Supernatural #13: Being A Missionary Christian Series

SUPERNATURAL #13: BEING A MISSIONARY CHRISTIAN

OPENING TEXT:

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20).

• This is the great commission that Jesus gave to His disciples, and He gives to us today.

QUOTE: “From its beginning in the 1920’s, the Foursquare movement has been “dedicated unto the cause of inter-denominational and world wide evangelism.” The command of Jesus Christ to “make disciples of all nations” is the foundation of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.” (John Amstutz, Disciples of All Nations).

KEY TEXT: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

THE BIG IDEA: God has called us to be missionary Christians – a body of believers who focus on reaching people with the love of Christ.

TEXT: “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was 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.” (Acts 13:1-3).

• Here again we see the strong emphasis on PRAYER that the early church had.

• Because they were praying and fasting, they heard from Heaven – a divine mission!

• Barnabas = son of encouragement; Saul = we read about his conversion in Acts 9.

TEXT: “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.” (Acts 13:4-5).

• SEE MAP: They went from ANTIOCH to SELEUCIA, then sailed to CYPRUS

“Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” (Acts 13:6-12).

• There are two kinds of people:

o Those who are reaching people with the love of Christ – like Paul and Barnabas,

o and those who are trying to hinder people from believing in Jesus, like Elymas.

• Which one are you?

• Paul had strong words to say to Bar-Jesus, who would try to hinder the preaching of the gospel: “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil!”

• Or are you like Sergius Paulus, yet to believe in Jesus?

“Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.” (Acts 13:13-14).

• v.15 - they invited Paul to speak in the synagogue

• v.16-37 - Paul preached JESUS, His death, resurrection:

• v.38 - “Through this Man Jesus is preached to you the forgiveness of sins.”

- in other words, he preached, “Jesus can transform your life today!”

• v.42-43 - the Gentiles asked them to come back and preach again next week

• v.44 - almost the whole city came to hear the word of God

• v.45 - but the Jews were jealous, and opposed and contradicted them.