A Worshiper of God

Acts 16:6-16:15

Once again we are at the end of the month, and so we will have a shorter message today followed by communion and a sharing time.

I want to start back a bit, at the beginning of Acts 16 today. Recall that Paul and Barnabas had split up on this second missionary journey. Barnabas had taken Mark and gone back to the island of Cyprus, while Paul had taken Silas and gone back through Syria and Cilicia.

He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. – Acts 16:1-5

Being a Spiritual Father

Acts 15:1-16:5

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. – Acts 15:1-4

Last week, we talked about how Paul and Barnabas returned from their missionary journey. Paul was much worse for wear, beaten to within an inch of his life, and left for dead, in Lystra. But God had done remarkable things through them and the gospel was spread through what is now Cypress and Turkey. We left them back in Antioch, reunited with the church body that had sent them off on their journey.

Leave the Results to God

Acts 13:49-14:28

The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. – Acts 13:49-52

We pick up the story from last week with Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch. Recall that Paul and Barnabas were sent out from the church at “regular” Antioch, and they sailed to Cyprus, seen people become believers at Paphos on Cyprus, where God also used Paul to cause a false prophet to become blind, and then sailed to what is now Turkey, where they traveled inland up to Pisidian Antioch. Here Paul gives an impassioned explanation of the gospel in the synagogue, but after encountering hostility and opposition, he took it to the streets, where many, many Gentiles became believers.

Salvation to the Ends of the Earth

Acts 13:1-13:48

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. – Acts 13:1-3

Here we get a glimpse at the leadership team at Antioch. Note that there was plurality of leadership, not a single “head pastor” or anything like that. They were a really diverse group! Barnabas, from Cyprus (Acts 4:36), Simeon (a Jewish name) called Niger (a Roman name), Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen (raised in the court of a powerful ruler), and Saul (raised in Tarsus, then schooled by one of the “best” Jewish teachers in Jerusalem). All were quite different, and God used them all together, with their different experiences and gifts, to build up the local church.