Savior of Jews and Gentiles

[0:01] Everybody can grab their seat. As Jen said, my name is Matt.

[0:17] I'm one of the, or I'm an intern. We've changed the title a couple times, so I get mixed up. But basically, Elder in Training.

[0:29] I want to just give you a brief update. Thank you for those who prayed for my last test. I did pass that, and so I'm moving on to the next one. Thanks for that.

[0:47] So I go down the end of August down to Covenant Fellowship Church, where I'll get drilled by, I think, three pastors for like three hours, and that's the next test.

[0:58] So, you know, it's a little nerve-wracking, but at the same time, it's a good and helpful process to go through. So pray for me for that. Once that gets done, then it'll move into like a period where we'll set up like the ordination service itself.

[1:16] I don't know if there's any other things to pass at that point. And I'm not sure what that means as a church for us. So that's another thing you can be praying for. Like, I'll move into being an elder, but what does that mean?

[1:31] I still have a full-time job. And so we haven't really talked about that. This is just where God is leading. And so pray that we as a church and the elders, the leaders, can decide how God is moving us forward as a church in this area.

[1:49] That would be great and helpful. I'm going to pray, and then we'll start out.

[2:06] Lord, thank you for the opportunity that we have to be here tonight. In this place, being able to hear your word, Lord, we pray that you would awaken our hearts, that you would awaken this city, even as we are affected by the gospel, and as you push us out through the power of the Holy Spirit to affect the world around us.

[2:36] Lord, we pray that even now you would be preparing the hearts of unbelievers in our neighborhoods and around where we live. Lord, may this passage teach us and encourage us and help us this week as we strive to follow you.

[2:50] Lord, we ask these things in your holy and precious name. Amen. Acts chapter 13 is where we find ourselves this evening. We're going to start in verse 13 and go to the end of the chapter.

[3:07] It's a little long, but it's a story that goes together, so that's why it is not broken up. Acts chapter 13, starting in verse 13.

[3:22] Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga and Pamphylia, and John left them and returned to Jerusalem. I just want to pause there for a minute.

[3:35] It's not part of the message, but there's a few parts as we read that I just want to pause for, and that is John Mark leaves them at this point and goes back to Jerusalem. He's traveled with them for over 400 miles, so he's committed to the mission, but for some reason we find here that he goes back to Jerusalem, and we're not sure why Paul talks about it later as being something that's not really favorable in his eyes.

[4:03] So there's some animosity, there's sort of a struggle there. Again, we don't know why he left. He just did. So I wanted to point that out, but the other thing I wanted to point out is in verse 13, starting from here and moving on through the rest of Acts, it's not Barnabas and the team.

[4:21] It's not Barnabas and Paul, but after the last, the beginning of chapter 13, when Sean preached it last week, you saw how Paul got into the face of this magician.

[4:36] From then on, there's this transition in leadership, and now it's Paul and Barnabas. It's Paul and the team, and we see that from here on out. And I bring that out because I think it's helpful, because up to this point, Barnabas, the son of encouragement, has been such a scene as a big part in the church, and he still is.

[4:55] But we see that Barnabas had no problem stepping to the side when he saw God bringing up someone that he wanted to use more in a primary front seat position.

[5:08] So this transition, while it's kind of quiet, it's important for us, because we can be those who struggle with position in the church, with a title, with what we can do or not do, or what someone else is doing.

[5:22] So I would just encourage you with that to observe Barnabas' humility as he serves the Lord. We pick up in verse 14. But they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia.

[5:36] And on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them saying, Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.

[5:51] So Paul stood up and motioning with his hands said, Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt.

[6:07] I'm just going to pause there. This is the last time I'm going to do this. It's not part of the message. But another important thing to remember here is he says that the people were made great during their stay in Egypt.

[6:22] They were in slavery in Egypt. Their people grew, yes, but they were in slavery and it was hard. And yet here, Paul says they were made great during their time in Egypt.

[6:37] And so, although it may not seem like it, this is an encouragement because we're going to find, if we haven't already, that blessing and strength from the Lord often comes through times of struggle.

[6:55] And in this case, slavery. The people were made stronger, brought closer to God through their slavery. We'll continue on.

[7:08] Verse 17. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt. And with uplifted arm, he led them out.

[7:18] 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 their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years.

[7:31] And after that, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years.

[7:45] And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, I have found in David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.

[7:58] Of this man's offspring, God has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus, as he's promised. Before his coming, John had proclaimed the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

[8:12] And as John was finishing his course, he said, What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.

[8:26] Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him, nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

[8:49] And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

[9:02] But God raised him from the dead. And for many days, he appeared to those who come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

[9:14] And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus. As it is written in the second psalm, you are my son, today I have begotten you.

[9:29] As for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David. Therefore, he says also in another psalm, I will not let your holy ones see corruption.

[9:45] For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and laid with his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised up did not see corruption.

[9:58] Let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. And by him, every one who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

[10:14] Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the prophets should come about. Look, you scoffers, be astonished and perish, for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe even if one tells it to you.

[10:29] As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told to them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

[10:47] The next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.

[11:00] And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you, since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life.

[11:13] Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles, for so the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

[11:25] 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 believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.

[11:38] But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing, and the leading men of the city stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.

[11:50] But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. When I was about eight to ten years old, I lived in Tennessee.

[12:10] And one activity that our church did was on a regular basis we would go up about an hour and a half away and visit this church, Mount Pisgah Baptist Church.

[12:23] It was just a little bit outside of Knoxville. But it was a Baptist church, but a few years before they had gotten a calling that they thought was from the Lord to set up a printing ministry.

[12:38] They were going to be printing Bibles. They felt that that's what God called them to do and they raised money and they bought what they needed. They set up shop in a bus garage that was big enough to hold the equipment.

[12:54] And we would go up there. I think it was about once a month. We would go up there and spend a few hours just putting Bibles together. So it was pretty cool as a kid because you got to see these pieces of machinery that are used to make Bibles.

[13:11] So it was pretty cool just to see like these big cutters that would just cut like stacks of Bibles that were like five high. And you got to see the machine where it would like slide it through the glue and put the cover on it.

[13:25] That was really cool but what was also neat about it is it wasn't hard to connect to the mission that they were on. They were printing Bibles that were going to be sent out across the world and they were going to be doing that so that they could spread the gospel in the way that they felt God was using them to do that.

[13:49] It was a really cool mission. It was also a hard mission. We, for us it wasn't very hard. We just gave up some time on a Saturday. Sometimes it was hot. It was, what I remember doing most was these long tables and you walked around with this holder and you just grabbed little packs of paper that were small sections of the Bible and you just piled them on top of each other walking around the table and you just do that over and over again but they used that and pass it on to the next person who would fold it and cut it and glue it together and it would get put together and stacked and put in boxes and shipped out.

[14:28] So it was work but you saw the mission. You were able to see the bigger picture of what was going on. It was worthwhile and you know what? That's an important mission and there's, there's thousands if not millions like that.

[14:43] Not that make Bibles but that do something for the mission of God all over the world. And so, our passage tonight, we're going to be looking at God's mission.

[15:00] We're going to be looking at three points. One is mission directed. One is mission denied. And the last one is mission driven.

[15:11] So as you can pick up, it's all about the mission. The mission that God is doing in this passage, in his church, in his people. And so those are the points but as we move through it, the question that it leaves for us is what is our involvement in God's mission?

[15:29] It may not be to go and help put Bibles together but if you're a Christian tonight, God does have something for you to be doing that is part of his mission. So that's what I want you to be thinking as we move through this.

[15:41] Last week we saw how last week it was Barnabas and Paul, how they were set apart. And we saw how they and also the church in Antioch, they became both part of the mission, right?

[15:57] The church laid their hands on them and set them apart and gave them what they needed to send them out. And Barnabas and Paul were on the mission to go and take that gospel to several places being led by the Spirit.

[16:13] And so that's where we find ourselves tonight. They arrived at Perga and that's where John Mark leaves them. I have a map that we'll put up.

[16:24] I like pictures so I can see as we're moving around. Is that big enough? Yeah. Just to get an idea of where they started, so they're Antioch over here on your right side.

[16:35] That's Antioch in Syria. They travel down to Salamis and Paphos. That's a message that was last week. And then they go up to Perga. And it's at Perga where John Mark decides to leave for whatever reason.

[16:50] So he's got a long journey to go back way down here to Jerusalem. But I showed you that because I think it's helpful to see where they're going on their mission.

[17:01] It wasn't an easy mission. Once John Mark leaves, they're traveling 100 more miles over mountains to get to Antioch. Not this Antioch, but Antioch in Pisidia.

[17:15] Antioch, not to be confusing, but it was a common, popular city name. And so that's why you might hear that. There's two different locations.

[17:25] I think there was about a half a dozen in that area at that time. So they travel there. Paul and Barnabas and their team. I don't know how many more were with them at this point.

[17:36] We don't know if they visited the synagogue in Antioch that week. Maybe they were wearing clothes that set them apart, but there was some reason why the rulers in the synagogue knew that they were not just somebody visiting the area, but of a rabbi status like Paul was.

[17:58] So after the reading of a portion of the law, a portion of the prophets, which is what they traditionally did during the service, they extend an invitation to Paul, and they say, hey, if you or anyone in your team has a word for the people, please say it.

[18:14] So Paul has a message that God has. It's probably not what the rulers were thinking. He stands up and he begins to preach to these people who were primarily Jewish.

[18:25] There were other people who were converts, so they were not Jews, but they believed in God and they feared who God was. So as we move into verse 17, what I want us to see first, our first point in our outline is a mission directed.

[18:47] It is a mission directed by God. If we start in verse 17 and we move on, we see all the ways where God does something. Man is there, but it's God the one who leads.

[18:58] God the people of Israel, he's the one who chose the fathers. He made them great and then brought them out of Egypt. He's the one that led them through the wilderness and destroyed the seven nations.

[19:13] He brought them to the land that he promised them. It says here that it took about 450 years.

[19:25] It's basically a reference to their 400 years in slavery and then their 40 years in the wilderness and then about 10 years where they are doing battle as God brings them into the land of Canaan.

[19:37] After that, it says God gave them judges. Of course, they weren't happy and so they wanted a king. So it says that God gave them Saul and after 40 years, it says God removed him.

[19:52] In verse 22, it's interesting that it says God raised up David to be their king. So if we compare Saul, which we know didn't go well as a king, that's just what the people wanted.

[20:03] It says that God gave them Saul and when it came to David, God raised up David. So we have different language being used by two different kings. David was an ordinary man, a son of Jesse.

[20:18] The difference was he allowed God to lead his life and to shape his heart into being like God's heart and that's what we see here said in this passage.

[20:31] God's mission was David's mission. Now, some are probably questioning like most, but didn't David sin.

[20:42] Absolutely, in some really big ways. But notice that those sins didn't change God's testimony that he said about David. The reason why is because David was repentant.

[20:55] He repented of what he did. It wasn't good. It was very evil, bad things. But that didn't keep David from seeing his wrong sin and he repented before God.

[21:07] He didn't dwell in that. He didn't try to cover it up and make a reason. Well, he did try to cover it up, but once he realized his sin, the depth of his sin, then he repented and he makes it right and comes back to God.

[21:20] That's a message of hope to anyone out there who thinks that their sin is too large for God to do anything in their life with.

[21:31] there isn't a sin that God's grace and love can't cover over and can't forgive if we are to repent.

[21:43] Now we come to the core of the mission that God is directing and that is, as we all know, the core of the mission of the gospel is Jesus Christ.

[21:54] He's the promised Savior. Savior. We see that Paul jumps from David, King David, all the way to Jesus in his sermon here.

[22:04] So, 1,000 years he's jumping in this history summary that he is doing. And the connection he uses is in verse 23.

[22:15] Of this man's offspring, of David's offspring, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. He has promised. Now, this connection from David to Jesus would have been fully accepted by his Jewish audience because they knew the Messiah would come from David's line.

[22:36] Back in Matthew chapter 22, it says, now when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question saying, what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?

[22:47] And they said to him, the son of David. So, they knew what to expect. They knew where the Messiah was coming from. Not only fulfilling the promise that would come through David, but highlighting again that God is the director of what is going on.

[23:05] God brought to his people a Savior. God made the promise. God made it happen. In verse 24, Paul mentions John. John the Baptist is who he's talking about, who was sent to prepare the way of Christ, of Jesus.

[23:22] He was sent to call people to repentance and to be baptized. It says, as he is finishing his course, that is, as his life and ministry is nearing an end, he says, what do you suppose that I am?

[23:38] See, some thought that maybe he was the prophet Elijah coming from the wilderness, and some even thought that he could be the Messiah. He said, do you think that I am the Savior?

[23:51] I am not. And then he adds to that, he uses an illustration of a servant. A servant who already is in a lowly position, but the lowest thing that they could do is wash the feet of guests coming in.

[24:06] And to do that, they would have to untie their sandals. So, so here he's pointing out that he is not even worthy to serve in a position that is the lowest person doing the lowest job.

[24:20] Like, I, I am not the Savior, and up next to him, I don't even stand worthy to be the lowest of low, is what John the Baptist says. Paul continues in verse 26, and then talk about salvation has been sent to them.

[24:37] But we notice that his, in verse 26, his greeting changes. Previously, he had said men of Israel. In verse 26, he says, brothers, sons of the family of Abraham.

[24:53] He's, he's personalizing this. He's pointing out that they are children of the people of Israel, going back to the ones that God chose their fathers.

[25:06] their fathers were the very ones that God chose, and they are from that line, the sons of the family of Abraham. He's making it more personal.

[25:17] He's also reminding them that they are part of that family. Not just reminding them of that, but having them realize the weight that should accompany that.

[25:28] The character, the faith, the high standing that embodies the weight or the, the Abrahamic family name.

[25:40] Chosen and set apart by God. They should want to live up to that, that weight and live in a way that doesn't detract or diminish that heritage that God put in place.

[25:56] Now, I also don't want us to miss our connection to this because we also have been given a similar heritage. As children of God, we have been set apart by God.

[26:11] And like verse 26 says, we have been sent the message of this salvation. So we should also live in a way that Paul is encouraging the Jews to do as God's people.

[26:28] Now, as we move into verse 27, Paul starts to address the problem and that brings us to our second point. So we have mission directed and then we have mission denied.

[26:43] God has promised salvation salvation. He has brought it to them and yet they deny it. They heard the prophets read it every Sabbath.

[26:56] They heard it read from the scrolls and yet they still condemned him. It says they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets even though they were read every week in the synagogue that they went to faithfully.

[27:14] they still failed to hear the salvation message. The pointers took Christ, his death and his resurrection. In recognizing Jesus and understanding the words of the prophets, they failed in both of these.

[27:34] And yet, ironically, in their failure, they fulfilled them both. Out of their ignorance, they fulfilled what they did not understand.

[27:46] Finding no guilt in him, they executed the innocent one and fulfilled all that had been written about him. But God raised him from the dead and he was seen for many days and by many witnesses.

[28:03] I think it's neat that he is seen, Jesus, after he is resurrected, he goes to his people, his disciples, close friends.

[28:17] And that, I think, is not only to comfort them into what has taken place because they didn't understand, but also, like, those were the people who would know, who knew him the most.

[28:27] Someone who would not be tricked by it not really being Jesus or him not really being dead. These people would know a fraud. But he doesn't just go to those that Jesus knew, most intimately, but he also went to others outside of that group, appearing to 500 people at a time in one spot.

[28:52] So Paul lays out the good news for them after giving them this in verses 32 and 33 and reminds them again of their heritage.

[29:05] He says, we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus.

[29:18] Here, notice he says, us, their children. He's including with that because he comes from the Jewish line as well. He's also leaving out the Gentiles who are in the congregation at this point.

[29:32] He's not doing that to make them feel secluded, but Paul is trying really hard to win over his Jewish people, emphasizing that what God has done and how the whole work of Jesus was done within this Jewish people, within their own people, their own family.

[29:54] Next couple verses, Paul gives some Old Testament quotations, trying to get the Jews to see this promise of salvation that is being fulfilled.

[30:06] I'm not going to go into each of these quotations for sake of time, but each one, verse 33, taken from Psalm, you are my son, today I have begotten you.

[30:17] Verse 34 is taken from Isaiah, talking about the everlasting covenant made with David. And then verse 35, a quote from Psalm 16, talking about how David was human and how at the end of his life he did die.

[30:37] He was buried in the ground and his physical body did see corruption. But the Holy One, speaking of Jesus at this time, whom God raised from the dead, he did not see corruption.

[30:53] And now in verses 38 and 39, we get to see the salvation point of Paul's message. And he begins us with a little bit more authoritative tone.

[31:10] Good thing I wasn't speaking then. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man, through Jesus Christ, the one that you crucified, the one you didn't believe in, through him has come forgiveness of sins and is being proclaimed to you.

[31:31] And then when he adds verse 39, it's just beautiful. He says, and by him, everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

[31:45] Jesus. This word freed, translated better from the Greek, is actually the word justified.

[31:56] And you can see how they can mean the same thing, but I think justified is just stronger. and by him, belief in Jesus, everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

[32:14] The Jews were all about the law of Moses. They lived by this law. They added to this law. They condemned people with this law. And Paul is saying there is no justification from this law.

[32:29] It's not like some sins could be removed by the law. No sins can be removed by the law. No freedom comes from the law. It only brings demands and requirements that we break.

[32:43] And there is no freedom. There is only the pointing out of sin and there's guilt. It is only through Jesus Christ. It's his work of salvation.

[32:54] It's our belief in that work where we find freedom, where we find justification. Paul ends his message in verses 40 and 41.

[33:07] But as he does, he gives a warning. Again, using an Old Testament quotation, this time from Habakkuk chapter 1. The prophet Habakkuk is told to prophesy to the Israelites that God will be using the Chaldeans to come in and utterly destroy them.

[33:28] the problem is not a single one believed it until it actually happened. And so in Paul's warning, he's asking the hearers if such unbelief is about to repeat itself.

[33:45] And then Paul ends his message. And in verse 42, we see that people are begging to hear more. The meeting broke up and there are Jews and Jewish converts that want to hear more.

[34:02] Verse 43 says that they followed Paul and Barnabas. They spoke to them and Paul and Barnabas are encouraging them, persuading them, it says, to continue in the grace of God.

[34:13] This is talking about the message of salvation that they've just been given. Paul is encouraging them, listen, you've just been giving this, go with that, don't go back to what you had before, but continue on.

[34:26] So as you can imagine, there is no doubt a lot of talk in the city that week. There was a message that was given in the synagogue that had never been heard before, and many people wanted to hear more.

[34:41] So on the next Sabbath, Luke says that almost the whole city came out to hear the word of the Lord. Can you imagine a city where people, whether believers or unbelievers, were excited to come together and hear the word of the Lord?

[34:57] It would really be a great revival service to be part of. But from this passage, we know that there is trouble brewing.

[35:09] Verse 45, when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul. Paul is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[35:24] He's talking about what God has done, what he has promised, and the work that he is doing. So when they contradict Paul, they're contradicting God.

[35:36] When they revile against him, they're actually doing it against God. If we think about that, how crazy and futile that is. God's people that he called are now contradicting the mission that he is doing, the work that he is doing to save them.

[35:56] And as the Jews start to argue here in this passage and they're contradicting Paul, verse 46 says that Paul and Barnabas had to get loud. Right?

[36:07] Before they lost their chance to say any more to this crowd as they get louder, they had something else that they still needed to say. It was another important detail that they had to pass on, and it was this.

[36:22] They said, it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. You Jewish people, but since you have thrusted aside and you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, that is, you are pushing away the message of salvation, and by that act you are pronouncing that the final verdict for yourself is that you're not worthy of saving, you're not worthy of eternal life.

[36:56] And Paul says for that reason we're turning to the Gentiles. And that brings us to our last point, which is a mission driven.

[37:09] It is driven forward even through denial. Paul says that God told us to move on from you to the Gentiles.

[37:25] This was God's plan all along. He quotes Isaiah 49 reminding them that God's mission was always to start with the Jews. To make them a light, an example, a beacon of hope to the world.

[37:40] To bring salvation to the world. Not keep salvation just to the Jews themselves. And when the Gentiles heard this from Paul and from Barnabas, as you can imagine, they're filled with joy.

[37:55] Right? Excitement. There's this gospel party going on as they glorified the word of the Lord as salvation is being given to them.

[38:07] People, Gentile people, like us, who were once outside, are now brought inside. And people got saved.

[38:19] And the gospel is growing through the region. Through the region. brothers and sisters, it is a glorious thing when cold, dead hearts are brought to life by the word of God.

[38:36] And people realize that God's mission included their salvation. When the God of the universe shows up and touches a life and gives it a purpose that spans eternity, that experience cannot be matched by anything else.

[38:57] And that's what happened here for the non-Jewish believers. And that's what's happened here to all of us outside of the Jewish people.

[39:10] So be encouraged today. Now look, Luke could have ended this passage with verse 49, but he didn't.

[39:20] And I think that allows us to see something important. If you're a Christian this morning, if you're doing God's work, people are being changed and saved and people are coming to church and their lives are being affected by the Lord, there will be persecution.

[39:42] persecution. It's safe to say that if your life is void of persecution, that you are not part of God's mission very strongly.

[39:53] And I know that sounds rough. If your life is void of persecution, you're probably not very serious in your mission with God. God's love.

[40:07] I say that because I want to be honest with you and I want you to be honest with yourself because we know that Satan is alive and well. And we know that if we're doing things for the Lord, Satan will want to knock us off.

[40:23] So if persecution and trials are coming at you, then you can rest assured that Satan is not happy with what you're doing. But the other side of that is if you are attending church once a week, like these Jewish rulers, and your life comes with no persecution, then you should question what are you doing for God?

[40:49] Because Satan is not afraid of you. Satan is not afraid of any work that you're doing, most likely because you're not doing any work. So I know that comes out strong, but I want to encourage you to be about the battle against Satan and the mission for God.

[41:10] Verse 50 says that the Jews, those who were supposed to know and love and follow God, they were jealous, they were angry, they were stirred up by these crowds that were brought, not because of them, but because of the word of the Lord.

[41:25] And they brought persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and they drove them out of the city. Most likely, this kicking them out of the city was not a painless ordeal.

[41:39] Several commentators think that there was a beating involved with kicking them out. And so, again, I remind us that Paul and Barnabas were not wondering, why am I getting beat because I'm doing what God wants me to do?

[41:54] They understand why they're getting beat because the word of the Lord is going out and Satan and unbelievers are fighting against that. The reminder points us back to Jesus Christ.

[42:11] We know that Jesus lived a perfect life. We also know that his message was rejected. He was persecuted and he was crucified.

[42:22] If he, our Savior, went through that, then why would not us, his followers, go through something similar? A couple verses just to remind us.

[42:35] John chapter 15 verse 18. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. Speaking of Jesus. 2 Timothy 3.12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

[42:56] That's just what comes with a Christian's life. We're commanded to share the gospel. Our job is not to take the gospel and change it to make it pretty or soft, more acceptable to an unbelieving world.

[43:13] They are going to fight against it. Many will hate it. But it's the message that God uses to save his people.

[43:24] It's the same message that if you were saved here tonight, was used to bring you to salvation. Verse 51 says, they shook off the dust from their feet against them.

[43:39] That is to say, I tried to tell you, and now the weight of unbelief and the judgment from that is on your head. And then they went to Iconium.

[43:54] And it says the disciples were encouraged, filled with happiness. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. The disciples they're referring to, those who were left there in Antioch, they weren't referring to Paul and Barnabas.

[44:07] Those who were left there, they were filled with the Holy Spirit to continue the mission. Remember, Jesus, when he was going back to heaven, said he was sending us the Holy Spirit to live in us for the purpose of God's mission, to encourage us, to strengthen us, to help us, to drive us forward in God's mission.

[44:32] Now I know in this room tonight there are two groups of people. There are those who are saved and those who are not. And so like Paul was preaching the gospel to the people in Antioch, I'm presenting to you the gospel from God's word, not man's words, not my word, but God's word.

[44:56] God has made salvation available to you. If you don't know that salvation, if you have not put your trust in Jesus, you can't know God, you can't be on God's mission if there is no belief in his son.

[45:20] And so if you haven't trusted Jesus, I would urge you not to continue like the Jews in unbelief and risk and eternity separated from God.

[45:34] And so I would encourage you to come talk to me after the service. Come talk to someone next to you. Reach out to someone. For those who already know and have put their belief in Jesus, let me ask you something this evening.

[45:50] Are you on God's mission or your own mission? Are you a religious person going to church every week and you hear the word and that's your part?

[46:05] And has God moved on from you because you are not like Paul and Barnabas and the people who are being saved? You're not desiring to be part of the mission to allow the Holy Spirit to work?

[46:20] Is there no involvement in what God wants you to be doing? Maybe it's because of a stubborn heart or unwillingness to do what God wants.

[46:34] Maybe it's stop clinging to something that God's calling you to let go. So there's this battle. I urge you to let those things go and let God be your director tonight.

[46:52] A couple practical aspects of this passage and some of you I know do this very well. So I want to encourage you to keep doing those things. things. But if you're a new Christian or maybe you've been a Christian for a few years and you find yourself not you just feel not connected to God's mission.

[47:12] You don't know what God is doing in your life. Sometimes you feel like you're moving backwards and not forward. a couple things that you can be doing.

[47:24] And these are basic things. I say basic things because we never move away from them. And that is Bible reading. We can't know God outside of his word.

[47:36] So read the Bible. We know that prayer has power. So we need to be about praying to our God. So make prayer a habit.

[47:50] Make Bible reading a habit. And as we do those things, like David, we allow God's will to become our will, we won't miss the mission that he has for us.

[48:05] Last night after I put Juliet to bed, it's part of our nighttime routine where I sit next to her bed and I just do work.

[48:16] I read on my phone or I type on the computer and she lays in bed and she likes to fall asleep that way. So I usually get about 10-15 minutes where she's fallen asleep. And as I did, I was thinking about Mount Pisgah where I helped make Bibles.

[48:33] And so I was just curious and I looked it up and it was pretty cool because they're still there, right? They've actually grown bigger. So now, 40 years later, they're still printing Bibles.

[48:46] I think in over 16 different languages, they're still sending out Bibles all over the world. So I'm just thinking about that mission and how they're continuing on.

[48:59] As people of God, let us connect to the mission that God is directing. Let us not deny our responsibility in that mission mission and let us allow the Holy Spirit to drive us forward in all that God has for us.

[49:21] Let's close in prayer. Lord God, again, we thank you for your word and for these missionary stories.

[49:38] about how you are doing a work. Lord, help us not to just get comfortable in our life and deny what you are doing and disconnect from the one who has given us salvation.

[49:59] God, help us move in each person's life, knowing that each person's situation is different and what you call from them for them to do, is different.

[50:10] Lord, work in their lives and their hearts. Help them not to deny what you are doing. Lord, help them to follow the Spirit.

[50:22] Help us to follow the Spirit. Help us to seek you in your word. And God, may we be driven forward in your mission through the work of the Holy Spirit.

[50:34] Lord, in your name we pray. Amen.