カテゴリー: Acts

         After the disagreement over whether to take Mark or not arose, Barnabas took Mark and went to Cyprus and Paul took Silas and left for Cilicia to Derbe.　This was the beginning of Paul’s second missionary trip.  From here on Paul is the central figure in the book Acts.  From Derbe Paul went to Lystra, then Inconium, and then Antioch.  From there he planned to go to Asia and preach the Gospel there, but the Holy Spirit would not allow them to.  Paul had gone to Phrygia and Galatia and when they came to the border of Mysia and were going to enter Bithynia, the Holy Spirit would not allow them to enter Bithynia.  “So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.” (8)  There he has a vision.  In the vision a Macedonian begged Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (9)  Therefore Paul went to Macedonia. As a result the Gospel went from Asia across the sea to Europe.  When we consider that in the present day Europe is the center of Christianity, this was a huge historical event.  This all took place by the amazing leading of the Lord. Today let’s look at 3 aspects of this amazing leading.

I.                God has a plan for our lives. (vs.6-9)

Paul took Silias and went to Derbe, then Lystra.  From there on he took Timothy and went to Inconium.  Then he probably went to Antioch.  From there “as they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.” (4) These towns are the towns that they had evangelized in on their first missionary trip.  They went there to see how they were doing and to encourage them. These were the towns in Galatia which were under the Roman rule.  If they would have continued west they would have come to the province of Asia. In the province of Asia besides the towns of Colossia and Laodea, there was the capital city, Ephesus, which was quite large.  Ephesus was a lot like Antioch in that there were a lot of Jews living there, and it was a large Grecian style city.  Therefore, Paul probably wanted to go there and evangelize.  However, the Holy Spirit did not allow him to go there.  Therefore, “Paul and is companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia.” Then they came to the border of Mysia. This means from Antioch they had traveled north to Mysia.  They planned to travel even further North to Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”  (7)  In verse 6 Luke says that the “Holy Spirit” would not allow them to go west to Asia and in verse 7 he says that the “Spirit of Jesus” would not allow them to go north to Bithynia. The “Holy Spirit” is the “Spirit of Jesus”. We can see this in I Cor. 15:45

Luke may have changed and said the “Spirit of Jesus” because Jesus’ Spirit spoke face to face with Paul.  However, in this passage there is no record of that happening and there are no direct words of Jesus’ recorded.  It doesn’t say that the Holy Spirit told him not to go.  It says “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” (6) and “the Sprit of Jesus would not allow them to” (7) Therefore, it seems more likely that rather than the Holy Spirit saying face to face not to go, that the Holy Spirit closed the doors to their going. The Holy Spirit showed them that going there was not the Lord’s will. 

We don’t know what the circumstances were that the Holy Spirit used to show them that going to Asia or Bithynia were not the Lord’s will.  A clue maybe found in verse 10 where the subject becomes “we”.  In other words, from this point on Luke, a doctor, joins the team.  Possibly Paul or someone was sick.  In Galatians 4:13-14 Paul tells the Galatians, “It was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.” (13)  We don’t know whether Paul is writing about his first missionary trip or this missionary trip.  However, it is a possibility that because of Paul’s health he was not able to go on to the places that he wanted to go to and instead went to Europe.  However, when Paul thought about it he realized that because the Lord closed the door  to the places that he wanted to go to through his sickness, the result was the Gospel was spread to Europe.  He realized that the Holy Spirit really led them down a wonderful new road. 

This same thing happens in our own lives often.  The door that we wanted to go through shuts. We wonder why this happened to us.  The Bible’s answer is we were “kept by the Holy Spirit from”… (6) or “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow“…(7)  This happens because God has a plan for our lives.  Therefore, we shouldn’t worry about why these things happened to us but leave everything in the hands of the Lord and walk down the road that He is leading us on.

Later on in Acts, when Paul is in Philippi, Paul throws out an evil spirit from a woman fortuneteller.  When her master realized that he could no longer make money from her fortunetelling, he became furious and had Paul put in prison.  For Paul who helped the woman by throwing out the demon and who had been preaching salvation, he probably couldn’t understand why this was happening to him. When Paul was in the prison singing and praying, a huge earthquake occurred.  The doors to all the prison cells opened.   The guard thought that all the prisoners had escaped so he was going to commit suicide.  However, Paul called out to the guard telling him that they were all there and not to commit suicide.  As a result the guard wanted to know how to be saved and Paul preached to him and his family.  They all believed and were baptized. For Paul, being imprisoned probably made him question, “Why?”, but as a result a Roman guard, who was very closed to the Gospel, became a Christian.  The Lord performed a mighty work.  This was the plan of God.

There are a lot of things that happen in our life that we wonder, “Why?”  However, for those who love God and follow His plan those things are not disasters. God works all things for the good of those who believe in him.  God has a plan for each of our lives. Let’s live by that plan.

II.              We will understand later (vs. 9,10)

Paul wanted to go to Asia, but was stopped and then he thought that he would go to Bithynia, but that plan was stopped too. Therefore, he went to Troas probably more out lack of other options rather than from really wanting to go there.  He was probably discouraged.  When he was in Troas, he had a vision. In the vision a Macedonian begged Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (9)  Through this vision Paul understood why all other doors had been shut. We can see this in verse 10 “After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” 

The word “concluding” means “to tie everything together”. In other words, they “tied all the evidence together” and realized the Lord’s leading.  The reason they weren’t able to go to Asia, the reason they weren’t able to go to Bithynia, the vision of the Macedonian calling Paul to Macedonia, these things all tied together into one leading that God had called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia.  Therefore, they “got ready at once to leave for Macedonia”. (10)  As a result the Gospel was spread to Europe.  The reason doors were closed was for this purpose.  Paul understood this clearly.

The things that happen in our lives are part of God’s plan for the all of God’s kingdom. Each little event has a big meaning.  Each event is one little piece in a huge puzzle. At first we don’t know what the picture is, but as we put the pieces together all at once we know.

Esther was the same.  She was chosen to be the queen of a foreign King.  She didn’t know why she had to do that.  However, when the Jews were about to be killed she realized that she was in that position so she would be able to save the Jews from being killed.  Therefore, she was able to take action.

Ruth was the same.  She faced famine, became a widow, and followed her mother-in-law to Jerusalem which was for her a foreign place.  They had no money so she worked in the fields collecting the grain that the workers had dropped.  However, she meets Boaz and marries and has a child that later becomes an ancestor of Jesus.  Ruth’s name is recorded in the ancestry of Jesus in Matt. 1. When she married Boaz she probably realized that everything that happened up until then led up to her marriage to Boaz.  However, it probably wasn’t until she went to heaven that she really realized the greatness of her life.

God doesn’t see things up close like we do.  He sees the total picture.  He sees the entire kingdom of God.  We don’t understand what is happening to us right not, but some day we will understand.  Therefore, we need to believe that God will lead us in the best way and move forward down the road that God is leading us on.

III.            Being led by the Holy Spirit (vs. 10)

Last let’s look at how we should respond to being led by the Holy Spirit.  When Paul realized what the Lord’s will was, he got ready at once and left for Macedonia. Paul did the Lord’s will.  Not only when he felt the call to Macedonia did Paul follow the Lord, but also when he wanted to go to Asia or Bithynia and when he realized that wasn’t the Lord’s will he didn’t go. If he would have insisted on going where he wanted to go, then the Gospel would not have spread to Europe.  Even if it did, it would have been by a different way.  However, it was the Lord’s will that Paul take the Gospel to Europe.  Paul didn’t respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading by his own thinking or emotions. Instead he listened to the Holy Spirit and followed Him.  As a result the Gospel spread to the entire world.

Jeremiah29:11

God has a plan for our lives and that plan is not to harm us, but for our prosperity, to give us hope and a future. We need to believe that and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, walk forward one step at a time down the road God shows us.

From today’s passage and on in the book of Acts Barnabas does not appear and Paul’s ministry becomes the central focus of the book.  This is because Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, was a disciple of Paul and he went with Paul on his missionary trips.  It was not because Barnabas had done something wrong. If Luke had gone with Barnabas, he probably would have written about Barnabas. However, he went with Paul so Paul’s ministry is recorded.  In today’s passage Paul “came to Derbe and then to Lystra” (1) where he met Timothy.  Paul wanted to take him along on the missionary trip, “so he circumcised him”. (3)  This seems strange because in Acts 15 we saw how strong Paul stood up for his belief that circumcision was not necessary for salvation.  Today let’s look at three aspects of this passage and at the same time understand why Paul circumcised Timothy when Paul believed so strongly that circumcision was not needed for salvation.

I.                A person well spoken of (vs. 1,2)

Paul left on his second missionary trip to encourage and give strength to the churches that he had evangelized and started on his first missionary trip.  First he went to the area of Cilicia and then went over the mountain ranges of Tarsus to Derbe.  From there he went to Lystra, the place that he had been stoned and almost died at on his first missionary trip.  There he met a disciple, Timothy.  Timothy had believed in Christ and become a Christian along with his mother and grandmother on his first missionary trip.  When Paul returned on his second missionary trip Timothy had grown into a wonderful young man.

Here Timothy is introduced as having a mother who “was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek”. (1)  At that time it was almost unheard of for a Jewish girl to marry a Greek.  For the Jews purity of blood was very important.  In Palestine such a mixed marriage was unthinkable, but in this area a little far from  Palestine there were a few such marriages.  We don’t know how Timothy’s mother happened to marry a Greek, but the fact that she did shows that she didn’t have a pure faith.  Even so, later through Paul’s evangelism she believed in Jesus Christ and became a Christian.

              One reason that “Paul wanted to take him along on the journey” was probably that Timothy was from this type of mixed marriage so he had been influenced by and knew both cultures.  Paul thought that Timothy would be a great asset on his missionary trip.  However, that is not the only reason Paul wanted to take Timothy.  In verse 2 a deeper reason is given.  That is “The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.”  “To be spoken well of” is a very important thing for Christians.  In the Jerusalem church, the criteria for the first deacons were that they were “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” (6:3) Also they “must also have a good reputation with outsiders”. (I Timothy 3:7)  In other words, they must be well spoken of.  This is the result of being a good Christian testimony. 

              We don’t know what kind of life Timothy led, but his lifestyle was spoken well of by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.  However, we can get a hint of why he was spoken so well of in the letter that Paul wrote to him.

II Timothy 1:5

              His pure faith was passed down from his mother and grandmother.  Education based upon the Bible has such a great influence upon on the person and their life.  Even if we know nothing else if we know through the Bible the way of God, that’s enough.   That type of person receives God’s wisdom through the Bible, his personality is formed, and he is well spoken of. Just as Timothy was used on Paul’s missionary trip, that type is person is used for God’s work.

II.              Everything is for the Gospel (vs. 3,4)

This seems really strange, but Paul wanted to take Timothy on the missionary journey, “so he circumcised him” (3) This is difficult to understand why Paul would do such a thing considering the fact that he had stood up so strongly insisting that you do not have to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul definitely believed very strongly that neither circumcision nor following the law were needed for salvation.  He believed that faith in Jesus Christ was the only requirement for salvation.  This can be seen in verse 4. “As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.”  If Paul believed so strongly that circumcision was not necessary for salvation, then why did he circumcise Timothy?  The reason is given in verse 3. “because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”  If Timothy was not circumcised, the Jews would not accept him because they knew that he was the son of a Greek.  Therefore, evangelism would be very difficult.  Uncircumcised people can not speak in the Jewish temple.  No matter how much Timothy wanted to evangelize there, he would not be able to speak there because he was not circumcised.  For Paul the fact that Timothy had not been circumcised was no problem. (Galatians 5:6)  However, Paul circumcised Timothy because he felt that that was better for evangelizing the Jews. This was because Paul realized that to evangelize the Jews he needed to honor their culture and feelings. This was his basic philosophy: in order to reach the Jews become like the Jews; to reach the Gentiles, become like the Gentiles.

I Cor. 9:13-23

Paul was free from all, but he was willing to become a slave so that others would be saved. He became as a Jew to the Jews and a Greek to the Greeks.  He became weak that he might reach the weak. He was willing to give up anything that people might be saved.  He did everything for the sake of the Gospel.  That was the reason too why he circumcised Timothy.  He didn’t need to be circumcised or follow any part of the law, but so that the Jews could be saved he was circumcised.

This is an important principle for us Christians too.  We who are saved by the cross of Jesus Christ should live by this principle too. We should be willing to give up our freedom to win others to Christ.

III.         So the churches were…(vs. 5)

Up until now in Acts whenever the Holy Spirit performs some great work, after that we are told about the church’s progress and growth. (2:47; 6:7; 9:37)  Here as a result of Paul’s lifestyle, “the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.” (5)  It will be the same for us.  When we live for the Gospel, we will receive the grace of the Gospel.

Paul was willing to give up everything in order for a person to be saved. This is what God wants us to do too.  We are free, but in order that many people will be saved, we need to become like others. Then we will see the great works of God.

Last week we looked at the Jerusalem counsel.  The decision of the counsel is verse 28.  In today’s passage we see what happened when the decision is shared with the Antioch church, the center of the Gentile churches. When the Antioch church heard the decision of the Jerusalem counsel they were encouraged, rejoiced greatly, and spread the Gospel even more.  We can realize how great a result encouragement produced.  Therefore let’s look at 3 aspects of this passage and encouragement.

I.                The word of encouragement (vs. 22)

After the Jerusalem counsel made their decision, they chose Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, to go with Paul and Barnabas to go to the Antioch church. Barsabbas and Silas were leaders in the church.  Also according to verse 32, they were  prophets.  They could have just sent a letter, but they chose to send 2 leaders to the Antioch church so that they could encourage the Christians in Antioch.  By sending the leaders, they could face to face share the results of the Jerusalem counsel.  Not only that, but more importantly they could encourage and strengthen the Christians in Antioch.  According to verse 32, Barsabbas and Silas were prophets so they were able to encourage and strengthen the Antioch Christians with many words. They were many things that they weren’t able to include in the letter that Barsabbas and Silas were able to share with the Antioch Christians.  By such fellowship, the people felt loved, that they are important, that they are remembered, and they are encouraged. The church by such fellowship and encouragement becomes fruitful.

I.    Thess. 5:11

The Thessalonian church lacked proper knowledge about the people who have died.  Therefore, they were very depressed.  They thought death was the end and so they had lost all hope for living.  Paul encouraged and taught them by telling them about the hope of the resurrection.  He told them that when Jesus comes again that first those who have died along with all those Christians who are living will be lifted up and meet the Lord in the air.  This was a huge comfort for them.  Therefore we don’t need to be afraid of death.  There is hope for living.  By these words they were encouraged and joyfully could live their faith.

A characteristic of encouragement is that both parties are encouraged and built up. You don’t pull each other down, but build each other up.  This is the purpose of prophets.  They use the Word of God to exhort, encourage and build others up. Barsabbas and Silas were this kind of prophets who encouraged and strengthened the  Christians through the Word of God.

There are times that events cause us to be moved, and our hearts become mixed up, but we need to encourage each other with the Word of God so that our hearts will be protected and we will be built up in our faith.

II.               A letter of encouragement  (vs. 23-31)

We can see that the Jewish Christians were very considerate of the Gentile Christians in Antioch.  One place we can see this is in verse 23 where they call themselves, “The apostles and the elder brothers”. They call the recipients of the letter, “brothers throughout Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are of the Gentiles.” The reason that they called themselves “The apostles and the elder brothers” was to show that they are on the same level as the Gentiles of Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, and that in Christ they are one. This is because they had heard that some Jewish Christians had troubled them with words, and unsettled their souls.  These are the Jewish Christians that appear in 15:1 and told the Gentiles that they needed to be circumcised if they wanted to be saved.  This “unsettled their souls”. The word used for “unsettled” is the word used when a house falls down. It is opposite of the word used in 9:31 for “built up”.  In other words they were trouble makers for the Antioch church that had been built up.  Therefore, the Jerusalem counsel met and made three decisions.

              l.            Not to lay upon the Gentiles any greater burden. (28)               2.           To ask the Gentiles “To abstain from things that have been sacrificed to idols and blood and things strangled and fornication” (29)

              3.           To send Barsabbas and Silas whom they chose to go back with Barnabas and Paul to share what they had decided on with the Gentile Christians.  Through their words they hoped to build the Gentile Christians up again.  The purpose of the letter wasn’t just to tell what the Jerusalem counsel had decided, but to build them up and encourage them.

              The results of the letter are given in verse 31. “And when they read it, they rejoiced at the encouragement.”  One letter gave great encouragement and brought joy.  This is like when we read the Word of God today and are encouraged and receive joy. The Bible is the Word of God, a letter of love.  In the Bible are many letters and by those letters we are fed, led, and built up.  Therefore, we need to read God’s letter more and more and received God’s encouragement, be fed and built up.

III.         Encourage each other (vs.33-35)

            The encouragement that Barsabbas and Silas gave the Gentile Christians and encouragement from the letter from the Jerusalem church gave the Antioch Christians assurance in the Gospel that they believed in.  Not only that but it gave them assurance in the proclamation and the spread of the Gospel.  From verse 36 on Paul and Barnabas’ second missionary trip is reported.  This type of encouragement was also the source of power in their missionary work.  That is because in verse 35 they taught and preached in Antioch. 

              In the Bible when the word “encourage” is used it means to “call someone to your side”.  It doesn’t mean sitting face to face and saying words of encouragement.  It means to call the other person to your side and walk together to God who is the source of all encouragement. Barsabbas and Silas, also Paul and Barnabas did this type of encouragement.  They stood along side the Antioch Christians and taught them and together they walked before the Lord as brothers.

II.Cor. 1:4-6

Our God is the God of encouragement.  Today there maybe some people that are suffering or having a bad time.  God wants to encourage you.  By receiving God’s encouragement, we are able to encourage others.  By encouraging each other, we are able to stand up through anything that comes our way.

              Today let’s look at the first church meeting called the Jerusalem council.  When Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, there arose among the Jewish Christians centered in Jerusalem different opinions, arguments and oppositions. These problems were related to what the Gospel is, the basic characteristic of the Christian faith so it was a very important problem. This was the problem that the Jerusalem council discussed. Through this council the church came to an understanding of what the Gospel is and was able to move forward in evangelism.  Today let’s look at three things we can learn from the Jerusalem council.

1. I.             Don’t get stuck on your own ideas (vs.1-5)

The Jews who came to Antioch claimed that Christians in Antioch must be circumcised. Circumcision was a sign of being a chosen people. In other words, they didn’t think that just believing in Christ was enough for salvation.  They thought that Gentile Christians should be circumcised like they had been.

However, Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel that no matter who you were, if you repented and believed in Christ, you were saved.  You didn’t have to follow the Jewish rules in order to be saved.  If anything is added to the Gospel, then it is not the Gospel anymore.  This was a very important problem because the Gospel was the central theme of Christianity.  Also it was a problem that could tear away the unity of the Gentile and Jewish Christians. Therefore, Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem to talk to the Apostles and elders.  This is recorded in verses 3-5.

When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem, they reported to the apostles and the elders all that God who had been with them had done.  This is the same as the report that they had made after their first evangelistic trip to the Antioch church.  (14:27) However, “some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees” could not accept what Paul and Barnabas were saying.  They thought that everyone must be circumcised and follow the law.  This was because they were stuck on their own way of thinking and missed what God was doing. In order to be aware of God’s work, it is important that we not be stuck in our own ways of thinking.

1. II.           Only by faith (vs.6-19)

When there became disagreement between Paul and Barnabas and the Jewish Christians, the apostles and elders met together to discuss the problem.  This was the first time for the church to have such a meeting.  It was called the Jerusalem council. Throughout church history such meetings have been held to determine important things.  The purpose of them is not to just sit around and discuss things, but to seek the will of Jesus Christ who is the head of the church, accept it, and follow it. When disagreements arise, it is an important time to determine what we actually believe in.  Therefore, we need to make the Word of God the center of our discussion and prayfully  under the leading of the Holy Spirit discuss things.  Having problems in the church is not the problem. It is how we handle the problem that is the problem. This is how the early church discussed the problem.  The discussion is recorded in verses 7-19.

Here Peter is pointing out 2 things.  First he talks about Cornelius’ conversion that took place in Acts 10. He was not saved by being circumcised or by following the law.  He was saved by hearing Peter preach the Gospel and believing in it. Just like them, when Cornelius accepted the Gospel, he received the Holy Spirit.  In other words, God showed no partiality, and cleansed his heart just like the Jewish Christians by just his faith.

The second thing that Peter points out is that they are trying to put “on the necks of the disciples a yoke that” they have not even been able to bear. (10)  This “yoke” is the law.  This is a yoke that the Jews and their ancestors had never been able to bear.  They tried to follow the law, but they didn’t have the power to do so it became heavy baggage.  There is no one who can follow the law completely.  Therefore, we can’t be saved by the law.  We are saved only by grace. The Gentiles were saved only by the grace of our Lord Jesus.  Therefore, they are not to put a yoke on their necks.

Next Paul and Barnabas share “about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.” (12)  Paul and Barnabas also shared how the Gentiles were saved by faith alone too.

Then James, Jesus’ brother who wrote the book of James and who was probably a pastor in the church gives his teaching on the subject in verses 13-19.  His teaching was very important for the counsel.  He calls Peter by his Hebrew name, Simeon, and then not only agrees with what he said, but teaches from the Old Testament that salvation is promised to the Gentiles.  He quotes from Amos 9:11-12. He is prophesying about the destruction of Israel and how David’s kingdom will come in the last days and the vision of the kingdom of God.  “that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name.” (17)  In other words, the salvation of the Gentiles along with the rebuilding of Israel will bring in the blessings of the Royal kingdom.

Of course, Amos was not the first person to prophesy of the salvation of the Gentiles. In Genesis too God spoke to Abraham about this. (Genesis 17:4,5) The salvation of the Gentiles is recorded throughout the Old Testament and is the will of God. Therefore, James makes his summary in verse 19.

“make it difficult” (19) refers to what Peter said in verse 10.  We shouldn’t put a yoke that we ourselves couldn’t bear on the Gentiles.  In other words, they shouldn’t expect the Gentiles to be circumcised or to follow the Jewish law.  Anyone who believes in Christ and returns to him will be saved.  There are no conditions.  This is the Gospel.  This is what was decided at the Jerusalem counsel.  Therefore, we need to live by grace. We shouldn’t put a yoke on anyone.

What is wonderful about this Jerusalem counsel is that they looked to the Word of God to find the Lord’s will.  It wasn’t just an exchange of opinions.  James explained that Old Testament teaches about the salvation of the Gentiles and it is God’s will so no one should burden the Gentiles with circumcision or the law.  Therefore, they were able to write in the letter to the Gentile believers, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything.” (28)  This is because we are saved by grace.

1. III.         Don’t cause others to stumble (vs. 20,21)

James doesn’t end his summary here.  He adds verses 20 and 21 which begins with “instead”. They are not to put the burden of the law on the Gentiles, but instead they are to ask the Gentiles to abstain from 4 things. This sounds like they are still burdening the Gentiles by requesting them to follow these 4 things, but the reason for making this request is given in verse 21.  “For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” In other words, the Gentile Christians are living among the Jewish Christians who have heard the law read over and over every week and these 4 things would cause the Jewish Christians to stumble.  These 4 things would especially stand out.  They did not have to do these things to be saved. They were saved by believing in Jesus’ cross and resurrection alone. Following the law had nothing to do with salvation.  However, when you think of the effect of doing things like that, it would cause many Jewish Christians to stumble in their walk with Christ. Therefore, they asked the Gentiles to refrain from doing such things.

I Cor. 9:19-22

Here Paul is saying that he is completely free. However I order that he can reach as many people as possible to the faith, he becomes a save to al.  He becomes like a Jew to reach the Jews.  He’s not under the law, but he becomes like someone under the law in order to win the Jews to Christ.  To those outside of the law, he became like someone outside of the law.  To those who were weak, he became weak so he could win those who were weak.  That’s because he wanted all men to be saved.  For example, idols are not really gods so there’s really no reason why you can’t eat meat that has been offered to gods.  However, there are some Christians that didn’t eat meat because they felt the meat was unclean and they felt that Satan may enter them.  Therefore, Paul did not eat the meat out of consideration of them.  Paul’s actions were always determined by                                   the fact that he was living for the gospel. 

Jesus modeled this too.  He humbled himself and became like man.  He also became like sinful man and died on the cross.  This was all for us so that he could save us.

If we really want to do the Lord’s will, we would not put a yoke upon anyone. We would also not do anything that will cause others to stumble. We would become like the  people around us are like so that we can win them to Christ.  If we judge others, become mad, cause others to stumble, it means that we don’t understand the Gospel correctly. 

Let’s understand the Gospel correctly, and realize that we are living by the grace of God. May the life of the Gospel be flowing throughout the church.  This is the secret of the Gospel that through the Jerusalem council became clear.

Today’s passage is about when Paul and Barnabas go to Iconium and Lystra There they met “a man crippled in his feet” from birth. (8)  Paul said, “Stand up on your feet.” (10) and “the man jumped up and began to walk.” (10) The people that saw that were surprised. They thought that Paul was the Greek god, Hermes and Barnabas was another Greek god, Zeus. Therefore, Paul said to the crowds, “Men why are you doing this?  We too are only men, human like you.  We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.” (15) 

              This is a message that is spoken to the Gentiles who did not know the Old Testament.  Therefore, this message is a necessary one for Japanese who sometimes make people god. (For example, the emperor) Today let’s look at 3 aspects of turning to the real faith in the living God.

I.                Those people who believe and those who don’t believe (vs. 1-7)

From Pisidian Antioch Paul and Barnabas set out for the town of Iconium, about 100 kilometers to the East. First in Iconium too they entered the synagogue and preached the Gospel.  As a result many Jews and Greeks entered the faith.  “But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers” who had just believed. (2)  Looking at this we get the image that the Jews were enemies against the Gospel and the Gentiles accepted the Gospel.  However, it wasn’t that simple.  Before when we looked at the Jews in Pisidian Antioch, there were many who rejected the Gospel and persecuted those who did.  However, there were some that joyfully listened and accepted the Gospel.  This time in Iconium is the same.  There were both Jews and Gentiles who heard Paul’s message and entered the faith.  On the other hand, there were come who didn’t accept the Gospel and stirred up problems for those who did.  Therefore, there was no difference between Jews and Gentiles.  Those who believed, believed.  Those who didn’t believe, didn’t believe. The same was true of the Gentiles too.  Some believed and some didn’t.

Therefore, it is clear what Paul was called to do.  That was to preach the Gospel boldly.  This can be seen in verse 3, “Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord.”  No matter who the people that they are speaking to are what is needed is to speak the Word of God boldly.  Then God will work in their hearts and the work of salvation will take place. Here it says, the Lord “confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.” (3)  The miracles and wonders were a sign that what they were preaching was from the Lord.  This means that God was stamping his stamp. It is an encouragement to know that God gives his stamp.

Wherever Paul brought the Gospel not only was there joy of salvation, but there was also uproar.  In this town the people were divided in two: those who supported the Jews and those who supported the apostles.  The Gentiles and Jews, together with their leader made a plot “to mistreat” Paul and Barnabas “and stone them.” (5)  Therefore, Paul and Barnabas escaped to the Lycaonian cities and continued to preach the Gospel there.

From this episode we can see that where the Word of God is preached, it produces divisions.  In Pisidian Antioch when the people heard “the words of salvation” they were divided between those who “were glad and honored the word of the Lord (13:48) and were appointed for eternal life and those who rejected “the words of salvation”.  Here too depending on the attitude that they took towards the Word of the God, the people were divided either with the Jews or with the apostles. 

I Cor. 1:18

The cross divides people into either “the perishing” or “the saved”.  There is no middle ground.  Those who hear the Word are divided into those who believe it and accept it and those who don’t.

Matt. 10:34-37

Some people say that this passage is why they hate Christianity.  They think Christianity causes conflict, not peace.  That is because they don’t understand what real peace is.  Peace does not mean lack of conflict.  It is much deeper than that.  It is obtained through our relationship with God. When our sin is taken away and our relationship with God is right, then we can have peace.  This may cause conflict, but this is only for a short time as part of the process of making peace take root in our hearts. In the end we will always be led to blessing.

Which side are we living on?  God’s side, in other words, the side of the apostles?  Or the side of the Jews who didn’t accept the Word of God?  There is no middle ground.  If you hear God’s word, and follow it then you are on the side of the apostles.  There maybe conflict, but in the end you will be blessed.

II.              Faith to be healed (vs.8-13)

Next let’s look at the greatness of God’s work among those who believed.  First let’s look at verse 10. After the persecution in Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went to Lystra which is about 30 Kilometers south of Iconium. In this town there was no Jewish synagogue.  Therefore they preached in the center of town where people gathered.  There they met a man who was crippled from birth. He was listening to Paul speak.  When Paul looked at him, he “saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk” (9, 10)

In chapter 3 at the beautiful gate Peter healed a crippled man.  The healing at the beautiful gate is very similar to this healing. However there are several differences.  For example the person that Peter healed was a beggar, but the person Paul healed wasn’t.  He was just one of many people listening to Paul’s message.  Also Peter said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (3:6) and then took him by the right hand and helped him up. Paul only said, “Stand up on your feet!” (10) However, the biggest difference is that the person who was healed by Peter as a result of the healing wakened to a faith of praise.  The person that was healed by Paul had “faith to be healed” (9) so he was healed.  Let’s look at what faith to be healed is.

By the way the man listened, the way he soaked up what was being said, Paul was able to tell that he was ready to believe and be saved.  In other words, he was really searching for God.       

However, just because you listen to the Word of God does not mean that you are going to be healed.  The words that are used for “faith to be healed” in the original meaning meant “faith to be saved”.  By looking at verses 11-13 and the event that happens here we can see in what ways he had a “faith to be saved”. In these verses Paul and Barnabas are worshipped as Greek gods.

The crowds were surprised at what Paul had done and shouted, “The gods come down to us in human form!” (11) and then they called Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes.  Both of these names are names of Greek gods. Then in front of the city gates they brought bulls and wreaths because they wanted to offer sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul.

According to legend, a long time ago in the area of Lystra, the two gods, Zeus and Hermes, became men. They didn’t tell who they were so no one would let them stay in their home.  They stayed in a very broken down poor house owned by an elderly couple.  Even though the couple was very poor they showed hospitality to their guests whom they met for the first time.  Therefore, Zeus and Hermes told the couple who they were.  Then they flooded the whole town except for this couple.  The crowd was afraid of making the same mistake so they wanted to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.

Paul and Barnabas said that they were just men like them and that the healing was just a sign to them to turn to the living God. They said that they didn’t have any special power.  In other words, this crippled man from birth, while listening to Paul’s message, a faith in the living God began to grow in his heart.  The religious heart in Lystra was to sacrifice to idols made by man, and look for their own profit that could be seen with their eyes.  In order to obtain that they were willing to do whatever they thought was necessary. However, the crippled man didn’t put his faith in such worthless idols because he had faith in “the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.” (15) While listening to Paul’s message, he began to have such a faith.  This faith saves. This type of faith not only saves us but also heals our body. This is “faith to be healed.”

This is the same now and in every age.

Hebrews 13:8

If we today listen to God’s Word, and have faith like this crippled boy, we will be saved. Then we too like this crippled boy will experience the unbelievable work of God. This will be more wonderful than the crippled boy jumping up and walking.

III.            Turn to the living God (vs. 14-18)

Paul told the crowds who were trying to sacrifice to them, “Turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.” (15) Japanese too, worship idols made by humans, look to religion for their own profit, check on the direction they should build when they build a house, check about what name they should name their children, check the calendar for a good day before they plan an event, etc.  Our lives are controlled by these things and we are no different than the people of Lystra.  However, the Bible teaches that these kinds of things are worthless. We are to turn from these things and turn “to the living God.” (15)

In the past, God “has not left himself without testimony; He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” (17) In this age besides the general testimony, God has shown his mercy by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to this world so that all that believe in him might have forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

John 3:16

God’s grace has been given so let’s believe and accept God’s grace and turn to God and seek to be with this Living God. This is salvation. We need to believe in Christ and return to Him.

              According to verse 44, the next Sabbath almost all people in town came to hear the word of God.  That was because the week before when Paul preached many people believed in Christ and were set free from their sins.  This news spread throughout the town and everyone wanted to hear the word of God.  However, not every one believed.  There were some people that were against what Paul was preaching.  This is the same in all ages.  There are always 2 groups, those who believe and those who are against the Gospel.   In other words, there are those who receive eternal life and there are those who don’t.  According to Ephesians 1:4,5, it was decided “before the creation of the world” those who would believe and be saved. However, this doesn’t mean God sat down and hand picked who was going to be saved and who was going to be eternally punished.  Therefore, it is important that we understand this concept more fully.  Today let’s look at 3 aspects of being appointed by God for eternity.

I.                Remaining in God’s grace (verses 44-47)

According to verses 44-47 those who have eternal life are those who remain forever in God’s grace.  Paul’s message had a great impact on those who lived there.  According to verse 43 a lot of Jews who worshipped God, followed Paul and Barnabas, and the next week almost the whole town came together to hear the Word of God.  However, there were some that saw all the people following Paul and Barnabas. They became jealous and thus spoke against what Paul and Barnabas were saying. Even though they themselves had believed in Christ the week before, when they saw the Gentiles coming to know the Lord, they couldn’t accept Paul and Barnabas’ teaching.  This was because they thought that they were the center of the world. Their thinking about faith was self-centered too.  They thought that for the Gentiles to be saved that they needed to be circumcised and follow the law first.  They thought that the Gentiles first had to become Jewish before they could be saved.  However, the Gospel that Paul preached wasn’t teaching that.  Paul taught that anyone who believed in Christ could be saved.  A Gentile could be saved as a Gentile.  A sinner, no matter what he had done in the past could be saved if he believed in Christ and repented. However, they couldn’t accept this teaching.  As a result of jealousy they threw away their new faith.  Jealousy is really a dangerous thing.

According to verse 46, Paul and Barnabas clearly stated that the Gospel first needed to be preached to them.  However, they themselves decided that they were “not worthy” for eternal life.  Therefore, Paul and Barnabas will start their ministry to the Gentiles because that is what God has called them to do. 

God’s plan was that the Gospel would first be preached to the Jews.  Then through those who accepted the faith, the Gospel would be spread to the Gentiles.  However, the Jews didn’t accept the Gospel.  Therefore, Paul says that he himself is going to go to the Gentiles because that is what is commanded in the Old Testament. The words in verse 47 are from Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6. “You” refers to the Jews who had been chosen to be a light to the nations, and through them the other nations were to be saved.  In fact “chosen people” does not mean that they were chosen to have salvation.  It means that they were chosen to bring the Gospel to other peoples.

I Peter 2:19

The Jews were a chosen people, priests, a holy people, God’s people.  That was so that they could become a light in the darkness, and share God’s works with others.  However, they were jealous about the Gentiles being saved. This was against the will of God. This was proof that the Jews were not remaining within the grace of God.  This is Paul and Barnabas meant in verse 46.

When we talk about what it means that God has chosen or appointed us to be saved, we tend to think of God decided “before the creation of the world” who would be saved and who would not be.  It as if God hand picks some people to be saved.  However, this is not what this passage is saying.  Here it is saying that in verse 47 that they themselves made themselves unworthy for salvation.  It was their own responsibility.  Of course God knew from “before the creation of the world” that they would reject the Gospel so in that respect it was decided on from “before the creation of the world”. Therefore, Paul urged them in verse 43 to remain in the grace of God forever.  Those who remain forever in the grace of God are those who are appointed to have eternal life.  In other words, it is those who remain in the faith to the end who are appointed to have eternal life. It is those people that we can say are chosen.

Hebrews 12:2

Let’s not be like these Jews who one time had faith, but as a result of jealously they weren’t able to continue in their faith.  Let’s no matter what, be careful to keep our eyes focused on Christ and remain in God’s grace.

II.              Rejoice in God’s Word and praise God (verses 48 and 49)

There were men who became jealous and opposed Paul and Barnabas.  At the same time there were others who heard God’s Word and rejoiced in it and who praised God. These were the Gentiles.  Then those who were to have eternal life, who prepared themselves for eternal life, entered the faith.

They prepared themselves by rejoicing in the Word of God and praising God when they heard the Gospel message.  Real faith rejoices in the Word of God and praises God.  Real faith doesn’t praise the church or the pastor, but rejoices in the Word of God and praises God.  No matter what happens in the church or if the pastor leaves, or what storms come in life, real faith stands on the Word of God.  This type of person rejoices in the Word of God, praises God and lives by the Word of God.

Psalms 1:1-3

III.            Be filled with the Holy Spirit (verses 50-52)

There were those who rejoiced in the Word of God and entered the faith.  But there were also those who opposed Paul and Barnabas.  They roused up the powerful leaders in the city. They had Paul and Barnabas thrown out from that area.  Paul and Barnabas shook the dirt off their shoes and left for Iconium.  This is a sign that they are shaking the dirty sin of people off of them. In other words, they are cleansing themselves from the sin of the people.  The fact that these Jewish people were against the Gospel that Paul and Barnabas preached means that they were not really men of faith.  They were no different from nonbelievers. To have had people enter the faith and then not continue in the faith, turn against you, persecute you, and then be thrown out must have been a bitter experience for the disciples, but verse 52 tells us that disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

When those who have believed in God wander from the faith or when we are heavily persecuted, or when we have deep troubles, if in the midst of these things, we can rejoice, then we have real faith.  We are able to do this through the Holy Spirit. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit so they were able to rejoice. In other words, God was living within them.  God was controlling their hearts.  This is the secret to a victorious life.  In other words, they were able to remain in God’s grace, rejoice in the Word of God, and praise God because of the work of the Holy Spirit.  We are not able to do that by our own strength.  It is only through the Holy Spirit controlling our hearts, helping us and supporting us that we are able to do so. It is only by the Holy Spirit living in us that we are able to stand.

John 14:16,17

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is the greatest proof that we are appointed to have eternal life.　We need to realize that God has all authority, and at the same time walk by the Holy Spirit. A person that is appointed for eternal life walks rejoicing in the Word of God, praising God, and remains in the grace of God.

In our lives we run into many problems, but in the midst of these problems we can walk in joy and the filling of the Holy Spirit. We don’t follow the conditions we live in, but we follow the Word of God and we are filled by the Holy Spirit so we can walk in joy. We need to be led by God’s Word which never changes and be filled by the Holy Spirit. Then by walking looking at Jesus’ back, we will be able to overcome the problems.  By having faith in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ is the secret to a victorious life on this earth. Let’s remain in Christ’s grace to the end of our life.  That type of person is appointed to have eternal life.

              Verse 4 starts with “The two of them, set on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.”  From here Paul and Barnabas begin their world evangelism. The Holy Spirit sent them out so this evangelism was by the work of the Holy Spirit. First they “went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.” Cyprus is about 100 kilometers from Seleucia. God led them to Cyprus and there Sergius Paulus was saved.  Today let’s look at three aspects of this work of God’s salvation.

1. I.             The battle with Satan (Vs.4-8)

According to verse 5, when Paul and Barnabas went to Cyprus, they weren’t by themselves.  John was also with them. John had accompanied them earlier when they returned from Jerusalem. (Acts 12:25)  He was the cousin of Barnabas. (Col. 4:10). He later became the author of the Gospel of Mark, the second Gospel in the New Testament.  

When they arrived in Cyprus, the first place they went to was the major city in Eastern part of the island of Cyprus, Seleucia.  The first thing that they did there was to go to the Jewish temple there and preach the Gospel.  They were sent out to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, but they went to the Jewish synagogue and began preaching there.  Not only in Seleucia, but everywhere that Paul went, the first place he always preached the Gospel was the Jewish temple.  Paul tells us in Romans that God’s plan was that salvation must be preached first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.  Paul understood this so he always preached to the Jews first.  

After preaching in the synagogue, “They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.  There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul Sergius Paulus.  The proconsul …sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.“(6-7) However the sorcerer “opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (8) The sorcerer’s name was Bar-Jesus. “Bar” is Aramaic for “son of” so his name means “Son of Jesus” or “Son of salvation”, but he was trying to turn the proconsul from the faith. His nickname was Elymas.  It was a Sematic name meaning “sorcerer” or “magician” or “wise man”. He was using his outstanding wisdom to do evil magic, sorcery.  He had left his position as Bar-Jesus, the son of salvation and had become Elymas, an evil sorcerer, trying to keep people from having faith in God.

I Cor. 1:20-24

We can not be saved by human wisdom or ideologies.  This is because the human heart wants to protect itself.  It doesn’t want to change its present life or give up worldly wisdom.   Elymas made his living by being a sorcerer for the proconsul.  Therefore, when he heard that the Proconsul wanted to hear the Word of God, he was afraid of what might happen to his means of living and did not want to change so instead he tried to keep the proconsul from having faith in God.  We too sometimes know that what we are doing God does not approve of, but we are afraid of making changes in our lives and so we refrain from making a decision to follow Him more closely.  This is one of the main causes for not having faith in God and failing to grow spiritually.

  However, this passage teaches even a greater reason for not having faith in God and failing to grow spiritually.  That is because of spiritual warfare.  In verse 7 we are told about Sergius Paulus who was an intelligent man.  “He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.” (7)  One of the main reasons that the Holy Spirit led Barnabas and Saul to Cyprus was so that Sergius Paulus would hear the Word of God.

However, when someone like that wants to hear the Word of God, there is always a force working to pull that person away from God’s word.  Where the Gospel is being preached, there is always a force working to turn people away from the road of faith just like Elymas the sorcerer, a wise man “tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (8) It is like a tug of war between the evangelists and the false prophet within Sergius Paulus.  However the tug of war is actually taking place between the Holy Spirit and evil spirits. 

Ephesians 6:11-19

We need to remember that evangelism is always a spiritual war, and resist the devil by putting on all the armor of God.  Then we need to always pray in the Spirit.  When we think about what the first evangelism was like in Cyprus. we can see that it was a spiritual warfare. 

Our evangelism and Christian life is based upon this fact.  There is always a force present trying to pull us away from God.  Therefore, we need to keep awake and pray.  Through prayer and the Word of God, we need to resist the devil.

1. II.           Being filled with the Holy Spirit (vs.9-11)

Elymas the sorcerer “tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (8)  Against that force, “Saul, who was called Paul was 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! … Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?  Now the hand of the Lord is against you.  You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.”

From now on Saul is no longer called by his Jewish name, Saul, but he is called Paul, the Grecian name.  This change shows that Paul is entering a new phase in his life.  This evangelism start begins with a spiritual battle. As a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul was able to boldly face Elymas and tell him that he was wrong.  Luke tells us that his words and actions were a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  He was filled with the Holy Spirit so he could look “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.’”(9,10) Also he never stops “perverting the right ways of the Lord” (10) He is not Bar-Jesus, the son of salvation.  He is Elymas, the child of the devil.  His work is the work of the devil.  Salvation is only possible by the destruction of the devil’s work and bringing people to the side of God.  Then Paul says, “Now the hand of the Lord is against you.  You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” (11)  This was the same experience that Paul had on the road to Damascus.    Paul is saying that this is a necessary experience. His eyes will be shut so he can’t see the world that he was so used to.  He must lose all and accept the new life in Christ. He must realize that he is a sinner and repent. 

Those who are sent out by the Holy Spirit are able to have victory. Therefore, to have victory in the spiritual fight of evangelism, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  If we try to do things in our own strength, we won’t have victory.  Every day we need to seek the Holy Spirit, trust Him, and fellowship with Him, be encouraged by Him, receive strength.  Then we will be able to have victory in the spiritual fight and we will be able to see the Word of God bear fruit.

1. III.         The Work of God’s salvation  (vs.12)

“When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (12) . This must have taken a lot of courage and power to make decisions.  To become a Christian meant to give up worshipping the Roman emperor which was required for his job.  It also meant that he might lose his life.  However, more than that he felt he needed the grace of God.  Therefore he was able to enter the road of faith.

Here it says that “he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (12)  He became a Christian not because of a miracle that he saw, but because “he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (12) In verse 7 we are told that “he wanted to hear the word of God.” As a result of God’s Word, in other words, by being amazed by the teaching about the Lord, he was able to enter the faith.  We don’t enter faith by experiencing some miracle, but by hearing the word of God and being amazed by it.  Then we will be able to experience the grace of God.

Let’s desire to hear the Word of God.  It will bring the work of salvation.  The important thing is to trust in the Holy Spirit, be encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and share the Word of grace. Then we will experience God’s salvation like they did at Cyprus.  God’s word changes people and has the power to bring new life.

              Acts can be divided into 2 parts, chapter 1-12 and chapter 13 to the end. In other words 13:1 is the turning point. From here the second part of Acts begins.  As I have said in the past, Acts is acting out Acts 1:8.

              As this verse, Acts 1:8, states up until now Jerusalem has been the center of the work. Also Peter and the apostles played the major role in the spread of the Gospel among the Jews.  From here on the center changes from Jerusalem to Antioch.  Peter no longer plays the major role, but Paul becomes the center person.  Also the Gospel is spread to the ends of the world.  From chapter 13 on the second part of Acts begins which is especially looking at the spread of the Gospel worldwide.  Today let’s look at 3 aspects of how this evangelism began.

1. 1.         The unity of faith (vs. 1)

First let’s look at the faith of the Antioch church which was used by the Lord in world evangelism.  We can see the start of the Antioch church in 11:19 and on. The Antioch church had just started and still was a young church.   However Barnabas and Paul taught them for over a year and they grew quickly.  This young church already had prophets, teachers, and leaders.  Just by looking at the leaders mentioned here we can see that this Gentile church in Antioch had a variety of people in its flock.

  The first person that is introduced is Barnabas. He has appeared several times up to now.  I 4:36 we were told that he was a Levite born in Cyprus and that his name means a person who encourages.  The fact that he sold land and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet tells us that he was a man of deep faith.  In 9:26, 27 we are told that when Paul was converted, Barnabas encouraged the Jerusalem church to accept Paul into the fellowship of the church when Paul tried to enter the Jerusalem church. Then 11:23 we are told that when the Antioch church was born, the Jerusalem church sent him to the Antioch church. He encouraged them to stand firm in their hearts and to stay joined to Christ.  Barnabas did the central work in the Antioch church.  If Barnabas wasn’t there, the Antioch church would have not grown so fast.

The next person to be introduced is Simon called Niger.  He was called Niger because he was a Negro from Africa. To think that the Gospel had spread to Africa, we can realize that his dedication was huge.

Next is Lucius of Cyrene. Cyrene is a town in Northern Africa.  According to 11:20, those men who came from Cyrene to Antioch “began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” He was able to think creatively and do things that other people hadn’t thought of doing before.

Next is “Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch)” (1) He was the foster brother or intimate friend of Herod Antipas. He was probably from a high class home.

Last is Saul.  He is from Tarsus.  He was a strict Jew.  He was strong in the law.  He was a disciple of Gamaliel, the most famous Jewish teacher of his time.  In other words, Saul was an elite Jew for his age.  He was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians there, when he met the Lord.  He was amazingly converted.  After he became a Christian, he spent some time in his hometown Tarsus.  Then Barnabas sought him out and brought him to the Antioch church to be a spiritual leader there.  

Looking at these people we can see that the Antioch church was made up of many different people from many different places and backgrounds, many different positions and level.  However, they overcame these differences and had an unity of faith.  Also within the leaders there were no apostles.  The Antioch church is leading the way in world missions. Just because you have top people in the church does not mean that you can do missions. Just because the church has people that are the same, doesn’t mean that you can do missions.  The Antioch church was made of people that believed that they had been called together by the Lord. They had such faith so that all sorts of human problems could be overcome,

II.          The call to world evangelism (vs. 2)

              We don’t know whether the Antioch church had wanted to do world evangelism or not.  It wasn’t because someone had the idea, and they met and talked about it as a church and decided to do so.  It was because the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work that God had called them to.

              We aren’t told how the Holy Spirit told them, but the important thing is that they were told “while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting.” (2)  Before too when Jesus gave the great commission, they were on the mountain worshipping. God calls us to world mission when we are worshiping the Lord.

              Here they were not just worshipping, but they were fasting too.  Fasting in the Bible is usually related to prayer. In verse 3 they are together as a set.  This is because food is a necessary thing of life. By stopping it for a while we are able to concentrate on God, and put all of our heart into prayer. The same is meant when it is said that they were worshipping and fasting.  By fasting they were concentrating on God and really putting their hearts into the worship. We too by worshipping and concentrating on God we are able to hear the Holy Spirit talking to us through the word of God.

              What the Holy Spirit is saying was very astounding.  The Holy Spirit was saying to send out Paul and Barnabas who were the main leaders in the Antioch church.  It was like saying to send out the main pastor and missionary from the Antioch church. However, this is who God had called. Without a calling from God, we can’t be separated and give our life to the Lord.

             When Paul was converted, he had already heard the words that the Lord was calling him. (9:15, 16) However, before that became a reality, he had to wait a long time.  However, that was not wasted time.  During that time Paul reconfirmed that calling, the church came to trust him more, and the church recognized his gifts.  This process is extremely important. All things work perfectly in God’s timing.

III.         Together with the church’s prayer. (vs.3)

        After the church heard the Holy Spirit’s command to set apart Paul and Barnabas for World missions, they “Fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (3)  That was not an easy thing for the Antioch church to do.  These were the 2 central people in the Antioch church. There were probably some people who didn’t think it was necessary to send them out.  There were probably others who thought that they should send someone else.     However, they sent them out because the Holy Spirit had told them to do so.  When a church does what God tells them to do, then God blesses the church.

              When the church sent out Paul and Barnabas, they fasted and prayed, “they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (3)  First they fasted and prayed.  They concentrated on God and worshipped him. It was also a way of suffering with the missionary.   The church was not just sending them out, but they were suffering with them.  They were praying for them. They were not just sending them out, they were a part of their ministry. This was a blessing not only for Paul and Barnabas, but also for the church and for the people that they were sent to. 

We too want to have this experience. This year from this church there will be a family sent out to do world missions.  This is an excellent opportunity for our church to have such an experience. By sending out, the church is blessed.

              In verse 23 we are told, “Immediately. because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” In today’s passage Herod who didn’t praise to God and others who did give glory to God are dramatically compared.  Today by comparing these two, let’s look at 3 aspects of giving glory to God.

1. I.             The voice of God, the voice of man  (vs. 18-23)

Peter who had been put in prison by Herod Agrippa I was delivered miraculously from prison as a result of the church fervently praying.  Herod tried to recapture Peter, but he was unable to find him.  “He cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.” (19) For Herod to have someone so highly guarded escape was a real blow to his pride.  On the other hand if there was someone in those who were in charge of guarding who helped Peter escape, that would be a huge problem.  If Peter could be caught immediately, that would cause the least damage to his image. but Peter could not be found. Of course, Herod never dreamed that an angel miraculously led Peter out of the prison. Therefore, there was no way that he could not admit his own authority had failed. According to Roman law, if a prisoner escaped, the guards would take the responsibility by receiving the same sentence that prisoner had. Therefore, Herod had the guards executed and tried to show that they were responsible and that he was the authority.  “Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.” (19)

Verse 20 takes place while Herod is in Caesarea.  The people of Tyre and Sidon came and through “the support of Bastus, a trusted person servant of the king,”(20) they sought peace.  Herod considered the people of Tyre and Sidon as his enemies. We don’t know why Herod thought that way. However, whatever the reason, for the people of Tyre and Sidon, to be on the bad side of Herod meant death because they depended on the grainfields of Galilee for their food.  Therefore, they sought the support of Bastus to help them be reconciled to Herod. They were able to solve the problem and they had a special celebration to celebrate the reconcilement.  The celebration is the basis for verses 21 and 22.

“On the appointed day” refers to the emperor’s birthday. On this day all the countries under the Roman rule showed their loyalty by big celebrations.  On this day Herod Agrippa, thought it would be a good chance to show his own power, and he acted as if he was a god. The historian Josephus describes the event saying that Herod wore a silver robe, dazzling bright. The people saw this and “They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” (21) Herod did not deny it.  He probably was thinking he was god too.  However, his end is written in verse 23.

For someone who it is said that his voice was a “voice of a god” to end his life like that is disgusting.  The Jewish historian, Josephus, says that Herod was seized with violent pain, he was carried out and died five days later.  This happened “because Herod did not give praise to God”. (23)  Even though he was not god, he was prideful and took all of God’s glory.  Therefore “an angel of the Lord struck him down. (23)

We too need to be careful of this.  Everything about us is by the grace and love of God, but when people praise us, and recognize us, we get the impression that it was by our own strength that we did it.  Without realizing it, we become proud.  However no matter whether we are a king, or on an earthly level, man can never be an exchange for god.  When Peter went to Cornelius’ house, Cornelius bowed and worshipped him.  “Peter made him get up…he said, ‘I am only a man myself.’” (10:26) Paul too when he  healed a crippled man in Lystra, the people began to worship him.  Paul shouted,  “men, why are you doing this?  We too are only men, human like you.” (14:15)  Herod should have said the same thing. “Why are you saying that? I am only a man, a human like you.”   However, he thought that he was like god.  As a result he experienced a bitter end.   We must remember that we too if we are proud, and think that we are like god, then like Herod experienced God’s judgment there will be times when God’s grace and blessing will be stopped.

I Peter 5:6

Herod killed James and tried to kill Peter.  His sin was not light.  However, he was not judged these things.  He was judged because he didn’t give the glory to God, but tried to receive the glory himself.  To steal the glory of God is a huge sin.

1. II.           The real voice of God (24)

As soon as Luke tells us that Herod was stuck down and died, he tells us, “But the word of God continued to increase and spread.”(24)  In other words, God’s Word that the church preached is the real word of God.  The church listened to those words, followed those words, and when they were led by those words, the church move forward strongly.

Therefore, we too need to listen to those words. We listen to them through God’s word, the Bible. We also hear them though the message of the Gospel.

I Thess. 2:13

What is important is that we listen to God’s voice.  That we don’t hear man’s voice as God’s voice. We need to hear God’s voice as God’s voice.  We mustn’t confuse man’s voice and God’s voice.  We need to hear God’s Word as God’s word, follow that Word, and when we are led by that Word, the church will be fruitful and spread out.

The church hears God’s word thought Jesus Christ.  Christ is the Word of God.  God is speaking to us though Christ.  This Word has the power to save us.  If we listened to this word, then rather than meeting the end like Herod did, we will be able to experience an abundant life like a tree planted next to water that never dries out.

1. III.         Being led by the voice of God. (25)

Here we are told that “When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem taking with them John, also called Mark.” (25) We wonder why Luke adds this verse. “Mission” refers to bringing the offering from the Antioch church to those who were suffering from famine. One reason for this verse is to change the scene of chapter 12 of Antioch to Jerusalem to chapter 13 of Antioch to the spreading world wide evangelism.  However this was not the only reason.  It is to give an example of giving the glory back to God.  This is the example of Barnabas and Saul bring the Antioch’s gift of love.  This is exactly the opposite of the people of Tyre and Sidon that appear in verses 20-23. They were willing in order to receive food, to give the glory that should have been given to God to other people.   However the Antioch church was different.  They didn’t rely on their country or on earthly powers, but helped their brother.  This is because they lived by the Word of the Lord.  They were full of God’s grace so they felt drawn to do so.

II. Cor. 9:11-13

I Cor. 10:31

We too like the Antioch church, should want to live a life of giving God the glory no matter what we are doing. To do that we need to hear God’s word as God’s word, follow it, and be led by it. Let’s pray that our life will be a life of giving back the glory to God.

Today’s passage changes its place from Antioch to Jerusalem.  Through this event we are taught an important element needed for the church to move forward.  That important element is prayer. Today let’s look at 3 aspects of the Jerusalem church’s prayer.

1. I.             A church of prayer (vs.1-6)

This passage begins with the words, “It was about this time”.  This refers to ll: 30.  It was about the time that Barnabas and Saul brought the offerings to the Jerusalem church to help those affected by the severe famine. “It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.” (1) The offerings were sent to “the elders” (11:20), but in this passage the elders are not mentioned.  Therefore, we can assume that it was a heavy persecution and the elders were included in those who were arrested. This time the persecution was not just by the Jewish leaders, but by King Herod so it was a persecution by the Roman government so it must have been a severe persecution… 

This Herod was King Herod Agrippa I, a descendant of the Herod that was in power when Jesus was born. In order to be accepted by the Jews, he persecuted the church.  He had James killed.  When he saw that pleased the Jews, then he had Peter arrested.  Before when Peter was arrested by the Jewish authorities, an angel opened the doors for him to escape.  Therefore, when he was arrested by Herod he was kept under heavy guard.  He was “guarded by four squads of four soldiers each.” (4)  Not only that but according to verse 6 , “Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.” This was an extremely unusual case in Roman prisons.  Besides there were the first guards and the second guards that they must pass before they reach the iron gates leading to the city.  Therefore, he was completely guarded. They were making sure that there was no possible way that he could escape.  However, for the church, to have Peter and the elders imprisoned was a huge disaster that could even mean the death of the church.   In verse 5 it tells us what the church did under these circumstances.  “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” They prayed. 

The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that even when we are in a situation where there is nothing we can do to make the situation better, we can still pray.   We may not be persecuted like the early church was.  However, we all experience times of discouragement.  However, we can pray.  We can pour out our hearts to God.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Matt. 7:7, 8

The early church was really a church of prayer.  When there was a problem within the church, they took it as a wonderful chance to pray.

Whether we are facing problems or not, God wants us to pray, to be a church that prays.  That type of church will experience the work of God, and will move powerfully forward.

1. II.           The Lord who delivers us from all our troubles. (vs. 7-11)

The church continued to pray for Peter, but there was no change. They kept praying and then the night before Peter was brought to trial, a miracle happened.  It was a miracle that neither Peter nor the Christians ever dreamed would happen. Peter who was so heavily guarded was set free.  According to verse 9, Peter “had no idea what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.” He thought it was too unbelievable to be real.  It wasn’t until they were completely out of the prison and one street away that the angel left him and “Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.’” (11)

We may not actually see an angel, but we all experience times when we realize that all that has happened has been by the leading and care of our Lord Jesus Christ.  There are times like when “Peter came to himself” and realized that that the chains falling off of him, him standing up, putting on his clothes, putting on his sandals, putting on his cloak, going outside, each individual act and everything that happened was an answer to prayer, that we too come to ourselves and realize that God was    really working as a result of prayer.  The key to Christian strength is here.  We believe that God is working and count the many things that God is doing, and praise the Lord as we walk the road of life.

When we pray, the Lord’s hand moves.  God send thousands of angels and protects us, strengthens us, and guides us. It doesn’t matter how heavy a chain it is, how strong a guard is watching us, or how thick a gate it is. Nothing is impossible with God. God will work in ways that we never dreamed of.

However, there are people who when they hear this who wonder then why James was “put to death with the sword.”(2)  The church didn’t just pray for Peter.  They prayed for James too.  Even so he was killed.  They think that God didn’t answer the church’s prayers for James.   

God answered their prayers for James too.  What we have to remember is that prayer isn’t always answered in the way we want it to be.  Prayer is combining our requests and thoughts with the will of God. That is because God is perfect.  Not everything that we think of as good is really good.  We make decisions from our limited sphere.  However God’s will is perfect, and the right way.  He makes perfect and the best decisions. He looks at everything properly and then makes decisions.  Therefore, following the will of God is the best way to go.  The prayers for James were not answered in the way the church prayed, but God worked because His will was performed although we may not understand it fully.

1. III.         Even so, let’s pray (12-17)

After Peter came to this realization, “he went to the house of Mary,” the mother of Mark. This Mark is the Mark that appears in verse 25 that returned with Barnabas and Saul when they returned to Antioch.  He is the Mark who wrote the Gospel named after him.  His house was in Jerusalem, and he played a major role in the Jerusalem church.  In verse 12 we are told that the Christians were meeting at his house for prayer.  The church still didn’t have a building so Mark’s house was used as a place for the church to meet.  We must not forget that the church’s strength came partly because such members shared their home to be used for prayer. This time too, when Peter went to Mark’s house, the Christians were meeting together and praying.

From verse 13 there is a humorous story.  While everyone was praying, Peter knocked on the door. A “servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.  When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it” and told everyone that Peter was there. (13, 14) This was because she was so shocked because even though they had been praying for Peter she didn’t believe that he would actually be knocking on the door.

Even worst were the other Christians.  When they heard from Rhoda that Peter was at the door, they said that she must be out of her mind. They were praying for Peter, but they couldn’t believe that Peter could have been released.  They didn’t have faith that God had answered their prayer.  This means that God does answer our prayers even when we fail to have faith.  The important thing is that we pray even when we have no confidence that God is going to answer.  The important thing is to pray.   When we continue to pray, God works. Let’s believe that God is going to work and continue to pray.  Even if now we don’t understand the meaning of the answer, some day we will.