World Wide Witness: Local Church, Global Mission

1005, Acts chapter 13. I'm sorry, I've given the wrong number. Mine says 1005. The correct

Acts 13 · chapter mention

page is 1107. There we go. 1107 if you're using a church red covered Bible. It's exactly

the same, just different colour. On page 1107, Acts chapter 13, verses 1 to 12. Now just

Acts 13:1–12

a pointer before we start reading. About a year ago, about 18 months ago actually, as

a church we looked at Acts chapter 1 through to Acts chapter 12. So now we're starting in

Acts 1 · chapter mention Acts 12 · chapter mention

afresh looking at Acts chapter 13. So we've done 1 to 12 before and we're starting into

Acts 13 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 13. So let's read verse 1 through to verse 12. Let's read together.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,

Lucius of Cyrene, Manian, who had been bought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. While

they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart from me Barnabas

and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they

placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy

Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis,

they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish

sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius

Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear

the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer, for that is what his name means, opposed them and tried

to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked straight at Elymas and said, You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is

right. You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right

ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to go blind, and for a time

you will be unable to see the light of the sun. Immediately mist and darkness came over him,

and he groped about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened,

he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. Well, I'm going to pray and ask for

God's help for us all, and then we're going to look at this section together. So let's pray.

Father, we thank you again for all that you give to us, and we thank you that we have your word,

the Bible, in our language. Thank you that we can read about things that you have done,

and things that you continue to do in the world today. Please help us with the help of your Holy

Spirit to understand your word, and how it applies to us today. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, there are notes around. You can take notes and ask questions afterwards, and there's some

headings on the screen to help us along. Well, this morning, as I say, we are starting into a new

series, a new study where we'll be looking at the book of Acts. Acts is all about God's great mission.

We're told what that mission is right at the beginning of the book. So if you go to chapter one

of Acts, back a few pages, Acts chapter one, right at the very beginning, we are told what the mission

is all about. We'll pick it up in verse three.

So keep your finger in chapter 13 and chapter one, verse three.

So this is Jesus, after his death, his resurrection, speaking to his disciples. Verse three, it says,

after his suffering, after his death, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing

proves that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom

of God. Well, what did he have to say? Well, go down to verse eight. He gave some instructions.

He says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. That's a supernatural power.

And you will be my witnesses because they had seen the life of Jesus. They had witnessed his death

and they had witnessed his resurrection. And he calls them now to be his witnesses in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So God's great mission is quite simple.

It's to see the good news of the risen Jesus go into all the world. His plan is that every people group,

every language hears about his son, Jesus Christ. And as we read through the book of Acts,

we can see this mission begin to take effect. There's a couple of maps on the screen now,

which will help you. So chapters one to eight are all about the good news reaching the people

in the city of Jerusalem, which were mainly Jewish people. Then when we get to chapters nine to 12,

it's all about the good news spreading nationally into Judea and beyond the borders of Judea into Samaria.

And then when we reach chapters 13 to 28, well, it's all about the good news moving out into all the world,

into places like Turkey and Greece and into Italy and so forth. It's pushing the boundaries further and further.

Now what I find fascinating is the fact that we are meeting here today, reading the Bible,

2,000 years after this event, and learning and reading about God's mission,

is actually evidence that God's plan is being accomplished.

It's like a stone or rather a rock that has been dropped into a pond and so the good news has this ripple effect,

spreading out into new lands and to new people, into new areas.

But Acts is much more than just a history lesson about the spread of Christianity.

Acts is really about the good news of Jesus Christ and the need for all people to respond to him.

Now let me show you, let me give you an example of what that good news is.

They've been told to go and be witnesses of Jesus and as they begin to travel out to these places,

they bring the message of Jesus Christ.

I'm going to give you an example of what that message was.

Many places you could go to in Acts, but the one I'm going to show you is in Acts chapter 3, verse 19.

Acts 3:19

It comes in in two parts.

Acts chapter 3, verse 19.

Acts 3:19

This was the message, the good news that they sought to bring as they travelled from place to place.

First of all, there is the call to personal repentance.

Verse 19.

This is what he says, verse 19.

Repent then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,

that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

and that he may send the Christ, whom he has appointed for you, even Jesus.

So they've been explaining the fact that Jesus Christ had come, he had died on a cross.

Now his death was unique.

It was different to every other kind of death,

because it was a death that was taking the place of us.

Taking the punishment that we deserve for our sins,

for the things that we have done wrong, thought wrong.

And the message here is simple.

Through personal repentance,

we can be forgiven of all our sin,

and we can be freed from the judgment that we deserve.

Now that is good news.

But there's a second part to the message.

There is the promise of universal restoration.

Look at verse 21.

They go on to say that he, that's Jesus,

must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything,

as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

Jesus is saying one day he's going to return,

he's going to come back again into this world.

Presently he's in heaven, but he will come back and he will restore,

he's going to put right everything that is broken in this world.

He's going to put an end to all death.

There will be no more funerals.

He will end all decay,

no more disease,

and all destruction will end.

Think about it.

No more wars.

No more hurricanes.

No more suffering.

No more cancer.

No more injustice.

Now, whatever background we come from,

whether we're from a religious background or a non-religious background,

those are the kinds of things we all dream for and we all long for.

That's the kind of world that we all want.

And Jesus says,

one day I'm going to return,

and I'm going to restore everything.

Now that is good news for everyone.

The promise of a universal restoration,

but the way to be part of that

is to respond to Jesus with personal repentance and faith.

And this was the good news that began to spread from the city of Jerusalem,

these few people,

and it began to branch out into all Judea and to Samaria,

breaking boundaries.

But the question to ask is,

how would it then get to the ends of the earth?

How would it get to a little island like Ireland?

How would it reach here?

Well, as the story progresses through Acts,

God's plan is to use his local church for global mission.

Through the church,

God spreads the good news

and the mission of God is accomplished.

And that brings us to chapter 13,

where we are introduced to a church in Antioch,

where the good news begins to spread.

So turn to chapter 13,

and that's where we're going to remain

as we follow through this story together.

So first of all,

local church is all about sending people

with the good news of Jesus.

Verse 1 of chapter 13.

In the church at Antioch,

I think there's a map there, is there?

Where's my...

No, no.

Don't worry.

There it is there.

It's kind of in the south of Turkey,

on the border of modern-day Syria,

so it's probably not a very safe place to be right now,

but nevertheless,

that's where the church was.

You can go back to the original heading.

In the church there,

there were prophets and teachers.

They were the leaders.

There was Barnabas.

He was from the island of Cyprus.

There was Simeon, called Niger.

Lucius of Cyrene.

That was a city in North Africa.

There was Mannion,

who had been bought up with Herod the Tetrarch.

You might remember Herod.

He was the guy who had John the Baptist's head cut off.

They were a mad family, desperate for power,

and would kill anybody to make sure they kept it.

Well, Mannion, well, he was related to that family.

And also part of the church was a man called Saul.

You might remember him as well.

He was that religious fanatic

who used to go around looking for followers of Jesus,

kill them, often by stoning,

and then have them put in prison.

So here we have a culturally, religiously,

and racially diverse bunch of people.

Now, in most cases,

that's really not a good mix, is it?

If you're thinking about a mission to reach the world,

you wouldn't kind of get this collection of people together.

It's a recipe for disaster.

They're all going to be arguing and fighting.

But what unites them all together

is that they have all heard the good news about Jesus.

You can see that in chapter 11, verse 20.

As people went about with the news,

verse 20, it says,

Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene,

went to Antioch

and began to speak to the Greeks also,

telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

The good news of what Christ had done.

The Lord's hand was with them,

and a great number of people believed

and turned to the Lord.

So together now,

these people who've heard the good news,

who've repented,

put their faith in Christ,

they now form this new church at Antioch.

And as we will see,

it is central to God's mission.

Now, that's not unlike the church here at Carragalline.

Although I don't think anybody here

has cut anybody's head off

or related to anybody who's done that.

But the church is made up of people from Ireland,

from England,

from Congo,

from Togo,

from America.

We've even let in somebody from New Zealand.

Rob, sorry.

We all come from different religious backgrounds.

Some people from non-religious backgrounds.

But together,

we are people who've all heard the good news

of Jesus.

And we have, in turn,

responded in repentance,

and we are now united together

as God's people.

But the question is,

what are we to do as a church?

What was this church going to do

that have been brought together?

And more importantly,

who is going to do it?

Well, look at verse 2.

While they were worshipping the Lord

and fasting,

they were praying,

the Holy Spirit said,

set apart for me Barnabas and Saul

for the work to which I have called them.

The work, of course,

was God's great mission,

what we read in chapter 1, verse 8.

The mission to be witnesses.

That was God's primary purpose

for the church,

to send people out with the good news.

And that's why the church exists today.

That's what the role of the church is.

And so here we have a picture

that as this church,

as these believers gather together,

as they were seeking God by praying,

the Holy Spirit motivates,

initiates,

and begins to direct the church

into mission.

Because that's what the Spirit does.

He's a missionary spirit.

He sends the church out.

He highlights

what Jesus had already said

at the beginning.

Reinforces what Christ had said.

It was the same spirit

that prompted Philip

to go and speak to the Ethiopian

in chapter 8.

It's the same spirit

that motivated Peter

to go and speak to Cornelius

in chapter 10.

But I want us to notice here

that the Spirit

is not speaking to an individual

who goes off

and does their own thing.

No, the Spirit here

is speaking to the church

who together become convinced

that this is what God wants.

Verse 3 of chapter 13.

So after they had fasted

and prayed,

they placed their hands on them

as an act of identification

and they sent

Saul and Barnabas off.

Now I think that's a crucial lesson

for the church today.

Church isn't about

a group of individuals

all hearing their own private message

and going off

setting up their own projects.

No, the church is all about

sending representatives

of a local church

following a deliberate decision

by the church

and all inspired

by the Spirit.

And that's what happened

the church in Antioch.

And it's the blueprint

for every church hereafter

including

Carigaline Baptist Church.

And I give you an example

of that for us here.

Peter and Maeve

who we know

who've been with us

well they've just moved

to the US

to America

to study

with the purpose

of coming back

to full time mission.

Peter and Maeve

believed that

God had been calling them.

They've been praying

through it.

As church leaders

we talked with them

and we prayed with them

and we believed that God

by his Spirit

was directing them

into mission

and together as a church

we prayed about it

and being convinced

that this was what was right

the church sent

Peter and Maeve

to America

to study

to train

for future mission work

back in Ireland.

But I don't think

it should stop there

with just a couple of people.

We should continually

be praying

and seeking God

about who should go

and where they should go

because that is

what the church

is all about.

It's about sending people out

and to do anything else

is not really being church

as God called us to be.

The general command

is crystal clear

isn't it?

To spread the good news

of Jesus

throughout all the world.

But for each church

the specific details

of who goes

and where they go

is worked out

as the church

prays

with the help

of God's Spirit

as he initiates

and motivates

and empowers people

as they go

with the good news.

So first of all

the local church

is about sending people

with the good news

of Jesus

and that's what

that church did

and this is what

we should be doing.

The second thing

is this

we're about

global mission

saving people

with the good news

of Jesus.

Look at verse 4

The two of them

that was Barnabas

and Saul

sent on their way

by the Holy Spirit

went down to Seleucia

and sailed

from there

to Cyprus.

So you can see

the little island

there of Cyprus

where they sailed

across to.

There they arrived

at Salamis

which was on the

east coast

and they proclaimed

the word of God.

The word of God

was the gospel

the good news

about Jesus.

And John

was with them

as their helper.

So here we have

a church

taking seriously

the great mission

of God.

Now as we go

about this work

of mission

there's two things

that we should expect.

The first is this

opposition to Jesus.

Let's meet these

characters

in verses 6

and 7.

Let's read verse 6.

They travelled

through the whole island

until they came

to Paphos

which was over

on the west.

Incidentally

isn't it great

that some people

get called

to a lovely

sunny island

like Cyprus

and others

get called

to rainy Ireland

but that's okay.

While they were

there on Paphos

there they met

a Jewish sorcerer

somebody who was

involved

in the occult.

He was a false

prophet

named Bar-Jesus

who was an

attendant

like a secretary

to the proconsul

Sergius Paulus.

Now remember

Cyprus was all part

of the Roman Empire.

They were the big

force at the time.

They were in charge

and Sergius Paulus

was obviously

the man sent

to govern

or look after

the island of Cyprus.

That was his job.

And this Jewish

sorcerer Bar-Jesus

was an attendant

to him.

But what was

this Sergius Paulus

like?

Well look at the

rest of verse 7.

The proconsul

was an intelligent

man.

He wasn't

easily duped.

So he sent

for Barnabas

and Saul

because

well he

wanted to

hear for himself

the word

of God

the good news

about Jesus.

He wanted

to know

who is Jesus?

What did he

have to say?

And well if

this Jesus

is true

what should

I do about it?

But there's

a problem

isn't there?

The problem

is verse 8.

This guy

Elymas

the sorcerer

for that is

what his name

means.

He opposed

them and

tried to

turn the

proconsul

from the

faith.

Now it's

ironic that

his name

is also

Bar-Jesus

which simply

means son

of salvation.

Now you

couldn't get

anyone further

from the

truth.

Rather than

lead people

to Jesus

his aim

was to

direct people

away from

Jesus.

And that's

what he's

trying to

do to

his boss

Sergius

Paulus.

But Saul

can see

what is

really going

on.

Look at

verse 9.

Then Saul

who was

also called

Paul

filled with

the Holy

Spirit

looked straight

at Elymas

and said

you are

a child

of the

devil

an enemy

of everything

that is

right.

You are

full of

all kinds

of deceit

and trickery.

Will you

never stop

perverting

the right

ways of

the Lord?

real

opposition.

Now what

happened

then

I suggest

still happens

today

as the

church

goes about

her mission.

There are

those who

are in

opposition

to Jesus

and try

to deceive

people about

the truth

of Jesus.

There's a

little magazine

at the back

there called

Church

in Chains.

you pick

that up

and you

can read

about what

it is

in some

countries

for people

who love

Jesus.

Now we

might not

face the

same kind

of pressure

and we

mightn't

meet anybody

called

Elymas

but we

do read

about the

celebrity

atheist

Richard Dawkins

don't we?

Author of

the well-known

book

The God

Delusion.

He has a

lot of

followers

and a lot

of people

listen to

what he

has to

say.

Let me

quote you

what he

says.

Speaking

about

Jesus

he says

somebody

as

intelligent

as

Jesus

would

have

been

an

atheist

if

he

had

known

what

we

know

today.

In other

words

Dawkins

claims

that

science

has

disproved

God

and

we

don't

have

any

need

for

God

today.

To

quote him

again

he says

he

that's

God

is

invented

by

mad

deluded

people.

Maybe

I'm

mad

and

deluded

but I

don't

think

so.

Well

Elimas

like

Dawkins

is a

trickster.

He's a

deceiver.

Dawkins

has actually

been voted

as one of the

three leading

intellectuals

in the world.

I don't

doubt it.

He's a very

very clever

man.

But about

his book

the same

people who

voted for him

and said he's

one of the

greatest

intellectuals

the world

has ever

seen.

about his

book

The God

Delusion

they said

his book

is rambling

and self

contradictory.

The evidence

simply doesn't

weigh up.

You see

like

Elimas

people like

Dawkins

who we

read about

and hear

about

is a

deceiver.

He's

opposed

to Jesus

and he

tries to

turn people

away from

the faith

and many

people are

following

what he

says.

And it

makes you

wonder if

God has

actually

failed in

his

mission

because

atheism

is on

the rise.

Has

God

failed in

his promise

of what

he said

at the

beginning

of Acts?

Is it

really going

to reach

people?

Well

as we

read on

in this

section

here

God

has

not

failed.

He

has

supreme

power

and

authority

over

all

things

and

over

all

people

and

he

will

accomplish

his

mission

salvation

will

come

and

nothing

and

no

one

is

going

to

stop

it.

Look at

what

happens

in

verse

11.

Now

the hand

of the

Lord

is

against

you

says

Saul

to

Elimus.

You

are

going

to

be

blind

and

for

a

time

you

will

be

unable

to

see

the

light

of

the

sun

not

blind

permanently

but

just

for

a

time

perhaps

for

him

to

come

to

a

realization

of

who

Jesus

is.

Maybe

he

would

turn

in

repentance.

Immediately

mist

and

darkness

came

over

him

and

he

groped

about

seeking

someone

to

lead

him

by

the

hands.

See

Elimus

was one

of these

men

who

went

around

trying

to

claim

to

have

the

truth.

He

is

somebody

who

claims

to

have

the

light.

But

it's

ironic

that

he

is

the

one

who

ends

up

in

darkness.

From

leading

people

away

by

his

trickery

he is

now

a

helpless

man

who

needs

somebody

to

lead

him

by

the

hand.

The

power

that

he

used

to

turn

people

away

from

God

well

it's

nothing

when

he is

confronted

with

the

real

power

of

God.

In

fact

in

an

amazing

turn

of

events

Elimus

actually

becomes

the

reason

for

the

proconsul's

salvation.

The

one who

is in

opposition

to

God

is

now

used

by

God

to

bring

salvation

to

this

man.

Look

at

verse

12.

When

the

proconsul

saw

what

had

happened

he

believed

for

he

was

amazed

at

the

teaching

about

the

Lord.

The

events

that

he

saw

that

day

of

what

happened

to

his

attendant

his

secretary

convinced

Sergius

Paulus

of

the

truth.

But

read

verse 12

carefully.

What

truly amazed

him was

look at the

end of

verse 12

he believed

not just

from what

he saw

he believed

for he was

amazed

at the

teaching

about

the

Lord.

He

had

heard

the

good

news

of

Jesus

remember

he

was

an

intelligent

man

not

easily

duped

he

had

asked

for

Saul

and

Barnabas

to

come

and

tell

him

and

he

had

heard

for

himself

who

Jesus

is

what

he

had

done

the

call

for

personal

repentance

he

had

heard

the

promise

of a

universal

restoration

and

he

believed

he

trusted

and

so

salvation

came

to

this

man

you

see

despite

the

opposition

we

face

God

will

accomplish

his

mission

through

his

church

now

as we

finish

I

would

like

us

all

here

to

try

and

identify

ourselves

in

this

story

who

do

you

most

relate

to

in

this

story

maybe

you

identify

yourself

with

Saul

he

was

a

follower

of

Jesus

he

was

concerned

to

tell

people

the

good

news

about

Jesus

he

had

been

sent

out

by

his

church

to

do

that

well

if

that's

you

then

I

encourage

you

to

do

so

more

and

more

and

as

you

do

remember

there

will

be

people

who

will

be

in

opposition

they

won't

want

to

hear

or

they

mightn't

want

to

discuss

but

our

job

is

simply

to

present

to

tell

to

persuade

people

who

Jesus

is

and

to

leave

that

with

God

but

the

promise

here

is

that

God

will

bring

his

salvation

whatever

the

opposition

so

if

you

identify

with

Saul

continue

on

in

that

same

thing

maybe

you

identify

yourself

with

Elimas

the

Dawkins

of

this

world

who

rubbish

Jesus

and

stand

opposed

to

him

well as

we see

in this

story

to stand

opposed

to

Jesus

is no

trivial

matter

it's

very

serious

in fact

rather than

thinking of

yourself as in

the light

as what

happened to

Elimas

it actually

is to

walk in

darkness

to be

without

life

and to

be

without

hope

for

maybe

you

identify

with

Sergius

Paulus

apart

from

having

a great

name

he was

an

intelligent

person

he

wasn't

easily

fooled

he

carefully

listens

to what

people

have to

say

he's

seeking

to

discover

what

the

truth

is

and

so

he

had

invited

Saul

and

Barnabas

to

speak

to

them

and

he

heard

about

Jesus

and

he

was

convinced

maybe

you

identify

with

Sergius

Paulus

as an

intelligent

person

who

wants

to

find

out

the

truth

well

if

that's

you

well

then

I

encourage

you

to

read

more

read

one

of

the

gospels

read

out

and

find

out

who

Jesus

is

and

all

that

he

has

done

but

let's

remember

that

God

has

started

on

a

mission

he's

going

to

continue

that

mission

and

he

will

bring

it

to

completion

the

question

is

are

we

on

that

mission

with

him

let's

pray

together

our

father

god

we

thank

you

for

this

amazing

and

incredible

account

of

a

small

church

so

many

years

ago

seeking

to

fulfill

what

you

had

called

them

to

do

we

pray

that

we

as

a

church

here

would

be

like

minded

that

we

would

be

people

who

go

with

the

good

news

of

Jesus

resting

and

trusting

in

God

knowing

his

power

through

the

Holy

Spirit

enabling

people

to

turn

to

repent

to

believe

and

to

look

forward

to

that

promise

of

a

restored

universe

where

everything

will be

put

right

we

ask

for

your

help

individually

and

together

as

a

church

in

Jesus

name

Amen

well

we're

going to

sing

together

which

really

ties

together

a lot

of

the

themes

that

we've

been

thinking

about

there

was

the

theme

of

the

universal

restoration

and

this

song

is

really

looking

forward

to

what

Christ

has

done

and

what

we

can

look

forward

to

there

is

a

higher

throne

where

we

will

be

gathered

which

is

the

new

creation

the

new

heaven

with

him

if

you

trust

in

the

Lord

this

is

a

song

that

you

will

want

to

sing

in

celebration

of

what

we

have

so

let's

stand

together

as

we

sing