Paul's First Missionary Journey

If you are visiting us this morning we are in a series in the book of Acts that we’ve entitled Mission Unstoppable. I want to take a minute to set the context before we read this passage.

In chapter 1:8 Jesus told his disciples that they would be his witnesses in ever-widening circles, from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth – to the Gentiles. In chapter 10 the gospel breaks through the Gentile barrier after Peter receives a vision that he is to preach the gospel to a Gentile named Cornelius and his household. In chapter 11 some Jewish disciples begin to preach the gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch of Syria (roughly 300 miles north of Jerusalem) and the first Gentile church is established in Antioch. Barnabas and Saul end up working with the Gentile church in Antioch and that’s where we find them in chapter 13. Let’s read verses 1-4 and then pray together.

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When I was about 25 years old I woke up one day, it was my day off from work, and I was just deeply restless inside. I realized I was in a dead end job and felt this need to make a change – but had no idea what that meant. So I ended up driving out east on Long Island– I had no particular destination in mind, I just felt like I needed to go. I ended up visiting a family I knew in eastern LI, and as we talked they began to urge me to go to a Bible school in the area. By the time I left their house I had resolved to apply and attend that Bible school and 3 months later I found myself at CFNI Bible School. God in His sovereignty used that time at CFNI to clarify His call on my life, and most importantly, it was there I met my wife, Janice. I will always be thankful for how God used a day off, a restless feeling, and a vague decision to go in a direction without really knowing where I was going to change my life. Looking back, I have no doubt that it was the Holy Spirit stirring in my heart that morning.

That day changed the trajectory of my life but in Acts 13 we read about a day that changed not only the trajectory of Christian missions but history itself! Luke identifies five men, Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and Saul who are prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch, but it’s hard to tell if it was just these five men gathered together or the entire church worshipping together. I tend to think that the entire church is worshipping and fasting and that Luke mentions these five men so that we know that what the Spirit says to the gathered church is confirmed by both the church and its leaders. As they are worshipping together the Holy Spirit tells them to set aside Barnabas and Saul for the work He has called them to. The Spirit doesn’t give them a travel itinerary just “set them apart and send them out” and in faith that’s just what the church does. They lay hands on Barnabas and Saul and send them out trusting that the Spirit that called them will direct them. Like Abraham, they are “going, not knowing.”

Let me just pause here and say that the Holy Spirit is to be a vital part of our lives and decisions both as a church and as individuals. We should be seeking and listening for the direction and leading of the Spirit both corporately and individually. This doesn’t mean that we should expect our direction in life to be set by subjective impressions and feelings. My story of waking up one morning with a restless feeling hasn’t been the norm for how the Spirit has led me and it shouldn’t be considered the normal template for what our decision-making process should look like. I don’t want to get a call from someone in the church tomorrow telling me that in response to this message they quit their job, packed their bags, and are heading west, “going, not knowing.” When making decisions we should weigh the practical considerations, we should seek wisdom, and we should get counsel. What the Spirit did in chapter 13 wasn’t a matter of one person hearing something and setting out, it was a matter of many mature believers together hearing from the Holy Spirit and acting on it. Seeking counsel from other mature believers gives us a safety net so we don’t end up messing up our lives. Having said that, let’s not neglect the vital role of the Holy Spirit or the importance of listening for His guidance.

We also see in this passage what I believe is a healthy pattern for those who feel called to ministry. Saul and Barnabas didn’t send themselves out, though they must certainly have felt the Spirit calling them. But their internal sense of call was submitted to and affirmed by the church and its leaders. If you feel an internal sense of calling to vocational ministry, it’s healthy to allow others to affirm that call. That is a biblical pattern that protects both the individual and the church from the damage that can be inflicted by a man who has called himself but whom God has not called or gifted for that role.

The first missionary journey begins

Barnabas and Saul are sent off on what would be for Saul the first of three missionary journeys. Up until now the gospel has been primarily confined to Israel and Syria lying just north of Israel. Now Barnabas and Saul are setting sail across the Mediterrean Sea for Asia Minor, stopping first on the island of Cyprus. There as they preach the gospel it attracts the interest of a government official named Sergius Paulus, and that infuriates a Jewish magician who has used sorcery to win prestige and position alongside the proconsul and he sees his status is threatened by the preaching of Saul (who is now going by his Roman name Paul) and Barnabas and he tries to turn the proconsul away from the gospel. Paul confronts him by the power of the Spirit and blinds him for a time. This demonstration of the power of God and the preaching of God’s word convinces Sergius Paulus and he believes in Jesus Christ.

From Cyprus they sail on to Perga which is on the southern tip of Asia Minor, and as they set foot on the continent of Asia Minor, they are in uncharted territory. No Christian has ever set foot on this land before. Stretching before them is unknown, dangerous, and far more hostile land and Barnabas’ young cousin John Mark who has accompanied them to this point turns back and heads back to Jerusalem. That will become important in a couple of chapters.

From Perga they head north to Antioch in Pisidia (a different Antioch) and there so many people come out to hear the preaching of Christ that the Jews get jealous and begin to contradict and revile Paul, and in response Paul declares that he will preach to the Gentiles, which makes the Gentiles really glad. But the Jews increase their persecution, finally driving them out of the city. So they head eastward to a city named Iconium. Once again they find great success at first and then fierce opposition and hearing that they are going to be stoned they flee south to a city called Lystra.

In Lystra things really get weird. Let’s read in chapter 14:8-20. On arriving at Lystra Paul sees a lame man crippled from birth and as he hears Paul preach Christ, Paul sees that he has faith to be healed. So by the power of God Paul heals the lame man. Now the Lycaonians were very pagan and very superstitious and they had a legend that many years ago the gods Jupiter and Mercury had come to a region near them disguised as mortal men. They sought hospitality from the people but were sent away empty handed a thousand times until they finally came to a poor couple living in a poor cottage who took them in and shared all they had with them. Jupiter and Mercury rewarded this poor couple but sent floods to kill those who didn’t take them in.

So when Paul heals this lame man, they are convinced that the gods have returned and they aren’t going to make the same mistake twice! It took everything Paul and Barnabas had to convince them not to worship them. But then some Jews traveled from Antioch to Lystra to persuade them against Paul and Barnabas and so they go from being worshipped as gods to being stoned. They leave Paul for dead, but he rises up and they move on to Derbe, a town over.

Let’s read together Acts 14:21-27. They have preached the gospel in very pagan cities to people who have never heard the gospel before and in verse 23 we see the pattern of ministry they followed in order to establish the gospel in pagan lands and not have their labor be in vain. They preached the gospel, they planted churches, they appointed elders in every one of those churches. And then, after working hard to teach and disciple and establish viable churches in these dangerous lands, they entrusted them to God and left.

I believe this pattern is as relevant for the church today as it was in the NT. I don’t think it can be improved upon for reaching communities and future generations with the gospel in a lasting way. Let’s consider briefly each of these four aspects of their missionary strategy.

a. They preached the gospel

As I said recently, we may think this goes without saying, but it needs to be said. They preached the gospel clearly and many came to faith in Christ through the gospel. They preached the gospel boldly and uncompromisingly in the face of fierce opposition and persecution. Although in our country we don’t see the kind of persecution that Paul faced and other parts of the world still face, nevertheless there are strong currents of opposition to the gospel in this country and some of those currents are coming from churches that claim to be “Christian”. Right now there is a growing movement to replace the gospel of Christ with the message of universalism – everyone is saved and no one goes to hell in the end. A popular book out now is the book Love Wins by Rob Bell and he promotes this kind of universalism and it’s gaining a lot of followers. The church needs to be fiercely committed to preaching the pure gospel of Jesus Christ no matter the opposition.

b. They planted churches

Planting churches is the pattern that the Holy Spirit established in the New Testament for evangelism and for strengthening those who came to Christ. Preaching the gospel and planting churches go hand in hand as the most effective way to ensure the gospel work will last. Planting churches is the way that the work of evangelism is stewarded, much as establishing families are the way that the work of having children is stewarded. Children need families and new disciples need churches for their growth and health and maturing.

Last week we had the privilege of welcoming over 20 people including children as new members of Grace Community Church. Each of them could share a testimony of how God has used the local church to strengthen and encourage them in their faith. But that just touches on one layer of a multilayered tapestry– it’s much more than that. Because they also bring so much to the table that strengthens and encourages the church body and makes us better equipped to serve the Lord as a congregation. But that’s just one more layer, because together we become a gospel witness to this community as people get to know us and see and hear the difference Christ has made in our lives and come to believe in Him. But it’s more than that because then we consider the future history we have with those who will come to the church in the years to come, and the children who will grow up in church that, while not perfect, loves and holds to the word of God.

But it’s more than that, because we hope and pray that by the grace of God we will one day be able to plant one, two, three, maybe more churches in other communities and see the gospel witness affect those communities for the glory of Christ.

If we love the gospel and love making disciples, we will love the church because that’s the vehicle Jesus created to evangelize and make disciples. If we love the church we should love church planting.

c. They appointed elders

As they doubled back through those churches they provided for those churches by appointing men as elders or shepherds to feed, care for, serve, and protect those churches. Notice that they appointed elders in every church. They didn’t leave any church leaderless. And notice that they appointed elders (plural) in every church. God’s best plan for the church is a plurality of pastors rather than a single pastor.

There are few tasks as important for church leadership to prayerfully weigh as raising up elders. Over the years I have met many pastors who have raised up elders (or inherited elders) who are clearly not called or qualified and it is a constant sorrow and trouble to them and has a tremendously detrimental effect on the church as a whole. But on the other hand, we can be too careful, too cautious, too slow. Paul and Barnabas were not foolish, but they were operating with faith as well. We want to be (as Piper puts it) in God’s place at God’s pace with this very important aspect of church life.

Appointing the leader’s that God desires is one of the best ways to care for and prepare a local church for the future. Leaders that don’t lord it over, don’t dominate, don’t fleece the flock for their own selfish gain, but rather feed the flock, serve the flock, care for the flock, and protect the flock as Jesus the chief Shepherd does. Not perfect men, sinners saved by grace, but men who are gifted and called by God for that noble task.

d. They entrusted the churches to God

They did everything they could to safeguard the church and , but finally they left the churches and entrusted them to God. They weren’t the pastors they were the apostles and that is what God called them to do. Paul would come back later to see how the churches were doing. He never stopped caring or carrying them on his heart and carrying them to God in prayer. But he left them in the hands of God. Ministry of any kind ultimately takes faith – we need to trust God with those we minister to. Parents need to trust God with their children’s salvation. Spouses need to trust their spouses to the Lord. We need to trust the people we have witnessed to to God. Leaders who are raised up, and churches that are planted – ultimately the Lord never allows us to move far from faith.

Read vv. 24-27

They had fulfilled the work they had been commissioned to. They had preached, they had planted, they had appointed. But all the glory goes to God as they declare all that God had done, and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. This reminds us that we are to work hard to fulfill what the Lord has commissioned us to do for His name’s sake and for the church, but in the end it is all of His grace and He gets all the glory.

This is not a flashy strategy, but I believe that it is the same strategy that the Spirit is speaking to the church today – and the most effective way for the church to make disciples in a lasting way. As we close, let’s ask God to instill this vision ever more deeply in our hearts and may each of us find our particular place in this labor.

• Is the Lord inviting you to trust Him with something that is beyond your control? Maybe you’ve invested the gospel in a person or a relationship or your children, and now you have to entrust that labor to the Lord.

• Pray that the Lord would stir each of our hearts with a restlessness to invest our lives in His work of preaching the gospel, building churches, raising up leaders. If you are a Christian, you have a part.

• If you’re not yet a Christian, I want to invite you to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.