日: 2014年1月25日

              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.

Today let’s look at 3 things that we can learn from the Antioch church.

1. I.             The creative men from Cyprus and Cyrene (vs. 19-21)

.             Until now Luke has written about the salvation of the Gentile, Cornelius.  Here he changes and tells how the church moved forward in preaching the Gospel.  This can be seen in the word “now”. 

              This passage has as its background Acts 8:1 and 4.  In other words as a result of Stephen’s martyr, a great persecution arose and the Christians were dispersed. Wherever they went the Christians spread the Gospel. As a result the evangelism of the Samaritans took place, and Cornelius was saved in Galilee. According to this passage they were dispersed as far as Antioch. Antioch is 500 kilometers as a bird flies from Jerusalem.  It is about as far from here as Osaka.  Even though the Gospel spread so far away, it was preached only to the Jews.  This was because they didn’t think that the Gentiles could be saved.

              “However, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch, and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” (20) Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyrene is a town in West part of Northern Africa.  The men that came from this area preached the Gospel to the Gentiles.  This was a very unique thing to do. Philip evangelized in Samaria, but Samarians were not pure Gentiles.  They were half Jewish.  Also Philip evangelized the Ethiopian, and Peter led Cornelius to the Lord, but the Ethiopian was a Gentile, but also a Jewish believer.   Also Cornelius feared God.  However, the Antiochs were Gentiles who had no affiliation with the Jewish faith.  The door was opening to evangelism of the Gentiles.

              The men from Cyprus and Cyrene were not well known, but they had the creativity and were willing to try something new and reach out to the Gentiles.  God used such people to start a new evangelism.

              The same is true in this age too.  God provides people like this.  It may even be us.  There is one characteristic that is common with these people.  It is written in verse 21. “The Lord’s hand was with them.”   That means that God with them and the Holy Spirit controls them and uses them.  When we speak the Word of God, even though we aren’t famous and knowledgeable, and we don’t have power, when God’s hand is with us, God uses us and we are able to do unthinkable things.

              The first Gentile church was started by nameless Cyprus and Cyrene men. The Lord’s hand was upon them, and as a result of preaching the Word of God, many people believed in and returned to Christ and the first Gentile church, Antioch, was born.

1. II.           Those who were first called Christians (vs.22-26)

The news of the birth of the Antioch Church reached the Jerusalem church and they set out Barnabas to Antioch to check on the church and see what condition it was in and to encourage the church.  We are told about Barnabas already in 4:32;4:36.37.Barnabas was born as a Levite in Cyprus.  He had faith enough to sale his field and gave the money to the church.   However, he was a quiet Christian, but he was full of love. Therefore, he was happy to hear that God’s grace had come upon the Gentiles and he was able to encourage the church ”to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” (23)

Another thing that Barnabas did was to bring Paul to Antioch.  He did this for 2 reasons.  One is because Paul’s leadership was needed in the church.  The other reason was Barnabas realized that Paul was called to do missionary work throughout the world.  This was good decision of Barnabas.  For one year Paul encouraged through the preaching of the Word.  A lot of fruit was seen.  This had deep meaning.  The focus was changed from Jewish evangelism with the Jerusalem church to Gentile evangelism with the Antioch church.  There was a huge change from the center of evangelism. From chapter 13 the center of evangelism became Paul.  Barnabas was the bridge.

Under the leadership of Paul and Barnabas, the church really grew. and they received the attention of the Gentile society.  According to verse 26, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”  It was a nickname for those who followed Christ. It is a sign that the Christians had a huge influence on the society. It is said that 25% of the Antioch population became Christian. To be called a Christian is a sign that we are a slave of Christ.   Our Lord is Christ. 

1. III.         The Work of love. (vs.27-30)

The Antioch church showed their faith and thankfulness for salvation by giving gifts to the brother who were afflicted by famine. 

What we can do as a church maybe very small.  However, what is important is that that work is through a working faith.

I Cor. 12:26

It is important that we have such thinking.  No matter how small a work, God will use it.  Let’s be like the Antioch church, a church that God is happy with.  Let’s become like the Antioch church, where the society will say “They’re Christians”.  Let’s stay in God’s grace and become a church like Antioch.

According to verse 2, when Peter came to Jerusalem, “the circumcised believers criticized him.” The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God” (1)  but to them that was an unthinkable thing.  The Gentiles didn’t have the law, they had never been circumcised so the Jewish Christians thought they could not be saved.  However, through Peter salvation was spreading among the Gentiles.  Therefore, they criticized Peter.  Peter answered their criticism by explaining “everything to them precisely as it had happened.” (4) The result is in verse 18, “they had no further objections and praised God saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.’” Today let’s at 3 aspects of how they were changed from being critical to praising God.

1. I.             The criticism of the Judean brothers. (vs.1-3)

      The rumor that the Gentiles had received the word of God spread throughout Judea. This meant that the Jerusalem church too became aware that Gentiles were being saved. They had vague idea that the Gospel would go throughout the world because they had been told so many times. (Matt. 28:19, Acts 1:8) However, they were shocked and surprised because they didn’t expect it.

They heard this was a result of Peter and thus criticized Peter saying, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (3)  This was not fearing the law. The Gentiles did not have the law.  Thus they didn’t think about clean and unclean animals when they cooked.  Therefore, for the Jews it was dangerous to eat a meal prepared by a Gentile.  It was unthinkable that a Jew would go to a Gentile’s house.  Therefore, Peter said in 10:28,”You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him.” For the Jews to follow the law is the way to protect their purity and identity as God’s people.  Especially it was important to be circumcised and to follow the laws about eating and the Sabbath.  Therefore, for a Gentile to accept the Jewish faith required him to be circumcised.  The Jewish Christians were all circumcised and then became Christian and so they thought that Gentiles too should be circumcised, follow the law about clean and unclean foods, and observe the Sabbath in order to be saved.  However, Peter ate with the Gentiles who had not been circumcised. They thought that this was going against the law and criticized Peter.

This wasn’t just a problem of prejudice or thinking, but of the life and death of the core of faith.  In other words, whether a person is saved only by faith or by faith and following the law.  At this point the Bible had not been completed and doctrine had not become finalized so this was a very serious problem for the church. Therefore, this problem afflicted the Antioch Church, the Galatian church, and many churches.  It was Paul who gave direction to the problem.  He received inspiration from God, and explained the meaning of the law in relation to this problem.

Galatians 5:6

Even though the Galatians were set free when they became Christians, they began to think that that wasn’t enough and began returning to the law.  The sign of that was circumcision.  In other words, they thought that even if they believed in Christ that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved.  However, that is going back to the law.  It makes Jesus dying on the cross and the resurrection useless.  That’s because they were making a test for entering heaven. No one can get 100 percent on the test. That’s why Jesus died on the cross in our place. Therefore, if you’re yelling, “circumcision” “circumcision”, then you are ruining the Gospel.  What is important is not whether you have been circumcised or not, but is “faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6)

We need to understand this well.  If not, we will become like these people who criticized Peter.  Now we have a Bible, and we can study the Gospel so it is important to understand the Gospel correctly.

1. II.           Explaining precisely as it had happened(vs.4-17)

In response to their criticism, Peter “explained everything to them precisely as it had happened.” (4)  From verse 5 on is this explanation. He is especially telling us 2 things.  One thing he tells us is about the vision he saw.  Secondly he talks about the Holy Spirit coming upon Cornelius and the other Gentiles while he was preaching.

First let’s look at what Peter says about his vision in verses 5-10.  What we see here looks like it is dealing with the problem of the laws about clean and unclean food, but in reality it is not.  It is teaching that God’s chosen people, the Jews need to accept the Gentiles. This can be seen by both the fact that when Peter was thinking about what the vision met, the 3 men from Joppa appeared and by the fact that “The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them.” (12) That means that you mustn’t say that the Gentiles whom God has purified are not clean and you must accept the Gentiles whom God has accepted.  In other words, anyone who fears God and lives righteously, God accepts.  It has nothing to do with whether he was circumcised or not.  Salvation is based on the one way grace of God.

Next let’s look at the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and the Gentiles when Peter was preaching in verses 15 and 16.  The only thing that required for Cornelius to receive the Holy Spirit was the message.  He didn’t need to be circumcised.  This can also be seen in the angel’s words in verse 14.”He will bring you a message through which you and your household will be saved.” From the beginning the angel is telling Cornelius what is necessary for salvation.  He is telling him to expect to hear the necessary message for salvation.  We are saved by believing in the words of salvation.  It is not be anything that we do.  Also Peter says in verse 21, “So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God.”  In other words, the event of Pentecost occurred upon the Gentiles. That was not because they were circumcised.  It was not because they were Jewish.  It was because they believed in Jesus as their Savior.  Faith was all that was needed to have the Holy Spirit come upon them.  This is what Peter wanted to say.

This message that any person that repents and believes in the Gospel will be saved isn’t just a message for those outside of the church, but each Christian and the church needs to make this message the base of their life and live and make decisions by it. As well as proclaiming that by believing in Jesus Christ, you can be saved, we need to live by that fact.  If we have repented and believed in Christ, then we should be really thankful to Christ. We should love our brother.

Romans 14:1-3

The gospel message that all you have to do is believe Christ and you will be saved is not just telling us the rules for salvation.  He is telling us how we should live after being saved, the way we fellowship with others should be controlled by this teaching. We need to follow Christ and love our brothers.

1. III.         No objections and changed to praise. (vs.18)

Finally let’s look at the result of Peter’s explanation. The same word that is translated as “no objections” is translated as “be quiet” in I Thess. 4:11. In other words, the circumcised Jews were really upset about the Gentiles being saved, but after hearing Peter’s explanation, they understood, and became quiet.  They no longer had any complaints. Also they were moved by the great work of the Lord, were filled with joy and praised the Lord.  In the church when there is criticism, we need to look to the truth, and the marvelous works of the Lord that the truth points to and be changed to joy, and praise.

By looking at this event we can see that everything was by the leading and control of the Lord. He showed Peter a vision. He gave Cornelius a dream.  He amazingly led them to meet each other.  Through that event the gospel began to spread to the Gentiles.  God also led to the correct explanation of the events.

There are times that we run into things that we can’t understand.  We wonder like the Jewish Christians as to what it means and criticize. We don’t understand why we are suffering and complain. However, by listening to God’s word, we are set free from our concerns and sufferings.  When we believe and follow God’s word, we are changed from fear and complaints to praises.

Therefore we want to be a church that listens to the Word of God.  We want to open our hearts to the Word of God. We want to clean out our ears and listen to the Word of God. Then we want to be moved by the great works of the Lord.  Then we will be able to live a life of praising the Lord.

             Last week we looked at the conversion of Cornelius, a Gentile.  From now on in Acts the focus changes to the salvation of the Gentiles. In other words, it is showing us the truth that Jesus is Lord of all.  Today look’s at 3 blessings of the fact that Jesus is Lord of all.

I.                Realizing now (34-36)

In verse 29 Peter asks why Cornelius invited him. Cornelius explained to him everything that had happened. Then Peter says that he now realizes that God does not show partiality.   We can tell that what Peter says is extremely important by the fact that what he said is recorded here.　He is saying that God shows no partiality.  God accepts all who fear Him and live righteously no matter what their nationality is.  God doesn’t rank people by their ancestry or tribe.  If a person believes in Jesus Christ who God sent, then no mater what his nationality, God will make him part of his people. The Jews thought for a long time that they were God’s chosen people.  They thought they had the privilege of receiving God’s blessings.  However, God is not like this.  He accepts all who fear Him and live righteously.  In this world some people become V.I.P.s. They are looked upon and they consider themselves as a higher level than others. Once someone is distinguished as a V.I.P. then he has a hard time consider himself as on the same level as others.  The Jews were the same. They considered themselves as the chosen people so it became impossible for them to think differently.

However, here Peter was awakened to a new reality though the Holy Spirit.  He was able to see things through God’s eyes. He came to the realization that “God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” (34, 35) Jesus is the Lord of all who believe in Jesus Christ.  Not only did Peter confess this but it became the confession of the church. (Eph. 2:14-17)

As a result, the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread from Galilee to Asia, Europe and all the world.  This was the result of Peter’s realization given to him by the Holy Spirit.  When we look at this passage we can see the conversion of Cornelius as the conversion of a Gentile to the Christian faith. However, it is more than that.  Peter himself was completely changed. More correctly the church, especially the Jewish Christians were completely changed by this event. A church historian said “to realize” is “to change”. If a person really realizes something, he will change.  Peter’s realization caused him to really change. 

When the church takes on a new evangelism, or starts something new, the Holy Spirit wants us to change.  When this happens, let’s not go against that change, but follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. Then the things we realize, we need to change.  The church needs to continuously be changed by the Word of God.  I hope that our church will continue to grown by being led to change and always be changing by the Word of God.

II.              The Gospel of Jesus Christ (vs. 37-43)

Jesus Christ is the Lord of all. In this passage Peter explains more about who Jesus is.  He tells us about Jesus’ work on earth, the cross, and the resurrection. This is the first message that Peter preaches to the Gentiles so it is interesting to look at what he says.  However, the content is almost the same as what he preached to the Jews.  In other words, Jesus was put on the cross and killed by the Jews, but God raised Jesus from the dead. This means, Jesus was a criminal, but he hadn’t done even one wrong thing.  He was righteous.  He was the Savior that was promised in the Old Testament.  There is only one thing that is different in this message.  It is verse 43. “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”  In other words, Jesus is the Lord of all.  The whole Old Testament, all 66 book’s central theme is that Jesus is the Lord of all.  Throughout the span of 2,000 years, may evangelists have worked hard sharing that message and many saints have prayed with tears and testified to that message.  You may think that you are not worthy to be saved or your sins are too huge to be saved, but that is not true. God’s thoughts are that anyone who believes in Christ will be saved and his sins forgiven.  There is no other name on earth in which we can be saved.  Jesus Christ is the only Savior and anyone who believes in him will be saved.

II Cor. 5:17

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”  Even Paul who persecuted the church was not an exception.  By human standards his past was not one that could be forgiven. He was against Christ, and persecuted those who believed in Christ.  There were Christians who were martyred by him.  This is not something that can be forgiven.  However, Paul received God’s mercy.  On the road to Damascus Paul met the resurrected Lord. Saul heard a voice say, “’Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.

‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting’” Jesus replied. When Saul heard this his world was turned upside down. Even though Saul had done these terrible things, out of the goodness of God, Jesus appeared to him.  He was changed into a new person and became a preacher of the Gospel.  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” And by the name of Christ he is forgiven and given eternal life. We too should want to take this Gospel message and be a witness.

III.            The Gentiles also have the gifts of the Spirit (44-48)

While Paul was preaching the message and before he finished the Holy Spirit came upon those who were listening to the message. It was like when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost in Acts 2.

The reason for the Holy Spirit’s coming is given in verse 45.  The Holy Spirit is not just for Israel, but for all who believe in Jesus Christ. In other words, by the Holy Spirit coming on the Gentiles every one could see that all who believe in Christ will receive the Holy Spirit.  “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (46) When the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles, they spoke in tongues and praised God. This showed that the Holy Spirit had come upon the Gentiles.  This was so that not only Peter, but so that the Jewish believers that came with Peter could testify that the salvation of the Gentiles was true.  When we look at chapter 15 we can see that the Jews had a difficult time accepting that Gentiles were being saved. It was a challenge for them to accept those who were uncircumcised and ate unclean food.  However those Jewish Christians who came with Peter from Joppa had seen the Gentile Cornelius and his family saved. They also became witnesses that Jesus is Lord of all. 

Man’s mistaken way of looking at things has strong roots.  It takes a lot of work to destroy a mistaken way of looking at things.  God showed in a way that everyone could see that their way of looking at things was wrong.   He opened up the door for evangelism of the Gentiles. Jesus is the Lord of all. It is also proof that our sin is forgiven.  No matter what sin is bothering us or what sin is controlling us, anyone who believes in Christ has their sins forgiven.  The Gospel message is that we are set free from all sin. We need to hold on to this fact, preach it, and testify to it.

  In today’s passage through the meeting of 2 people, Peter and Cornelius, a Gentile, the Gospel begins to spread to the Gentiles.  In Acts 10:1 to 11:18 we are told about the conversion of Cornelius, an Italian army centurion.  This is the longest testimony of a person being saved in the Bible.  This is because this is the event that caused the beginning of the theme of the Gospel going to the Gentiles in Acts. Luke records this event to emphasize that the Gospel is for all people, no matter whether they are Jewish or Gentile.  All people can be saved through believing in Christ. This begins with the meeting of Peter and Cornelius.  This meeting was by the Holy Spirit’s leading.  Therefore, today let’s at three aspects of this.

I.             Send men to Joppa (vs.1-8)

Caesarea is a port town in Northern Judea.  There was a Roman regiment there.  In other words it was an Italian army.  It is said that there were 600 men in the regiment and Cornelius was the officer in charge of the army.   About him the Bible records, “He and all is family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.” (2)  To be “devout and God fearing” means that although he was a Gentile, that he followed the law, prayed daily and worshipped at the synagogue.

In verses 3-6 the Lord sends an angel to Cornelius.  In Acts, again and again the Lord directly speaks and leads to the next action.  This case is the same.  The angel says to Cornelius, “Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon.” (5) The reason is not given, but when we follow the Lord’s leading afterwards we’ll know why.  That is faith.  That is how God works in the age of the Holy Spirit.

When Cornelius heard the words of the angel, “Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier” and sent them to Joppa.

II.           What God has cleansed, don’t call it impure (9,10)

Now the place changes to Joppa.  Joppa is about 48 kilometers from Caesarea.  The next day when the 3 men Cornelius sent to Joppa were “approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.” (9) He became hungry, but “while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.” (10, 11) In it were all sorts of animals that were by Jewish laws unclean to eat. In verse 13 God told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”  

“’Surely not, Lord!’ Peter replied. ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’” (14)  This is because in Leviticus 11:4-23 it teaches which animals are clean and unclean and that unclean ones are not to be eaten.  Many unclean animals were in the sheet so Peter strongly objected to eating them.

  However, God said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (15)  This was a voice to break down his thinking.  The truth was that in the sheet were animals that were unclean by Moses’ law. Also because of his religious emotions, he would not be able to eat them.  However, God himself had made them clean. God is commanding him to eat them.  If he still is thinking by his own emotions instead of the will of God, then that is not proper faith.  It is Jewish emotions aimed at the Gentiles.  Not just Peter, but emotions that all Jews had.  Even if they were Christians, they thought that salvation was only for themselves.  Gentiles were too low to receive such salvation.  However, God said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (15) This was a vision to show that the Gospel was going to go from the Jews to the Gentiles. In the Old Testament it was necessary to follow the law in order to be saved.  Since only the Jews had the law, it was thought that only the Jews could be saved. However, now, in the age of grace that Jesus brought, salvation is not by the law, but by grace.  It is by believing in Jesus Christ.  Not only Jews can be saved, by the Gentiles who were thought to be unclean. This vision shows that such a new age has come.

Even so Peter says that he can’t eat unclean things.  “This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.” (16)

Three times Peter said that he couldn’t eat unclean things because he has“never eaten anything impure or unclean.” (14)  Living by the law is living in the past.  There is nothing new.  However, now through Christ, we are free from the law.  It may be different than anything you had ever thought of, but you are saved by Christ, have received the Holy Spirit, are living a totally different life, you have a new world, and new thinking. 

Romans 8:1, 2

Those who have believed in Jesus Christ have received the Holy Spirit of life.  The Holy Spirit of life has set us free from the old law with sin and death as its source.  He gives use freedom, joy and peace.  The source of the Christian life is the Holy Spirit of life.

For Peter, being and keeping the identity of a Jew, God’s chosen people, had an extremely important meaning to Peter even if he became a Christian. However, even if the Old Testament law was very important to your identity, now if you are a Christian, you have to overcome that identity.  The important thing is to live in the Gospel, to live as a new person.

The same is true of us who live in this country, Japan.  We need to overcome our values, religious and cultural thinking.  Of course, living in Japan as a Christian is not easy.  In our families and at work and in society our identities as a Japanese and as a Christian clash.  Throughout our life we have challenges.  However, we need to meet each challenge as a Christian first not as a Japanese first. We need to live as a Christian whose nationality is in heaven.  We need to always think about what Jesus would do, and freely and boldly confess that Jesus is Lord.

III.         The greatness and abundance of the Gospel  (vs. 17-33)

Last let’s look at the result of Peter not relying on his own thinking and ways of looking at things or his own emotions, but following the will of God.  “While Peter was still thinking about the vision,” the 3 men sent by Cornelius arrived at Peter’s house.  (19)  The Holy Spirit said to Peter, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs.  Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” (19, 20)   Peter and Cornelius’ meeting was really by the Holy Spirit.  Humanly speaking these two would likely to have never met.  Even if they did they would not have overcome the wall between them.  They had no common ground.  However, the Holy Spirit said to Peter, “So get up and go downstairs.  Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” (20) The Holy Spirit was able to bring 2 people who had no common ground together.

When we read this passage one thing that we notice is that the central authority in this event is the Holy Spirit of God himself.  The Holy Spirit sent the men to Joppa.  The Holy Spirit told Cornelius to invite Simeon to his house.  He told Simeon not to hesitate to go with them. Cornelius did not think on his own that he wanted to hear the Gospel.  Nor did Peter on his own decide to lead Cornelius to salvation.  Everything was led by the Lord himself.  The Lord was leading them and pushing them forward.  They just followed the Lord.

However as the result the most amazing thing happened.  The next day Peter started out with and then “the following day he arrived in Caesarea.” (24)   Cornelius was waiting for him with all his family, relatives, and friends.  When Peter arrived, Cornelius fell down and worshipped Peter.  Peter told him to stand up because Peter said, “I am only a man myself.” (26) Then both of them shared their testimony of how they were led to meet each other.   They both realized how amazing it was and that it was really God who was leading them. In other words, God made it possible for them to overcome the wall of Gentile and Jew which was humanly speaking impossible to overcome.  God prepared their hearts to accept each other. 

We need to follow the Holy Spirit of life. When God says, “Don’t hesitate to go.” we need to go.  We need to follow God’s word.  Then the Holy Spirit will send us to the person he wants us to meet.  Then God’s kingdom will be spread out and we will experience abundance.  We will be given the joy and blessings of the Gospel.

              This new year let’s focus on the Lord, and keep our hope in God. Today by looking at 2 people who were healed by our Lord Jesus, let’s look at the blessings of living by the life given by our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I.                Jesus Christ heals you. (vs. 32-35)

Peter reappears here.  In Acts 8:25 after he left Samaria he has not appeared. Saul who had persecuted the church on his way to Damascus is converted.  In Acts it seems like Peter passes the baton to Saul.  However, Luke in the last part of chapter 9 and chapter 10 again tells us about Peter.  This is probably because before telling us about Paul’s evangelism to the Gentiles, he wanted to tell us the role that Peter played.  After leaving Samaria, Peter followed his calling, and traveled about the country with the Gospel and encouraged, guided, and taught the saints wherever he went.  Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa are all cities North West of Jerusalem and finally Peter continued in that direction until he reached the Mediterranean Sea’s Northern port town, Caesarea.

In the middle of his evangelistic travels, he met a man in Lydda.  He had been paralyzed for 8 years and was bedridden.  His name was Aeneas. He said to him,”Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” (34) And “Immediately Aeneas got up.” (34)

Compared with the greatness of the event, it is written very simply.  However this does not mean that this event is to be taken lightly, or that it was a very easy event.  Actually it is in this type of simplistic writing, that the thing that must be clear can be fully said. That is that “Jesus Christ heals you”. (34)  In other words, the central cause of the healing is Jesus Christ.  When Peter said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” (34) He is saying that Jesus has touched you.

1st Peter calls “Aeneas” by name.  This is like when Jesus called Zaccheaus in Luke 19:5.  Zaccheaus was so thrilled.  When a person is called by his name, he feels like he is loved, and accepted. Therefore, when Aeneas was called by his name, he must have felt the love of Jesus Christ.

2nd Next Peter says, “Jesus Christ heals you.” Jesus who was put one the cross, died, rose, and is now in heaven is now touching Aeneas. It is Jesus Christ who is healing Aeneas.  This shows the faith of Peter that Jesus heals and that He has the power to heal.

3^rd   Then Peter says, “Get up and take care of your mat.” These are the same words that Jesus spoke when the 4 men lowered the paralyzed man down through the roof of the place where Jesus was speaking. (Mark 2:11) Probably Peter remembered this event. Not only that but he wanted the man to be healed.  Any one who has been paralyzed for 8 years has begun to think that this is the way it is and has lost all ability to even ask to be healed.  For such a person it is necessary that they believe that Jesus can heal them, and get up out of their bed.  If that person has that type of desire then it doesn’t matter whether they are healed or not.  The problem is that by the body becoming sick the heart becomes sick.  It looses the desire to become well.  In order for that to not happen, we need to believe that Jesus has the power to heal, and stand up.

When Peter said this to Aeneas, “immediately Aeneas got up.” (34) What a wonderful work of the Lord!  The work of Christ by the Holy Spirit, through the church is going on today too.  Jesus has the power to do so.

II.              Tabitha, get up. (vs. 36-39)

In Joppa Peter meets another person, Tabitha, a female disciple. She is introduced as having the name Dorcas which was the Greek name for the Aramaic name Tabitha. Dorcas means gazelle.  In the Old Testament, a gazelle was a sign of beauty and kindness. Dorcas was full of love and beauty. We can see this in the words, “always doing good and helping” (37) 

Dorcas “became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.” (37)  Usually when a Jew died the person was buried that day.  They thought to leave the body sitting was disrespectable to the person who died.  Man was made from the dust of the earth so to return the person to the earth was the proper thing to do and showed respect to the person.  Since the person’s spirit had already returned to God, to leave his body lying around was disrespectable to the person who died and shameful to the family.  However when Dorcas died they didn’t immediately bury her.  This is because they heard that Peter was in Lydda.  “Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, ‘Please come at once!” (38)

“Peter went with them.” (39) When he got there she was laying in the upstairs room.  Since she had already died we wonder why the disciples sent two men to bring Peter to Joppa.  Perhaps they thought that to have Peter give the message at her funeral would be the best thing they could do for Dorcas who had done so much for them.  Probably more than that they had heard about Aeneas being healed in Lydda and they anticipated that Peter would perform some miracle.  Whether they looked forward to the Word of God or whether they looked forward to a miracle, the important thing is that they put their hope and expectations in God. This year like the people of Joppa, let’s look to God and put our hopes and expectations in Him.

When Peter got to Joppa they took him to the room upstairs.  “All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made.” (39)  In her life she had made a great impact on others.  She is as Hebrews 11:4 says “And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”  Church history is full of such people.  They followed the Lord faithfully; they shared the Lord’s love. In verse 41 after she rose, family members are not mentioned. Perhaps she never married or perhaps she was a widow. Even so she served Christ and the church helping the poor widows, those who were suffering, and doing many great works. The fact that many people were crying shows how much she had given during her life.

However, Jesus Christ who stood Aeneas up didn’t just pass by Dorcas either.

Verses 40 & 41

Peter did exactly what Jesus did when he raised the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. (Luke 8:41-56) When Jesus entered the house, Jesus allowed only Peter and John and James and the child’s mother and father to go in the house with him.  He had everyone else go outside.  Peter also sent everyone outside.  Then what Jesus said, “My child, get up!” (Luke 8:54) is exactly the same.  Also Jesus took her by the hand and she stood up.  Peter did the same.

There is only one thing that is different. However this one difference is a big difference at the root of the miracle.  Jesus resurrected the daughter by his own strength.  However Peter “got down on his knees and prayer.” (40) He prayed before he said, “Tabitha, get up.” (40)  In other words, Jesus meant, “I will make you stand up so my child, get up!” Peter means, “Jesus will make you stand up so Tabitha, get up.”  Therefore, the meaning is the same as when Peter said to Aeneas, “Jesus Christ heals you.” (34) This miracle has the same contents as the earlier one.  In other words, Jesus performed the miracle, not Peter.  Jesus has the power to stand people up and raise people from the dead.

III.            Living in the life of Christ. (vs. 42)

In verse 42 the purpose of Peter raising Dorcas is written.  The miracle “became known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord.” (42)  For Dorcas death is a blessing.  Then why did she need to be resurrected?  That was because there were many people weeping for her.  When she was resurrected, Peter showed her to all those people. (41)  Dorcas wasn’t just someone who followed the Lord and then as a result of illness her life was over and was living only in their memories, but because Christ raised her up again, she was a witness to Jesus Christ’s life and the grace and strength that it provides. The people were able to be raised out of the despair of death.

The same is true of Aeneas’ miracle too. According to verse 35, “All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”  By Aeneas standing up many people were given hope.  They were given the hope that Jesus Christ has the power to heal.

However, this was not for Aeneas and Dorcas only.  Jesus Christ who made them stand, and raised them up does the same today through the Holy Spirit.  Through those resurrected witnesses He gives life to those around the witnesses.  The Bible continues to speak the Good news, the Gospel message.  That message is that by believing in Christ, that person will be able to live in and have real life.  We whose hearts are dieing in sin can once again become clean and living.  Our hearts which are suffering from sickness, problems, and hurts can once again be set free.  Like Aeneas, we can stand again. Even if we are lying on the floor of the despair of death, if we believe in Christ, we can by his life be lifted up from the floor of despair. We can get up from the floor of death.  Those who see that and hear that, many people will return to Christ and believe in him.  This morning let’s receive this life. Then let’s begin and live this new year by this life.

              Two weeks ago we looked at Saul who had persecuted the Christians miraculous conversion. In today’s passage it is recorded what this converted Saul did.  The result is summarized in verse 31.

              The church’s work doesn’t just move forward.  There is always a reason that it moves forward.  This can be seen in the words, “Then the church…” (31)  In other words, by the things that Saul did after he was converted, and by the work of the church that he was involved, the secret of the peace of the church, and the moving forward of the church can be found. Therefore, today let’s look at why the church moved forward.

I.                Jesus is the child of God, the Savior (vs. 20,21)

Saul who was converted in Damascus boldly proclaimed that Jesus is the Savior. In verse 21 “this” refers to Saul’s proclamation that Jesus is the son of God.  Saul had Annanias pray for him and something like scales fell from his eyes and he was able to see again.  Then he began to proclaim that Jesus was the son of God in the synagogues. This is the only place in Acts where it is written that Jesus was the son of God.  That is because at that time the people thought that the Messiah was the son of God.  Therefore, Saul’s proclamation meant that Jesus had the same characteristics as God.  And that he was the only son of God.  He has eternal fellowship with the father from heaven so he is able to show us God.  In verse 22 we are told that Saul was witnessing to the fact the Jesus was Christ. This is basically the same meaning.  Christ is the king that has been anointed with oil, the Messiah, the Savior. Therefore, Saul’s witness was a statement of faith that Jesus had the characteristics as God, the Savior. The name Jesus Christ is actually a statement of faith that Jesus is the Lord that God has anointed and the Savior.  Jesus Christ is a statement of faith that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior.  Before Saul never imagined that Christ could be the Messiah and therefore, he severely persecuted the Christians who thought that way.  However when something like scales fell from his eyes and he was able to see clearly, he realized that Jesus was Christ, and he shared that with others.  Even so, why did he share this so fervently right away?

1.                                  This was because for a long time he had been against Christianity and had persecuted the Christians.  He had consented to Stephen’s stoning and there were many people in the church who were hurt by him.  For someone that had been so much against the church, and then repented and was converted, it was necessary before God, and others, that he have more zealousness and show and say that he had really changed.

2.                                  I think he also had within himself such a joy that he felt driven to share the Gospel. This is faith.  If we really believe, it is natural that we will want to share that.  Saul tells us this in II Cor. 4:13. In the same way we who have the same faith should share our faith because we believe.  This is a characteristic of faith.

Amos 3:8

If a lion roars, there is no one that doesn’t become fearful.  It’s a natural response. It’s the same with a person who has received the Word of God.  It is a natural response that he speak. If a person has received the word of God, then he can’t be quiet about it. If he does try to not speak about what he has received, then Jeremiah 20:9 tells us what will happen. He will become tired and it is not good for him psychologically.  The Word of God will burn in his heart like a fire and he will be weary of holding it in.  It is unnatural to not speak about the Word of God that we have received.  Speaking the Word of God that we received is a natural response, and healthy.

However, we often don’t share about Christ. We are ashamed to.  We are afraid that other people will think that we are strange. In fact, Saul also had these same feelings.  Therefore in verses 27 and 28, Saul says that he preached fearlessly, and boldly. Probably he mentions this because in reality he had fear and felt shame about sharing the Gospel.  Even so he controlled that fear and shame and spoke the Word of God fearlessly and boldly.

There are some Christians who feel shame because they don’t know how to present the Gospel.  However, verse 22 says, “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving the Jesus is the Christ.” The word “proving” means “to tie together”. In other words, Saul showed that Jesus was Christ by tying together the Old Testament prophecy and each event of Jesus’ life. Therefore, evangelism is just reading the Bible to others.  No matter how poor verbal skills a person has, he can do that.

“Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.” (22)  If we share about the Word of God, we too will grow more and more powerful and bold.  By evangelizing, we learn more about the Word of God, and we become more powerful.  Saul when he was converted preached that Jesus was the Son of God, Christ and therefore the church moved forward.

II.              He tried to join (vs. 26-28)

Another thing that Saul did when he was converted was to try to join the disciples. According to verse 28 the Jews tried to kill Saul who was evangelizing powerfully in Damascus.  Therefore, his followers put him in a basket and lowered him down in basket through an opening in the wall.  Then he went to Jerusalem.  When he arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples.  This was the same thing that he did in Damascus right after he was converted.  According to verse 19 “Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. He really tried to join and be part of the church.  The church had a hard time believing that Saul was really converted and was afraid that he was a spy and so it took some time before he could really be a part of the church.  Even so, Saul tried hard and waited patiently to become a part of the church.  As a result of his evangelism in Damascus, he had many followers.  However, he didn’t try to form his own group. He tried to enter into the fellowship of believers.

On the other hand, we are also moved by the attitude of the church. It is only natural that the church would be afraid of Saul who persecuted the church and who is now trying to join them.  However, according to verse 27 Barnabas tried to bring Saul into the church.  Barnabas accepted Saul, “took him and brought him to the apostles.”  He explained to the apostles about how Saul had been saved, what had happened in Damascus, etc. and so they were able to accept Saul into the church there.  The words “took him” in verse 27 means to take care of him.  He didn’t just take him because he felt he had to, but from his heart Barnabas accepted Saul, and with a warm heart he tried to help him become part of the Jerusalem church.  People like Barnabas that help Christians and Christians to come together are doing a great work.

Not only that, but the apostles in Jerusalem that heard Barnabas’ petition on Saul’s behalf were also great. According to verse 28, they not only believed Barnabas’ testimony of Saul, but they opened their hearts to Saul and accepted him and allowed Saul to freely move about with in the Jerusalem church. They didn’t have any fear about letting Saul join them.  The fact that Saul moved around freely shows that they had completely forgiven Saul.

When we look at Saul and Barnabas and the church we can see that they all had a strong sense of acceptance.  They saw a converted person as someone that should be included within the church no matter what their past had been.  The church didn’t judge but, had an open heart, was warm towards all who were saved. This was because they all feared God.

Romans 14:4

The Lord’s will is that we love each other and build each other up.  This is made possible by being strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. (31) As a result the church will move forward.

III.            Living in fear of the Lord (vs. 31)

The church moved forward because of Paul’s evangelism and because the church accepted Paul into the church.  However not only that, but it was a result of Paul’s and the church’s thinking and the basic characteristics of their faith.  In other words, both Paul and the church believed that the church should be built up and move forward.  They lived in fear of the Lord.  The final line is that for the church to move forward and for the number of believers to increase, depends on the kind of faith that each individual has and the kind of thinking that each person has.

If that’s the case, then it’s important that we seek the Lord’s will more and more and follow the Lord’s will.  We need to try to join together with the church. We need to like Barnabas, help others to become a part of the church.  We need to believe that the church should be built up and move forward.  We need to live in fear of the Lord.  Let’s follow the Lord, be encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and continue to move forward.