1005, Acts chapter 13. I'm sorry, I've given the wrong number. Mine says 1005. The correct
page is 1107. There we go. 1107 if you're using a church red covered Bible. It's exactly
the same, just different colour. On page 1107, Acts chapter 13, verses 1 to 12. Now just
a pointer before we start reading. About a year ago, about 18 months ago actually, as
a church we looked at Acts chapter 1 through to Acts chapter 12. So now we're starting in
afresh looking at Acts chapter 13. So we've done 1 to 12 before and we're starting into
Acts chapter 13. So let's read verse 1 through to verse 12. Let's read together.
In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene, Manian, who had been bought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. While
they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart from me Barnabas
and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they
placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy
Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
They travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish
sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius
Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear
the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer, for that is what his name means, opposed them and tried
to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked straight at Elymas and said, You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is
right. You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right
ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to go blind, and for a time
you will be unable to see the light of the sun. Immediately mist and darkness came over him,
and he groped about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened,
he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. Well, I'm going to pray and ask for
God's help for us all, and then we're going to look at this section together. So let's pray.
Father, we thank you again for all that you give to us, and we thank you that we have your word,
the Bible, in our language. Thank you that we can read about things that you have done,
and things that you continue to do in the world today. Please help us with the help of your Holy
Spirit to understand your word, and how it applies to us today. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, there are notes around. You can take notes and ask questions afterwards, and there's some
headings on the screen to help us along. Well, this morning, as I say, we are starting into a new
series, a new study where we'll be looking at the book of Acts. Acts is all about God's great mission.
We're told what that mission is right at the beginning of the book. So if you go to chapter one
of Acts, back a few pages, Acts chapter one, right at the very beginning, we are told what the mission
is all about. We'll pick it up in verse three.
So keep your finger in chapter 13 and chapter one, verse three.
So this is Jesus, after his death, his resurrection, speaking to his disciples. Verse three, it says,
after his suffering, after his death, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing
proves that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom
of God. Well, what did he have to say? Well, go down to verse eight. He gave some instructions.
He says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. That's a supernatural power.
And you will be my witnesses because they had seen the life of Jesus. They had witnessed his death
and they had witnessed his resurrection. And he calls them now to be his witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So God's great mission is quite simple.
It's to see the good news of the risen Jesus go into all the world. His plan is that every people group,
every language hears about his son, Jesus Christ. And as we read through the book of Acts,
we can see this mission begin to take effect. There's a couple of maps on the screen now,
which will help you. So chapters one to eight are all about the good news reaching the people
in the city of Jerusalem, which were mainly Jewish people. Then when we get to chapters nine to 12,
it's all about the good news spreading nationally into Judea and beyond the borders of Judea into Samaria.
And then when we reach chapters 13 to 28, well, it's all about the good news moving out into all the world,
into places like Turkey and Greece and into Italy and so forth. It's pushing the boundaries further and further.
Now what I find fascinating is the fact that we are meeting here today, reading the Bible,
2,000 years after this event, and learning and reading about God's mission,
is actually evidence that God's plan is being accomplished.
It's like a stone or rather a rock that has been dropped into a pond and so the good news has this ripple effect,
spreading out into new lands and to new people, into new areas.
But Acts is much more than just a history lesson about the spread of Christianity.
Acts is really about the good news of Jesus Christ and the need for all people to respond to him.
Now let me show you, let me give you an example of what that good news is.
They've been told to go and be witnesses of Jesus and as they begin to travel out to these places,
they bring the message of Jesus Christ.
I'm going to give you an example of what that message was.
Many places you could go to in Acts, but the one I'm going to show you is in Acts chapter 3, verse 19.
It comes in in two parts.
Acts chapter 3, verse 19.
This was the message, the good news that they sought to bring as they travelled from place to place.
First of all, there is the call to personal repentance.
Verse 19.
This is what he says, verse 19.
Repent then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
and that he may send the Christ, whom he has appointed for you, even Jesus.
So they've been explaining the fact that Jesus Christ had come, he had died on a cross.
Now his death was unique.
It was different to every other kind of death,
because it was a death that was taking the place of us.
Taking the punishment that we deserve for our sins,
for the things that we have done wrong, thought wrong.
And the message here is simple.
Through personal repentance,
we can be forgiven of all our sin,
and we can be freed from the judgment that we deserve.
Now that is good news.
But there's a second part to the message.
There is the promise of universal restoration.
Look at verse 21.
They go on to say that he, that's Jesus,
must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything,
as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
Jesus is saying one day he's going to return,
he's going to come back again into this world.
Presently he's in heaven, but he will come back and he will restore,
he's going to put right everything that is broken in this world.
He's going to put an end to all death.
There will be no more funerals.
He will end all decay,
no more disease,
and all destruction will end.
Think about it.
No more wars.
No more hurricanes.
No more suffering.
No more cancer.
No more injustice.
Now, whatever background we come from,
whether we're from a religious background or a non-religious background,
those are the kinds of things we all dream for and we all long for.
That's the kind of world that we all want.
And Jesus says,
one day I'm going to return,
and I'm going to restore everything.
Now that is good news for everyone.
The promise of a universal restoration,
but the way to be part of that
is to respond to Jesus with personal repentance and faith.
And this was the good news that began to spread from the city of Jerusalem,
these few people,
and it began to branch out into all Judea and to Samaria,
breaking boundaries.
But the question to ask is,
how would it then get to the ends of the earth?
How would it get to a little island like Ireland?
How would it reach here?
Well, as the story progresses through Acts,
God's plan is to use his local church for global mission.
Through the church,
God spreads the good news
and the mission of God is accomplished.
And that brings us to chapter 13,
where we are introduced to a church in Antioch,
where the good news begins to spread.
So turn to chapter 13,
and that's where we're going to remain
as we follow through this story together.
So first of all,
local church is all about sending people
with the good news of Jesus.
Verse 1 of chapter 13.
In the church at Antioch,
I think there's a map there, is there?
Where's my...
No, no.
Don't worry.
There it is there.
It's kind of in the south of Turkey,
on the border of modern-day Syria,
so it's probably not a very safe place to be right now,
but nevertheless,
that's where the church was.
You can go back to the original heading.
In the church there,
there were prophets and teachers.
They were the leaders.
There was Barnabas.
He was from the island of Cyprus.
There was Simeon, called Niger.
Lucius of Cyrene.
That was a city in North Africa.
There was Mannion,
who had been bought up with Herod the Tetrarch.
You might remember Herod.
He was the guy who had John the Baptist's head cut off.
They were a mad family, desperate for power,
and would kill anybody to make sure they kept it.
Well, Mannion, well, he was related to that family.
And also part of the church was a man called Saul.
You might remember him as well.
He was that religious fanatic
who used to go around looking for followers of Jesus,
kill them, often by stoning,
and then have them put in prison.
So here we have a culturally, religiously,
and racially diverse bunch of people.
Now, in most cases,
that's really not a good mix, is it?
If you're thinking about a mission to reach the world,
you wouldn't kind of get this collection of people together.
It's a recipe for disaster.
They're all going to be arguing and fighting.
But what unites them all together
is that they have all heard the good news about Jesus.
You can see that in chapter 11, verse 20.
As people went about with the news,
verse 20, it says,
Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene,
went to Antioch
and began to speak to the Greeks also,
telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
The good news of what Christ had done.
The Lord's hand was with them,
and a great number of people believed
and turned to the Lord.
So together now,
these people who've heard the good news,
who've repented,
put their faith in Christ,
they now form this new church at Antioch.
And as we will see,
it is central to God's mission.
Now, that's not unlike the church here at Carragalline.
Although I don't think anybody here
has cut anybody's head off
or related to anybody who's done that.
But the church is made up of people from Ireland,
from England,
from Congo,
from Togo,
from America.
We've even let in somebody from New Zealand.
Rob, sorry.
We all come from different religious backgrounds.
Some people from non-religious backgrounds.
But together,
we are people who've all heard the good news
of Jesus.
And we have, in turn,
responded in repentance,
and we are now united together
as God's people.
But the question is,
what are we to do as a church?
What was this church going to do
that have been brought together?
And more importantly,
who is going to do it?
Well, look at verse 2.
While they were worshipping the Lord
and fasting,
they were praying,
the Holy Spirit said,
set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.
The work, of course,
was God's great mission,
what we read in chapter 1, verse 8.
The mission to be witnesses.
That was God's primary purpose
for the church,
to send people out with the good news.
And that's why the church exists today.
That's what the role of the church is.
And so here we have a picture
that as this church,
as these believers gather together,
as they were seeking God by praying,
the Holy Spirit motivates,
initiates,
and begins to direct the church
into mission.
Because that's what the Spirit does.
He's a missionary spirit.
He sends the church out.
He highlights
what Jesus had already said
at the beginning.
Reinforces what Christ had said.
It was the same spirit
that prompted Philip
to go and speak to the Ethiopian
in chapter 8.
It's the same spirit
that motivated Peter
to go and speak to Cornelius
in chapter 10.
But I want us to notice here
that the Spirit
is not speaking to an individual
who goes off
and does their own thing.
No, the Spirit here
is speaking to the church
who together become convinced
that this is what God wants.
Verse 3 of chapter 13.
So after they had fasted
and prayed,
they placed their hands on them
as an act of identification
and they sent
Saul and Barnabas off.
Now I think that's a crucial lesson
for the church today.
Church isn't about
a group of individuals
all hearing their own private message
and going off
setting up their own projects.
No, the church is all about
sending representatives
of a local church
following a deliberate decision
by the church
and all inspired
by the Spirit.
And that's what happened
the church in Antioch.
And it's the blueprint
for every church hereafter
including
Carigaline Baptist Church.
And I give you an example
of that for us here.
Peter and Maeve
who we know
who've been with us
well they've just moved
to the US
to America
to study
with the purpose
of coming back
to full time mission.
Peter and Maeve
believed that
God had been calling them.
They've been praying
through it.
As church leaders
we talked with them
and we prayed with them
and we believed that God
by his Spirit
was directing them
into mission
and together as a church
we prayed about it
and being convinced
that this was what was right
the church sent
Peter and Maeve
to America
to study
to train
for future mission work
back in Ireland.
But I don't think
it should stop there
with just a couple of people.
We should continually
be praying
and seeking God
about who should go
and where they should go
because that is
what the church
is all about.
It's about sending people out
and to do anything else
is not really being church
as God called us to be.
The general command
is crystal clear
isn't it?
To spread the good news
of Jesus
throughout all the world.
But for each church
the specific details
of who goes
and where they go
is worked out
as the church
prays
with the help
of God's Spirit
as he initiates
and motivates
and empowers people
as they go
with the good news.
So first of all
the local church
is about sending people
with the good news
of Jesus
and that's what
that church did
and this is what
we should be doing.
The second thing
is this
we're about
global mission
saving people
with the good news
of Jesus.
Look at verse 4
The two of them
that was Barnabas
and Saul
sent on their way
by the Holy Spirit
went down to Seleucia
and sailed
from there
to Cyprus.
So you can see
the little island
there of Cyprus
where they sailed
across to.
There they arrived
at Salamis
which was on the
east coast
and they proclaimed
the word of God.
The word of God
was the gospel
the good news
about Jesus.
And John
was with them
as their helper.
So here we have
a church
taking seriously
the great mission
of God.
Now as we go
about this work
of mission
there's two things
that we should expect.
The first is this
opposition to Jesus.
Let's meet these
characters
in verses 6
and 7.
Let's read verse 6.
They travelled
through the whole island
until they came
to Paphos
which was over
on the west.
Incidentally
isn't it great
that some people
get called
to a lovely
sunny island
like Cyprus
and others
get called
to rainy Ireland
but that's okay.
While they were
there on Paphos
there they met
a Jewish sorcerer
somebody who was
involved
in the occult.
He was a false
prophet
named Bar-Jesus
who was an
attendant
like a secretary
to the proconsul
Sergius Paulus.
Now remember
Cyprus was all part
of the Roman Empire.
They were the big
force at the time.
They were in charge
and Sergius Paulus
was obviously
the man sent
to govern
or look after
the island of Cyprus.
That was his job.
And this Jewish
sorcerer Bar-Jesus
was an attendant
to him.
But what was
this Sergius Paulus
like?
Well look at the
rest of verse 7.
The proconsul
was an intelligent
man.
He wasn't
easily duped.
So he sent
for Barnabas
and Saul
because
well he
wanted to
hear for himself
the word
of God
the good news
about Jesus.
He wanted
to know
who is Jesus?
What did he
have to say?
And well if
this Jesus
is true
what should
I do about it?
But there's
a problem
isn't there?
The problem
is verse 8.
This guy
Elymas
the sorcerer
for that is
what his name
means.
He opposed
them and
tried to
turn the
proconsul
from the
faith.
Now it's
ironic that
his name
is also
Bar-Jesus
which simply
means son
of salvation.
Now you
couldn't get
anyone further
from the
truth.
Rather than
lead people
to Jesus
his aim
was to
direct people
away from
Jesus.
And that's
what he's
trying to
do to
his boss
Sergius
Paulus.
But Saul
can see
what is
really going
on.
Look at
verse 9.
Then Saul
who was
also called
Paul
filled with
the Holy
Spirit
looked straight
at Elymas
and said
you are
a child
of the
devil
an enemy
of everything
that is
right.
You are
full of
all kinds
of deceit
and trickery.
Will you
never stop
perverting
the right
ways of
the Lord?
real
opposition.
Now what
happened
then
I suggest
still happens
today
as the
church
goes about
her mission.
There are
those who
are in
opposition
to Jesus
and try
to deceive
people about
the truth
of Jesus.
There's a
little magazine
at the back
there called
Church
in Chains.
you pick
that up
and you
can read
about what
it is
in some
countries
for people
who love
Jesus.
Now we
might not
face the
same kind
of pressure
and we
mightn't
meet anybody
called
Elymas
but we
do read
about the
celebrity
atheist
Richard Dawkins
don't we?
Author of
the well-known
book
The God
Delusion.
He has a
lot of
followers
and a lot
of people
listen to
what he
has to
say.
Let me
quote you
what he
says.
Speaking
about
Jesus
he says
somebody
as
intelligent
as
Jesus
would
have
been
an
atheist
if
he
had
known
what
we
know
today.
In other
words
Dawkins
claims
that
science
has
disproved
God
and
we
don't
have
any
need
for
God
today.
To
quote him
again
he says
he
that's
God
is
invented
by
mad
deluded
people.
Maybe
I'm
mad
and
deluded
but I
don't
think
so.
Well
Elimas
like
Dawkins
is a
trickster.
He's a
deceiver.
Dawkins
has actually
been voted
as one of the
three leading
intellectuals
in the world.
I don't
doubt it.
He's a very
very clever
man.
But about
his book
the same
people who
voted for him
and said he's
one of the
greatest
intellectuals
the world
has ever
seen.
about his
book
The God
Delusion
they said
his book
is rambling
and self
contradictory.
The evidence
simply doesn't
weigh up.
You see
like
Elimas
people like
Dawkins
who we
read about
and hear
about
is a
deceiver.
He's
opposed
to Jesus
and he
tries to
turn people
away from
the faith
and many
people are
following
what he
says.
And it
makes you
wonder if
God has
actually
failed in
his
mission
because
atheism
is on
the rise.
Has
God
failed in
his promise
of what
he said
at the
beginning
of Acts?
Is it
really going
to reach
people?
Well
as we
read on
in this
section
here
God
has
not
failed.
He
has
supreme
power
and
authority
over
all
things
and
over
all
people
and
he
will
accomplish
his
mission
salvation
will
come
and
nothing
and
no
one
is
going
to
stop
it.
Look at
what
happens
in
verse
11.
Now
the hand
of the
Lord
is
against
you
says
Saul
to
Elimus.
You
are
going
to
be
blind
and
for
a
time
you
will
be
unable
to
see
the
light
of
the
sun
not
blind
permanently
but
just
for
a
time
perhaps
for
him
to
come
to
a
realization
of
who
Jesus
is.
Maybe
he
would
turn
in
repentance.
Immediately
mist
and
darkness
came
over
him
and
he
groped
about
seeking
someone
to
lead
him
by
the
hands.
See
Elimus
was one
of these
men
who
went
around
trying
to
claim
to
have
the
truth.
He
is
somebody
who
claims
to
have
the
light.
But
it's
ironic
that
he
is
the
one
who
ends
up
in
darkness.
From
leading
people
away
by
his
trickery
he is
now
a
helpless
man
who
needs
somebody
to
lead
him
by
the
hand.
The
power
that
he
used
to
turn
people
away
from
God
well
it's
nothing
when
he is
confronted
with
the
real
power
of
God.
In
fact
in
an
amazing
turn
of
events
Elimus
actually
becomes
the
reason
for
the
proconsul's
salvation.
The
one who
is in
opposition
to
God
is
now
used
by
God
to
bring
salvation
to
this
man.
Look
at
verse
12.
When
the
proconsul
saw
what
had
happened
he
believed
for
he
was
amazed
at
the
teaching
about
the
Lord.
The
events
that
he
saw
that
day
of
what
happened
to
his
attendant
his
secretary
convinced
Sergius
Paulus
of
the
truth.
But
read
verse 12
carefully.
What
truly amazed
him was
look at the
end of
verse 12
he believed
not just
from what
he saw
he believed
for he was
amazed
at the
teaching
about
the
Lord.
He
had
heard
the
good
news
of
Jesus
remember
he
was
an
intelligent
man
not
easily
duped
he
had
asked
for
Saul
and
Barnabas
to
come
and
tell
him
and
he
had
heard
for
himself
who
Jesus
is
what
he
had
done
the
call
for
personal
repentance
he
had
heard
the
promise
of a
universal
restoration
and
he
believed
he
trusted
and
so
salvation
came
to
this
man
you
see
despite
the
opposition
we
face
God
will
accomplish
his
mission
through
his
church
now
as we
finish
I
would
like
us
all
here
to
try
and
identify
ourselves
in
this
story
who
do
you
most
relate
to
in
this
story
maybe
you
identify
yourself
with
Saul
he
was
a
follower
of
Jesus
he
was
concerned
to
tell
people
the
good
news
about
Jesus
he
had
been
sent
out
by
his
church
to
do
that
well
if
that's
you
then
I
encourage
you
to
do
so
more
and
more
and
as
you
do
remember
there
will
be
people
who
will
be
in
opposition
they
won't
want
to
hear
or
they
mightn't
want
to
discuss
but
our
job
is
simply
to
present
to
tell
to
persuade
people
who
Jesus
is
and
to
leave
that
with
God
but
the
promise
here
is
that
God
will
bring
his
salvation
whatever
the
opposition
so
if
you
identify
with
Saul
continue
on
in
that
same
thing
maybe
you
identify
yourself
with
Elimas
the
Dawkins
of
this
world
who
rubbish
Jesus
and
stand
opposed
to
him
well as
we see
in this
story
to stand
opposed
to
Jesus
is no
trivial
matter
it's
very
serious
in fact
rather than
thinking of
yourself as in
the light
as what
happened to
Elimas
it actually
is to
walk in
darkness
to be
without
life
and to
be
without
hope
for
maybe
you
identify
with
Sergius
Paulus
apart
from
having
a great
name
he was
an
intelligent
person
he
wasn't
easily
fooled
he
carefully
listens
to what
people
have to
say
he's
seeking
to
discover
what
the
truth
is
and
so
he
had
invited
Saul
and
Barnabas
to
speak
to
them
and
he
heard
about
Jesus
and
he
was
convinced
maybe
you
identify
with
Sergius
Paulus
as an
intelligent
person
who
wants
to
find
out
the
truth
well
if
that's
you
well
then
I
encourage
you
to
read
more
read
one
of
the
gospels
read
out
and
find
out
who
Jesus
is
and
all
that
he
has
done
but
let's
remember
that
God
has
started
on
a
mission
he's
going
to
continue
that
mission
and
he
will
bring
it
to
completion
the
question
is
are
we
on
that
mission
with
him
let's
pray
together
our
father
god
we
thank
you
for
this
amazing
and
incredible
account
of
a
small
church
so
many
years
ago
seeking
to
fulfill
what
you
had
called
them
to
do
we
pray
that
we
as
a
church
here
would
be
like
minded
that
we
would
be
people
who
go
with
the
good
news
of
Jesus
resting
and
trusting
in
God
knowing
his
power
through
the
Holy
Spirit
enabling
people
to
turn
to
repent
to
believe
and
to
look
forward
to
that
promise
of
a
restored
universe
where
everything
will be
put
right
we
ask
for
your
help
individually
and
together
as
a
church
in
Jesus
name
Amen
well
we're
going to
sing
together
which
really
ties
together
a lot
of
the
themes
that
we've
been
thinking
about
there
was
the
theme
of
the
universal
restoration
and
this
song
is
really
looking
forward
to
what
Christ
has
done
and
what
we
can
look
forward
to
there
is
a
higher
throne
where
we
will
be
gathered
which
is
the
new
creation
the
new
heaven
with
him
if
you
trust
in
the
Lord
this
is
a
song
that
you
will
want
to
sing
in
celebration
of
what
we
have
so
let's
stand
together
as
we
sing