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September 22, 2024“Law and Order in Philippi” (Acts 16:35-40) This week I was blessed to do the invocation and the benediction at the investiture of one of our Polk County judges. What that means is that I did the opening prayer and ending prayer for an event where they honored a judge in a new position.
There were about twenty judges in the room and about twenty deputies, along with prosecutors, public defenders, and all other kinds of legal folks.
This was the fourth investiture in which I had the honor to participate. I joked with folks that I like to get on the good side of as many judges and law officials as I possibly can.
You see, generally speaking, it’s good for followers of Jesus to do all they can to be a good relationship with those in positions of legal authority.
In fact, the Bible teaches us to honor those in authority.
Indeed, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 13:1, “Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.”
Paul also said in Romans 12:18, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
So, generally speaking, we want to be people who honor authority and seek to be at peace.
There are exceptions, once in a while, when what the law of man comes into conflict with the law of God. However, we pray that those times are rare.
In today’s passage, we get to see how Paul honored the law and those in authority, and how he used his knowledge of the law to actually help carry on their missionary work.
Today’s sermon is entitled “Law and Order in Philippi.”
Let’s look at today’s passage. Look at Acts 16:35-40:
35 When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”
36 The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town. 40 After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.
Ok. Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His divine intervention into our hearts and minds.
(prayer)
Ok, this is a short and somewhat odd passage about Paul and Silas being released from prison. However, there’s something for us to learn here in God’s Word.
So, let us discover from this passage three behaviors that Christians need to display.
First, . . .
I. Christians need to be lawful.
Of note in all of the Book of Acts is that there is no single place where followers of Jesus seek to cause trouble with those who are in positions of authority. Nowhere in the Bible do Christians seek to break the law for the sake of rebellion against authority.
In fact, we see here a very polite and peaceful display by Paul and Silas, even when they were mistreated by those in authority.
Here’s something that’s tremendously noteworthy: In last week’s passage, we learned that Paul and Silas were set free from the prison by a miraculous earthquake and then went to eat at the house of the prison guard who became a follower of Jesus. However, where are they now? They are back in jail!
Apparently, Paul and Silas were so committed to the laws of the land that after they were miraculously released and even shared a meal at someone’s house, they went back to prison willingly. That’s amazing!
What about you? What respect do you have for the rule of law and order?
Do you respect those in authority?
Do you honor the laws of the land?
How do you speak about our governing authorities?
You can look far and wide in the New Testament, and you won’t see any of the followers of Jesus speaking disrespectfully about the governing officials. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Now, to be clear, sometimes people like Paul are firm in their responses to officials, but they do so respectfully.
Church, followers of Jesus should be known as the kindest, most caring, most loving, and most respectful when it comes to those in authority, even with those with whom we don’t always agree.
We are to be people who recognize that God generally puts governments and laws in place for the flourishing of His creation. Even when we disagree with laws or officials, we should do so with love and respect.
Christians need to be lawful.
Second, we learn that . . .
II. Christians need to be wise.
There’s a reason that Paul is doing what he’s doing in this passage.
Think for a second: Paul and Silas are set free to go peacefully, but Paul chooses not to go quietly.
Rather, Paul wants the officials to come and escort them out.
Why would Paul want to do that?
Remember, Christianity is new to the region where they are and new to the city they are in: Philippi.
The most famous Christians in Philippi are Paul and Silas.
Think about the potential harm that could come to their missionary cause if people thought that Paul and Silas were criminals.
Christianity is supposed to be a religion of peace, and light, and love; not crime.
So, Paul is not only thinking through his situation; he’s thinking about the entire future of the spread of the gospel.
Paul is being wise to let it be known that he and Silas are not criminals, rather they have been treated unjustly without any evidence against them, yet they have remained peaceful and law-abiding citizens.
That’s wisdom, isn’t it?
Listen to what Paul says elsewhere in Ephesians 5:15–16 as he encourages other Christians to be wise. He says, “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”
There’s a lot of evil out there. We can’t control all that goes on around us, but we can control how we live and how we react in certain situations.
Of course, the wisdom of Paul caused panic among the officials in Philippi.
Look again at verses 38 and 39:
38 The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town.
The Philippian magistrates were afraid because it was illegal to beat Roman citizens without a trial.
The irony is that Paul and Silas hadn’t broken any laws, and now the magistrates realized that they had broken the law.
However, Paul and Silas didn’t want to cause any trouble. They simply wanted the Philippian people to know that they had not committed any crimes. They were there to spread hope and love, not crime.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to be wise in the way that we live. We must carefully think through our actions and our interactions with the outside world.
Christians need to be loving, kind, and compassionate. Also, we need to be wise.
Finally, . . .
III. Christians need to be united.
Look at verse 40 again:
40 After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.
Philippi was a city where Christianity was new. Yet, they had already learned how important it was for Christians to be united together.
Notice a few things here in verse 40:
First, notice that verse 40 speaks of brothers and sisters. The Greek term here would translate as brothers or as we may say in the old timey sense, brethren. This a generic way of referring to all of the brothers and sisters. In other words, they were a family; they were united.
Second, notice that they went back to Lydia’s house. Remember that Lydia’s house became the place where the missionaries stayed in Philippi. This happened as a result of Lydia following Jesus and having a changed life. They were united together so much so that Lydia allowed them to stay at her house.
Finally, notice what they did in verse 40: They encouraged each other. Christians ought to be about the business of encouraging one another. We ought to be united through encouragement.
Church, we are a family. We ought to have a tighter bond with our brothers and sisters in Jesus than we do with anyone else in the world.
Not only that, we ought to actively seek to unite our church family. We ought to avoid division, heal hurt and conflict, and work to encourage one another.
Christians need to be united.
Never forget the words of Jesus in John 13:35: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Let us love one another, and let us encourage one another. Let us be united.
Let this bottom line summarize what we are learning today:
Bottom Line: We must make the most of the opportunities given to us.
Notice that Paul and Silas made the most of this opportunity when they were in jail, and as they were released from jail.
They sought to honor the laws of the land, they sought to be wise in how they interacted with those around them, and they sought to encourage their Christian family.
What about you? Are you intentional in the way that you live your life? Are you purposefully living a changed life for the glory of God? Are you making the most of the opportunities given to you?
Remember what we read earlier from Ephesians 5:15–16: “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”
We must make the most of the opportunities given to us.
Challenge yourself this week in this one way:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Pray for wisdom.
James 1:5 says, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”
What if our entire church body asked for wisdom this week and beyond?
Will you do that this week? Will you seek the wisdom of God in your life?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more September 15, 2024“The Power of God to Deliver” (Acts 16:16-34) The Lord God is powerful, isn’t He, church? He can provide, He can bless, He can encourage, He can comfort, He can convict, and so much more.
We’re going to learn today that one of the acts that God can accomplish is that He can deliver.
Today’s sermon is entitled “The Power of God to Deliver.”
In today’s passage, we’re going to see how God delivers in three different ways in this passage. Let’s look go to God in prayer, then we’ll dive into this passage.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s see three different deliverances in this passage.
First, . . .
I. The deliverance of the girl.
What girl? Well, there’s a slave girl in this passage. Let’s see what happens.
Look at verses 16-18:
16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” 18 She did this for many days.
Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.
Ok, so we see Luke picking up the story by describing a time when the missionaries were on their way to pray.
(By the way, we see some parallels between today’s passage and last week’s passage. See if you can catch them all. The first is that the story begins with the missionaries going to pray).
As the missionaries are going to pray, they are being followed by a slave girl who has a spirit inside. This spirit has given her the supernatural ability to predict the future.
Predicting the future is quite a miraculous gift, so her owners have taken advantage of this moment to try and make some money off of her.
It’s worth noting here that it’s evil to take advantage of people for your own personal gain, as these owners did to this girl.
Well, this girl continued to follow the missionaries and cry out the same message for many days.
The girl said, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” By the way, the girl’s message was true. These men were proclaiming salvation, and they were servants of the Most High God.
There may have been some confusion about the girl’s message because the hearers may have thought she was talking about a way of salvation other than Jesus, and they may have thought the Most High God she was referring to was actually Zeus.
We learned in verse 18 that Paul had enough, so he spoke to the spirit in the girl and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!”
Sure enough, the girl was delivered from the power of that spirit over her life.
Luke says at the end of verse 18 that the spirit came out right away.
Listen, church: God can deliver us.
Evil spirits are very real, and some people are tormented by evil spirits in them or around them.
Not only might we be plagued by real evil spirits, but some of us are plagued by our own sin. We are slaves to our giving into temptation, our habits of sin, our outbursts of sin, and so much more.
I want you to hear me, church: Jesus can deliver you! Jesus can deliver you from evil and He can deliver you from sin.
We see the deliverance of the girl.
Next, we see . . .
II. The deliverance of the missionaries.
Let’s look at verses 19-26:
19 When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.
We see a problem arise, don’t we?
Paul’s annoyance led to the girl’s deliverance, which led to the owner’s violence.
They grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the authorities.
Here’s the reality: they really weren’t breaking any laws. However, they were Jewish people from out of town, and they were not telling people to worship the Roman gods; they were telling them to worship the one true God.
What’s more, these men who owned the girl were now losing money.
The desire for money will lead us to do some evil things, won’t it?
Paul would say later in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil . . . ” Perhaps he was thinking of this moment in Acts 16 when he wrote that.
So, we see several actions unfold after these men seize and accuse Paul and Silas:
First, the crowds turn against Paul and Silas. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Second, we see the officials pronounce an unjust punishment against them. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Third, we see that they are severely beaten. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Fourth, we see that they are imprisoned for some time. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Fifth, we see an earthquake is present after they endure suffering. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Sixth, we see they are rescued by the power of God. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Seventh, we see that one of the guards believed in the power of God. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
That’s an amazing list of similarities between Jesus and the followers of Jesus, right?
So, we see that this earthquake takes place and shakes the very foundations of the jail, opens the doors, and loosens the chains of the prisoners.
What an amazing act of the power of God!
Church, we must understand that God can deliver us from any situation.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, God may choose not to deliver us from a situation, but He certainly can deliver us from anything. In this moment for Paul and Silas, God chose to deliver!
Notice also Paul and Silas’ attitude in the midst of the suffering.
They had no promise of deliverance. Yet, they were praying and singing hymns to God.
They had been arrested and beaten, yet they remained faithful.
They were suffering, yet they knew they were kept by the sovereign hand of God.
Whatever happened, Paul and Silas knew that God was with them.
Do you know, brothers and sisters, that God can deliver you from your suffering? He can deliver you from your sickness. He can deliver you from your broken relationships. He can deliver you from your poverty. He can deliver from anything.
Sometimes, God chooses not to deliver us.
From what we know of church history, all the apostles would be killed for following Jesus, except for John, who spent his final days exiled on an island.
One leading theory for Paul’s death is that he was beheaded in a Roman prison.
We’ve already learned of Stephen’s death in the earlier part of the Book of Acts.
Sometimes, God will deliver us from earthy difficulties immediately. Sometimes, he chooses not to do so.
However, there is a deliverance that is promised for all those who seek it. That is the final deliverance that we’ll learn about.
III. The deliverance of the jailer.
We’ll see that the jailer’s life is delivered, then we’ll see that his soul is delivered.
Look at verses 27-34:
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.
Notice first that he is delivered from death.
The jailer woke up and realized that the prisoners were all set free.
Remember, he was told to really watch over Paul and Silas, which is why they had them in the inner part of the prison, chained to the wall.
Yet, here they were, free from their chains with the doors open.
So, the jailer started to take his own life because that probably would seem better than what the Romans would do to him if his prisoners escaped.
However, Paul pointed out in verse 28 that all the prisoners were still there, and he should not harm himself.
That’s some pretty powerful deliverance, but something better is about to come.
In verse 30, the jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
First of all, the man had good manners. He called them sirs. What’s more, he had good awareness. He realized something was different about these men. He needed what they had.
He needed the deliverance that led to a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that in a moment of suffering, you can actually start worshiping.
He needed access to the power that could set prisoners free.
He needed to be saved by the power of God!
So, Paul and Silas told him what he must do to be saved: Believe in the Lord Jesus.
Not only could he be saved, but his household could also be saved.
Verse 32 indicates that he and his whole household were able to hear Paul and Silas speak the word of the Lord to them.
Then, the jailer took care of Paul and Silas by washing their wounds. Then, again, as we see in Acts, after he and his household believed in Jesus, they were baptized.
Finally, they shared a meal together and rejoiced because God had changed their lives.
Notice the same pattern that we saw in last week’s passage with Lydia: The people are saved from their sins, they display their change through baptism, then they demonstrate their change through a new way of life.
Behold the powerful deliverance of God.
Let this bottom line summarize all that we are learning today:
Bottom Line: The power of God is able to deliver.
Church, there is nothing beyond the power of God. He is the ultimate deliverer:
He delivered Lot from the land of Sodom.
He delivered Noah and his family through the great flood.
He delivered Isaac from being sacrificed by his father, and He delivered Abraham from sacrificing his own son.
He delivered Joseph from the pit of slavery. He delivered Joseph’s family from starvation.
He delivered Moses from death as an infant child.
He delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery.
He delivered Israel from starvation by providing manna.
He delivered Israel into the Promised Land.
He delivered Israel from their own sin during the time of the judges.
He delivered Israel from the failed kingship of Saul and gave them King David.
He delivered Israel from the weakness of human kings by promising a greater King to come.
He delivered the Jewish people from total extinction by preserving some from the horrific judgment they had earned because of their sin.
He delivered a remnant of His people to return back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
He delivered all humanity by sending Jesus the Messiah to die on the cross, rise from the dead, and offer forgiveness of sins.
He delivered the promised Holy Spirit to the Church, delivering them from the old way of things and empowering them for the age of the church.
He delivered Peter and John from prison.
He delivered Saul the persecutor from his sins.
He delivered the Ethiopian eunuch from his sins.
He delivered Jews and Gentiles from their sins.
He delivered Lydia from her sins.
He delivered Paul and Silas from prison.
He delivered the Philippian jailer from his sins.
He has delivered countless people from oppression, sickness, evil, addiction, sin, sorrow, bitterness, racism, greed, materialism, sexual promiscuity, sexual confusion, gender confusion, self-harm, self-hate, self-centeredness, and more.
Jesus is not done. He can deliver you, and He will one day return in glorious fashion to deliver His children from every trouble, every sorrow, and every sin. He will make all things new, and He will deliver us to our heavenly home where we will dwell with the Lord forever.
He is the ultimate deliverer.
Challenge yourself this week from the Word of God:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Identify your need for deliverance.
Some of you need to be delivered from your sins. You’re still in need of salvation. You must understand, as the jailer did, what you must do to be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved.
Others, you may have something else from which you need deliverance. Call upon the name of the Lord God. Lift your request to Him, trust Him, and wait on Him.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Share the message of deliverance.
If someone were to ask you, “What must I do to be saved?” Would you be ready to answer?
What about those who don’t know to ask you? Are you able to share with them that they need to be saved?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more September 08, 2024“The Power of Persuasion” (Acts 16:11-15) Have you heard about the power of persuasion? We might tell our kids, “If you’re good for 30 minutes, I’ll take you to get ice cream.” Your boss may tell you, “If you meet certain marks, you’ll get an end-of-the-year bonus.” You might tell yourself, “If I lose twenty pounds, I can treat myself.”
Or, perhaps, you have simply met someone who is very persuasive. Maybe you had a motivational coach, teacher, or parent. Perhaps you heard a preacher or speaker who was very motivating or persuasive.
The power of persuasion can lead us to do things. Indeed, the title of today’s sermon is “The Power of Persuasion.” We’re going to see how persuasion was at work in Acts 16:11-15.
Before we do, let’s go to God in prayer.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage together, then we’ll continue to discover what God is teaching us.
Look at Acts 16:11-15:
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. 14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Ok, there are at least three acts of persuasion in this passage. Let’s discover them together:
First, . . .
I. God persuaded the missionaries to travel to Macedonia.
Now, this act of persuasion really took place in last week’s passage.
You may recall that Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man asking to come over to Macedonia and help the people there.
Paul was convinced that this vision was a message from God. As a result, Paul and the other missionaries were persuaded to travel to Macedonia.
It was at this point that the missionaries crossed from Asia into Europe.
In fact, here’s how it looked on a map. Remember, last week they were in Troas. Now, they traveled to Samothrace, Neapolis, and Philippi.
So, they made it to Philippi, a city in Macedonia.
Now, just a little bit about Macedonia, it was a region near Greece that had a tremendous influence in the Roman empire.
In fact, someone great was from the Macedonian Empire. You may know him as Alexander the Great.
It was Alexander’s father, Philip of Macedon, who brought greatness to the city of Philippi, which is a city in this passage today. Indeed, the city was named after Philip, hence the name Philippi.
So, this is the region and city where Paul and his companions are located in Acts 16:11-15.
Why were the missionaries there?
They were not there because the city was great.
They were there because they were persuaded by God.
When God spoke, they listened.
When God led, they followed.
When God persuaded, they obey.
What about you?
When God speaks, do you listen?
When God leads, do you follow?
When God persuades, do you obey?
We see that these missionaries were persuaded by God. May we also be open to being persuaded by God to be used for His mission and for His glory.
First, we see God persuaded the missionaries to travel to Macedonia.
Second, we see . . .
II. God persuaded Lydia to salvation.
Notice in verse 13 that the missionaries are looking for a place to pray on the Sabbath.
Evidently, there were not enough Jewish people in the city to compose a synagogue, so they planned to go down to the river to pray.
What did they find when they got down to the river? They found women who were gathered.
This was no doubt a God appointed moment, right? This was a divine appointment. God knew they would need a place to pray and God knew those ladies would be gathered there.
Church, we must realize that God is not surprised by our circumstances.
God is weaving our circumstances together to bring about His plan, including the salvation of souls.
God was working through Paul and the other missionaries, and He was working in the hearts of the women who were gathered there.
When they found these women gathered, they began to speak to them, presumably about the gospel of Jesus Christ, because one of those women would become a believer in Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 14 again:
A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.
You know, church, I almost made a huge mistake when creating these sermon points. Point 2 was originally, “Paul persuaded Lydia to salvation.”
However, what does the Bible say? It says in verse 14, “The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.”
Paul was persuasive, for sure, but Paul didn’t have nearly the power that the Holy Spirit of God has.
You and I must be obedient to passionately proclaim the gospel. We must plead with and persuade people to receive Jesus, but we must do so while relying on the persuasive power of the Spirit of God.
Aren’t you glad that the Spirit of God persuaded you that you needed Jesus? Lydia was powerless to come to Jesus without God drawing her. You and I are utterly powerless to come to Jesus apart from the Spirit of God drawing us to Him.
As Paul would later say in Romans 3:10–11, “ . . . as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.”
As Paul would later say in Ephesians 2:8–9, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”
Lydia may have been a God-fearing woman; she may have believed in God and tried to worship Him correctly, but she was not a follower of Jesus until the Holy Spirit opened her eyes, she understood Paul’s message, and she became a believer in Jesus the Messiah.
As was the practice in the New Testament, and still is in the church today, once Lydia became a believer in Jesus Christ she was baptized.
Apparently, others in her household also believed in Jesus because they, too, were baptized.
By the way, from the records that we have, Lydia is thought to be the very first Christian convert on the continent of Europe. Isn’t that cool?
Today, there’s a river near the ruins of Philippi that is believed to be the place where Lydia was baptized. I’ve actually been there, along with some others in this room. Man, I wish I had a picture or video from that moment. Oh, I do! Let’s watch this video together.
So, we see the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to the gospel! God persuaded Lydia to salvation.
Not only did the Lord open Lydia’s heart, but Lydia opened her home.
That takes us to point #3:
III. Lydia persuaded the missionaries to stay at her house.
Look at verse 15:
After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
It’s believed that Lydia was a woman of some wealth, because she was a businesswoman, and because she had a home that was large enough to accommodate the entire missionary crew.
Also, it appears that her house was used as a base of sorts in Philippi, as we see at the end of the chapter that the missionaries returned to Lydia’s house.
Lydia was persuasive with her words.
She basically was saying, “If you don’t stay at my house, then you don’t think I’m a Christian.”
Well, what do you say to that? She was pretty persuasive. After all, she was a salesperson.
So, we see generosity on display in Lydia’s life. We see a changed life, first displayed by baptism, then demonstrated in her generosity to others.
That’s the way it’s supposed to happen, church: God changes our lives, we display God’s work through baptism, and demonstrate God’s work through a changed life.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: God can work in powerful ways in and through His people.
Church, God can work wonders through you. God can change you, then you display that change, then you demonstrate that change.
Have you been changed by God? Have you displayed your change through biblical water baptism? Have you demonstrated your change through a changed life?
God is still working through missionaries. God is still working through ordinary people like Lydia. God is still saving souls.
God is still working in powerful ways in and through His people.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Seek to persuade someone to come to Jesus.
God opened Lydia’s heart. He is the ultimate persuader. Yet, Paul was working to persuade people to come to Jesus everywhere He went.
What about you? Are you seeking to persuade others to Jesus, while realizing that God is the one who ultimately persuades them to faith? Challenge yourself this week to persuade someone to come to Jesus.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Ask yourself if you are persuaded by the gospel.
Have you been persuaded by the Holy Spirit of God that Jesus can save you from your sins and change your life?
Are you persuaded that the words of Romans 1:16 are true: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
Ask yourself if you are persuaded by the gospel.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more September 01, 2024“The Plans of God and the Plans of People” (Acts 16:1-10) When Jennifer and I got married, we spoke about having kids. After a couple of years spent being young and childless, we decided to start having kids. We wanted many kids. Then, we couldn’t have any children. We tried, and tried, and tried. We spoke to doctors. We tried several unsuccessful adoptions. We served as foster parents. However, we didn’t have any children to have as our own. Then, one day after Jennifer went to see a doctor for some other matters, we found out she was pregnant with miracle baby #1, Jeremiah Kirkland McCraw. God would later bless us with two other boys.
We had this great plan to start having kids exactly two years after we got married and then be done having kids before we were too far into our thirties. Instead, we didn’t have our first child until our late twenties, and we were still having them into our late thirties.
You see, people have plans, but God often has other plans.
Today’s sermon is entitled “The Plans of God and the Plans of People.”
In today’s passage, we’re going to see some of the travel plans of Paul the missionary, and we’ll see how some of God’s plans were a little different.
Before we go any further, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
As we journey through this passage today, we’ll identify three realities of the plans of God and the plans of people.
First, . . .
I. Sometimes we have good plans.
Paul put together some good plans to visit some churches on his missionary journey.
You may recall that God multiplied the missionary work of Paul and Barnabas by working through a division the two of them had, and God produced two different mission trips that involved even more missionaries than before.
Now, Paul is making some more mission trip plans.
Let’s look at these first few verses of Acts 16. Look at verses 1-4:
1 Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
So, we see Paul’s plans for his journey.
At the end of chapter 15, we learned that Paul and Silas went to Syria and Cilicia.
Then, here at the beginning of chapter 16, they go to Derbe and Lystra. Those are good plans. Keep preaching the gospel; keep strengthening churches; keep encouraging the disciples.
So, here’s a map. They were in Antioch; then they traveled all the way to Cilicia in last week’s passage; now they make it to Lystra.
We also learn that Paul meets a disciple named Timothy.
Timothy was a well-respected half-Jewish disciple.
By the way, Timothy would go on to be a great missionary in his own right, as well as a famous young pastor in the Church of Ephesus.
He is so famous because Paul would later write two biblical books that were letters addressed to Timothy. These letters are called 1 and2 Timothy.
I’ve preached on these books if you’d like to check out the sermons on our website.
We learn in verse 3 that Paul wanted Timothy to go with him on their journey, but there was something that Paul wanted done in order for Timothy to travel with them. Paul wanted Timothy to be circumcised.
Now, you might wonder why Paul would want to do this.
Well, verse 3 tells us. It says, “ . . . because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.”
However, if you paid attention in Acts 15, you might say, “Wait a minute! Didn’t they settle the issue of requiring Jewish laws for Christians in Acts 15?”
Well, yes and no. What Paul was fighting for in Acts 15 was for Gentile people not to have to become Jewish in order to obey God.
What Paul is doing in Acts 16 with Timothy is taking a step to ensure that their missionary team does not cause any offense as they seek to preach the gospel in Jewish synagogues.
We do this today as well. Ministers of the gospel, missionaries, and wise Christians will take steps at times to not cause offense.
For example, drinking alcohol is not a sin. However, I don’t drink alcohol because that might be frowned upon for a Baptist preacher to drink alcohol in a city like Bartow.
So also, tattoos are not sinful. However, if stood in the pulpit with a tattoo on my face that said “I love Jennifer,” some people might think differently about me.
Again, wearing shorts and flip-flops in the office is not unbiblical at all. However, in our context, some might think that I didn’t care about my calling as a pastor if I did that.
To be clear, none of those things are sinful. However, in order to not cause offense, I try to be wise with my decisions on such matters.
You see, since Timothy had a Jewish mother, he would have been considered a Jewish man.
Yet, he wasn’t circumcised, which wasn’t a good thing for a Jewish man.
It would have caused unnecessary offense as they sought to minister in the Jewish synagogues.
So, it was a good plan for Paul to have Timothy circumcised. Timothy may not have thought it was a good idea at the time, but it was.
Paul had a good plan for Timothy, and he had a good plan for their travels.
Sometimes people have good plans.
However, . . .
II. Sometimes God redirects our plans.
Listen to what happens in this chapter and how Luke (the author of Acts) writes about it.
Look at verses 6-8:
6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas.
We see here two times that the Holy Spirit stopped the plans of Paul and the other missionaries.
In verse 6, Luke says, “ . . . they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit . . . ”
Then, in verse 7, Luke says, “ . . . the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ”
By the way, there should be no confusion or concern with the different ways of speaking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Spirit, they’re all names for God the Spirit.
However, we see God redirecting the plans of the missionaries.
You know, we really don’t know why God redirected their plans and we don’t know how Luke knew that God redirected their plans. However, God did, indeed, redirect their plans.
Let me just say something quite plainly: God’s plans are better than our plans. Amen?
If God wants to redirect our plans, we should welcome that.
Even when we don’t know why, even when we don’t know how, even when it hurts, even when it’s confusing, even when it seems strange, we should welcome a change of plans by God.
So, we see that Paul, Silas, and Timothy were not permitted by God to go to Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), instead they ended up in Troas.
Ok, here’s our other map that we were looking at earlier.
Here is Troas. Quite the journey, as you can see.
God changed their plans and took them on a great journey to reach Troas. It was not what they had in mind, but it was what God had in mind.
Listen, brothers and sisters.
God may have different plans for your life than you have for your life.
God may have different plans for your ministry than you have for your ministry.
God may have different plans for our church than we have for our church.
That’s ok. Not only is it ok, we should welcome it.
Sometimes God redirects our plans.
Finally, . . .
III. Sometimes God gives us clear plans.
Have you ever felt like God made something very clear to you? I remember a few times in my life that happened.
One time that happened is when God called me to be senior pastor at this church. Jennifer and I both knew from fairly early in the process that God was going to lead me here. It’s hard to explain how we knew. There was just a peace and clarity about it. It wasn’t because I was some special pastor. I had never even been a senior pastor. I tell folks, our church was really desperate, so they even allowed me to take a shot at being a senior pastor. It wasn’t me; it was God. Part of God working through that process was making it very clear to me and Jennifer that He was leading us to Bartow.
Sometimes God makes His plans very clear.
Look at what happened in this passage. Look at verses 9 and 10.
9 During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Notice two things from these two verses:
First, notice that Paul had a vision.
Now, we must be careful here to realize that not all visions are from God. Sometimes, you may have a vision because you ate a bad burrito. Or, perhaps you had a vision after taking the pain medicine from your oral surgery.
However, some visions are from God. In fact, God has worked through visions through all of human existence.
So, when we consider a vision, we should consider if it’s from God. We should ask ourselves questions such as the following:
Does it fit God’s will?
Does it conflict with Scripture? If so, it’s probably not from God.
What do other godly people think about the vision?
How did the vision come to me?
We should think through these questions and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His ways to us.
Second, notice that Luke says that they concluded that God has called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia.
Apparently, upon considering the vision, they believed that it was, in fact, from God.
God was making it very clear to them what He wanted them to do next: He wanted them to go preach the gospel in Macedonia.
We’ll learn next time, that’s exactly what they did.
The Lord made His will very clear to Paul and the missionaries, and they obeyed.
Also, here’s a little fun fact about Acts: Notice in verse 10 that Luke says, “we.”
This is the first time that Luke includes himself in the journeys, indicating that he is likely now traveling with Paul, Timothy, Silas, and others.
That’s just an interesting little fact in this story.
We learn in Acts 16 that sometimes we have good plans, sometimes God redirects our plans, and sometimes God gives us clear plans.
No matter how it comes upon us, we must always be willing to follow God’s plans.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: God’s people must follow God’s plan.
There’s nothing wrong with having a plan, right?
I have lots of plans. People who know me know that I’m a planner. I have a plan to make plans.
Plans are not a bad thing, but our plans must never get in the way of our obedience to God’s plans!
God’s people must follow God’s plans.
We must follow the plans that God has already revealed to us. We must love. We must share the gospel. We must be holy.
We must also be open to following the plans that God has not yet revealed to us. We must pray. We must listen. We must be open to a change of plans.
God’s people must follow God’s plan.
Challenge yourself this week in this one way:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Ask God to reveal His plans to you.
The first step to following God’s plan is to know what His plans are.
Ask God to reveal His plans to you for your life.
Ask God to reveal His plans to you for our church.
(Gospel presentation – you may have plans for your life, but God has something better; you may have no plans for your life; well, God has something for you)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more August 25, 2024“Multiplication Through Division” (Acts 15:36-41) Do you remember just two weeks ago when we learned that the Christian Pharisees were bringing division into the Church of Antioch? They were trying to bring extra Jewish rules for the non-Jewish Christians to follow.
However, then we witnessed the victorious moment when the leaders of the Church of Jerusalem corrected the confusion, showed love, and brought unity.
Then, the Church in Antioch was blessed and encouraged. And, they never had any problems ever again. Well, of course, all of that is true, except for the last part.
Today, we’re going to learn that division would arise in the Church in Antioch from two very unlikely sources.
You see, here’s the reality about the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ: stuff happens.
Churches are full of people, and people are weird, fickle, sensitive, offensive, scared, confused, selfish, crazy, and more.
People are also kind, loving, encouraging, generous, brave, bold, and more.
You get both, don’t you? You get the blessings of people in the church, and you also get the challenges of people in the church.
One of the best parts of church is the people. So also, one of the most challenging parts of church is the people.
So, we see some more division today in the Church of Antioch, but we also see how God worked through that division and actually multiplied the amount of ministry that would be accomplished.
Today’s sermon is entitled “Multiplication Through Division.”
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and see how He works through this sermon today.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage together and then see what God is saying to us.
Look at Acts 15:36–41:
After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” Barnabas wanted to take along John who was called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Ok, first, let’s point out that . . .
I. The church will go through division.
Now, there are a lot of people here like me, in the sense that you have not been at this church your entire life.
I’m blessed to have been at this church for seven years next month. However, I’ve not been here forever.
Even since I’ve been here, we’ve seen some minor divisions in our church. Those of you have been a part of any church for any extended period of time know that divisions happen; disagreements happen; difficulties happen.
Some of you who have been here longer than I experienced a major division a little over eight years ago.
Division hurts, doesn’t it? Division is tough on a church, isn’t it?
However, division happens in churches from time to time.
Well, let’s talk about the division that was taking place in this passage.
We learn in verse 36 that Paul and Barnabas planned to go back to the churches in the towns where they had completed their previous missions and church planting work.
However, there was an issue: Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, and Paul did not want to take John Mark.
Now, here’s a few things to remember about the situation:
First, Paul didn’t want to take John Mark because he left their group early in the previous journey. We must remember that did, in fact, happen. We learned way back in Acts 13:13: “Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.”
Another big factor is this: we learn in Colossians 4:10 that Barnabas and John Mark were cousins.
So, Paul doesn’t want to take John Mark, but John Mark is family to Barnabas.
Of course, anytime family gets involved, it gets complicated, right?
So, we have a complication at hand, and we have some division starting to arise.
Verse 38 says, “Paul insisted that they should not take along this man . . .”
Paul wasn’t having it; he did not want to take John Mark.
Now, generally, Paul seemed to be very zealous and confident in his position. He was not one to easily compromise.
Barnabas, however, was known as the “Son of Encouragement.” Perhaps he was more understanding of John Mark’s situation.
So, the two did not agree.
Verse 39 says, “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company . . . ”
Paul and Barnabas experienced division! Can you believe it‽
Barnabas was the one who introduced Paul to the apostles and spoke of his genuine conversion.
Barnabas and Paul traveled on multiple journeys together to speak about and defend the gospel.
Barnabas and Paul were the poster children for the missions work of the Church of Antioch.
Now, these two are experiencing division.
Church, we do not yet live in a perfect world. There will be challenges. There will be conflict. There will be division in the church.
They had division then, and churches will have division today.
Next, we learn that . . .
II. God will work through division.
This is what I mean by “multiplication through division.”
Did Paul and Barnabas simply cancel their continued missionary journey?
Absolutely not! Instead, they took two missionary journeys.
Look at the end of verse 39. It says, “Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus.”
Then, we learn in verses 40 and 41, “But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”
There was genuine conflict. There was genuine division. There was likely genuine emotions involved. Yet, there was also genuine blessing from God.
Check out this map, church: Here’s Antioch. Instead of one missionary journey, there were now two. You have Barnabas and John Mark going this way, and you have Paul and Silas going this way.
God brought multiplication through division.
Not only did God multiply their journeys, but He also multiplied the number of missionaries.
Now, Silas is involved in Paul’s missionary journeys. You may remember Silas as one of the representatives sent up from the Church in Jerusalem after the Jerusalem Council. Now, Silas is joining Paul on missionary journeys.
There was division, but God was definitely at work in the midst of the division.
You might think, “Wait a minute, Pastor Matt! How could God be at work in stuff like this? Sometimes, people do sinful things, wrong things, and crazy things. How is God working through these situations?”
Well, we must recognize that God is King over all things, even dysfunction and division. God can work through anything and everything for His glory!
God can make lemons into lemonade. God can make potatoes into potato salad. God can turn broken dishes into a beautiful mosaic. God can turn division into multiplication.
What’s beautifully crazy is that God can still do a wonderful work even when the division is difficult.
Do people make sinful choices? Absolutely. Do people make unwise decisions? Absolutely. Do people cause harm and hurt? Absolutely. Can God still work through the dysfunction? Absolutely.
Let us be encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul elsewhere, when he said in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
God will work through division.
Finally, . . .
III. Time will heal division.
There are two ways that time will heal division. The first is in this life and the second is in the next life.
Those who are familiar with the story of John Mark and Paul will recall that there is evidence to indicate that Paul and John Mark later patched things up.
Consider Colossians 4:10, which I mentioned earlier. In it, Paul says, “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him).”
Further, Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:11, “Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.”
Both Colossians and 2 Timothy were written after the time described here, in Acts 15. So, it appeared that through time, the division between Paul and John Mark was healed.
Also, 1 Corinthians 9:6 indicates that Paul and Barnabas later served together again as well.
So, time can heal divisions in the immediate future of this life on earth.
Our opinions may change. We may realize that we were wrong about something. Someone else may realize that they were wrong about something. Things that once mattered won’t seem to matter anymore. God may change our hearts towards people. Through time, God may heal disunity on this earth.
Some of you may be thinking right now, “Pastor Matt . . . you don’t understand! Time has not healed my hurt. Time has not healed the disunity that I’m facing. Things are not getting easier. How will time heal my situation?”
Oh, precious child of God. Have you so quickly forgotten the words of our Lord in John 14:3: “If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”
Or, have you forgotten the promise of Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.”
There will come a time when Jesus will come to receive His own, and at that time, He will make all things right.
What time does not heal in this life, God will heal in the next life. That time will come when He is ready.
Be sure of this: There will be no division in God’s glorious kingdom to come. There’ll be no fights. There’ll be no gossip. There’ll be no disgruntled church members. There’ll be no lackluster pastors. There’ll be no church splits. There will only be joy, and love, and peace, and worship, and glory given to God.
Church, let this bottom line summarize what we are learning here today:
Bottom Line: Though divisions may come, the mission of God will go on.
This division we read about in Acts 15 did not stop the mission of God. In fact, as we’ve already pointed out, God multiplied the scope of the ministry of Paul and Barnabas.
Division did not stop the mission of God then, and it will not stop the mission of God today.
Evil will not prevail against the mission of God. Division will not prevail against the mission of God. Nothing will prevail against the mission of God.
To be clear, individual local churches may come and go. But the mission of God, carried out through His Church, will not fail.
Challenge yourself this week in this one way:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Stay committed to the mission.
Are you committed to the mission of God? Are you all in?
Don’t get sidetracked by division. Don’t get sidetracked by negativity, hurt, or conflict. Commit to the mission.
Ask God to help you forgive. Ask others to forgive you. Prioritize what’s most important. Help your brothers and sisters in Christ stay focused. Help your pastors stay focused.
The mission is too important, and God is too powerful for us to be sidetracked by division.
Let’s commit to the mission. Challenge yourself this week to do so.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more August 18, 2024“The Careful Consideration of Cooperation” (Acts 15:22-35) I remember when I was in the process of applying to be a doctoral candidate at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I never thought that I would pursue a doctoral degree, but the Lord opened up several doors, and it seemed like an opportunity that was too good to pass up.
However, I needed to be accepted. I took a placement test, submitted a research paper, gave references and transcripts, and more. I remember the great anticipation of waiting to hear the news. What would come of my application?
Well, today’s passage begins with the Church in Antioch waiting to hear back from the leaders in the Church in Jerusalem. There was great anticipation about whether the Gentile Christians would be accepted into the fellowship of the other Christians or if they would ask them to fulfill extra requirements in order to be followers of Jesus.
Would the Jerusalem Christians choose to cooperate with the other Christians or not? Today’s sermon is entitled “The Careful Consideration of Cooperation.”
Let’s pray together, and then let’s dig into this passage.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage together. Let’s look at Acts 15:22-35:
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to select men who were among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers. 23 They wrote:
“From the apostles and the elders, your brothers,
To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts, 25 we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will personally report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements: 29 that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things.
Farewell.”
30 So they were sent off and went down to Antioch, and after gathering the assembly, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers and sisters and strengthened them with a long message. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent back in peace by the brothers and sisters to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas, along with many others, remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming the word of the Lord.
We learn in this passage that the believers in Jerusalem wanted to cooperate with the Gentile believers, and they were considerate of them.
So, let’s see four ways that they were considerate.
First, we see . . .
I. Considerate care.
Listen to how the Jerusalem Christians speak to their brothers and sisters in Christ:
We see in verse 24 that they were concerned for them. They said that they heard someone had “troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts.”
Also, notice in verse 23 how they refer to their relationship. They said, “From the apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.”
It was obvious that the disciples in Jerusalem cared about them, and it was obvious that the disciples in Antioch received it as a caring response. Verse 31 says, “When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.”
You see, Church: One of the marks of a Christian is that we care for one another.
That care for one another is not limited to just the Christians whom you know and love. It’s not even limited to just those who are a part of your church family. Rather, it includes all of our brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.
At that time, Jewish people were taught to view Gentiles as outsiders and offensive. Yet, here we see the Jewish Christians referring to the Gentile Christians as their “brothers and sisters.”
Further, most of those Christians in Jerusalem likely never saw the Christians in Antioch. They sent Paul and Barnabas back and forth, but most of them didn’t travel back and forth. Yet, they cared about them.
Brothers and sisters, we are to care for our brothers and sisters. The bond we have in Jesus Christ is stronger than any ethnic bond, any national bond, and political bond, any cultural bond, and any other type of bond.
Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The Church in Jerusalem showed their cooperation with considerate care, and so should we.
Next, we see . . .
II. Considerate correction.
Let me ask you a question, Church: If something is done that is wrong, and we have the power to correct it, should we do so? You better believe it!
What was said by the Christian Pharisees (in last week’s passage) was not correct.
The Gentile Christians should not be required to follow the ceremonial Jewish customs in order to be saved or in order to be in Christian fellowship with Jewish Christians.
Here’s how this letter described those who were wrongly requiring the Gentile Christians to follow extra rules: (verse 24) “ . . . we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us and troubled you . . .”
They wanted to set the record straight; these men were not authorized by the leaders in the Jerusalem Church to demand these extra regulations for the new non-Jewish disciples.
What they did was troubling and out of line. So, the leaders in Jerusalem wisely corrected the issue.
Let me just tell you, as a leader in a church, it is frustrating when you have to correct an issue.
I can’t tell you the number of times something was miscommunicated or someone did something without authorization and the leaders of the church have to correct it.
As frustrating as it is, it is necessary. Correction is necessary at times in order to have cooperation. Correction is necessary at times in order to get along with other people. Correction is necessary at times in order to be a healthy church.
The leaders in Jerusalem were considerate by offering necessary correction, and we should be as well.
Third, we see . . .
III. Considerate clarity.
Part of the correction that took place was to offer clarity. When something is not correct, you need to clarify what the correct thing is.
So, the leaders in Jerusalem sought to be clear in a few different ways:
First, they wrote this message.
Notice in verse 23 that the letter was from the apostles and the elders. You had the foundational leaders of the church (the apostles) and the newer leaders of the church (the elders). They came together in unison to send this message of clarity.
Second, notice in verses 25-27 that they sent Judas and Silas with Paul and Barnabas.
This step was not taken because Paul and Barnabas were not trustworthy. On the contrary, this step was taken to go above and beyond to make sure everyone was clear about what the truth was.
Paul and Barnabas represented the Church in Antioch, and Judas and Silas represented the Church in Jerusalem. They all came together at the Antiochian Church to verify the decision of the Jerusalem Church and to show their unity together.
Third, notice that they stated that they believed the Holy Spirit was guiding this process.
In verse 28, they say, “For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—not to place further burdens on you . . . ”
They were clear that they believed that the Holy Spirit of God led them to this decision. They were confident and clear.
Fourth and finally, notice that they offered clarity about the concern itself.
Look at verse 29. They said the Gentile Christians should “ . . . abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Then they added, “You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things.”
As I said last week, the Jewish Christians wanted to be clear: They didn’t expect the Gentile Christians to live a Jewish life, but they did expect them to live a holy life.
The leaders of the Church in Jerusalem were clear about how they could clarify misunderstandings and clear about how they could cooperate together.
We should have that same spirit when it comes to cooperating with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
To that end, let’s go to our final point:
IV. Considerate cooperation.
Notice the cooperation that resulted from the careful consideration shown by the Church in Jerusalem:
In verse 30, we see the assembly of the Church of Antioch gathered. They were eager to hear from the Church in Jerusalem.
In verse 31, we see that the Christians in Antioch rejoiced at reading the cooperative letter from Jerusalem.
In verse 32, we see that the messengers who were sent from Jerusalem also stayed for a bit and taught in Antioch.
In verse 33, we see that the Church in Antioch sent Silas and Judas back in peace.
In verse 35, we see that Paul and Barnabas continued to stay in Antioch and encourage the believers.
By the way, when it comes to cooperation, we must remember that Paul and Barnabas were originally sent from Jerusalem to Antioch quite some time ago. So, the Church in Jerusalem had been cooperating with the Church in Antioch for quite a while.
Then, in this passage, we see these multiple examples of their continued considerate cooperation.
That brings us nicely to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: Followers of Jesus should be a cooperative people.
Listen, church: Life does not revolve around us as individuals, and life does not revolve around our church.
Our lives should revolve around the One True Living God and the glory of His name.
We should want to lift high the name of Jesus and we should want to cooperate with those who also lift high the name of Jesus.
That is why I often remind us that we are not in competition with other churches in Bartow. We are in cooperation with other churches in Bartow to reach the roughly 20,000 people of our city.
That is why we cooperate through the Southern Baptist Convention, so we can lock arms with over 45,000 churches to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
That is why we seek to plant churches and strengthen churches all over the world.
It’s not about us; it’s about others and about the mission of God.
Let us remind ourselves of that reality with our first weekly challenge.
Weekly Challenge #1 – Memorize Philippians 2:4.
Philippians 2:4 says, “Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.”
What we saw from the Church in Jerusalem was this type of spirit. It wasn’t about the Jewish people; it was about spreading the name of Jesus and encouraging other Christians.
Do we have that same attitude? Taking Philippians 2:4 to heart will help us develop that attitude.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Commit to cooperation.
Are you committed to helping other followers of Jesus, both inside our church and outside of our church?
Are you committed to helping our church maintain our cooperation with other churches in our city and around the world?
Will you commit to cooperation and help our church stay committed to cooperation?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more August 11, 2024“What to say about the Gentiles” (Acts 15:1-21) Don’t you wish that when things were going well in the church of God that things would just go smoothly?
When people are getting saved from their sins, churches are growing, and leaders are being developed, it would be so great if things would just go smoothly, wouldn’t it?
However, those of you who have been part of a church for more than a little while know that this dream is just that . . . a dream. It’s not reality.
After all, you may remember what Paul and Barnabas said last week to the churches they were planting.
They said in Acts 14:22, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
There are some hardships involved with following Jesus. Sometimes, those hardships take the form of opposition from others.
In today’s passage, some opposition is going to come to the disciples.
Opposition is never fun. However, what makes the opposition in Acts 15 so difficult is that it didn’t come from outside the Church; it came from within the Church. It came from their brothers and sisters in Christ.
All these non-Jewish people (or Gentiles) were coming to faith in Jesus Christ, receiving the Holy Spirit, and becoming part of the Church.
However, not everyone thought it was a good idea to welcome them into the Church. They wanted to add some extra regulations.
So, opposition arose, and disagreement arose.
A question arose concerning “What to say about the Gentiles.” Indeed, that is the title of today’s sermon.
Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us as we study Acts 15.
(prayer)
Ok, so let’s look at the passage and see what’s going on. Let’s see what to say about the Gentiles:
Let’s start by looking at Acts 15:1-5:
1 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue. 3 When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.
4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
Ok, that’s part of our passage today. We’ll continue on in a minute. So today, let’s answer five questions that arose from this issue with the Gentile converts.
First, let’s ask . . .
I. What did the opposition say?
Well, it’s right there in the passage, isn’t it?
Verse 1 says, “Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.’”
Verse 5 says, “But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.’”
Here’s what happened: Christianity was born out of Judaism, and some of the Christians who came out of the really strict Judaism (the Pharisees) wanted to force all Christians to fit inside the boundaries of their interpretation of what it meant to be a follower of God. They not only wanted them to follow Jesus, they wanted them to follow the law of Moses.
In other words, these Christian Pharisees did not fully understand what God accomplished with the coming of Jesus the Messiah.
What Jesus accomplished was much greater than what Moses accomplished.
What Moses accomplished was amazing. He delivered God’s law so that the Jewish people might know God and glorify Him properly.
What Jesus accomplished was even better. He fulfilled God’s law so that all people might have the opportunity to know God and glorify Him properly.
Yet, these Christian Pharisees wanted to require more than what God required.
We haven’t seen this in modern church at all, have we? We’ve not seen people require extra rules for people to be followers of Jesus, have we?
We’ve not heard people say you have to dress a certain way to be a faithful Christian.
We’ve not heard that you have to totally abstain from alcohol, even though Jesus and the early Church didn’t.
We’ve not heard that you can’t play cards, go to movies, or dance. We’ve not heard that you can’t have tattoos or piercings.
We’ve not heard that you have to read a certain Bible translation.
We’ve not heard that you have to belong to a certain political party if you want to be a faithful Christian. Of course, we haven’t heard any of that because we are Baptists and we are people of the Bible, right? Of course, we would never try to add extra rules as if the Bible were not sufficient enough!
Well, of course, all of you can probably sense my sarcasm by now.
The reality is the American church has sadly said these things and tolerated these things for far too long.
We should not be people who try to add extra rules as these Christian Pharisees did.
Well, what are we supposed to do about it? Well, let’s see what the Church then did about it.
Let’s answer the question . . .
II. What did the church say?
Do you recall where Paul and Barnabas were in Acts 15? They were in Antioch.
So, these men came from Judea, which is the region around Jerusalem, and came to Antioch to raise their concern.
Notice in verse 2 that Paul and Barnabas first debated this issue with the opposers. However, it seems that a resolution was not reached.
So, in verse 3, we see that Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go to Jerusalem.
By whom were Paul and Barnabas appointed? By the church!
Paul and Barnabas were appointed by the Church in Antioch to take this issue down to the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem to see if they could get this sorted out.
Jerusalem is where the Church was born. Jerusalem is where the Holy Spirit first came upon the disciples. Jerusalem is the place that sent out the first proclaimers of the gospel.
So, the Church in Antioch sent them to the Church in Jerusalem.
Notice this, friends: the Church did not ignore the problem; they dealt with it.
Listen, church: Problems, conflicts, false teachings, and more will arise among the people of God. When they do, we should deal with it.
So, we see what the Church in Antioch had to say about this issue with the Gentiles.
Next, let’s answer the question, . . .
III. What did experience say?
I want to be clear about this, church. What we experience does not mean everything, but it means something.
What I mean by that is that what we experience should never take priority over that which God has already clearly told us in His Word.
However, God does work through our experience to teach us things and confirm what He has already told us in the Bible.
The disciples experienced some things that taught them some truths about what was going on with these Gentile Christians.
Listen to verse 3. Luke tells us, “When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.”
We learn here that Paul and Barnabas have seen Gentiles converted to Jesus Christ, and it stirred joy when they told others about it.
Now, let’s read on a bit more. Look at verses 6-12:
6 The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter. 7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”
12 The whole assembly became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describe all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
We hear in these verses the experience of Peter, and Paul and Barnabas about how the Lord was saving Gentiles through the proclamation of the gospel.
We also hear from both Peter, and Paul and Barnabas their experience of how the Holy Spirit did miraculous things in these non-Jewish converts.
The experience of Peter, Paul, and Barnabas was that God really was saving these people from their sins, He really was making them new, and He really was demonstrating their new life by filling them with the Holy Spirit.
So, in verse 10, Peter asked the natural question, “Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?”
The experience of these Jewish-Christian missionaries was that God was really saving the non-Jewish Christians.
However, experience is not everything (as I said earlier).
So then, we must answer the question . . .
IV. What did the Bible say?
That’s a good question for all of us to ask. Even though it’s helpful to observe what is happening around us, that’s not always the final answer to our questions.
We must ask, “What does God say?” Listen as the leaders in Jerusalem sought to answer that question.
Look at verses 13-18:
13 After they stopped speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name. 15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
16 After these things I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
I will rebuild its ruins
and set it up again,
17 so that the rest of humanity
may seek the Lord—
even all the Gentiles
who are called by my name—
declares the Lord
who makes these things 18 known from long ago.
By the way, Simeon here is Peter. His name was Simon Peter or Simeon Peter.
James (by the way, the half brother of Jesus and author of the Book of James) took the eyewitness testimony of Peter and compared it to the prophecies of the Old Testament. In other words, he compared human experience to what God had already said in His Word.
James referred to what was said in the Old Testament books of Amos, Isaiah, and more.
James pointed out that there was no conflict with what appeared to be happening in the lives of the Gentiles and what God already said He would do in the Gentiles.
Rather than their experience conflicting with God’s plans, it served as an example of a fulfillment of God’s plans.
Church, we must do as James did in this passage. We must be quick to turn to the Word of God to help us evaluate our experience and to help us sort out conflict.
The Bible is God’s guide for the Church and God’s gift to the Church.
Let us always ask ourselves, “What does the Bible say?”
Finally, we must answer the question . . .
V. What did the leaders say?
Early church history reveals to us that James became the leader of the Jerusalem Church as the leadership of the apostles was transitioning to others.
So, where did James and the other leaders land on this issue?
Let’s look at the final few verses. Let’s look at verses 19-21:
19 Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.
James basically says, “We shouldn’t put any roadblocks in the way for these non-Jewish people to come to God.”
James then lays out some basic moral principles that they would expect the Gentiles to follow while suggesting that they don’t need to force the ceremonial traditions of the Jewish people on non-Jewish disciples.
For the sake of time, we can’t get into all of the details, but James essentially said that they didn’t have to live a Jewish life, but they did need to live a holy life as defined by God’s Word.
The leaders of the church considered the conflict, made a commitment to find a resolution, considered the experience of others, considered what the Bible said, and then made a decision.
They decided that followers of Jesus should not have to jump through extra hoops to follow God because Jesus has already jumped through all of the hoops for us.
Rather, they should commit themselves to Jesus and live a life of holiness.
Let this bottom line summarize what we are learning today:
Bottom Line: The Church affirmed the mission and work of God.
God was at work among the Gentiles. The leaders in Antioch and Jerusalem had a choice: get on board with what God was doing or get in the way of what God was doing.
They were wise enough to know (and I pray that we are too) that you don’t want to be in the way of what God is doing; it’s much better to get on board.
To that end, challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Identify the heart of the gospel.
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
These disciples learned that it’s not about following a list of manmade rules.
They also learned that following Jesus doesn’t mean that we just do away with a life of holiness.
God has a design for us. We’re to chase after God’s design for our lives, not manmade substitutions.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Share the heart of the gospel.
Once we discover the heart of the good news of Jesus Christ, we must share it with others.
So many in our culture have an incorrect view of what it means to follow Jesus. Part of that is our fault. We have not been careful to prioritize the heart of the gospel.
The gospel is the greatest news in all the world. Will you share it with others?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more August 04, 2024“A Journey of Discipleship” (Acts 14:21-28) Well, here we are back in the Book of Acts.
I’m so excited! Today, we are in Acts 14:21-28.
Let’s do a little recap. Here’s what’s happened so far:
Jesus appeared after His resurrection and told His disciples that they would be witnesses for Him.
Jesus went back to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit came upon the early Church and filled them with power.
The early disciples were bold witnesses for Jesus. Peter and John were the two most prominent.
Saul (Paul) was changed from a persecutor of the church to a preacher for the church.
Saul became a great missionary force, sent out by the Church of Antioch and accompanied by Barnabas.
So, that brings us to where we are today. Paul and Barnabas are in the middle of a missionary journey.
In today’s passage, they’re going to visit their last stop, then retrace their steps as they check on the places where they have ministered.
Today’s sermon is entitled “A Journey of Discipleship.”
Before we get into the passage, let’s pray together and ask God to prepare our hearts and minds.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage. Look at Acts 14:21-28:
21 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
Why do we exist, church?
We exist to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others.
We exist to develop disciples because that’s what Jesus told His followers to do.
We exist to develop disciples because that’s what the Church has done from the very beginning of her existence.
As Paul and Barnabas are traveling, they are on a mission to develop disciples. They are on a journey of discipleship.
So, let’s notice the discipleship that is taking place in this passage.
First, see that . . .
I. Disciples need to be made.
We see in verse 21 that Luke (the author of Acts) says “After they had preached the gospel in that town . . .”
Well, what town? Just go back a few verses and you can tell that the town to which Luke is referring is Derbe.
So, while they were in Derbe, Paul, Barnabas, and their companions were preaching the gospel and making disciples.
We see that Paul and Barnabas were on a journey of making disciples.
Additionally, each disciple actually has their own journey.
You see, I was being kind of cute with the title for today’s sermon. This is the journey for Paul and Barnabas, but we each have our own “Journey of Discipleship,” so to speak. Our journey of discipleship must begin with being made into a disciple.
Being made into a disciple means being made into a follower of Jesus Christ.
Being made into a disciple means that we understand we are sinners in need of being saved, we understand that Jesus came and lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, then rose from the dead, went back into heaven, sent His Holy Spirit, and makes us totally new when we turn from our sins and turn to Him.
Church, we must be made into disciples ourselves, and we must be about the task of making disciples. We exist to develop disciples.
Everywhere Paul and Barnabas went, they would not stop talking about how God saves sinners through the transforming work of Jesus.
We then learn that Paul and Barnabas didn’t stay in Derbe.
Rather, Derbe was the end point of their destination; then they retraced their steps all the way back.
Notice that verse 21 says, “ . . . they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch . . .”
You can see this continued retracing of their steps in verses 24 through 26: “They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch.”
Here’s a map to show you the journey and the retracing of their steps.
What were they doing as they traveled?
Well, that takes us to our next point:
II. Disciples need to be strengthened.
Look at verse 22: Luke tells us what Paul and Barnabas were doing with the disciples they encountered. They were “ . . . strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith . . . ”
You see, Paul and Barnabas helped plant these churches and lead people to Christ. They didn’t want to leave them to themselves. They wanted to strengthen them and encourage them.
Can you imagine a newborn baby being born and then the parents simply saying, “Well, good luck to you young man. I hope that all goes well,” and just leaving that baby to themselves? No way! That’s crazy!
In the same way, why would we leave a newborn disciple to themselves without encouragement and strengthening? No way! That’s crazy!
That’s why we’ve developed a discipleship journey for our church family. We’ve talked about this before, but I think it’s helpful to come back to this again.
Church, we want to develop disciples.
Here are the ways that we want to develop each other as disciples. Check out the screen. We want to lead disciples to experience spiritual growth, be part of a big group, be part of a small group, experience Christian fellowship, serve others, reach others, and develop others.
Church, we want to develop as disciples ourselves, and we want to develop other disciples.
As Paul and Barnabas sought to strengthen the disciples, we should seek to strengthen one another.
Also, notice how verse 22 continues. It says that Paul and Barnabas said to the disciples, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
Of course, hardships do not earn us entrance into the kingdom of God. Rather, hardships accompany the path into the kingdom of God.
You might wonder, “Well, why is that?”
You see the pathway into the kingdom of God is submission to Jesus. It’s giving yourself totally over to Jesus.
The pathway of submission to Jesus often involves suffering and hardship.
Peter said in 1 Peter 4:1 “Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding.”
Jesus said in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you.”
Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Jesus was strengthening His apostles by saying, “You will have peace. Be courageous.”
Paul and Barnabas were strengthening the disciples by saying, “You will encounter hardships. But that’s ok; it’s the way of Jesus; it’s the way to enter the kingdom of God.”
Paul and Barnabas are essentially saying, “Trust God; He’s got this. It will be hard, but it’s worth it to receive the glories of the kingdom of God.”
We also should strengthen each other, church. We should encourage each other.
Part of our discipleship journey is that we strengthen one another.
Third, we learn that . . .
III. Disciples need to be led.
Look at verse 23:
When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Paul and Barnabas saw it necessary to appoint elders. You may remember that elders are also known in the New Testament as overseers, shepherds, bishops, and pastors.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elder-pastors so that the churches could be led well.
I love what one scholar said about this passage. He said, “The believers were given not only edification but also organization.”
You see, God has a design for His church. That design involves not only that the disciples would be encouraged, but also that they would be led and organized by godly pastors.
God doesn’t want mass chaos for His church. He has a design, and that design involves elder-pastors.
Paul and Barnabas recognized this design, and so they installed elder-pastors in the churches so that the disciples could be led.
Notice, also, what they did after they appointed elders: they prayed, they fasted, and then they committed them to the Lord.
This model of prayer and fasting demonstrates the desire of Paul and Barnabas to have the Lord get involved.
They recognized that they needed the Lord and these churches needed the Lord, so they asked God to bless them, then they entrusted them to God.
We learn here that disciples need to be led.
By the way, if you want to learn more about prayer and fasting, go to our website and check out the sermon series, “The Spiritual Disciplines.”
If you want to know more about elders and pastors, check out the two sermon series, “The Church” and “Instructions for the Local Church.”
Finally, let us see that . . .
IV. Disciples need each other.
Let’s pick it up in verse 26:
From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
You may recall that the Church of Antioch was the church that sent out Paul and Barnabas.
Now, their work was complete. They were back in Antioch.
When they arrived, they gathered the church together and shared a report of all that God had done through their ministry.
What a glorious thing this must have been. The people of God were coming together in celebration of the work of God.
The church prayed for Paul and Barnabas, they likely financed part of the trip, they encouraged them and strengthened them, and then they got to hear about all that God had done through their collaborative effort.
These disciples shared all this together because they needed one another. God designed them to have one another.
Church, we need each other. Disciples need each other. We exist to develop disciples who . . . love the church!
Notice the last verse says that Paul and Barnabas spent a considerable time with the disciples in Antioch.
They were like family. They needed one another’s love, encouragement, support, accountability, and more.
Listen, church: God’s design is that we would be a family, united together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We need each other. We are better together.
Part of your journey of discipleship is that you would be united with and involved in a church family.
Let the example of Paul, Barnabas, and the Church in Antioch encourage you.
Also, let this bottom line summarize what we are learning today.
Bottom Line: Paul and Barnabas were committed to the task of developing disciples.
They traveled, they preached, they suffered hardships, they encouraged, they strengthened, and they did all of that because they were committed to the task of making disciples.
Why were they so committed to developing disciples? Because that is the mission that Jesus left for us.
Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples . . .” (Matthew 28:18)
Church, are we committed to the mission? Are we willing to take our discipleship journey of being disciples and developing disciples?
That takes us to our weekly challenge:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Consider where you are on your discipleship journey.
Evaluate yourself this week. How are you doing when it comes to being a disciple? How are you doing when it comes to developing disciples? Where are you on your discipleship journey?
Some of you have not yet begun your discipleship journey. Perhaps today is the day that you begin.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more July 28, 2024“God’s Everlasting Way” (Psalm 139) In Isaiah 55:9, the Lord God says, “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
There is something marvelous, mysterious, and wondrous about God’s everlasting way.
Today, we are in Psalm 139, which was written by David, under inspiration the of God’s Holy Spirit, in part to describe the wondrous and everlasting ways of God.
Yet, David not only describes the wonders of God’s ways, he also wants to understand God’s ways more and live in God’s ways more. In fact, at the very end, David says, “ . . . lead me in the everlasting way.”
The title of today’s sermon is “God’s Everlasting Way.”
Well, let’s learn more about God’s everlasting way, and let’s be moved by God’s everlasting way.
Join me now in prayer as we seek to learn more about God’s everlasting way.
(prayer)
As we journey through Psalm 139, we’re going to see four characteristics or behaviors from God’s everlasting way.
I love that we are ending on this psalm because it is sort of a summary of all the greatness of God we’ve spoken about over the summer.
So, let’s see these four characteristics or behaviors from God’s everlasting way.
First, . . .
I. God’s wondrous knowledge.
There’s a fancy word we use to describe the fact that God is all-knowing. That word is omniscient.
Omniscient = all-knowing.
God knows everything about everything.
God has wondrous knowledge.
Listen to what David says in verses 1-6 of this Psalm:
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
5 You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
David begins by saying that the Lord knows him very well.
The Lord has looked into David’s life. David says that God has searched him.
Church, we must recognize that God knows everything, including knowing everything about us and everything we’ve done.
God has wondrous knowledge.
David then describes these various situations when God knew him:
David said God knows him both when he sits down and when he stands up.
David said God can understand his thoughts from far away. God doesn’t merely see what we are doing; He knows what we are thinking.
God sees David both when he is traveling and when he is resting. Whether he is still or moving, God observes him and his ways.
In case David is leaving anything out, he says at the end of verse 3, “ . . . you are aware of all my ways.”
David even says that God knows what David is about to say before he even says it.
Sometimes, we think we can know what someone thinks before they say, particularly our family members, but God can really do it, and He’s correct 100% of the time.
Sometimes, we don’t even know what we’re going to say before we say it. We just spew out some words.
However, God is all-knowing, even to the point of knowing our thoughts.
Indeed, we saw this wondrous knowledge on display in the life of Jesus. Long after David wrote Psalm 139, this was said about Jesus in Luke 5:22: But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts?”
David then says in verse 5 that God has encircled him.
This may seem like an intimidating or negative descriptor at first, as if David is trapped by God, but notice that David says, “ . . . you have placed your hand on me.”
In the context of the entire verse, we get this picture of God surrounding David and comforting him with His hand upon him.
Finally, David says in verse 6, “This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”
God is so impressively knowledgeable and wise that His ways are beyond David, and He is unable to reach God’s knowledge.
God is wondrously knowledgable.
Second, we see . . .
II. God’s wide presence.
There’s another fancy word to describe the fact that God is ever-present. That is to say, He can be in any and every place at any time.
Omnipresent = ever-present or all-present.
To say that God is omnipresent means that He is in all places, at all times, and is involved in the business of His creation.
Listen to what David says in verses 7-12:
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits,
10 even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”—
12 even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.
David is acknowledging the truth that the presence of God is everywhere.
He says in verse 7, “Where can I flee from your presence?”
The fact that God is ever-present should both warn us and warm us.
When we are walking in sin, God sees our sin and knows what we are doing.
Yet, when we are hurting or despairing, God sees our pain and can comfort us.
We learn in verse 8 that God is in heaven, and He also has authority over Sheol, or the place of the dead.
God is to the far reaches of the east and the far reaches of the west.
In verses 11 and 12, we learn that when darkness seems to be all around us, it’s not dark at all to God. He can see right through the darkness. To Him, the night is like the day.
God has a very wide presence. His Spirit is all around us and around the earth.
There is nowhere that we can escape Him and there is nowhere that is too far for Him to touch us with His loving hand.
God’s everlasting way includes His wide presence in this world.
Next, we learn of . . .
III. God’s whole involvement.
God is actively involved in this world and in our lives.
God is not an uninvolved God who simply sets the world in motion, then steps back to let it run itself. No! God is active and involved in our the world and our lives.
God is wholly involved.
Listen to what David said in verses 13-18:
13 For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.
17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me;
how vast their sum is!
18 If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;
when I wake up, I am still with you.
From the very beginning that David’s life was conceived, when he was in his mother’s womb, God was involved.
Church, this is one of many reasons why babies have tremendous value from the very moment that they are conceived.
This is why we who are followers of Jesus should do all that we can to protect these precious little ones.
God is wholly involved in their lives from the very beginning. He is knitting them together in their mother’s womb. He is creating their inward parts.
He has remarkably and wondrously made them.
He knows all about them.
David uses poetic language to say that God knows this mysterious process that we cannot even fully comprehend.
David says in verse 15, “My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.”
Obviously, David doesn’t think we are trolls or something when he said he was formed in the earth.
Rather, he is saying that there is a deep mystery to the formation and development of a human child, but it is no mystery to God because He is actively involved in the whole process.
God created the process, God created the mystery, God created the child, and God created the miracle of life, which is remarkable and wondrous.
In verse 16, David points out that God sees us when we are formless, and not only does God see us then, but He sees all the days of our lives.
David says, “ . . . all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.”
David doesn’t say that he planned his days. After all, David is speaking about when he was formless.
No! God is the one planning David’s days. God is wholly involved!
David then praises God’s ways in verses 17 and 18.
He says that God’s thoughts are precious to him.
He says he cannot count all the ways of God.
Then, he praises God because when he wakes he is still with God.
David is in awe and wonder that God is wholly involved.
Finally, we see . . .
IV. God’s welcomed judgment.
Look at verses 19-24:
19 God, if only you would kill the wicked—
you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me—
20 who invoke you deceitfully.
Your enemies swear by you falsely.
21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you,
and detest those who rebel against you?
22 I hate them with extreme hatred;
I consider them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.
These verses talk a lot about David’s hate for the enemies of God. David wants God to pour out judgment on sin and sinners.
Hate, in this sense, means that David wants nothing to do with the sin or sinners. He is so in love with God that he is totally against that which is against God.
David wants God to kill and judge sinners, which God will eventually do.
Notice what else David does. David not only welcomes God to judge sinners, David welcomes God’s judgment of himself.
David asks God in verses 23 and 24 to . . .
“Search me”
“Know my heart”
“Test me”
“Know my concerns”
and, “See if there is any offensive ways in me”
David is boldly asking the Lord to look within his life to see if he has sin.
That is a bold prayer, but it is nevertheless a prayer that we should all pray in our own lives.
We should want to be close to the Lord, and we should want to be sinless before the Lord.
Then, David asks God to lead him in the everlasting way.
David not only wants to be pure before the Lord, he wants the Lord to direct him in the everlasting way.
David wants God’s everlasting way in his life. Indeed, we need the way of God.
You know, the Bible has a lot to say about ways.
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.”
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We don’t need to go our way, we need to go the way of God. We need to find that way in Jesus. We need God’s everlasting way.
That leads to our Bottom Line:
Bottom Line: The Lord is wondrously involved in all aspects of our lives.
Listen, church: God is not far away, He is near. He is involved. He sees us, He knows us, He created us, and He cares for us.
May we love and discover all that we can about His everlasting way, realizing that God is wondrous and majestic. As David said in verse 6: “This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”
Challenge yourself this week in the following two ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Memorize Romans 11:33.
David wasn’t the only one to say something about the majestic and wondrous ways of God.
The apostle Paul said in Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!”
God is wondrous. In our pursuit of His everlasting way, we will not discover everything, but we will discover a God who loves us and has a great plan for our lives.
That is wonderful news; news that we shouldn’t keep to ourselves, which leads to our second weekly challenge.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Tell someone how wondrous the Lord is.
Don’t keep this marvelous news to yourself! Tell someone about our glorious God!
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more July 21, 2024“The Faithful Love of God” (Psalm 138) Have you ever wondered what it means to praise the Lord? To praise someone means to give them the attention they are due, or to show them admiration.
So, when we praise the Lord, we are giving Him the attention and the admiration that He is due. We are recognizing and telling Him how great He is.
We can praise the Lord through singing, through praying, through writing about Him, and many different ways.
Psalm 105:1–3 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell about all his wondrous works! Boast in his holy name.”
When we praise the Lord, we call on His name, we proclaim His deeds, we sing to Him, we tell of His wondrous works, we boast (or brag) about Him, and more.
Today’s sermon comes from Psalm 138, and it offers several ways that we can praise God for His faithful love. Today’s message is entitled “The Faithful Love of God.”
Well, let’s learn about the faithful love of God. Before we do, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
Well, this psalm was written by David and it’s full of praise for God.
Let’s learn about three ways that we see praise for the faithful love of God in this psalm.
First, . . .
I. A praise of thanksgiving.
Now, we’re not talking about Thanksgiving the holiday here, although I love that holiday. Rather, we’re talking about the act of expressing thanks.
When we tell God that for which we are thankful, then we are showing thanksgiving.
Listen to the words of David in Psalm 138, starting in verses 1-3:
1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.
David says, “I will give you thanks will all heart.” He says also that he will bow down and “give thanks” to the name of God.
Brothers and sisters, it is good, proper, and necessary for us to give thanks to the Lord. We should pray with thanksgiving, we should sing with thanksgiving, we should speak with thanksgiving, we should write with thanksgiving and more.
We should thank God for food and nourishment. We should thank God for shelter and clothing. We should thank God for our families. We should thank God for our church. We should thank God for the sunshine and the rain. We should thank God for rest. We should thank God for health and life. We should thank God for our jobs and our retirement. We should thank God for our country, state, county, and city. We should thank God for recreation and enjoyment. We should thank God for air conditioning and luxuries. We should thank God for peace and love. We should thank God for our very breath. Most of all, we should thank God for saving us from ours sins, rescuing us from death, and seating us in His heavenly kingdom.
In this passage, David is thanking God for His constant love and truth (verse 2), he is thanking God for answering His call (verse 3), and he is thanking God for increasing strength within him (also verse 3).
Notice two other characteristics of David’s praise.
First, notice at the end of verse 1, David says that he will praise God before the heavenly beings.
Some of your translations say “gods” rather than heavenly beings.
There’s discussion about whether the Hebrew language here is referring to angels, or the false gods worshiped by other nations, or even to highly powerful rulers on the earth.
However, the point here is that David is saying that God is more powerful, and he will praise God in the presence of all the other so-called powerful beings. God is the one worthy of praise! God is the one worthy of thanks! David is giving God the praise and thanksgiving that He is due. No other heavenly beings are due praise. No other kings or rulers are due praise. False gods are certainly not due praise. Only the Lord God is due praise!
Second, notice that David says in verse 2, “You have exalted your name and your promise above everything else.”
As David is thanking and praising God, part of what he is praising Him for is the reality that God exalts Himself and His ways above everything else.
You see, no one is more worthy of praise than God. No one is more worthy of exaltation than God.
God is so worthy of exaltation that He even exalts Himself.
What’s strange and wonderful all at the same time is that it’s not arrogant for God to exalt Himself because God is actually the only one who is fully worthy of being praised.
There is no one better for God to praise than Himself.
So, David recognizes the greatness of God and recognizes that God is worthy to be praised with a praise of thanksgiving for who He is and what He has done.
Second, we see . . .
II. A praise of truth.
One of the ways that we can praise God is by declaring the truth of who He is, declaring the truth of His ways, and declaring the truth of His Word.
So, you might say, “God, I praise you for sending your only Son, Jesus, and whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.”
Or, “Lord, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made in your image.”
Or, “God, I praise you because when I trust in you with all my heart, you will direct my paths.”
Listen to what David says in verses 4-6:
4 All the kings on earth will give you thanks, Lord,
when they hear what you have promised.
5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted,
he takes note of the humble;
but he knows the haughty from a distance.
David says that all the kings of the earth will give thanks to the Lord.
Well, obviously, this is not the case one hundred percent of the time, right? There are a lot of bad kings, presidents, and rulers who do not praise God. So, what does this mean?
What David probably means is one of two truths, or perhaps both of these truths.
One, David probably means that many kings throughout the earth will witness the greatness of God through God’s people and will give Him thanks.
For example, we hear of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, saying in Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” This was a pagan, godless king, who was praising the one true living God because he witnessed God at work.
Second, David could also mean that one day eventually every king of the earth will be compelled to acknowledge and thank God for all that He deserves.
Indeed, we hear something very similar about not just kings but everyone, as we read the words of Paul in Philippians 2:10–11: “ . . . at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
So, David is praising God for the truth that God is worthy of glory and honor, and David says that one day others (indeed, kings) will recognize the greatness of God and they will thank Him for His work and sing of His ways, for His glory is great.
Then, as David lifts a praise concerning the truths of God, he gives us a sneak peek into the all-knowing and all-seeing greatness of God.
He says in verse 6 that even though God is highly exalted, He notices the humble.
So, even though the Lord is great, powerful, mighty, and majestic, He notices the humble, the lowly, the weak, and the needy.
Here’s the truth of who God is: not only does He notice the humble, He cares for them.
What’s more, David says in verse 6 that God knows the haughty from a distance.
Haughty means arrogant or proud; those who think a lot about themselves.
David said God notices these people from a distance. Indeed, a lot of people notice these people from a distance because they don’t stop bragging about themselves.
However, the truth about God is that He is the only one who is truly great. He is not impressed with the haughty, but He cares about the humble.
Indeed, James 4:6 says, “ . . . God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
God is against the arrogant, the haughty, and the proud; He resists them. However, He cares about the humble.
This is a praise of truth. God is great! God is worthy of the praise of the kings of the earth. God is exalted. And, even as God is great, He cares about the lowly people of the earth.
Here, we see a praise of truth.
Finally, we see . . .
III. A praise of trust.
Look at verses 7-8:
7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.
One of the ways that David praises God, and one of the ways that we can praise God is when we express our trust in Him.
David says that when he is in the thick of danger, he can trust God to preserve his life.
David trusts God to extend His hand to save him.
David trusts that God will fulfill His purpose for him.
David trusts that God’s faithful love will endure forever.
Finally, David asks God not to abandon His work.
This last comment is sort of a rhetorical statement.
David doesn’t actually think that God is going to abandon His work. Rather, David is affirming what God is doing.
David is essentially saying, “Keep doing what you’re doing, God!”
You see, David has spent his life seeing that the Lord is good and faithful. God had proven Himself faithful and worthy of a praise of trust.
What about in your life? Has God proven Himself faithful to you? Is God worthy of your trust? If you agree with these statements, indicate by saying “Amen.”
Can you trust God with your job?
Can you trust God with your finances?
Can you trust God to direct your paths?
Can you trust God with your family?
Can you trust God to provide you joy?
Can you trust God with your heath and life? Can you trust God with your salvation? Can you trust God with your Christian walk? Can you trust God to prepare a home for you in heaven?
Can you trust God during the craziness of this world? Can you trust God to send His Son Jesus back to the earth to rescue us at the time He has appointed?
Can we trust God to take care of our church?
David trusted God, and so can you. David expressed a praise of trust, and so can you.
Let this bottom line summarize what we’re learning in Psalm 138.
Bottom Line: We should praise God for His faithful love.
God is worthy of our praise! We can praise Him with thanksgiving for all that He has done. We can praise Him in the truth of His greatness. We can praise Him with the trust that He is due.
God is great, He is exalted, and He is loving.
Verse 8 says, “Lord, your faithful love endures forever.”
Because He loves us, we can praise Him with thanksgiving. Because He loves us, we can praise His truth in the world. Because He loves us, we can praise Him with a praise of trust.
Let us commit to praise God for His enduring love!
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Write a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s faithful love.
What would you like to say to God in a prayer of thanksgiving?
Perhaps take some time this week to write in a journal or in your phone how you would like to thank God for His faithful love.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Look for an opportunity to share God’s faithful love.
Are you grateful for God’s faithful love? Well, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with someone else.
Look for an opportunity this week to share God’s faithful love with someone else. Show kindness. Tell someone how much God loves them. Share how Jesus can take away our sins.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
...more
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