5/27/13. Acts 12:25-13:12. SENT AS MISSIONARIES –my devotional

Acts 12:25-13:12                                                 Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 13:2                                                   5/27/13

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (ESV)

     Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me in church that that I can persevere through hardships when I fix my eyes in the Christ and the Kingdom of God. I can actually rejoice in sufferings and hardships when I hold onto Christian faith. Thank you Lord for the gift of the Gospel. I also that you for what you have done with the Art of Marriage. It seems that there are doors opening for us to present this at the international conference. I pray that we may glorify you through it. I pray that marriages may be strengthened through it. Grant us wisdom to make such a presentation. Please grant me you wisdom and your strength through this passage. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: An Obedient Church (12:25-13:3)

Barnabas and Saul finished their mission to send an offering to the brethren in Jerusalem for famine relief (11:30) and returned to Antioch. They took Barnabas’ cousin, John Mark, with them. They were embraced by a very diverse congregation with so many different people called to serve different functions within the church. Look at verses 12:25-13:3, “ Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”

In the church there prophets, teachers, mature church leaders sent to strengthen the body, missionaries and congregation members. They were from all kinds of ethnic and social backgrounds. There were Greeks and Jews, Cyrenians, common workers, former Pharisees, and people who rubbed elbows with the elite. This is the first century Christian church. How does a church become like this?

Such a diverse church comes when a church is mission centered and reaches out to all kinds of different people. In short, a church needs to be a missionary church. It is not easy to build up such a church. We like to flock together. “Birds of a feather flock together.”  We shouldn’t just seek to be diverse. We must seek to be missional and then the diversity will be a natural outgrowth of our sense of mission. The Baptist church in one small community prays to reflect the percentages of people of different heritages in their community. Triton UBF is filled with all kinds of different people of different races. West Loop UBF is filled with different types of people groups. I pray that as KBC continues to grow as a missionary church, their diversity may continue to grow.

Craig Smith, in his book, “Whiteman’s Gospel”, takes note of the plurality of leaders that grew in the Antioch church. As the church emerges this plurality of leaders developed and these leaders came from a very diverse cultural upbringing. The was “a rainbow of culture and color.” (p, 102). This is what God desires to see in the Body of Christ. Smith, notes that this was a minority church. It was the “underdog” church. But they grew to be influential and they even had their own missionary conference. The point being made is that God longs to use the underdogs of this world. God longs to use us and to bless us. He wants to spread the Gospel message in very unique ways. He states that the NativeChurch must “Involve itself in the commission that Christ gave just prior to his ascension.” (p. 103) The Native church is just as responsible to obey this commission as any Christian church. He believes that the spreading of the Gospel will be accelerated with the NativeChurch becomes more involved in world mission. He urges the sending of Native missionaries into all the world. Craig Smith himself experienced the difference a Native missionary makes when he went to speak to the Aborigines in Australia. They were much more responsive to his message than the long time preaching of a white missionary. I believe  that Craig Smith is correct.

The Antioch church was worshiping God, fasting and praying. While worshipping, the Holy Spirit directed them to send out Barnabas and Saul as missionaries. So, they commissioned and sent them out. First, we need to listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do.  I don’t think there was an audible voice. Maybe the Holy Spirit spoke through a prophet. I tend to think that the Holy Spirit quietly made it very obvious to all, what they needed to do. They knew that they could not just keep Barnbabas and Paul to themselves. There was a deep conviction that they needed to send them out onto the mission field.

Sometimes there are deep convictions that come to a person’s heart or to a fellowship. I had a deep conviction that I needed to stop the house church model at NIU and that I needed to form a mission, custom built, by God, for my family and so we became part of KBC and we started the “Art of Marriage” seminars. I had a conviction that I had to let the daily structured ministry I was trying to build up, go. Our ministry at NIU lacked consistent fellowship and relationships. It was all structured around Bible study and practicing and Sunday worship, but we had no life together as we were very busy working in and simply trying to get things done. I had a deep conviction that God is now calling me to Native ministry in NW Ontario. Such a mission is bringing convergence in my life and a great work of God is happening. KBC has been praying about mission to Canada for 10 years. Now is the time. It is obvious now that we need to move forward in the mission and make some connections around Sioux Lookout. There are some things that are obviously the work of God and the Holy Spirit is definitely pushing us to move ahead with something. May I always be sensitive to and never resist the leading of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and ministry.

It was not easy to send out Barnabas and Paul. They were mature leaders. This was a young church. There were a lot of new believers who needed Bible study. But they were called to send out their most mature and best Bible teachers, to preach the gospel on the front lines of world mission. We don’t really want to do this. We think about our human strategies, born out of our human wisdom are a lot better than God’s ways. But God’s ways may be to send out the people who are the most mature in the Gospel. Those who are left behind will mature and grow. Lord, help me to follow your ways in doing your mission.

The Holy Spirit has a very high view of the local church. Verse 3, “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”  The sending off of these missionaries was a community event. It was in co-operation with the whole church. Missionaries should go out into the mission field with the blessings and the commissioning of the elders of the church. It should never be done outside of the context of relationships within the body of Christ. A person should not just take off and be a missionary on their own. They need to be sent by the church. (Although I concede that there are some rare instances where missionaries have gone on alone and were blessed by God. But this is not the norm.”  I thank God that KBC and “To Every Tribe” missionary agency wants to work with and through the local church. I also thank God that the raising and sending out of missionaries is a process that involves the entire church body, and not just a select few. God will bless their vision.

Part 2: To Cyprus (4-12)

Barnabas and Saul sailed to Cyprus, taking John Mark as their assistant. Barnabas was the team leader. They traveled throughout the island, preaching in synagogues, until they arrived in Paphos. There, a confrontation with a demonic force was written of. We can read about their journey and encounter in verses 4-12, “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”

They met a Jewish sorcerer named Elymas. He worked for Sergius Paulus, the proconsul. The proconsul wanted to hear the word of God, so he sent for them. When Elymas tried to block their attempts to share the Gospel with the proconsul, Saul rebuked him strongly. The Lord struck Elymas blind. That was enough for the proconsul–he became a believer. Surely they were on the front lines of world mission.

They were not afraid  to confront him. It would have been easy to be at a loss for words. They could have been on the defensive and not stood up to the demonic forces at work in the hearts of Elymas the Magician. But they had courage to speak the truth. They loved them enough to speak out and make a stand. I need this kind of courage to not be on the defensive with my faith, but on the offensive and speak with conviction, love and the wisdom of God.

They really were empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is where their power and influence came from. It was not something they procured on their own. I pray that God may empower all those who are on the front lines of world mission with the same determined spirit.

The Lord told them what to say and how to say it. Sometimes we go as missionaries and we don’t know what to say. We wonder how we can really help the people we are called to serve. We feel helpless. But we must not worry. The Lord will tell us what to say and how to say it.

God is more powerful than even those who are in places of influence. Elymus was in a place of power and influence. He was able to speak directly to the proconsul. But even though he was close to the seat of power, God was more powerful then him. Paul and Barnabas were more influential than him, though they were actually outsiders. Missionaries need to know that all authority in heaven and earth has been given us. We just need to claim that authority and go forth and do the works God has called us to do. When missionaries reach out to the First Nations people, they are the outsiders. They appear vulnerable. But Jesus is with them. He goes on before them to open hearts.

Prayer: Lord, give me faith and courage to stand as your witness in the front lines of world mission.

One Word: Depend on the Holy Spirit as you go forth into all the world.