The Movement is Sending
We continue our study in the Book of Acts entitled The Movement Begins. We find in the Book of Acts the Person and Nature and Work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who is the primary mover of the Church. Today we come to chapter 13.
This chapter is very crucial in the movement because this is where the movement launched, on her first mission trip outside Jerusalem. It has been about 25 years since Pentecost (Acts 2). The Movement has increased, expanded, multiplied, and flourished. The church has grown. The church has developed. It has reached Judea. It has reached Samaria, and there has been the concentration primarily in those early years of the church. But now it is time to move into the “known world”, to begin to establish that final element of our Lord’s commission, and that is to preach the gospel to every creature “to the ends of the earth.”
Until now, Jerusalem had been the center of ministry of the movement, and Peter had been the key apostle. But from this point on, Antioch in Syria would become the new center (Acts 11:19ff.), and Paul the focal person. The gospel was on the move!
In this chapter (13) and the next (14), we follow Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey to six different cities, beginning and ending at Antioch.
Antioch is the first real missionary-sending church in a pagan world. The church had a great start chronicled for us in chapter 11, great growth, great impact, and the church had a great attitude. All in all, it was a healthy, dynamic, vibrant, fast-growing church.
Now, let me give you the basic key, because I think it’s so very important that we understand this. When we look at this particular church, we notice something that stands out.
Verse 2: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,” Verse 4: “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit,”
Verse 9: “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,”
So we see that the leaders at Antioch Church were worshipping to the Lord and fasting in the Holy Spirit, and they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. And we can easily conclude that this was a church under the control of whom??? The Holy Spirit. A Spirit-filled church, a Spirit-energized church, a Spirit-empowered church, a church that knew the meaning of Acts 1:8. And that’s the key, people, the key in any church that is going to impact the world.
Listen brethren, the key in any church that is going to explode and move out to fulfill God’s great commission is when the Holy Spirit is leading and listened to.
So what I want us to learn today is to discover three essential characteristics of a Spirit-led Church like the Church in Antioch.
Characteristics of a Spirit-Led Church
I. They Send the Workers. - v.1-3
As I said before, this is the first instance of planned overseas missions carried out by a predominantly Gentile Church. Next to the Jerusalem Church, the mother church, is the church in Antioch which is to be considered the first missionary-sending church.
A. Supremacy of the Word
In this church in Antioch, there was a supremacy of the word, a priority on the word of God. Notice verse 1 again,
1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
Before talking about the missionaries that were sent or the way they were commissioned, or where they were sent, Luke sets up the description of this church as a place where there were spiritually-gifted prophets and teachers. What’s the common thing about prophets and teachers? The Word.
Teacher and prophet are in a sense overlapping roles, both centered on proclaiming the truths of God's Word. The prophet may be more of a preacher and the teacher would be one that gives more systematic instruction of the truths handed down by the apostles.
Five men are mentioned as being in that teaching/preaching role in the church in Antioch, two of which will be commissioned to serve as missionaries to Cyprus.
1. Barnabas. We've encountered him several time in Acts. A Levite, a Jew. A rich man, a very caring man, an encourager, generous, supportive, a leader in the church. And importantly, he's a native of Cyprus, which is where they will be going to.
2. Simeon who is also called Niger. It's a Latin word that means black or dark. It's possible that he's also from Cyrene like Lucius, the next man mentioned. Cyrene is in northern Africa. Now at this time in history, most of the people in North Africa would have been more of a Mediterranean, dark complexion. So there seems to be a deliberate point here that Simeon is called Niger. This is likely the first black missionary in the history of the church.
3. Lucius of Cyrene, a Gentile from Africa
4. Manean, who was a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, who had killed John the Baptist.
5. Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul.
This was an incredibly ethnically diverse congregation, as reflected by these workers. But I think more important than their ethnic diversity was the fact that this missionary sending church placed a supremacy on the word. They were a grounded, well taught and instructed church.
B. Sensitivity in the Worship
2 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.”
The Gk. Word for worshiping here is Leitourgeo, where we get the English word Liturgy.
While they're worshiping the Lord together, during their corporate worship of God as a people, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. Do you see the sensitivity this church had to the voice of the Holy Spirit while they were gathered together in public worship?
Why would God's primary means of speaking to us through His Spirit be in the corporate gathering? Because here we have people who can affirm that word from God; here we have people who can attest to that, who can say, "My spirit bears witness with your spirit that this is the word from the Lord."
And here in Antioch, we see it is with the church gathered, while they are worshiping God, in the midst of their fasting - which indicates their heart of expectancy was tuned and ready to hear from God - it was then that the Holy Spirit speaks to them and gives them a clear word.
I wonder, what if we come together in worship with that expectation? Expecting that when we gather with our church family every Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit is present and He will speak to us, instruct us, counsel us, comfort us or convict us. That's the language of the Holy Spirit - he's the teacher, the counselor, the comforter, and the convicter.
Whether this was a direct audible voice of the Spirit or through one of the prophets, the most important thing is that the Holy Spirit spoke, and they listened.
C. Submission of the Will
3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
The Holy Spirit spoke to them, and they obeyed the voice of the Spirit and submitted themselves to His call. The Spirit singled out Barnabas and Paul, two of their best men. Nobody protested.
Nobody stood up and said, “Don't send Barnabas out. I mean that guy is so gifted, he's such an encourager, he's a tremendous asset to our church. And besides that, he's wealthy, he's a generous giver. Our church budget will be significantly affected if he leaves. Don't send him out. And Saul - he's a tremendously gifted teacher/preacher; I mean he's going to write half of the New Testament. Let's not send him out, let's send out Manean.”
That's how the carnal Christian would respond to this - let's keep the brightest and the best here for ourselves. But the Spirit wants to deploy the best.
So that’s the first characteristic of a Spirit-led Church. They send their best workers to the mission field.
II. They Speak the Word. - v.4-5
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
Seleucia is the port of Antioch, and from there they sailed to Cyprus,” which was the home of Barnabas, and then, beyond that, Salamis, and there they preached. Salamis was the principal trade city, trade center, the largest city, and the great population of the Jews. That was large enough, by the way, to handle many synagogues; there were several in that city. They went into one of those synagogues and preached.
Notice that when they arrived they immediately “proclaimed,” Gk. Katangello, means “to make known in public” and implies broadcasting a message to a large audience. This was formal public preaching, unlike the Laleo, conversational preaching of the early converts of Antioch in Acts 11. They did not give themselves a few days to see the place, observe the people, taste their food, etc. They arrive and preach the gospel.
Now, brethren, listen. God’s main standard of communicating the gospel is through preaching, whether Kerusso (formal loud preaching), Katangello (public preaching), or Laleo (conversational preaching).
Preaching can never be substituted with a non-verbal style such as, “I don’t have to tell them about Jesus, I will just show Jesus through my life.” Brethren, listen, nobody will get saved by just looking at your life. We have to speak the Word.
Now notice the end part of v.5
John was with them as their helper.
Barnabas and Paul took John Mark with them as their helper or assistant. He was a cousin to Barnabas (Col. 4:10), and his mother’s home in Jerusalem was a gathering place for the believers (Acts 12:12). Tradition tells us that it was Peter who led John Mark to faith in Christ (1 Peter 5:13).
He is the same Mark who wrote the gospel of Mark. John Mark no doubt helped Barnabas and Paul in numerous ways, relieving them of tasks and details that would have interfered with their important ministry of the Word. But later on in their journey he bailed out resulting to a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, so that they separated from each other (Acts 15:36).
III. They Safeguard from Wolves. - v.6-12
Matt. 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
These missionaries get to Paphos and they encounter two very different men. One a highly influential man, the wise, and the other man, a highly dangerous man, the wolf.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.
Paphos is on the west coast of the island of Cyprus. Now, Paphos was a very interesting place. This was the seat of Roman government. It was also the center for the worship of Venus, the fabled goddess of love and sex. By the way, if I remember my tradition right, tradition says that Venus was born near Paphos, born out of the foam of the sea; and, of course, she was worshipped in the wildest, most extravagant sexual orgies imaginable. The city was a sin pit where people wallowed in moral filth.
There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 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.
Now somehow, when Barnabas and Saul went to Paphos, they got an interview with the governor, the Roman proconsul - that’s what it means, “the deputy of the country.” He was the governor; he was what Pilate would’ve been over in Palestine at an earlier time. They received an audience with him, and they found alongside him this sorcerer, who was basically one who contacted demons. He would be like a medium.
The word sorcerer is the Gk. word Magos from which the word Magi comes. In its positive connotation, it has to do with someone who is wise, who consulted the stars, as it were, as an astronomer.
In its negative sense, it was someone who was superstitious and occultic, who consulted the stars as an astrologer, and there’s a big difference. One is a science, and one is a false religion. And so here was an evil man. Here was a satanic man, a man who consulted demons, who was a false prophet.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
So, Satan’s agent, Elymas Bar-Jesus, begins to oppose them, in order to turn away the deputy from the faith. May I say this, that whenever we set out to reach a soul for Jesus Christ, you can be sure that Satan wants to prevent what you’re doing. You’re in battle, and you’re “wrestling not against” - what? – “flesh and blood, but principalities and powers.”
Let me tell you another interesting sidenote. Satan is scheming and knows that if you control the right people you ultimately control everything. Satan is the prince of this world, right? You know how he controls the world? By controlling the rulers. You see, if demons can control Sergius Paulus through Elymas, then they can control Cyprus because Sergius Paulus runs Cyprus, right?
So it’s indicative of the fact also that Sergius Paulus may have dabbled in occultism, and Bar-Jesus was his constant contact with demons.
1 Tim. 4:1-2, The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
Isn’t that alarming? Have you ever wondered why someone comes along and seems to be interested in the faith, and all of a sudden falls away? It may not just have been an intellectual exercise; it may have been a demonic invasion by “deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” Remember in the Parable of the Sower, those seeds that fell on the path? What happened to them? The devil comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.
So what did Paul do? He fought this wolf head on. How do you deal with the devil? Head on, folks, head on.
9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,
Brethren, very important warning: You cannot deal with the devil head on without the filling of the Holy Spirit. You have to be completely full of the Spirit to have the power to attach the enemy.
10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right!
Kind of a play on words; your name may be “son of Jesus,” but you’re the son of Satan, son of the devil. “You enemy of all righteousness.” Nothing good in you. “Will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.
That’s the definition of an occultism. Full of all deceit and all trickery. What is trickery? It’s a Greek word Rhadiourgia that means easy wickedness, doing wickedness with ease. Deceitfully evil. The word deceit is fishhook. Oh, how deceitful a fishhook is. The occultist is deceitful and wicked, full of trickery.
Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?
In other words, we are seeking to lead people down the right path, down the straight and narrow path of the Lord, and you’re coming in confusing the situation making the plain and straight paths crooked. You’re bringing in confusion and deception. There is a way that leads to life and there is a way that leads to destruction. Bar-Jesus, you’re leading people to their destruction.
Now, that’s not all. A tongue lashing wasn’t the end of it. Now Paul, full of the Holy Spirit, invokes a curse against this wolf…
11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able 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.
God struck him blind on the spot. He instantly got blind. But the battle wasn’t really with Elymas, the battle was for the soul of Sergius Paulus, and look at verse 12.
12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul safeguarded Sergius Paulus from this wolf Elymas. Now notice what was said about Sergius Paulus. He was amazed at the what? The miracle of Paul? No. He was amazed at the teaching (Gk. Didache) about the Lord.
It wasn't the miracle that got to Sergius Paulus, it was the teaching of the Lord. How is a man saved? If he confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes. I believe that he was saved at the teaching. How would they know that unless he verbalized that, which means he believed and confessed with his mouth the doctrine of the Lordship of Christ? I believe he was saved.
Brethren, we have to safeguard our “Ones” from wolves. Paul in his farewell speech to the church in Ephesus said,
Acts 20:29-31, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!”
Closing
There we have it brethren. The three characteristics of a Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered church.
They send the workers.
They speak the Word.
They safeguard from Wolves.
Application:
Study the Word.
Speak the Word.
Safeguard the Word.