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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 12. Acts chapter 12, I'll begin reading 
in verse 25, and we'll read to chapter 13, verse three. And Barnabas and Saul returned 
from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry. And 
they also took with them John, whose surname was Mark. Now, 
in the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and 
teachers. Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, 
Manaan, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and 
Saul. As they ministered to the Lord 
and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to me Barnabas and 
Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted 
and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for this written Word of the living and true God. 
We thank You that it's given by inspiration of God, and that 
it's profitable to us for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
and for instruction in righteousness. And as a church, God, may You 
inform us now and guide us with reference to the church and its 
role and missions, help us to see that this isn't confined 
to the days of the apostles, but this extends, this is for 
us, this emphasis on calling sinners from every tribe and 
tongue and people and nation to the Lord Jesus Christ. God, help us to see the need 
for this and help us to pray accordingly, help us to seek 
to raise men up, to send men out, to really encourage those 
involved in such things to continue for the glory of God and for 
the good of souls. And even now, Lord, we pray that you would 
forgive us for all of our sins, wash us afresh in that precious 
blood of the Lord Jesus, and we pray that your Holy Spirit 
would guide us and lead us now. And we pray in the name of Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. When we come to a most 
significant passage of Scripture now, or a phase in the history 
of the Church, when they focus more concertedly outside, they 
want to call sinners, both Jews and Gentiles, unto the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The Church, through the preaching, 
or rather the leading of the Holy Spirit, appoints these two 
men as missionaries to send them out on a preaching expedition 
to get sinners saved by God's grace. Interestingly as well, 
this is the first time that Jerusalem is not the focus. The church 
in Jerusalem is not the central point, but rather it is this 
church in Antioch. And so what we have here introduced 
is the first missionary journey. And the first missionary journey 
is recorded in Acts 13.1 all the way to Acts 14.28. Now, it 
was conducted in the years AD 47 to 48. It covered about 1,400 
miles, or rather the two men covered about 1,400 miles as 
they visited the island of Cyprus and then the churches in southern 
Galatia. That would include Pisidi in 
Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. And they also visit a 
couple of cities in Pamphylia on the way back to the church 
in Antioch so they can give a report concerning all that God had done 
with them. And I think this section from 
chapter 13 on basically is what we see is the emphasis on the 
first, second, and third missionary journeys. And it does further 
describe or define or manifest what we saw last week in Acts 
12 at verse 24. Notice it says, the word of God 
grew and multiplied. That not only looks back, but 
it looks to the present and the future. That's the triumph of 
the word of God. It goes forth. Sinners from all 
over the place are converted by grace through faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Sinners are converted and local 
churches are planted. God is glorified in worship and 
the people of God have places where they can worship their 
God in spirit and truth. Well, I want to focus on the 
appointment of Barnabas and Saul this morning as missionaries. And I want to look first at the 
plan for Saul, secondly, the return to Antioch, thirdly, the 
command of the Holy Spirit, and fourthly, and finally, the response 
of the church, and then some extended application on the centrality 
of the church in the missionary enterprise. But first of all, 
the plan for Saul. Thankfully, our brother Steve 
Lawson read from Acts chapter 9. You can turn back there for 
just a moment. We need to consider Acts 13, 
the first missionary journey. We need to consider the subsequent 
chapters in Acts, the second and the third missionary journeys 
in light of what Jesus says in Acts 9 at verse 15. But the Lord 
said to him, go. For he, Paul, is a chosen vessel 
of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children 
of Israel. For I will show him how many 
things he must suffer for my name's sake. So we have the call 
and conversion of Saul of Tarsus. The chapter, as we heard, begins 
with Paul, or Saul, breathing out threats and hatred and persecution 
and a desire to ultimately extinguish the church. He tried to persecute 
the church out of existence according to his own words in Galatians 
chapter 1. He was not a friend of the church, he was not a friend 
of Jesus, he was not a follower of the Lamb, but he was one of 
the chief opponents and antagonists of this new work. And yet Christ 
comes on this road to Damascus and saves him. And he not only 
saves him, but he has a purpose and a plan for his life that 
he would be specifically the apostle to the Gentiles. And 
so that plan is outlined in verses 15 and 16. He is a chosen vessel 
of mine to bear my name. In other words, Paul is going 
to be a preacher. Paul is going to be a testifier. 
Paul is going to be a witness. He is going to be a man who declares 
the truth of the gospel, such that he can later write to the 
Corinthians, I determine to know nothing among you except Jesus 
Christ and Him crucified. He says, God forbid that I should 
boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything 
about this man from the day that Christ conquered him on the road 
to Damascus until the day that he drew his last breath was about 
Jesus. He says in Philippians, for to 
me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Everything about him 
was about Christ. And Christ says, he will bear 
my name. And then he says, before Gentiles, 
That's his calling. He understands that. We see that 
in his epistles. He understood clearly that Christ 
had made him an apostle to the Gentiles. But it doesn't stop 
there. He'll also bear the name of Christ 
before kings. As we move further in the book 
of Acts, we will see Paul arrested and standing before civil authority 
and preaching Christ to them and then to the children of Israel. 
The book of Acts ends around AD 60 to 62 with the Apostle 
Paul in a prison in Rome. And while he is there, Jews come 
to him and ask him why he is there. And he preaches to them 
the Messiah. He says, it's because of the 
hope of Israel that I am in these chains. And so what Christ says 
here in verse 15 concerning the Apostles Paul ministry, it would 
be one of bearing witness to Jesus, but he would also suffer 
for the name of Christ. It's very intriguing. He goes, 
in the very beginning of Acts chapter 9, he's armed with these 
letters so that he can go to Damascus and he can bind men 
and women and take them back to Jerusalem for further punishment. The chapter ends with him having 
been converted and him now under threat of death and he having 
to escape the city for his life. In an interesting sort of juxtaposition, 
God turned everything around. But in this first missionary 
journey, he will suffer for Christ as well. You can turn to Acts 
chapter 14. Acts chapter 14, just to see, 
just a little sort of preview of what we'll see in this first 
missionary journey. But in Acts 14, the apostle Paul now understood 
very clearly what Jesus meant when he said that he should suffer 
for my name. In Acts 14, 19, it says, then 
Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there and having persuaded 
the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, 
supposing him to be dead. It's an incredible thing, isn't 
it? They supposed him to be dead. It wasn't just a little bit of 
an injury. I imagine he was unconscious. 
He was bleeding. He was certainly in a disheveled 
state, to put it mildly. And yet, look at what the text 
indicates in terms of Paul's mission. Verse 20 says, however, 
when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into 
the city. And the next day he departed 
with Barnabas to Derbe. Now he's in Lystra, he's stoned 
to death there. Persons actually think that he 
is dead, but he rises up from there. And then the next day 
he travels to Derbe. Now I should call attention to 
the fact that Derbe is 60 miles from Lystra. That's an incredible 
statement, isn't it? Here they thought he was dead, 
and the next day he's up, and he's Adam, and he goes 60 miles 
to continue to preach the gospel of Jesus. When Christ saved this 
man on the road to Damascus, and Christ gave this man his 
marching orders, he never shrunk back, he never relinquished, 
he never stopped. He was a man of great faith, 
a man of great courage, and a man of great determination. And if 
you drop down, notice his text when he went to preach. Verse 
21 tells us, and when they had preached the gospel to that city 
and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, 
and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting 
them to continue in the faith and saying, we must, through 
many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. Now, I guarantee 
you, brethren, nobody had to say, well, what does he mean 
by that? What's he talking about? No doubt he would have limped 
in among them. He had just been stoned. He had 
just traveled 60 miles. He was a mess, humanly speaking. Now, turn to the book of Galatians 
in Galatians chapter 6. Now, Galatia is the region that 
the first missionary journey is about. And so Galatians is 
one of the earliest, I would argue, the earliest epistle of 
the Apostle Paul. It's the first letter that Paul 
wrote. And in Galatians, he indicates 
something of this plan and purpose for his life. He not only emphasizes 
his role as a preacher of the gospel, he not only emphasizes 
that it is his task to testify to the apostles, but he indicates 
something of his own suffering. Notice in 6.16, and as many as 
walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them 
and upon the Israel of God. He says, from now on, let no 
one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord 
Jesus. What's he talking about there? 
Was he tatted up? Did he have a John 3 16 on his 
forearm? Did he have truth tattooed to 
his knuckles? He had the brand marks of Jesus 
in his back. He had been split open. Read 
2 Corinthians chapter 11 to see what he had received as being 
a preacher of the gospel. So here he says, let no one trouble 
me. for I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus." In his 
great little book on the Sermon on the Mount, Sinclair Ferguson 
says, imagine that you were at the church picnic, and the great 
apostle Paul had come back from his first missionary, or he was 
on his first missionary journey, and the kids said, hey, Paul, 
you wanna go take a dip in the water? And he takes off his outer 
cloak, and there you see, in his back, Galatians 6.17. You 
see, it was no accident and it was no sort of just a supposition 
that he was going to be a preacher and he was going to suffer for 
Jesus. This is precisely what Jesus purposed for him according 
to Acts 9, 15, and 16. He must bear my name before Gentiles, 
kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many 
things he must suffer for my name's sake. Brethren, we owe 
a lot to the Apostle Paul. Certainly we're saved by grace 
alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Ephesians 
1, 4 tells us that God chose us in Christ before the foundation 
of the world. But we are indebted to the life 
and the ministry of the Apostle Paul. I would argue that Western 
civilization is indebted to the life and ministry of the Apostle 
Paul. That the 10,000 miles he traveled 
in his life was most excellent and most appropriate and most 
befitting the God of heaven and earth who employed that servant 
to take this gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. He was successful. He did what he was called to 
do. Now, success in this context does not mean he had a great 
big church, he had a great big paycheck, he had a lot of free... No, no, that's not success. Success 
is the true declaration of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ 
our Lord. And that's what Paul maintained 
throughout his life. He did what Jesus said for him 
to do. Now, back to the text. In Acts 
chapter 12, verse 25, we see the return to Antioch. So first, 
the plan for Saul in 9, 15, and 16. Second, the return to Antioch 
in chapter 12, verse 25. And Barnabas and Saul returned 
from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and 
they also took with them John, whose surname was Mark. Now we've 
already seen this, in Acts chapter 11, in the church at Antioch, 
there were prophets. And there was a particular prophet 
there by the name of Agabus. And Agabus prophesied famine 
in Judea. And having learned that, and 
having heard that, the church in Antioch took up a collection. And so Barnabas and Saul took 
that money, and according to Acts 11 at verse 30, they left 
from Antioch to go to Judea so they could minister that money, 
they could minister those gifts to the herding brethren there 
in Judea. So according to chapter 12, verse 
25, they've concluded their ministry there in Judea. They're returning 
from Jerusalem back to Antioch. They have John Mark with them. 
John Mark has already been mentioned in Acts 12. it, verse 12, remember 
the people of God gathered together at Mary, the mother of John Mark. So John Mark is more commonly 
known in the New Testament, so Acts 12.12 indicates that she's 
Mary, the mother of this John Mark. Probably the Mark that 
wrote the gospel according to Mark. Probably he was the recorder 
or the scribe when Peter preached those sermons in Rome and he 
took them down and that became the third gospel or second gospel, 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We will see that John Mark goes 
on this first missionary journey with Barnabas and Saul, but he 
leaves them. He departs from them. The text 
doesn't indicate why, But later, there's a great confrontation 
or dissension between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark. Barnabas 
and Mark were cousins. And before the second missionary 
journey, Barnabas wants to take Mark along. But Paul says, we're 
not going to take him along because he deserted us or departed from 
us on the first missionary journey. Well, Paul and Barnabas actually 
have a contention. They actually split. They both 
go separate ways. Now, people read that and they 
wonder, whose sin? Barnabas or Paul? Perhaps good 
men at times differ. Perhaps we ought to learn that 
example, that we ought not to treat persons as if they're dead 
to us. But perhaps we might use the 
judgment of charity and realize, hey, we disagree about this particular 
thing. Let's go our own way. I don't 
know that it needs to be this epic sort of analytical case 
as to who was wicked with reference to Paul and Barnabas. Sometimes 
alpha dogs butt heads, and sometimes it's best for them to go their 
separate ways. That's what I think the text 
indicates, and with reference to that, more ground is covered 
by more missionaries. So in this sharp contention that 
obtained between the two men, more people got to hear the gospel. 
God uses those things to advance His cause. Now notice, thirdly, 
the command of the Holy Spirit to the church in verses 1 and 
2. Notice that we have the leaders 
in the church. It tells us, verse 1, now in 
the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and 
teachers. As said, we already saw that 
in Acts 11. There were prophets in the church. 
Agabus was one of them. The New Testament envisages this 
office of prophet as one similar to the Old Testament. They both 
foretold what would happen in the future, like Agabus does 
with the famine, but as well, they foretold the word of the 
living God. So they had these prophets and 
these teachers that were ministering there in the church in Antioch. 
And just before we proceed any further, I want to say that when 
the Spirit comes to pick out missionaries, He picks the best. 
He picks the best. I think we have a fundamental 
flaw in the way that we deal with missions today. Well, that's 
probably an overstatement, but I don't know that it's the best 
thing to send young men with young kids to a foreign field. 
I'm not saying we can never do that. I'm not saying we should 
be absolutely opposed to that. Paul had been a believer about 
14 or 15 years at this time. Paul and Barnabas were older 
men. They were proven men. They were tried men. Perhaps 
a lesson, by way of implication that we can surmise, is that 
we do the same thing. Let a guy cut his teeth in gospel 
ministry where there isn't the threat of persons abroad that 
want to kill them or their children. Perhaps they prove themselves 
in that scenario or situation, and once they are confirmed, 
then we send them out to the mission field. because it's ultimately 
about the glory of God and the advancement of His cause, not 
the realization of the hopes and dreams of particular men. 
If you're going to be a missionary at 25, you'll certainly be one 
at 35 as well, and perhaps 10 years on this side of that danger 
and turmoil might be a beneficial thing. So Paul and Barnabas were 
among the five men indicated who were prophets and teachers. 
And just a couple of things of note, with reference to these 
five men. Bach says, it is thought that 
Niger and Lucius may be from North Africa, and Niger may be 
black, considering that this is what his name means in Latin. And then we have this interesting 
statement concerning Manan. It says, Manan, who had been 
brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. Now I need to ask everybody 
to forgive me. I don't know that it was a sin, 
but I made a mistake last week. I said it was Herod the Great 
that lived at the time of Jesus. Herod the Great died in AD 4. Herod the Great was the man that 
ordered the slaying of the innocents. But the Herod that was alive 
that Jesus stood before and the Herod that terminated John the 
Baptist was Herod Antipas. And that's the one that's referred 
to in this particular statement. So it was Herod Antipas that 
lived mainly at the time of Christ. Herod the Great was already dead 
in AD 4. He did slay the innocents, but 
rather it was Herod Antipas. He was the uncle of the Herod 
Agrippa I that we saw die and covered with worms last Sunday 
morning. But this man Menaen was brought 
up with him. I think the King James renders 
it foster brother. I didn't have a chance to refer 
to it, but the idea is something like that. There was a close 
connection between Herod the Tetrarch and this man, Maniac. 
Now, I would imagine that persons outside the church would look 
at these two boys and watch their trajectory and watch their career 
and say, wow, this Herod Antipas He really made something out 
of himself. I mean, he governed this region of Galilee and Perea 
and into Judea. I mean, he exercised a lot of 
authority. This Menaen, all he is is some 
guy in a church that happens to be a prophet or a teacher. 
Some would suggest that Herod was the successful one. We all 
know that Manaan is the God-glorifying one. Manaan is where persons 
ought to be in the context of the church, ministering unto 
the Lord, and that is precisely what we find there. And it's 
not only those men of note, but also Barnabas. We've already 
met Barnabas. We've already talked about Barnabas. 
Barnabas we meet in Acts 4.36. It's Barnabas who's able to bring 
Saul to the church in Jerusalem and sort of pave the way for 
his reception. Barnabas is from Cyprus. So when 
they go to Cyprus, perhaps that's Barnabas' instigation. Let's 
go to my community. Barnabas was not the founder 
of the church in Antioch, but he was certainly instrumental 
in the church in Antioch. So Barnabas and Saul are the 
men of the five that God the Spirit calls unto gospel ministry. And let's look at the Spirit's 
command to them. So the text indicates who the 
five men are. And then in verse two, it says, 
as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 
now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I 
have called them. Notice that the men were ministering 
and fasting. What do prophets and teachers 
do? They minister and they fast. Ministering is probably their 
preaching the Word of God, teaching the people of God the Word of 
God. In fact, Matthew Poole makes the observation, they were preaching 
to and instructing the people. For there is no ministry or service 
which God likes better than to convert and save souls. I love 
the way he says that. There is no ministry that God 
likes better than to convert and save souls. If you don't 
believe that, you are missing a great deal of scripture. The 
God of the Bible is about salvation. If you have been taught that 
the God of the Bible is not about salvation, or the God of the 
Bible is giving you this, or that the God of the Bible is 
going to, you know, meet you with rebuffs when you come to 
Him, that is a false understanding of the God of the Bible. Look 
unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am the 
Lord and there is no other. He says through the prophet Isaiah. 
The Lord God most high is in the business of saving souls. 
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that 
whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting 
life. What does Jesus say? All that the Father gives me 
will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly 
not cast out. See, if your concept of God is 
that He's not Savior, or that your concept of God is that He's 
the Savior of just a few, then you don't have the proper concept 
of God. When you get to the book of Revelation, 
how are the glorified, how are the saints in heaven identified? 
There's just a handful there before the throne of God and 
the Lamb who sits on the throne. No, the seer says, I saw a great 
multitude from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. I saw a great 
multitude, myriads of myriads of people. So the idea that God 
isn't about saving is not biblical. The idea that God saves to the 
uttermost all who draw nigh unto him through Jesus Christ, that's 
biblical. And if you don't know that God, 
I want to encourage you today to believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, to look to that one that Paul bore witness of. Why does 
Paul bear witness to Jesus? Because Jesus alone is the way 
of salvation. Jesus alone said, or Jesus said, 
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the 
Father except through me. Why are missionary enterprises 
or why is a missionary journey so important? Because if sinners 
don't hear the gospel, if persons don't believe on Jesus, those 
persons are cut off. Those persons end up in hell. 
Those persons suffer the wrath and fury and judgment of God. 
See, there's an impetus behind Paul and behind Barnabas. Yes, 
it's the glory of God, but it's the good of souls. Why does Paul 
get stoned in Lystra? And I don't mean the way we often 
refer to it, but he gets stoned in Lystra and the next day he 
marches 60 miles to another city. And he says, we must through 
many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. What motivates that man? Yes, the glory of God, but so 
the sinners in Derby. If they don't hear of Christ 
and Him crucified, they will perish and go to hell. Later 
on, in terms of application, I'm going to tell you the various 
missionary journeys, the various dates encompassed, and the amount 
of miles covered. Why does Paul do that? Is he 
trying to rack up his frequent flyer miles so that he and the 
missus can take a nice trip to wherever? No, he's doing that 
for the glory of God and for the good of souls. And you see 
the Spirit here comes to the church and says to the church, 
separate for me these two men. But before that, I like Gil on 
what he says concerning the Spirit. You know, oftentimes people deny 
the personhood of the Spirit. Jehovah's Witnesses do that. 
They deny that the Holy Spirit is a person. They call Him active 
force. They call Him Holy Spirit. He's 
God's active force. That's not what this text indicates. Others deny the deity of the 
Spirit. But what we find in this statement 
of the Spirit speaking to the church, I think Gil rightly relates. He says, this shows the Spirit 
to be a person since speaking and commanding in an authoritative 
way and calling to a work are ascribed unto Him. and that he 
is a divine person and truly God and equal with God, since 
calling to a sacred office is attributed to him. And the separation 
to it is ordered for himself, for his service, honor and glory. 
He does not say separate them to the Lord or to God, but to 
me. You see, the Spirit is the third 
person of the Holy Trinity. He is personal and He is God 
Most High. We embrace that reality in this 
church because to do otherwise is to reject the true and living 
God. Not one text here or there that suggests a trinity of persons, 
but rather the Bible is replete with that from Genesis 1 to Revelation 
chapter 22. So the Spirit commands, separate 
Barnabas and Saul to me for the work to which I have called them. 
Bach says this, the account This missionary enterprise describes 
the first step in missions as the called out and divinely directed 
activity of a group organized for this specific goal. This 
contrasts with the less systematic work of individuals which we 
have seen earlier. It's not minimizing that, but 
that's how it's been. Certainly, Peter got divine communication 
to go to Cornelius and his household. But any evangelization that took 
place of Gentiles, specifically, was incidental. It wasn't the 
focus. But what Bach is suggesting, 
and what Luke is telling us, is that this has now become the 
focus. This is what church life should 
look like, ministering and fasting in the presence of the Lord, 
having an environment where the Holy Spirit can come and say, 
take these men and send these men out, cause them to leave 
the comforts that they know and love so that they can go bear 
witness for me and to testify for me. He goes on to say, this 
contrasts with the less systematic work of individuals which we 
have seen earlier. The church is becoming more organized 
and intentional about outreach. That's significant, brethren. 
You see that. It's not the organization of, 
say, the Roman Catholic Church. It's not hats and diocese and 
parishes and carved up. It's not the organization that 
Luke is highlighting. He's highlighting the focus, 
the direction, the specificity. Yes, we worship God to be sure, 
but we seek to multiply worshipers. We want sinners to come to know 
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We want them to go from blasphemers 
to praisers. We want them to go from thieves 
to honest, hardworking people. We want them to go from Sabbath 
breakers to those who love God and cherish that day. We want 
them to go from those who are insubordinate to authority to 
those submissive as the Bible calls us to. You see, they're 
becoming focused and specifically targeting people groups with 
the gospel. And that brings us finally to 
consider the response of the church. How do they respond to 
the Holy Spirit? How did the Spirit speak? He 
could have done it either immediately, voice of the Spirit, that all 
these five prophets and teachers heard, or it could have come 
through one of the prophets. It could have came through one 
of those who was in the midst of ministering and fasting. He spoke 
the prophetic word by the power of the Spirit. But having spoke 
that word, let's look at the response of the church in verse 
3. It says, then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on 
them, they sent them away. Now, we see this fasting and 
prayer linked together later in Acts 14, 23. And then we see 
this laying on of the hands. This is a public way to separate 
somebody for a particular work. Now, they're not being ordained 
to the ministry because they were already in the ministry, 
but they are being ordained or set apart or appointed to this 
special work of the Spirit to go and evangelize these particular 
places. That's the emphasis here. Calvin, with reference to the 
laying on of hands, he says, this is the end why they laid 
their hands upon Barnabas and Paul, that the church might offer 
them to God and that they might, with their consent, declare that 
this office was enjoined by them by God. For the calling was properly 
God's alone, but the external ordaining did belong to the church 
and that accordingly to the heavenly oracle. So in other words, they 
weren't appointed or ordained to ministry, but they're set 
apart in compliance with the Spirit's instruction that these 
two men go from the church in Antioch, first to Cyprus, then 
to the churches in southern Galatia, on their way back, visit a couple 
places in Pamphylia, and then return to the church in Antioch 
to give the report as to what God had done in their midst. 
Now, I think this is very important for us to appreciate. Look at 
verses three and four. Verse three tells us, then having 
fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away. Verse four, so being sent out 
by the Holy Spirit. See, the Spirit doesn't work 
apart from the church. The Spirit works in concert with 
the church. In other words, where ought we 
to see missionaries raised up? in the church, where ought we 
to see men cultivated, men identified, men qualified, men tested, and 
then men approved and appointed for that work? Should it happen 
apart from the church, or should it happen within the context 
of the church? You see, what we have in this 
particular statement, again, I only went this far, didn't 
go to Cyprus, because I wanted to focus on the centrality of 
the church in gospel missions. We cannot successfully engage 
the enemy apart from the weaponry that the Lord has entrusted to 
us. And when we take missionaries out of the church and use other 
agencies instead of the church, then we're bypassing a fundamental 
thing that the Spirit has intended. It is intriguing. The Spirit 
sent them out by commanding the church to do so. And the church 
sent them out, having been directed by the Spirit to do so. Both 
work hand in hand. It's a beautiful display of the 
means by which God uses to raise up missionaries and to send them 
out. Now that brings us to some concluding 
thoughts that are going to hone in on that. First, what do I 
mean by a missionary? What definition am I using? Well, 
first of all, there's a general sense of missionary, and then 
a more narrow or specific sense. Generally speaking, or broadly 
speaking, it's a believer going to another place and doing anything 
Christian. You might are doing anything 
whatsoever in the name of Christ, going to build houses, or going 
to dig wells, or going to be a nurse, or going to do those 
particular things. We oftentimes refer to that as 
missionary service. And I have no problem with that. 
That's the broad or sort of general statement. But for our purposes, 
as we focus in on these first, second, and third missionary 
journeys, I'm using missionary narrowly defined, very specifically. They're men. men called by God, 
qualified in accordance with 1 Timothy 3, Titus chapter 1, 
men who are sent from a church to go and make disciples and 
plant churches. So again, swinging a hammer for 
Jesus, absolutely, positively wonderful. but specifically with 
these men. Now, Paul did build tents. Paul 
had that in his sort of arsenal to be able to provide for himself, 
but he wasn't going to build tents in southern Galatia trying 
to befriend them and then tell them about Jesus. No, this is 
missionary strictly defined. narrowly considered. Men qualified 
by God, men gifted by God, men identified by the church, men 
sent out from the church to make disciples and to plant churches. 
That's the way I'm going to use missionary over the next several 
weeks. Secondly, the focus on missions 
in the rest of Acts. Why do you think that is? I would 
suggest, first of all, the covenantal background. What does God promise 
to Abraham? God promises to Abraham, in you, 
all the nations of the earth will be blessed. What does Noah, 
even before Abraham and the promise God gave him, what does Noah 
prophesy concerning God's plan of redemptive grace? He says 
that Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem, which roughly 
translated means there will be Gentiles included in the God 
of Israel's plan to save his people from their sins. So we 
have that prophetic statement by Noah. We have the promise 
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have the expectation in the 
prophets. What do the prophets prophesy? 
Specifically, the prophet Isaiah says it's too small a thing for 
Messiah simply to come to save the tribes of Jacob, but I will 
give him as a light unto the Gentiles. We have the celebration 
of this theme throughout the Psalter. What's Psalm 22 tell 
us? What did we just sing? It's the 
nations of the earth that are the target of God's redemptive 
grace. So the covenantal background tells us that this is exactly 
what we ought to expect when Messiah comes, he lives, he dies, 
he's raised the third day, he ascends on high, he leaves captivity 
captive, he gives gifts to men. Well those men, those gifts that 
he gives, are supposed to bear his name, they're supposed to 
suffer for his cause, and they're supposed to advance the kingdom 
of Jesus Christ on earth. That is precisely how the book 
of Acts unfolds. It is a triumphant document. 
You cannot look at the book of Acts and go, man, they sure failed. 
No, it's just the opposite. These 12 men did what? They turned 
the world upside down. These 12 men had this message, 
and they took it from one small geographical place, first in 
Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. How does Acts end? Where is Paul? He's in Rome. He's in the center of the empire 
itself. He's chained to guards and he's 
testifying to them about the gospel of our Lord Jesus. At 
the end of the book of Philippians, he says, all the saints here 
greet you, especially those who are of Caesar's household. What 
does that mean? It means that when Paul is chained 
to those guards of Caesar's household, Paul ain't whining. He's not 
sniveling. He's not grumbling. He's not 
complaining. He's not saying, I was framed. 
The empire's against me. Everybody doesn't like... He's 
not doing that. He's telling these guards why 
he's in chains. He's telling these guards about 
the Nazarene. He's telling these guards about 
the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He's telling them the way of 
salvation. That's why he can sign off and 
say, all the saints greet you, especially those who are of Caesar's 
household. The book of Acts presents to 
us a victory manual. It presents to us the people 
of God, blood-bought, filled with the Spirit, obeying God 
and advancing the cause of Jesus Christ on the earth. When Jesus 
said, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it, this is how he's doing it. This is 
precisely how he's doing it. He doesn't do this top-down. 
He doesn't just drop a massive church on earth. It's bottom-up. It's faithful churches, faithful 
people. A church like Antioch, where 
there happens to be prophets and teachers. A church like Antioch, 
where there are men gifted and qualified. The Spirit comes and 
the Spirit says, separate these men for the work that I have 
called them to. This is the triumph of God's 
kingdom. It at times seems imperceptible. It at times seems to lack the 
pomp and show that we have come to expect with great advance, 
but it's there brethren, it's happening. Christ shall see the 
travail of his soul and be satisfied. Christ shall reign from sea to 
sea. The dominion has been given to 
him. He is using the church to advance 
his blessed cause on earth. So missions is a covenantal theme. But in terms of the missionary 
journeys by Paul, I've already said, this first missionary journey, 
chapters 13 and 14, AD 47 to 48, about 1,400 miles. The second missionary journey 
happens after the Jerusalem Council, and it covers Acts 1536 to Acts 
1822. It's from AD 49 to 52, and that one was about 2,800 
miles. I indicate that because I think 
it's important. You take the collected total 
miles with reference to the missionary journeys, it brings you up into 
the 6,000s. But Paul makes a lot of other 
trips that aren't missionary journeys. One has said he covered 
about 10,000 miles. Now, for us with cars, that doesn't 
seem very good. I could do 10,000 miles in my 
frequent flyer program in a year. This isn't flying. This isn't 
train. This is movement by foot, maybe 
donkey, maybe, maybe. You see, this man was relentless, 
and I think we ought to bless God for that relentlessness. He wasn't going to stop until 
he satisfied what Christ had called him to. And then the third 
missionary journey is from 1823 to 2116, and that's about AD 
53 to AD 57. And that's about 2,700 miles. Now, what happens at 21 that 
stops him from continuing in these missionary journeys? The 
problem with the law. He's arrested. He's turned over 
to the civil magistrate. He's not arrested for crimes. 
He's not arrested because he's a bad guy. He's arrested because 
unbelieving Jews can't stand him because he's preaching the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, Israel's Messiah, to the inclusion of 
Gentiles. You see it in Acts 22. When Paul 
stands before these religious people in Jerusalem, he's teaching, 
he's preaching, he's saying all of this stuff until he gets to 
the point where he talks about the inclusion of Gentiles. And 
it's there that they come unglued. It's there that they then turn 
him over to the civil state, and that's what takes up the 
rest of Acts, is him going from place to place, standing before 
local authority, appealing ultimately to Caesar, and that's where we 
find him at the end of the book of Acts. He's in Rome waiting. And Acts ends at, as I said, 
about 60 to 62. Paul is released from that imprisonment. Paul then engages in more missionary 
enterprise, and that would be, you know, into 63, 64, but he's 
then again arrested. And the last epistle that he 
writes, if Galatians is first, 2 Timothy is last in terms of 
what Paul wrote. And in 2 Timothy, he does not 
expect to be released. He does not expect to go free. 
It is that sort of statement, that refrain of his life. I have 
fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have 
kept the faith. Finally, he says, there is laid 
up for me the crown of righteousness. This man was tireless. This man 
never succumbed. He never stopped going forward. If he is not your hero, kids, 
he should be your hero. I don't care what man can hit 
a puck in a net, what man can sink a three-pointer from the 
half-court line. This man ought to be our hero. 
This man loved, feared, honored Christ and was consumed with 
the glory of God. That's what we have in this man. 
That's what God gave us in terms of the Apostle Paul. Third, I 
want to just say this because I think we miss it. The centrality 
of the church in missions. The centrality of the church. 
I'm not saying there's no place for other missions, agencies, 
or organizations. I'm not suggesting that at all. 
But I am suggesting the church needs to play a central role. 
The church needs to be that place where men are brought up in the 
fear and admonition of the Lord, where men are taught the Word 
of God. They're taught theology. They're 
taught doctrine. They're taught something concerning 
the history of the church itself. They're taught all the disciplines 
of the theological curriculum. They are instructed in those 
things, and we pray for men that God having raised or put that 
store of knowledge into men, He would call them, He would 
lay it upon their hearts to want to go and to minister and to 
serve. Well, that's what the church 
is for. I've said it every time I've preached, brethren, and 
I will say it, God helping me every time I preach subsequent. 
If you are not a faithful, good church member, you don't belong 
as an officer. That is a prerequisite. A man 
who is not faithful as a member should never lead the people 
of God. I'm not saying he's Satan, I'm not saying he's most terrible, 
but the proving ground to become an officer in the Church of Christ 
or to become a missionary is to be a faithful churchman, right? I have a big problem with the 
charismatics who think that the Lord is giving them new revelation 
when they haven't read the book of Amos. Why would God give you 
more when you haven't availed yourself with what there is? 
Why would God promote you to elder? And I'm not saying promotion 
like it's some prestigious thing, really, I'm not. But why would 
he put you there if you're not faithful to show up at church? 
You see, church is where these things are displayed. Church 
is where these things are learned. Church are where the church recognizes 
the gifts that Christ has given. What better place should we look 
for in terms of missionaries, in terms of elders, in terms 
of deacons, than from within our own race? That's exactly 
what the scripture says. It's within the context of the 
church that they are cultivated. It's in the context of the church 
that they are identified. It's in the context of the church 
where they are proven. It is in the context of the church 
where they are appointed or ordained, and then they either, A, minister 
among us, or B, we send them out. You see, the church is crucial 
in Christ's redemptive plan. Not that the old Catholic adage, 
there's no salvation outside of the church. That's not what 
I'm saying. But I am saying, with reference 
to salvation, with reference to missionary enterprise, with 
reference to gospel preaching and all that, it happens in the 
church. We have so compartmentalized 
everything. We have this agency for this. 
We have this agency for this. We have even seminaries. Brethren, I don't want to be 
all anti-seminary. I think men need to be trained. 
I think men need to know the languages. I think men need to 
show and demonstrate their grit and ability to wrestle with scripture 
and with good doctrine. But brethren, the church still 
ought to be central in those men's lives. The church is the 
pillar and ground of the truth, right? That's what scripture 
says in 1 Timothy. Again, we can farm out a man 
for Greek or Hebrew, we can farm him out for Latin, we can farm 
him out for some of those things that perhaps the, you know, the 
dim bulb at the local church level can't handle, but it ought 
to be the local church level that is crucial in producing 
ministers. That's what I think this passage 
indicates to us. And then another observation 
here with reference to the centrality of the Church and missions. It's 
the place where the Spirit and the Church work together against 
individualism and against institutionalism. Now, what do I mean by that? 
Well, the Spirit and the Church work together against individualism. What do I mean by individualism? 
I mean, you know, that kid who, when he was three, Aunt Bessie 
had a prophecy that he was gonna be a pastor. And so he's lived 
his life in light of Aunt Bessie's dream. Doesn't matter he can't 
preach, doesn't matter he's not the most faithful, doesn't matter. 
Aunt Bessie saw what was gonna become of her little boy, and 
that's going to be realized. I'm sorry, Aunt Bessie, but if 
he ain't fit and qualified according to 1 Timothy 3, it's not gonna 
happen. This idea of individualism. Well, I think I should be an 
astronaut. Doesn't matter I can't climb 
to the top of a ladder. I haven't made that connection. You get that in the church. I 
should preach. I should teach. But you have to be able to. And if you can't, you have to 
accept that you're not supposed to. Does that make sense? I have 
been perplexed in my years as a pastor to meet with men, not 
all men, but some men who see their identity bound up in teaching 
and preaching. I think that's wrong. I think 
that every man under God has specific relationships that he 
has to honor. He's a man first, God word. He's 
a husband to his wife. He's a father to his children. 
Then he's a pastor. If you say, well, Butler, that 
means that that's not his priority. It is his priority because in 
1 Timothy 3, if a man does not know how to rule his own household 
well, how can he take care of the church of God? It is absolutely 
crucial that pastors be men who love their wives, who love their 
children. Where does that stuff happen? 
It happens in the church. It happens among the people of 
God. It happens in this sanctification laboratory. It happens right 
here. And if you're not praying, God, 
raise up men to be elders. God, raise up men to be missionaries. 
Can I implore you to do so? We're not asking that God open 
the roof and drop Spurgeon and Owen. That wouldn't be bad. But 
if he dropped all the... We want guys that we know and 
love that are taught biblical truth to go there for and tell 
others the great and glorious news. But those men need to be 
qualified. Individualism. Well, I think 
I should be a pastor. You need to have that checked 
by the church. The church needs to vet that. 
The church needs to verify that. The church needs to make sure 
that's so. Just because Aunt Bessie said, 
or just because you've lived your life in light of that? No, 
no, it's the church. In fact, in Proverbs, we have 
this statement from Solomon. I think it's brilliant, and I 
think it applies here. He says, a man's gift makes room 
for him. Guess what it doesn't say? A 
man makes room for his gift. If the first time I meet you, 
you tell me that you should teach Sunday school, you're probably 
not going to right away. Because I think this is a direct 
contradiction to what Solomon says. A man's gift makes room 
for him. A man's godliness will be evident 
to those around him. A man's ability to counsel. A 
man's ability to speak the truth in love. That is how the gift 
makes room for the man. It's not that men come in and 
say, I've got great gift. I'm the best preacher I know. 
My wife loves it. She thinks it's great. My kids, 
they, you know, frown a bit at the time, but they think I'm 
the... That's not enough, brethren. 
It's not about you making room for your gift, it's about your 
gift, evident godliness, faithfulness, graciousness, and ability. That 
makes room for men. But as well, the Spirit and the 
Church work well together against institutionalism. What's institutionalism? It's functionally Roman Catholicism. It's functionally the Church 
operates in such a way irrespective of God. You see this with unqualified 
men in the ministry. We are working in harmony with 
the Spirit when we take serious 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. If a man desires the office of 
a bishop, this is a good thing. He must be, and then Paul highlights 
several virtues and one grace he must be able, or gift, he 
must be able to teach. So a church working in union 
with the Spirit will not just say, this guy's good and he's 
been proven in the workforce, let's just bring him in as an 
officer. That's institutionalism. That's when the government of 
the church makes a way for the man and his gifts as well. We 
need to be in union with the Spirit. Now, short of the Spirit 
speaking to us audibly, or short of a prophet in our midst who 
has the Spirit, we don't have that. We are cessationists. We 
do not believe in the continuing special revelation of God. But 
we have the Word of God. When a man wants to be in the 
ministry, where do we go? Not Aunt Bessie. We go to 1 Timothy 
3. We go to Titus chapter 1. And 
if you followed the logic, a missionary is an elder. A missionary is 
a pastor. A missionary is a bishop. A missionary 
is a man who satisfies the requirements and the qualifications of 1 Timothy 
3 and Titus 1. He's possibly, most of the time, 
going to be a local church pastor, and then the Spirit is going 
to say, not audibly, not through a prophet, but through the Word 
of God, through providence, through those various means, He's going 
to say, I want him now to go elsewhere. That's where we see 
the church's role. And then finally, what's the 
purpose and missions? To see people saved. Let's never 
forget that. It's something the church should 
be doing. It's something we ought to be more concerned about. We 
can, as private individuals, give money to that particular 
cause and reason, but let's never forget the end game. It's the 
glory of God in the salvation of sinners. That's what's important. Remember when God saves Cornelius 
and his household, and then the church in Jerusalem gets word 
of this, and then Peter comes and tells what happened. Back 
in Acts chapter 11, Verse 17, Simon Peter says to the church 
in Jerusalem concerning the conversion of these Gentiles, he says, if 
therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand 
God? When they heard these things, they became silent and they glorified 
God saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance 
to life. See, that's what missions is 
about. It's about life. It's about death. It's about 
a Christless existence if we go off into hell. But it's about 
bounty and joy and Emmanuel's land if that preaching is blessed 
by the Holy Spirit. In fact, look at Acts 14 when 
they return to the church in Jerusalem, which is something 
I neglected to mention earlier. But in terms of the centrality 
of the church and missions, it provides the place of accountability. 
These guys come back and they have to report what happens. 
They didn't have to, but they reported what happened in terms 
of God's use of them. They didn't just go to the next 
place. They came back to their church. They ministered among 
the church. They were ministered unto before they went back out 
on the mission field. But in Acts 14 at verse 27, it 
says, now, when they had come and gathered the church together, 
they reported all that God had done with them, and that he had 
opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. That's the purpose 
of missions, the salvation of sinners, whether Jew or Gentile, 
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone. If you, for yourself, do not 
know this Christ, understand that God's purpose in doing what 
he did with Paul was to demonstrate his desire to save. This concept 
that God isn't about saving, this concept that there's going 
to be one small tiny handful of people in the New Jerusalem 
is a thoroughly unbiblical concept. Scripture is clear. Those who 
look unto Jesus in faith will have everlasting life. Well, 
let us close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your 
word. We thank you for this emphasis on missions. I pray for us as 
a church that we would take seriously this. Help me, Father, to take 
it more seriously. I pray that you would raise up 
men, that we would identify men, that we would see men qualified, 
men gifted, men able, and men sent out to minister the word 
of God Most High. How we thank you for this plan 
and purpose the life of Paul, and how we thank you that you 
have purpose to save a great multitude that no man can number. 
I pray even now for any sinners here that have not come to Jesus 
Christ, that by the power of your grace and your sovereignty, 
they would come forth. You would call them out of darkness 
into marvelous light. And we pray this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a hymn 
number 568. 568, we can stand as we sing together.