

he brings up Psalm 2

which is in Acts 13

Acts 13:32

verse 32, 33.

You are my son,

today I have begotten you.

So the first thing

he talks about

is the identity

and the divinity

of Jesus.

He's like,

this isn't just

a nice guy.

Keller said this,

you cannot just say

that Jesus is

an interesting guy.

You can't stop there.

He's either Lord of all

or he's not at all.

C.S. Lewis says

he's either liar,

lunatic,

or Lord.

You cannot just stop

at the nice guy place.

You cannot even just stop

at him being a good prophet

with good teachings.

Paul cuts straight in

and talks about

who Jesus is

and he says,

he quotes Psalm 2,

you are my son,

today I have begotten you.

He jumps straight

into the fact

that Jesus here

is the son of God.

His divine nature.

It needed to be this

in order for him

to save the sins of many

because he was the only one

who was sinless.

He's the only one

who is the son of God

sacrificed for all of us.

So he jumps into Psalm 2

to talk about that

and then he jumps into

Psalm 16

where he says,

I will give you the holy

and sure blessings of David.

You will not let your holy ones

see corruption.

That's verse 35.

So he talks about

the identity of Jesus

and then he talks about

the sovereignty of God.

He's saying actually,

you crucified

and you know,

Peter preached this

in the early books

of Acts as well.

He said,

Jesus who came

and then you put him

on the cross.

You killed him.

But God is in control.

God is sovereign

and does not let

his holy ones

see corruption.

So these people

would have heard Psalm 2,

heard Psalm 16

and go,

oh,

I grew up in Sunday school

memorizing that passage

and I didn't really know

who that was about.

So you're saying

Psalm 2 and Psalm 16

are actually about Jesus.

And then he carries on.

He does another quote

and then he goes into

Isaiah 49 verse 6

Isaiah 49:6

which is our verse 47

in Acts.

I have made you a light

for the Gentiles

that you may bring salvation

to the ends of us.

He talks about

the identity of Jesus.

Then he talks about

the sovereignty of God

using Psalm 16

and then he goes

into Isaiah and says,

actually,

he's talking to you

about the mission of Jesus.

Isaiah 49,

what's that whole passage about?

It's about the servant

of the Lord

bringing restoration

to Israel.

And so they would have

read that,

they would have memorized

that and go,

well,

who is the servant

of the Lord?

Who's going to restore Israel?

We're in a pretty bad

place right now.

Who is it?

And then Paul's saying,

it's Jesus.

He will do this.

I have made you a light

for the Gentiles

that you may bring salvation

to the ends of the earth.

That would have,

I guess,

have been a little bit confusing

for a Jew at that time

because,

well,

I thought salvation

was just for us.

I thought we were

the chosen people.

Oh no,

it's going to be through you

that the whole world

is going to be saved.

But you couldn't do it.

Only the one who knew

no sin could do it

so that we would become

the righteousness of God

and Jesus is the one

who can do that.

Jesus is the one

who is doing that.

And it's fascinating here

as he preaches that,

he gets two responses.

Okay?

There's a first group,

verse 42.

See,

I'm actually going through

quite quickly.

As they went out,

the people begged

that these things

might be told them

the next Sabbath.

They have a church service.

Imagine you guys all do this.

You never do this,

which is completely fine,

by the way.

But you guys,

James,

that was such a good sermon.

I beg you

that you keep talking

about this next Sunday.

Please.

Feel free to do that.

I'll be around here.

James,

please.

Come and continue

to preach the good news

of Jesus to us.

That's how they responded.

Isn't that cool?

And so that's what

they were saying.

They would come,

please.

And actually,

what's really funny

is the next week,

verse 44,

so next weekend,

almost the whole city

gathered to hear

the word of the Lord.

Imagine that.

Imagine the fire hazard

that would be,

waiting for the four lifts

to bring us up here.

But how does that

even happen?

It happens because

Joseph leaves this service

and goes,

I've got to go

and tell people about this

so they would come

next Sunday.

It's Kelvin going

to the hospital going,

okay,

what I just heard

on Sunday

was so life-changing,

I have to go

and tell my colleagues.

It reminds me again,

Acts 11,

Antioch.

It's not really

the main pastor

that does the sharing.

Barnabas was there

just to encourage.

It was happening

without him,

without Paul.

He's just there

just to encourage them.

Keep doing,

stay true to the Lord

is what he says.

Keep going

because the church grows

not because of me

but it's because of you.

And so we go.

And so they go.

So they were so hyped

about last Sunday's

church service

that they leave

and they tell

all their friends

and then next week

everyone comes back.

And he shares it again

but this time

there are people

who are jealous.

Where is it?

Verse 45.

But when the Jews

saw the crowds

so everyone

in the whole city

of course not

every single person

but a big, big crowd

when the Jews

saw the crowds

they were filled

with jealousy

and began to contradict

what Paul was saying

and reviling him.

And then Paul responds

it was necessary

that the word of God

be spoken first to you

since you thrusted aside

and judge yourselves

unworthy of eternal life.

Behold we are turning

to the Gentiles.

So Paul comes back

next weekend

okay alright

I'm going to keep

preaching the message

and the next week

they come

there's people

who still love it

and then there's people

who are really

really despising it

and really really jealous.

And at that point

does Paul go

oh man

people don't like

my preaching.

People aren't laughing

at my jokes.

I hope they still

come back next week.

No no no

he doesn't say any of that.

He's saying

alright

I've done what I have to do

which is to preach

the gospel to you guys first.

If you don't receive it

I will follow the next instruction

which is go

to the Gentiles.

Go to the next

group of people.

And so he does that

and whilst that is

the Gentiles

verse 48

it's like yes

finally us.

These Jews

they're so snobby.

They think it's all about them.

We get to hear

this is for us.

The salvation

is to the ends

of the earth.

That includes us.

And so they're rejoicing

verse 48

and when the Gentiles

heard this

they began rejoicing

and glorifying

the word of the Lord.

And as many as were

appointed to eternal life

they believed.

They heard the good news

and I thought

this is the best news

that we have heard.

We've always been

on the outside

and now we realize

that we are on the inside.

And we thank God

because someone

who was on the inside

came out to get us

and let us

take his place.

We rejoice.

And so they are

super happy

and the word of the Lord

was spreading

throughout the whole region.

Again not because

Paul and Barnabas

were running big events

but because the people

were transformed

and would leave the gathering

and then they would

start sharing

with all the places

that we were in.

That's how the word

of the Lord spread.

But the Jews

but the Jews

verse 50

we keep seeing this

incited the devout women

and of high standing

and the leading men

of the city

and stirred up persecution

against Paul and Barnabas.

Earlier in the chapter

we see

a Roman officer

of power

who was hungry

and intelligent

hungry for God

being converted.

and the good

that that can come

when people

of influence

in the city

who are choosing

to follow Christ

and I know plenty

of these people

I'm so inspired

by them

and they can bring

about change

because God's placed

them in certain places

that they can really

have influence.

Speak to the people

of the city

who will listen

and yet

it can also be

the other way.

You see the Jews

also find powerful people

to stir up persecution.

it ends up

even though

the whole city

came to their church service

they ended up being

driven out of the city.

And so you see

there will be indifference.

There will be people

who are just a little bit

apathetic.

There may be real resistance.

But I want to see

I want us to see

as I finish here

how do

Paul and Barnabas

respond.

One of the greatest

freedoms

we have

is how we react

to things

and how we react

to things

tells us a lot

about what's going

on inside.

So imagine them

great Sunday service

one week

everyone begs them

to come back

they come back

the next week

it's packed

they preach

a group of people

super happy

a group of people

super unhappy

drive them out

of the city

what would their

response be

verse 51

wow and just like that

I finished the whole chapter

but they shook

off from the dust

from their feet

against them

and went to Iconium

and the disciples

were filled with joy

and with the Holy Spirit

what?

They got driven out

of the church

and of the city

and they were filled

with joy

because they were filled

with the Holy Spirit

you can see

that Paul and Barnabas

did not idolize

the approval

of men

that was not

their concern

they weren't

they weren't

even really

that concerned

about how many

people would

believe and be

converted to the

kingdom of God

they were just

doing their job

receiving the

marching orders

from the Holy Spirit

and just simply

responding to him

and the outcome

doesn't really matter

to them

of course

there's another part

which is when we

share the gospel

with people

we hope that actually

we have this

compassion for them

we have this love

for them

that our hearts

break for them

because they're not

in the place

where they are ready

to hear the good news

yet

but yet we also

have to surrender

and go well that's

actually not my job

my job is simply

just to go out

and share the gospel

with whoever will hear

and whoever refuses

to hear

and then God

will do his work

or not

at that time

or at a later date

I can't imagine

being thrown out

of a city

and yet being

filled with joy

yet they had

that freedom

to react

in such a way

and that freedom

comes from only

one place

Jesus

verse 38

let it be known

to you therefore

brothers

that through this man

forgiveness of sins

is proclaimed to you

and by him

everyone

who believes

is freed

from everything

from which you

could not be freed

by the law

of Moses

that statement

would have been

super powerful

for them to say

super powerful

Paul to say

because he

had received

the forgiveness

of sins

from Jesus

he was freed

and so he

could be free

to react

however he wanted

whether it's

indifference

whether it's

actual

persecution

it did not

really matter

we're going to

finish here

and I'm going to

ask you

to join me

together as we

worship

and as we pray

and actually

in the rest of

this week

if you are

willing to

commit with me

to fast

okay God

where do you

want me to go

set apart for me

Paul and Barnabas

set apart for me

Caleb and Jackie

set apart for me

Nathan and Kelly

set apart for me

these people

to do my will

and I will send

them out

wouldn't that be

cool

maybe we can

come back next

week

and I'll ask

who's managed

to share the

gospel

this week

and we all

get to put our

hands up

and be completely

freed from

however other

people respond

to it

because the

only one that

matters is how

we respond

what's your

response today

one to the

gospel

whether you've

been a believer

for 45 years

or not

how do you

receive this

good news

let that seep

into your heart

when you realize

the words of

Ephesians 2

that you were

once dead

in your sins

and trespasses

you were once

blind

you were once

lost

but now I

am made alive

together

because of

the people

around us

and Christ

is the

cornerstone

that's a

message to

share

would you

allow that

message to

seep into

your heart

and then how

will you respond

if God tells

you to go

now God

does call

some people

to stay

home

to stay

in the city

that they were

born to do

things for

him there

actually

Barnabas

stayed in

the same

place

for the

longest

time

the

apostle

stayed

in

Jerusalem

whilst others

were scattered

so there

is a possibility

that you don't

have to move

to the other

side of the

world

but it's also

unlikely that

he's calling

you to stay

at home

on your

couch

that'll be

hard

Hudson Taylor

said that

right

he said

if you're

staying at

home on

your couch

you better

be sure

that's

your

calling

if not

go

because more

often than

not as we

look through

this book

as we look

at to see

how we are

all recipients

of that good

news that

message that

was passed

it was because

people got

off their

couch left

their homes

left their

cities left

their countries

for the

gospel

that word

go often

is a soft

one for

those who