Text: Acts 9:20-31, Title: A Slow Start, Date/Place: NRBC, 1/20/08, AM
A. Opening illustration: One of Lynn’s biographical anecdotes for the children, tell about the church the other day who decided not to call their members “members,” but to call them bi-vocational staff. So everyone who joined was issued a employee handbook and given a title, such as “the minister to Paulk Rd” or the “minister of kitchen supplies” or “the pastor of van missions.”
B. Background to passage: After Paul’s Damascus Road conversion, he does what all believers should do, enters immediately into ministry. After these eleven verses, Paul is not seen or heard from until Acts 11:25.
C. Main thought: in the text we will see four aspects of Paul’s ministry
A. The Message of His Ministry (v. 20-22, 29)
1. Paul’s message was simple, offensive, and clear. He was preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed One, the Son of God. He was bold in his proclamation, as well as his apologetics. With his incredible knowledge of the scriptures, he was “proving” that Jesus was the One for whom they waited. Paul didn’t look for common ground this time, he took the battle right to its most disputed point. And notice that over time, he was growing stronger in the ministry that the Lord had appointed him to.
2. 1 Cor 1:23, 2:2-5, 2 Cor 4:5, Eph 3:8,
3. Illustration: at the bottom of all my notes you will find a question: is Jesus Christ exalted, magnified, honored, and glorified? Tell of Judy’s evangelistic encounter with a terminally ill person with the degenerative disease, and the criticism she received for not simply being a friend, tell about the JWs who came to my door and I just got right to the point, cross in the bag
4. The content of Christian preaching should be Jesus as the all-sufficient Son of God, Savior of the World, and Lord of Glory. Jesus Christ is the gospel! He is the treasure! He is the all-satisfying, omnipotent, Wonderful Counselor. Preaching should not be evaluated upon the preacher’s ability to say on the right clichés and get lots of “amens.” Preachers have a culture around here of things to say that will guarantee a response. Preaching needs to be evaluated upon how well it expounds on the truth of the Word to the honor of Christ and the fame of His Name. We must as well take the battle where it lies. Therefore, we must become skilled in apologetics. Parents, you must teach children why we believe. You must also be able to teach and demonstrate a consistent worldview. Children and young people if you are faced with those who don’t believe in God, argue for that. Are you better at the ministry that God has called you to today than you were two years ago? Have them write down the four best Christological passages in the NT. Get some little crosses for the lunch bags.
B. The Preparation of His Ministry (v. 23)
1. All that this verse states is that many days elapsed. But Galatians and 2 Corinthians note that he spent almost three years in Nabetean Arabia in preparation for ministry. We are not sure exactly what he did there, but we know that it was not sitting in a cave in the desert. For when he returned, not only did the Jews in Damascus want him dead, the Nabetean King Aretus did too. So more than likely, Paul had been engaging in some sort of evangelistic ministry while there. It was on the job training.
2. Rom 14:8, Philip 1:21,
3. Illustration: prepare Ziploc bags of flour, salt, baking powder, nuts to talk about the preparation time for those little thumb-print cookies in the fridge overnight, Donald Haley, the little boy’s father, answered the door. When faced with the neatly-dressed stranger he simply asked, “Can I help you?” Suddenly, a little boy appeared between his father’s legs, peering up at the stranger’s face. “Yes, I’m Dwight Eisenhower and I’d like to meet your son.” The little boy scampered out to the limo and the president showed him the car and allowed him to sit in it. They parted with a handshake and a hug. All the while Donald Haley stood in the doorway awestruck. His neighbors are still talking about it to this day.
4. Sometimes there are seasons of preparation for ministry. Sometimes people go to school for ministry. Sometimes God uses life experience as preparation. And sometimes He just says to get right on it. But it is always important to prepare for a venture with God. Our existence was and is so that God may be glorified whether we live or die, so we must not fail to prepare for the greatest mission of our existence. But even time waiting on God to act should not be spent napping for the kingdom. Wherever we are there is always ministry to be done.
C. The Protection of His Ministry (v. 23-25, 30)
1. Imagine a starry night in Jerusalem in 37 AD. There was a little chill in the air as they tied ropes around a basket, and as you prepare to entrust your life to your friends, a rope, and a basket. And they are going to hang you over the 80 foot drop to the ground below. With the exception of God, no one is more convinced of life’s preciousness than you at that time. But from a NT perspective, these disciples had so much potential in their hands. It’s as if they were protecting a priceless tool for the advance of the kingdom. And they were determined to keep Paul alive for the glory of God.
2. Ps 139:15-17, Eph 6:10,
3. Illustration: put a plastic egg in each bag with different things in the eggs, tell them that one egg has water in it, and put that one on the front pew, put an acorn in the bags and tell about the professor who was teaching his children about the potential oak tree in the acorn and relating it to abortion,
4. Have you ever had a bunch of people that want to see you dead? Millions of unborn boys and girls have this experience every year, 48 million since 1973. Unborn children are important to God because they are created in His image and for His glory. You and I are the same. Killing an unborn child is the same thing as killing a man for the message that he preaches. Parents you can view your children as those priceless tools for the advance of the gospel and the glory of Christ. Most of us are more vulnerable to spiritual attacks than physical ones. And we must do everything in our power to fight off those attacks. The goal of these attacks is to render us useless to the kingdom in ministry. If you don’t have a ministry, then you probably won’t be attacked very much.
D. The Endorsement of His Ministry (v. 26-28)
1. Finally, he makes it to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles, and his reputation still precedes him. They won’t see him. but by God’s grace, Barnabas the Son of Encouragement, comes along, and according to the Greek, takes him under his wing, listens to him, and goes to bat for him. And with his help and endorsement, he began to go in and out with the Apostles and the church at Jerusalem and participate in the preaching and evangelism ministry there.
2. Gal 1:16-17,
3. Illustration: tell the story of a trouble teen who begins to date the daughter of a church member, and he eventually wins over the parents, and they take him under their wing, and go to bat for him, tell about the sermon that was preached about Barnabas being the greatest church member ever, tell about the church that requires at membership for others to have a Barnabas (a mentor), a Silas (a peer), and a Timothy (a disciple), do a role play thing about Dean being the go-between to get Gage and Halina to accept Mackenzie as not being mean,
4. Oh, how we need some Barnabases! We need those that will listen and not gossip. We need those who will take others alongside and disciple them. This will require time and effort. We need encouragers, not discouragers. We need kingdom-focused parents to rear kingdom-focused children and youth. We need people that will see the potential in young disciples and lost people.
A. Closing illustration: I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear!" — by Dr. Robert Moorehead
B. Talk about v. 31 briefly
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
