Paul's Little Buddy Series

Paul’s Little Buddy

Text: Acts 16:1-5

Introduction

1. Illustration: If you walk out into the parking lot this morning and someone says to you, "How do I get to Atlanta?" You say, "Well, get in your car." Well, that’s good advice. That’s the start of it. But you also need to say, "Start your car and head south and a little bit east ..." and give more detailed directions to see them through to the destination they have named. The beginning of evangelism is the information about Jesus Christ, how to get into him and to him; but there is much more. Evangelism is persuading a person to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. (Leith Anderson, "Making More Disciples," Preaching Today).

2. Our job as Christians is not making converts, but rather making disciples.

3. That is what Jesus told us to do, and that’s what the early church practiced.

4. Read Acts 16:1-5

Transition: The first thing we need to understand is…

I. Leaders Grow Leaders (1-3).

A. Young Disciple

1. In our text today, Paul begins on his second missionary journey with his dear friend and companion Barnabas. In v. 1 Luke tells us, “Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.”

a. Paul and Barnabas return to Lystra to check on the progress of the church that Paul had planted there on his first missionary journey.

b. In case you’ve forgotten, back in chapter 14, they were treated harshly there, and in fact, Paul was stoned there, drug out of the city, and left for dead.

c. Now, if anyone ever doubted Paul’s commitment to the Gospel or his courage, this should end that doubt.

d. He was so concerned about the believers there that he risked his own life to check on their spiritual progress.

2. In Lystra, there was a young disciple named Timothy.

a. The word disciple comes from a Greek word which indicates both thought and effort.

b. It refers to “a learner who follows both the teaching and the teacher.”

c. This is what Jesus commands us to do in the Great Commission, to make disciples.

d. Timothy probably had become a believer the last time Paul was in Lystra.

e. He had already had solid training in the Scriptures from his mother (a Jewish believer) and his grandmother.

f. Luke here makes an important point here, that will become important in the next few verses, that his mother was Jewish, and his father was a Greek.

3. Now, let’s talk about why this is so important. In vv. 2-3 it says, “Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.”

a. Luke tells us that Timothy had a great reputation among the believers in that area, and Paul needed an assistant to accompany him on his journey.

b. So, he invited Timothy to come with him. This shows that Paul was all about training young believers in the work of the ministry.

c. One of the things that young believers need to learn to become strong leaders is commitment.

d. A few weeks ago, I was having lunch with “Big Eli,” and I told him that if I ever had the opportunity to speak to an Ordination class, I would tell them unless you are certain that this is the call of God on your life, run away as fast and as far as you can.

e. Ministry is not for the faint at heart, and it requires strong commitment to the Gospel.

f. Timothy shows his level of commitment by his willingness to submit to being circumcised as an adult.

g. Why does Paul ask this of him? Well, like I said a few minutes ago, his mother was a Jew, and his father was Greek.

h. According to Jewish law, if a child’s mother is Jewish, so is the child.

i. Paul knew there would be many Jews they would encounter on their journey who were still concerned about keeping the tradition of circumcision, and since he didn’t want this to become a stumbling block to preaching the Gospel, he asked Timothy to be circumcised.

j. The fact that Timothy is willing to do so shows his level of commitment to the ministry.

B. Make Disciple’s

1. Illustration: Here's the thing that can be difficult to wrap our minds around: If you make disciples, you always get the church. But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples. Many of us serve in or lead churches where we have hundreds or even thousands of people showing up on Sunday. But we must honestly answer this question: do their lives look like the lives of the people we see in Scripture? If you set out to build the church, there is no guarantee you will make disciples. It is far more likely that you will create consumers who depend on the spiritual services that religious professionals provide. (Mike Breen, 2011 Building a Discipleship Culture, 11).