2008-08-22
01. Our previous teaching dealt with the Holy Spirit’s ministry in Antioch and Paul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey.
02. The present teaching focuses mostly on Paul’s second missionary journey.
03. Before we walk that road with him, just page with me in your Bibles to chapter 15 verses 1-2:
Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
04. When we enter into Christian ministry, we enter into battle. Looking at it from the outside, is like sitting in your lounge watching a TV picture of a terrible war being fought; things buildings are blown up and destroyed, people get hurt and die. The difference is that in a physical war, the enemy is visible and well defined.
In this spiritual battle the enemy comes in different forms:
- Firstly there is the invisible devil and his hordes of demons using divers means to attempt to destroy the Kingdom of God.
- Secondly there is the unregenerate church that attacks the real believers. By that I mean that large body of people like the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes that group together in some or other denomination but are not born again. They do not belong to God and are in fact the devil’s under cover agents and possibly the most dangerous of all.
- Then there are the heathen or outright unbelievers that do not belong to a church They enjoy their sin and will fight and even kill you if you oppose them. These ungodly people manipulate and pervert society and even the law and government for their own purposes.
- Furthermore there is the battle within the true church of God. Believer fights believer because of misinterpretation of the Scriptures or because of jealousy.
- Lastly there is the enemy within the Christian worker, the flesh that wars against the Holy Spirit that entered into the believer when he gave his life to Christ and got born again (you can read more about this kind of battle Romans chapter 7.)
The Book of Acts is largely a history of this vehement clash between two spiritual kingdoms; the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of darkness. The soldiers were frail people just like you and me. The battle was continually swaying this way and that; now darkness would have supremacy but suddenly there was a turn of events and Light would prevail. The attentive reader would however very soon come to the joyous and exhilarating conclusion that there is no question as to the final outcome. Satan and sin will be destroyed and the Lord’s banner will fly high over all the universe. Hallelujah!
05. The portions of Scripture we read earlier on, depicts several kinds of these battles. Just recall them and you will see what I mean. In the last read portion, Paul and Barnabas were no longer just fighting the battle out there in the distant countries. They were alarmed to discover that the devil had slipped right into their own congregation through the door behind the pulpit. He was now attacking them through fellow believers using a false doctrine, perverting and twisting the Gospel.
The controversy that had arisen in the Antioch congregation, was sparked off by visiting Christian brothers from the Jerusalem congregation. They taught that a person had to be circumcised or else he could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas strongly withstood this teaching which was perverting the truth. It was adding a burden to the pure, simple Gospel, undermining the finished work of Christ. On top it all, it was bound to tear their congregation apart for there were large numbers of non-Jewish Christians. They would have been offended by these Jewish demands and might very easily have split off and formed their own congregation. A teaching which adds to, or subtracts from God’s Word, is called a heresy. It can be avoided by diligently and humbly studying the Word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
06. No matter how the apostles tried to settle the dispute, the battle kept on raging. Neither side would give way. So they realised that they would need help from outside of the congregation. The obvious direction in which to turn, was towards the body of apostles which the Lord Jesus had raised up during His lifetime. Them He had left behind to guide His Church through its vital early stages of development. So Paul, Barnabas and a number of other believers were nominated to go up to Jerusalem and lay the matter before the leaders of that congregation.
We have not quoted the rest of that chapter here, nor will we deal with it all, but you will do well to read through it on your own and see how the controversy was cleared up and answers found under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This they brought back to Antioch by way of a written letter and the multitude of believers that had been holding their breath, was much relieved and encouraged. They were also blessed by the prophetic words of two men, namely Judas and Silas that accompanied Paul back home. Jesus again was the Victor by the working of His Spirit.
07. Now let us read on from versus 35 to 39:
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘‘Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
08. Well, well, what do we have here? Have we not said that Christian ministry is an ongoing battle waged on different fronts. A short time ago we saw these two mighty soldiers of God, each with the drawn sword of the Word in their right hands, standing shoulder to shoulder, fighting the false teaching that had crept up upon them and now?
Now they have sheathed the swords of the Word and drawn the daggers of their tongues. They were circling one another in a fierce argument as to whether John who had fled from the battle during their previous journey, was to be allowed to accompany them on their second journey. Two mighty men of God, not fighting the enemy, but fighting one another, circling around one another with their arguments as the congregation watched with bated breath. “Are our pastors now going to split the congregation, or what?” In the end the two of them resolved their dispute themselves by each choosing his own coworker, pairing off and going his own direction.
Now who was right and who wrong? Was it not purely a clash of personalities; the softer one leaning towards drawing in and training up the weaker John Markus and the stricter one sensing the need of cutting away all that disgraces the Name of the Lord? Perhaps a little trace of nepotism on Barnabas’s side in regard to his cousin played a role. Or maybe Barnabas was reacting against Paul who was beginning to take the leading role in their joint ministry? We can only speculate.
But the Lord was one step ahead of them and had shortly before led Silas to join the Antioch congregation which made him available when Paul needed a partner. Also interesting to note, is that where Paul refused to afford John, (also called Mark) a second chance, God did so by later on using him to write the Gospel of Mark.
The good that came from this embarrassing incident was that these two strong men now formed two seperate teams, thereby doubling their capacity to reach out to the unreached world. The Lord won once more!
09. Let us move on, accompanying Paul and Silas on their journey for the Word does not tell us anything more about Barnabas and John, although we are convinced that the Lord Jesus accompanied and guided them just as tenderly as He did Paul and Silas. The fact that our photos are not on the front page of the church bulletin, does not mean that God loves and cherishes us any less than the other leaders. We should also note that Paul and Mark were later reconciled and became good friends.
10. So Barnabas and Mark turned left, crossing the sea to Cyprus and Paul and Silas turned right, traveling overland through Paul’s old home town Tarsus and on to Syria and Cilicia. The Antioch church was left behind to allow the dust to settle after the two major conflicts and to get on with their own local ministries.
11. Paul intended this journey to be just a visiting and strengthening of the congregations they had planted, but the Lord had a much wider horizon for them. The Holy Spirit led them on and on, sometimes even blocking their way when their natural understanding would have directed a course which was not within God’s plan.
Let us look at their route, reading Chapter 16, from verse 1. (See the map possibly provided in your Bible.) The towns, cities and countries mentioned are Derbe, Lystra, Troas, Samotrace, Neapolis, Philippi a city in the colony of Macedonia, then through Amphipolis and Appolonia to Thessalonica, then Berea and from there right into that metropolis of Greece, the city of Athens. Then on to Corinth and Cenchrea from where they crossed the ocean to Ephesus. Instead of returning to their home base, Antioch, they took a boat and crossed the Mediterranean to the harbour town of Caesarea on the Palestinian west coast. From there overland to Jerusalem to be in time for the Jewish Passover feast which Paul felt led to attend (18:21). Only then did they return to Antioch.
12. Some time later Paul and company undertook a third journey, very much along the same route as his third journey. We are not pressurising you to remember all these difficult foreign names. No, the whole idea is that by just reading the story, we will see how great our God is. He evangelized most of the known world during a short space of time, using a small man that had been a murderer of Christians. This little man travelled thousands of kilometres on foot and by ship and suffered terrible hardships. He continued undauntedly because the mighty Holy Spirit was working within him, through him, with him and for him.
13. Let us just have a brief look at how Paul describes his sufferings for Christ. We read from 2 Cor. 11:23-33:
Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.”
14. My brother and sister, Christian ministry is conducted on a battlefield. However, let us not run away from the battle but rather run into it, for Paul’s God, is our God and He will carry us through.
15. It is so difficult to select incidents from Paul’s further experiences on which to reflect, but let us do so. We read from chapter 16:9-15:
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, ‘‘come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
16. Just a few comments. Firstly, see Paul’s strategy. He was always looking for people that were gathered together by their joint interest in God. If there was a Jewish synagogue, he would attend their meeting on the Sabbath and there proclaim the Gospel until they kicked him out. In this case, he discovered a place outside the town of Philippi where women normally gathered for a prayer meeting. Paul and Silas sat down with them which must have been a fairly unusual thing for men to do at that time, but the important thing was that they gained an opportunity to share the Gospel and as the ladies listened, the Lord opened Lydia’s understanding. Without further ado, both she and her family that were present, accepted Christ and were baptized. Praise God, the first converts at Philippi had been made. Who would be next?
17. We read verses 16 to 40:
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, ‘‘These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, ‘‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, ‘‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, ‘‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.”
18. Paul and company regularly went to that place of prayer to continue gathering in the harvest. The devil was aware of this. He always devises all sorts of cunning ways to disrupt the work of God. Sometimes he disguises himself as an angel of God that is bringing the Gospel.
If you and your fellow believers were in a strange town, walking to the market place to hold an open air meeting and suddenly a lady starts following you, shouting “‘‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved,” how would you react? Would you not perhaps be flattered, smiling at her, thinking “Well this is wonderful, even strangers can see Jesus in me?” You might have greeted her in a friendly way and invited her to join your team.
But not Paul. He discerned that this was an evil religious spirit speaking through her. She was not speaking under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and God would not honour her testimony by converting hearts to Christ. Therefore, having endured this demonic onslaught for many days, he was lead by God to rebuke the spirit which immediately left the woman.
Here we learn an important lesson from Paul. Although we have Jesus’ authority to cast out demons, we need to do it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We cannot just run up to a person manifesting signs of demon possession and start rebuking the devil. God’s work, whatever it may be, must be done in His timing.
19. Confronting the devil head on often has serious consequences. Paul’s action not only affected the slave girl, but also her owner’s purse. Now, if you want trouble, just stretch out your hand to a rich and influential man’s pocket. This is exactly what happened. The poor abused girl’s furious owners discovered that her ability of telling the future had left her and with that, also their ability to make money through her. They were furious, grabbed, Paul and Silas who were strangers in the city, dragged them to court and brought false accusations against them. This led to the judges convicting them and having them savagely flogged and cast into jail where they were kept under maximum security.
20. Did they feel sorry for themselves. Did they cry? Moan? Blame God? Sleep? No, first of all they prayed; possibly prayed to be released so that they could proceed with their work. But, there comes a time when God says, “I have noted your requests. They are written in bold letters on my wall right in front of me. Stop praying; I do not want to hear any more of it.” And you may say, “Lord but I am hurting and bleeding and hungry and afraid, I can’t just lie here quietly.” Do you know what He once told me when I had been sick for many weeks? He said “Praise Me and keep on and on. You may do that as long as you please. I will never get tired of listening to your praises.”
But here is a deeper lesson; you must not praise and worship God to get your prayer answered, you must do it because you really love and adore Him even though He is not answering your prayer. That is bringing a sacrifice of praise. That releases a sweet fragrance in the courtroom of heaven. When they moved into this victory of faith mode, probably a great shout of joy went up from the angels in heaven. Even the whole prison shook so vehemently that the doors burst open and the shackles fell off the prisoners. Wow.
21. We might have fled to the street but not Paul and Silas. All they had in mind, wherever they were, was “Salvation, salvation”. Therefore, when the jailor tried to commit suicide, Paul shouted “Don’t do it mate, we’re all right here!” Another miracle. An open prison but the prisoners choosing to remain inside because of the presence of God. Relief swept over the astounded jailor. He grabbed a torch, ran to Paul and fell on his knees. Then he lead them outside the cell and pleaded with them, ‘‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” “No problem.” Paul replied. ‘‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” After the display of God’s majesty and grace, it was so easy for the jailor and his people to believe in the Lord Jesus and, in doing so, they got saved.
22. Joy and gratitude swept over that household. They had water brought and bathed Paul and Silas’ wounds. Then more water was brought and these new believers were baptized to confirm their irrevocable faith in Christ. At last food arrived from the kitchen and at that early hour of the morning Paul and Silas had a hearty meal, on the house, that is, at Government’s expense.
23. Let us read the last verses of chapter 16:
When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: ‘‘Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, ‘‘The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to the officers: ‘‘They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.
24. The next morning the astounded jailor saw even more miracles when the judges turned up to ask God’s servants for forgiveness for having punished them so unjustly and then personally leading them out of their city in dignity.
25. God’s work often renders unexpected pleasant surprises. Bless you.
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