Bible Study - Church - Transforming Lives - Engage in Kingdom Building - Acts 13:1-4 and 14:21-28 - November 18, 2012

Bible Study – Church – Transforming Lives – Engage in Kingdom Building – November 18, 2012

This is lesson three (3) in our series entitled “The Church: Transforming Lives in a Changing Culture

Our scripture is Acts 13:1-4; 14:21-28.

The overarching theme of our studies is that Holy Spirit led churches transform and build the kingdom of GOD by making disciples. We, as disciples, must also be willing to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit. It is through committed disciples that GOD has chosen to work and build HIS kingdom. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit that transforms the lives of Christians, to the extent they are willing. Those filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped with the gifts of the Holy Spirit reach out to those within the body of believers to build the body. In turn, the body of believers/the church as led by the Holy Spirit, reaches outside of the church to the community and world around them to build the kingdom. This is the ideal but anytime Christians offer a drink a cup of cold water, GOD acknowledges it.

Up to this point in our study, we have referred to Christians as followers of CHRIST. It was in the church at Antioch where followers of CHRIST were first called Christians as reported in Acts 11:25-26:

25 Then he (Barnabas) went to Tarsus to search for Saul, 26 and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Doctor Luke wrote the book of Acts and referred to Paul as Saul and vice versa. Saul was Paul’s Jewish name and Paul was Saul’s Latin or Roman name.   

The Christian church at Antioch was the first Christian church to have the vision to reach out beyond their city to others with the Gospel of CHRIST. The Christian church in Jerusalem was the foundational base for Christianity but the Church in Antioch became the center of activity.

Let’s read Acts 13:1-4:

Preparing for the Mission Field

1 In the church that was at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, a close friend of •Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to.” 3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

The Mission to Cyprus

4 Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

The church at Antioch was unique. It was the first missionary church. They crossed racial, geographical and ethnic barriers to evangelize Gentiles. It was an evangelistic church. The church began when some followers of CHRIST were being persecuted in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen and fled. They planted a church.  

The church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas, the encourager, to Antioch. He encouraged members of the church to reach out to others with the Gospel. The ministry in Antioch was going great and Barnabas needed help. So he went to Tarsus in search of Saul and invited him to help him in Antioch.

Saul, who we know as Paul, had gone to Jerusalem after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. He met with the Apostle Peter and JESUS’ brother James. The Christian leaders in Jerusalem did not trust Paul because of his association with the Jewish religious leaders and the fact that he was responsible for killing Christians. But Barnabas took Saul under his wing and vouched for him to no avail. Saul was taken to the coast and placed on a ship to Tarsus, which was his home. After returning to Tarsus, Saul ministered to and evangelized Gentiles in that area for about ten (10) years. Brother Barnabas, the encourager, needed help in Antioch and went to Tarsus to find Saul and solicit his help in Antioch. 

The church in Antioch was an encouraging church, a teaching church, a giving church, a ministering church and a missionary church. They had quite a Christian legacy of being faithful and obedient to the call of GOD.

Doctor Luke reported that the church was led by prophets and teachers. Prophets and teachers are gifts of the Holy Spirit. This formed the foundation of the church. Luke listed the names of the leaders:

-         Barnabas, the encourager and a Levite. This is the same Barnabas we studied in our lesson last week. He sold a field and gave all the money from the sale of the field to the Apostles to be used as needed for the common good of fellow Christians. Cyprus was Barnabas’s home. Cyprus was under Roman rule but its culture remained Greek.

-         Simeon who was called Niger (NIGH guhr), which means black. He likely came from Cyrene or some place in Northern Africa.

-         Lucius (LYOO shuhs) the Cyrenian. He was from Cyrene the capital of Libya. Some speculate that this was Luke but most Bible scholars dismiss this.   

-         Manaen (MAN-uh-en), a close friend of •Herod the tetrarch. His close relationship with Herod is the likely source of intimate information on the Herodian family and came from a high social class.

-         Saul, we know as Paul. Saul was a Pharisee and trained under the best Jewish teacher. He considered himself a Pharisee of Pharisees. He is first mentioned at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He went on to persecute and have Christians placed in prison and killed until his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus. As already mentioned, Saul was his Jewish name and Paul was his Roman name. He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia. He was a Roman citizen but raised in the Greek culture. It is believed that his father was a Roman citizen.

-         Prophets were GOD’S messengers. GOD spoke through them to reveal HIS will either positive or negative. GOD revealed something that HE wanted done or revealed when a rebuke was necessary because of sin. Prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. GOD’S desire is for our pastors, preachers and evangelist to reveal what HE has placed upon their hearts to others.

-         Teachers explain what GOD has revealed through prophecy and its application. Being a teacher is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

The church in Antioch had both prophets and teachers. When both are in a church we see the results, when all are in unity with the Holy Spirit. We see the results of church leadership being led by the Holy Spirit and this applies to churches today.

We see in verse 2, that the church was focused on being obedient to the will of the Lord. They sought to do HIS will and as such they were listening to and empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The leadership received a clear message from GOD to set apart Barnabas and Saul for a special purpose. Setting apart for the special purpose and use by GOD is where we get the word “sanctification.”

We see that they were ministering and fasting when they received the message from GOD. They were seeking GOD’S direction for them as a body of believers. Fasting was not a routine part of the early church but it was when they were seeking the will and direction of GOD. Once HIS will was revealed to them, they implemented what GOD had revealed. They fasted, prayed and laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and then sent them out. GOD sent them on the first missionary journey to Cyprus.

The obedience of the church revealed the hearts of its members. Their desire was to obediently serve GOD as they were led by the Holy Spirit.

Antioch was a church united for the purpose of GOD. How often do our churches miss GOD given opportunities because its leadership does not have the vision or faith to obediently serve GOD? Often making excuses such as, we don’t have the money to do so and so or we have needs here at home that must be met first, then, we can go to other places. The key is, “What is GOD telling you to do?” There are times when we have to wait but GOD tells us to wait. It is vital not to get ahead of GOD.

In such situations, church leaders must have the gifts of discernment and faith. This is why church leadership must be led by the Holy Spirit. Work in and around our communities is important but it is also important to reach outside our boundaries when led by the Holy Spirit. It is also important not to reach until the Holy Spirit leads.

The church leaders in Antioch were fasting, praying and working locally until the Lord called them to reach further with the Gospel. It seems that Barnabas and Saul were being trained in the model church at Antioch to prepare them. When the time was right GOD called them to duplicate that model elsewhere.

Barnabas and Saul were commissioned for the calling of GOD. After fasting, praying and the laying on of their hands, the church sent them off. It was likely that the entire congregation fasted, prayed and laid their hands on them. It was a unified effort.

This may have had a two-fold purpose. When we consider that the congregation was in unity with the Holy Spirit, were they verifying the call of GOD before they sent Barnabas and Saul on their trip as well as commissioning them for the call? There is nothing wrong in making sure of GOD’S call when we are in right relationship with GOD through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

They went to Cyprus and after evangelizing there, they continued to evangelize as led by the Holy Spirit.  

Let’s read Acts 14:21-22:

Church Planting

21 After they had evangelized that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,t Mt 28:19; Ac 13:51
22 strengthening theu Lit the souls of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faithv Ac 11:23; 13:43 and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troublesw Lk 22:48; Jn 15:20; 16:33; Ac 9:16; Rm 8:17; 1Th 3:3; 2Tm 3:12 on our way into the kingdom of God.”

 

After Barnabas and Saul left Cyprus, they sailed to the country we know today as Turkey. They were proclaiming the Gospel and planting/establishing churches. After they had accomplished what GOD had led them to do in Derbe, the most distant point from Antioch, they returned to churches which had been established. They visited them and encouraged them because young churches are vulnerable. Doctor Luke listed those churches – Lystra (LISS truh), Iconium (igh (eye) KOH nih uhm) and Antioch (This was not the town that sent them but it was Pisidian (pih SID ih uhn) Antioch located in southern Galatia). Barnabas and Saul risked their lives by returning to these churches. In Lystra Saul was stoned and left for dead. In Iconium there were plots to stone them. They had been driven out of Pisidian Antioch.

Barnabas and Saul encouraged these new churches by encouraging them to stay focused on GOD’S word and the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Staying focused on the core beliefs regarding CHRIST is vital when difficult times come into either the lives of Christians or the life of the church body. This helped prepare the early churches for those difficult times which would come.

They told them that living the Christian life and obediently serving GOD was not easy. Often Christians attempt to sugar coat the Christian life. So often, Christians live in the power of their own strength and fail. Many Christians do not know the power and strength of the indwelling Holy Spirit which is vital as we journey as Christians and are building the kingdom of GOD. It is vital that Christians are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is accomplished by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, direct and empower their lives.

Barnabas and Saul knew the importance of structure within the body of the church. This could have come from Saul’s military training or the structure of the Jewish church. This leads us to our next scripture.

Let’s read Acts 14:23-28:

23 When they had appointed eldersx Ac 11:30; 13:3; 20:32; Tit 1:5 in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.
25 After they spoke the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.y Ac 11:19; 13:3
27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with themz Ac 15:12; 21:19 and that He had opened the doora 1Co 16:9; 2Co 2:12; Col 4:3; Rv 3:8 of faith to the Gentiles.
28 And they spent a considerable timeb Or spent no little time with the disciples.

Barnabas and Saul returned to the churches which had been planted. Whether a new church or a new Christian, it is vital that they not be dropped after being established or receiving salvation. Nurturing new Christians is often a failing in many churches.

Barnabas and Saul were planting churches whose members were most likely coming out of pagan religions. They were led to return to these new churches, not only to see how they were doing, but to answer questions. They also established organizational structure to the churches by selecting elders who were appointed by the church.

As mentioned earlier, fasting was not a routine practice of the early church. They fasted when they sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to make a decision.

We see that Barnabas and Saul committed those chosen to fill leadership positions to the Lord. They appointed elders. The word “elder” was a Jewish term, whereas bishop was a Greek term used for the same office. As used here “elders” referred to mature believers. Notice that the plural for elder was used. Therefore, more than one elder was selected to lead the church, who, in turn, were appointed by the church.

The word “appointed” refers to the raising or stretching of the hand. This suggests a voting process. It is likely that those selected as elders were voted on by the church members. The church members fasted when they prayed. The selection of church leadership is serious business and our attention needs to be dedicated to selecting those called by GOD to serve.

Barnabas and Saul trusted the leadership of the Holy Spirit to lead them to choose the right leaders and they committed them to the Lord. They trusted the Holy Spirit would lead and guide them to do what was needed to be done.

Later in scripture, Paul made it clear that a new Christian should not be made an elder because he had not grown and matured Spiritually.

The word “elder” has different meanings in various churches. In some Baptist churches it means “pastor.”

Barnabas and Saul visited all the churches which had been established. They traveled to Pisidia (pih SID ih uh) a mountainous area, Pamphylia (pam FIL ih uh) the lowlands, Perga (PUHR guh) the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia, where Mark had left them earlier, and Attalia (at uh LIGH uh) the seaport of Perga.

They committed the leadership, the congregation and their future, to the LORD. It was a commissioning and trusting of the new churches to the care of the LORD through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. They left these new churches full of confidence that they were in the hands of GOD. The Holy Spirit would lead, guide and sustain them. The elders, under the authority of the Holy Spirit, would shepherd and guide the congregation.

After revisiting all the churches which had been established, they returned to Antioch, the church that had commissioned them to go. They gave a report to the church at Antioch about their missionary journey. Bible scholars are not sure how long Barnabas and Saul were gone but speculation is they were gone one to two years.

This pattern is followed by most churches today. When a church sends missionaries out, they return to give a report to the congregation. A report reveals how the Lord worked in the lives of various people, their own lives and the life of the church or area they went to. In turn, such reports encourage those who remained behind and supported those who went with their prayers and money. It often revitalizes the members of the church that sent the missionaries or the teams and helps them to focus on the importance of both the Spiritual and physical needs of those locally in the church, their community and the world.

America is at a crossroads and we as Christians must be in much prayer about our future as a Christian nation. We must seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit and take a stand as led. As Christians, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and obediently serve our LORD as led by the Holy Spirit. This must begin with me. As Christians, it is not something that we can delegate to others. Ground zero is each Christian. It is not you but me. Each Christian is accountable to GOD. When HE calls will we respond? Is the LORD building HIS kingdom through us or our church? Blessings!!!