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[Music] well good morning welcome to free grace Baptist Church for a day of worship we look forward to looking forward to the day ahead just by way of announcements there's just two announcements and that is related to next Sunday there's a luncheon next next Lord's Day next Sunday so there'd be an email in regards to that so everyone of course is welcome to that and then following the luncheon on the same Sunday there is ECU ministry at the hospital and that's at 2:30 so perhaps we could and when who's able could come prepared to to have lunch here and then go on and help out the help of the hospital it's a very short short service a little bit of visiting and then and then back back home so that's next that next Lord's Day that we look forward to those things well let's let's turn in our Bibles now to Psalm 2 2 to prepare for worship this morning Psalm 2 Psalm 2 which will be referred to in the passage that it is in the same chapter the Passover I'll be preaching from this morning although he will not get that far but just to have that in mind that it is part of the context of the passage in in acts acts 13 well let's let's begin at Psalm 2 why do the nation's rage and the people plot a vain thing the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us he who sits in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall hold them in derision then he shall speak to them in his wrath and distress them in his deep displeasure yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion I will declare the decree the Lord the Lord has said to me you are my son today I have begotten you ask of me and I will give you the nation's for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron you shall dash them to pieces like a Potter's vessel now therefore be wise o Kings be instructed you judges of the earth serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little blessed are all those who put their trust in him amen will please turn with me in your hem books to him number 282 282 and Alaska stand please [Music] let's go to God in prayer and ask his blessing to be upon this worship time today let's pray our gracious and our loving Heavenly Father we come before you as our loving Heavenly Father we praise you Lord that you would bend your ear in tabernacle amongst us this morning and father we desire to worship you in truth and and we thank you for the word of God for that that word that is truth that has been put into these sixty-six books that we get to hold in our laps and how we praise you Father for the truth of Holy Scripture we praise you Lord that it's it be speaks of a great God a holy God a God who has saw who has sent his one and only Son to this earth to die for sinners such as us or we are grateful or thankful or the fact that we have such a great Savior in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who came to this earth and he's saved every single one to whom was given to him how we praise You Father that there are many even here in this place that are a number of months that are in that number and our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life and how we praise you for that great gift of our salvation Lord how we pray that you would help us and cause us to to truly use your word and use the knowledge of scripture to be our anchor that it would be what would steady us from day to day that father it would be that that rock upon which we would build our foundation in the person of your son the Lord Jesus Christ thank you Lord that you've given to the church gifts in pastors and teachers and elders and those who are able to lead us and build us up in our most holy faith we praise you and thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit and for that Spirit of God that has been promised to to make clear the things of Christ and how we praise you Father for that great gift that that is able to to make us wise unto salvation we praise You Father there is nothing good in us that that that that caused us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ but father you tilled up the soil of our own hearts and cause that good word that good seed to fall upon seated upon that soil that was ready to receive that word and we praise you Lord that truly salvation is of the Lord and and there is no good thing in us that that caused us to believe on your son the Lord Jesus Lord we praise you and thank you for this place we thank you that you've given to us a place where we can come Sunday by Sunday out of the world and we can leave our our worries our fears our our concerns a can concerning family or or work or issues as they relate to the other six days of the week we can leave those things outside and we can just come in here this day and we can enjoy worship of the triune God how we praise you Father that you've given to us this place and we prayed it as we lift up to your name in in in song and him in prayer and and the Word of God has it's opened up a little bit later how we pray that all these things will be done for your glory and for your honor and for your praise we pray Lord that you would that you would build us up in our most holy faith as well caused us to have to put on the Lord Jesus Christ to to live as those who who are saved and as we go out into the world for the next six days that we would live as true Christians we thank you Father that you that you are in that process of molding and and shaping us into that perfect image of your son the Lord Jesus Christ we pray that you would do that good work even here this day father we do think of those who perhaps cannot be with us as today who otherwise are normally a part of our fellowship due to health circumstances Lord we pray that you would enrich their lives this day we pray that that you would bless them cause them to to be taking in the Word of God and we pray that the Spirit of the Living God might might rest upon them that they would take in that word and they'll be blessed by that word as they perhaps even are able to listen in to today's service even in their in on their sick beds we pray Lord that you would bless them in that and cause them to have restored health and strength and and vigorous so they might be amongst us once again we know there are individuals in our congregation who deal with ongoing issues of pain and suffering and disease and we know Lord these things to be a part of this lore world but we look forward to the Lord at the time when those things will be put away and those things will be done done away with and we will enter into Glorian and enjoy not only not just perfect human bodies but rather also to not have to deal with our with their own sin and how we praise you Father for the fact that you've that you have promised these things to those who are in Christ Jesus or we pray that your bless you might be upon those who who are not with us this day father we do ask your blessing to be upon those who govern over us as well we thank you Lord for those who do govern and we know Lord that these are these are these are big responsibilities put it in the hands of mere mere men mere mortals and so we pray that you would cause them to to love what you love and hate what you hate we do pray Lord that you would give them wisdom give those who are who are true believers amongst them both at three levels of government Lord we praise you give those who are true believers wisdom and and tenacity the the adeptness to be able to use those positions of influence to to to to nudge-nudge those who are in authority towards good directions we pray Lord that you would be merciful to us as a nation we know we sin against a holy God every day as a nation so Lord we pray that you would not just look past that sin but you would just simply be merciful to us and and do not do not repay us for what our sins deserve we know we pray Lord that you would cause the Church of Christ that both here and in our own in our own free grace Baptists and throughout Chilliwack and the Lower Mainland and across this nation of ours father to to truly be revived we pray at the Churches of Christ might take seriously the things of Scripture and that they would preach the whole the whole Word of God the the whole law and the whole gospel we pray that these things would be part of each church that that that we know across this nation of ours revive your people we do pray and revive pastors and teachers and elders to to preach that which is contained in the Word of God and and nothing more nothing less we do pray Lord we do ask your blessing upon the persecuted church as well cause those who are persevering in the in the in the face of persecution to to be bold and and to and to have joy in that gospel we do pray we thank you Lord we praise you for good reports that do come along that they do encourage us in the West we think that when we think of these persecutions and how discouraged it can be yet father that they are persecuting your church because it's growing we think of countries like Algerian and throughout the Middle East and and in the Far East as well where the church is growing by leaps and bounds we praise you Lord for these good for these good things that are happening and pray that you would continue to bless those churches we give to them what they earned irony tough and that is of good doctrine and good teaching we do know Lord that the Christ who is the who is the captain of our salvation the head of the church we know Lord him to be giving good gifts to his church and so we pray if he would continue to do that in some of these difficult countries where it is where it is genuinely difficult to be a Christian to to to hold hold fast the truth and and to be in fellowship in churches like this we pray Lord that you would just protect them put a hedge around them we do pray we again Lord just ask your blessing upon our time here today we we do confess our sins father and pray it you would be pleased to forgive us for Christ's sake and we ask that you would be pleased to bend your ear in Tabernacle amongst us here now and it's in Jesus precious name we pray amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to the second him which is 145 C 145 C well we will be singing to a different tune but 145 see and Alaska stand please [Music] [Music] and please turn with me to our New Testament Bob reading to Acts chapter 9 Acts chapter 9 we're just a couple of chapters behind where pastor Butler is preaching through so it should be all pretty fresh ground for us is what it should be as we read these passages they should bring back many memories and understandings so we're gonna read the first 19 verses of Acts chapter 9 so beginning verse 1 then salt still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogue's of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way whether men or women he might bring them bound to Jerusalem as he journeyed he came near at Damascus and suddenly a light shone around from around him from heaven then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him Saul Saul why are you persecuting me and he said who are you lord then the Lord said I am Jesus whom you are persecuting it is hard for you to kick against the goads so he trembling and astonished said Lord what do you want me to do then the Lord said to him arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do excuse me and the men who journeyed with him stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no one then Saul arose in the ground and when his eyes were opened he saw no one but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus and he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank now there was a certain disciple of Damascus named Ananias and to him the Lord said in a set in a vision Ananias and he said ERM Lord so the Lord said to him arise and go to the street called straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus for behold he is praying and in a vision he has seen a man named ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight then Ananias answered lord I've heard from many about this man how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name but the Lord said to him go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles kings and the children of Israel for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake and Ananias went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him he said he said brother Saul the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales and he received his sight at once and he arose and was baptized so when he had received food he was strengthened then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus well that's a great - these are great chapters that were in the middle of and I think this chapter of all things certainly highlights highlights the grace of God and we see grace in action in this particular chapter I just refer you back this is the same Paul in back back just one chapter earlier chapter 8 verse 1 it says now Paul was consenting to his death whose death was that but the death of the death of Stephen in in Jerusalem so there Paul was a chapter earlier consenting to the death of of Stephen persecuting Christians and here in Chapter 9 verse 4 what do we see but rather we see him coming under the conviction of sin and that is the Holy Spirit and Christ that brought him under that conviction what do we see in verse 9 some when he comes under conviction verse verse 9 we see him sitting under Christ and under Christ teaching therefore those three days in in Damascus and then what do we see a man who is full who has had grace touch him but in verse 11 he's a man of Prayer men do pray believers do pray men who have been touched by grace pray and then finally in verse 18 we see that he's baptized and that's been the theme of these chapters is someone the gospel is preached they respond to that gospel they're baptized and that's just that that continual theme that we see throughout these throughout these chapters and acts at least at this particular time which again all that said not for not that Paul was a great person Paul had a great God and and that God came and visited Paul with Grace and that's ultimately what should be highlighted in a chapter like this it's that grace of God upon upon someone like Saul who became at Paul well that's prayer our gracious that our loving Heavenly Father we truly thank you Lord for that good work that you are committed to doing in each one who is your child father you have promised that you will finish that good work that you begun and and as we see evidence here of the this this this God hater in the person of saw we saw how you brought him to a conviction of his own sinfulness and brought him by grace to a knowledge of the Savior in the person of his of your dear son the Lord Jesus Christ and father you taught him of yourself and and he sought to grow in that in that grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and all of them became a great trophy of one who who who would who would continue to preach the gospel to to those that you would send him to how we take great comfort in this father that again the Lord Jesus Christ who is the who is the the captain of the church that father he is the one who dis patches he is the one who saves he is the one who who adds to the church daily as many as are to be saved and we just have great confidence in the fact that you are guiding your church along and think the gates of hell is we were reminded last Sunday the gates of Hell will not prevail against that against that continual growth of your church Lord we pray for the success of your church we pray for the growth of your church we pray for the success and the growth of the gospel here even in this place this day bless pastor Butler strengthen him enable him Lord to to know that that aid and help of your Holy Spirit as he brings the word this day that father would not be a word from him but rather be a word from your word and guided and kept by your Holy Spirit we pray these things in Jesus precious name Amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to the last him before pastor father does come to preach and that will be him number 22 d for david 22 d i'll ask you to stand please [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] 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 3 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 is called Niger Lucius of Cyrene Manaen 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 will 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 its 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 in 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 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 an hour or a phase in the history of the church when they focus more concerning the 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 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 1400 miles or rather the two men covered about 1400 miles as they visited the the island of Cyprus and then the churches in southern Galatia that would include pasilla in antioch Iconium Lystra and derbe and they also visit a couple of cities in Pamphylia on the way back to the church at Antioch so they can give a report concerning all that God had done with that 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 point 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 foresaw 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 saw 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 one 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 it 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 determined 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 80 60 to 62 with the Apostle Paul in a prison in Rome and while he is there Jews come down 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 said should suffer from 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 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 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 Derby now he's in Lystra he stoned to death their persons actually think that he is dead but he rises up from there and then the next day he travels to Derby no I should call attention to the fact that Derby 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 well 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 mask 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's the first 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 616 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 2nd 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 that on the Sermon on the Mount Sinclair Ferguson says imagine that you were at the the church picnic and the great Apostle Paul had come back from his first missionary was young on his first missionary journey and and and the kid said hey Paul you want to go take a dip in the water and he takes off 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 tenth thousand 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 you know 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 6:8 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 prophecy of Ag Abbas an Ag Abbas 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 hurting brethren there in Judea so according to chapter 12 verse 25 they've conducted or they've concluded there their ministry there in Judea they're returning from Jerusalem back to Antioch they have John mark with that john mark has already been mentioned in acts 12 at 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 or preach 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 that 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 are 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 who sinned Barnabas or Paul perhaps good man 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 dodged 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 though 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 AG Abbas 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 Agra bus does with the famine but as well they forth told the Word of the Living God so they had these prophet 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 no 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 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 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 man if you're going to be a missionary at 25 you'll certainly be one at 35 as well and perhaps 10 years in 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 in Niger may be black considering that this is what his name means in Latin and then we have this interesting statement concerning Minaya says Manan who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and saw 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 for Herod the Great was the man that ordered the slaying of the innocence 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 the first that we saw died and covered with worms last Sunday morning but this man Manan 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 but the idea is something like that there was a close connection between Herod the Tetrarch and this man Minaya 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 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 man and 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 Manaen is the God glorifying one Manan is where persons ought to be in the context of the church ministering unto the Lord and that is precisely 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 fax 436 it's Barnabas who's able to bring saul to the church in jerusalem and sort of paved the way for his reception barnabas is from cyprus so when they go to cyprus perhaps that's barnabas his instigation let's go to 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 spirits command to that so the text indicates who the five men are and then in verse 2 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 Menace and fasting what a 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 pool 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 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 know the seer says I saw a great multitude from every tribe tongue people in Asia 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 that Paul bore witness off 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 our missionary enterprises or why is a 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 and 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 but why does Paul do that is he trying to rack up as 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 got an equal with God since calling to a sacred office is attributed to him and the separation - 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 and we embrace that reality in this church because to do otherwise is to reject the true and living God it's 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 command separate and saw a separate Barnabas and Saul to me for the work to which I have callin them called them Bach says the excuse me 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 evangelist 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 caused them to leave the comforts of 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 event 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 Catholics earch that's not hats and you know di'ja diocese and parishes a carved that's not the organization that Luke is highlighting he's highlighting the focus the direction the 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 Prazeres we want them to go from thieves to honest hard-working people we want them to go from Sabbath breakers to those who love God it's cherished 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 ministry 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 verse three 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 aura so in other words they weren't appointed or ordained to ministry but they're set apart in compliance with the spirits instruction that these two men go from the church and Antioch first to Cyprus then to the churches in southern Galatia on their way back visit a play a couple places in Pamphylia and then returned 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 3 & 4 verse 3 tells us then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them they sent them away verse 4 so being sent out by the Holy Spirit see the the Spirit doesn't work apart from the church the Spirit works in concert with the church in other words where are we to see missionaries raised up in the church where are 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 is entrusted to us and when we take missionaries out of the church and use other agencies 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 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 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 central sort of general statement but for our purposes as we focus in on these 1st 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys I'm using missionary narrowly defined very specifically they're men men called by God qualified in accordance with 1st 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 concern considered men qualified by God men gifted by God men identified by the church men sent out from the church to make disciples into 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 promised 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 prophesied concerning God's plan of redemption he says that Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem which roughly translated means there will be Gentiles included in the in the 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 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 say it's the nations of the earth that are the target of God's redemptive grace so the coven ental 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 leads captivity captive he gives gifts to man will 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 fail no it's just the opposite these twelve men did what they turn the world upside down these twelve 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 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 them all the Saints here greet you especially those who are of Caesars household what does that mean it means that when Paul is chained to those guards of Caesars household Polly whining he's not sniveling he's not grumbling he's not complaining he's not saying I was framed they umpires against me everybody doesn't look 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 in a sin and say all the Saints greet you especially those who are of Caesars 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 church's 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 that we have come to expect with with great advance but it's their 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 is a coven ental theme but in terms of the missionary journeys by paul have already said this first missionary journey chapters 13 and 14 ad 47 to 48 about 1400 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 2800 miles now III 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 six thousands but Paul makes a lot of other trips that aren't missionary journeys one has said he covered about 10,000 now for us with cars that doesn't seem very good or I could do 10,000 miles of my frequent flyer program in a year this isn't flying this isn't train this is movement by foot maybe donkey maybe maybe she see this man was relentless and I think we ought to bless God for that relentless Ness 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 2700 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 these religious people in Jerusalem he's teaching he's preaching he's saying all of his 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 scanning 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 in essa 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 1st 2nd Timothy is last in terms of what Paul wrote and in 2nd 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 3-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 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 admissions 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 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 of the theological curriculum they are instructed in those things and we pray for men that God having razor or put that store of knowledge into man he would call them he would he would lay it upon their hearts to want to go and to minister and deserve well that 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 Satan I'm not saying he's most terrible but the the triumph or the the proving ground to become an officer in the Church of Christ or to become a missionary is to be a faithful church man right I have a big problem with the charismatic hsihu 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 I'm not but but why would he put you there if you're not faithful to to show up at church you see Church is where these things are display Church is where these things are learned church or 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 ranks 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 or day and then they either a minister among us or be we send them out you see the church is crucial in Christ's redemptive plant not that the 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 all that it happens in the church we have so so compartmentalized everything we have this agency for this we have this agency for this we have the 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 first 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 we mean by individualism I mean you know that kid who when he was three Aunt Bessie had a prophecy that he was going to 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 going to become of her 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 first Timothy chapter 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 that 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 he say well Butler that means that that's not his priority it is his priority because in 1st Timothy chapter 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 raised up men to be elders God raised up men to be missionaries can I implore you to do so we're not asking that that God opened the roof and dropped Spurgeon and oh and that wouldn't be but if he dropped all these we want guys that we know and love that are taught biblical truth to go therefore 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 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 and 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 stay you know from a bet at the time but but 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 worked well together to against institutionalism what's institutional is 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 first Timothy 3 and Titus 1 if a man desires the office of a this is a good thing he must be and then pull highlight several virtues and one grace he must be able or get he must be able to teach so a church working in union with the Spirit will not just say this guy is good and he's been proven in the world workforce let's just bring him in as an officer that's institutionalism that's when the 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 cessationist 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 a messy we go to first Timothy three we go to Titus chapter one and if you follow 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 first 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 endgame it's the glory of God in the salvation of sinners that's what's important remember when God saves that the 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 believe 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 Chrysler's existence if we go off into hell but it's about bounty and joy and Emmanuelle'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 it 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 looking unto Jesus in faith will have everlasting life will 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 gift and Abel and men sent out to Minister the Word of God Most High how we thank you for this plan and purpose and 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 [Music] bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace God would a blessed benediction this is and we pray that it would be realized in our own lives and experience we pray that we would know the joy of being found in Jesus Christ not having our own righteousness which is from the law but that given graciously by you received through faith alone go with us and help us to sanctify the day to enjoy the things of God and as we gather again tonight may you be glorified and honored and praised and we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we may be seated for a brief time of meditation