The church at Antioch (N of Jerusalem), sent off their first missionaries – read Acts 13:1-4.
• There were five pastors (teachers) and they sent Paul and Barnabas out.
• They moved to Seleucia, sailed to Salamis, crossed the island to Paphos, and sailed to Perga and then North to Antioch (Pisidia). [SEE MAP]
Paul goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath. They saw visiting teachers and invited them to speak. Read Acts 13:14-16.
• At the end, Paul concluded with these words – Acts 13:38-41.
• Don’t be a sceptic. Put your trust in Jesus and your sin will be forgiven.
[Read Acts 13:42-52]
• We see here the power of the Word of God.
The people were hungry for the truth of God’s Word.
• They were moved by what they heard and wanted to know more, so they invited Paul to come back again.
• Isn’t that wonderful? You preached and the people are dying to hear more?
Many of them followed them after the service.
• They had questions to ask. They wanted to understand more. They couldn’t wait for another week.
• The Word of God is a priority now in their lives. They wanted to know what God has to say; what is God’s will for their lives. There is a thirst and hunger for the truth of God’s Word.
• Have you come to this point in your life? Do you see the Word of God in the same light today? Pray and ask the Spirit of God to moves you, and grant you that thirst in your spirit for His Word.
• Paul urged them to continue in the grace of God - put their trust in Christ, receive the forgiveness of their sin, and live rely upon God’s grace.
So Paul and Barnabas returned on the next Sabbath, and almost the whole city gathered to hear the Word of God.
• Wow, isn’t that exciting? You preached a sermon and the next week the whole town turned up, standing room only.
• If this happens, I think my whole head will swell and I will float right up here. I’ve just become famous overnight. My popularity just shot up. The temptation will be to think that I am the attraction.
But that wasn’t what happens here. It would make these missionaries feels good and proud, but they weren’t tempted to be so.
• One thing stands out here, and that’s not them. It is the Word of God.
The Word of God was pre-eminent.
• The Word of God was under the spotlight, it was the thing that was shining.
• The spotlight was not on Paul, it was not on Barnabas. The spotlight was on the Word. The truth shines and touches the hearts of men.
The Word of God moves us; it convicts, it comforts, it encourages, and it inspires faith.
• The Holy Spirit does that – he convicts us of “guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement.” (John 16:8).
• I believe we can all say YES to this, because we have at one time or another, been moved by the very Word of God.
• It is not the environment, it is not the preacher, it is not the music, it is about His Word. God’s Word has the power to convict you.
It was good that Paul and Barnabas brought the whole city out.
• But it was not their personality, it was not their preaching, it was not their actions that captivated the people. They did not come for them.
• Paul and Barnabas did not broadcast their crusade or advertising it through the media, they did not use any marketing gimmicks, or try something new, they did not have free giveaway. There was nothing like that at all.
• They just preach the Word of God and the whole city turned out. People were hungry for the Word of God.
And that was the only thing that attracted the people of Antioch and make them come back and hear the sermon again the second week.
• 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
• 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first…
• 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord…
• 49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.
Did you see what the centre is, where the spotlight is?
• They came back for one reason; they wanted to hear the Word of God, nothing else.
• While the people appreciated Paul and Barnabas, the people honoured the Word. They were glad to hear the Word.
There is power in the Word of God.
• It is not the packaging, it is not the style, and it is not the marketing or multimedia. Although all these are good and helpful, they are not central.
• It is the Word of God that attracts people, because the Holy Spirit uses it to enlighten and convict. It is the Word that transforms lives.
This ought to be our philosophy. The Word of God must be pre-eminent.
• All the packaging looks nice but it does not change you. Only the Holy Spirit moves you and He does that through His Word.
• Five years down the road you may not remember the packaging – the style, the lights, the media – but you will remember what God has said and done in your life.
Honour the Word of God. Have a high regard for the Word.
• I am glad that we have a few good sessions over the last few months at our AF. We learn together from the Word. We raise questions and we discuss, and we learn. We come to understand God and His ways.
• We can actually have more of other stuff – more games, more fun; but at the end of the day, you cannot be strengthening in your life by fun stuff. We can only be strengthened by the Word of God.
• You cannot keep eating junk food. You need solid, nutritious food to stay strong and healthy.
Paul urges the people (in 1 Cor 3 and Heb 5) to move away from drinking milk and start eating meat.
• Heb 5:13-14 “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
• The ability to discern comes from the Word. You are what you eat!
• D L Moody: “I prayed for faith and thought that some day it would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith didn’t seem to come. One day I read in Romans that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. I had up to this time, closed my Bible and prayed for faith. Now I opened my Bible and began to study and faith has been growing ever since.”
Never once did Paul and Barnabas draw attention to themselves.
They could have, looking at the popularity and the stir they are causing.
• But they were matured enough to understand that it has nothing to do with them; it’s all about God and His Word.
• They were called and sent forth by God to do just one thing – to preach the Word.
The world needs the Word of God.
• The Lord tells prophet Amos (Amos 8:11-12): 11"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. 12Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.
• What humanity really needs is not food and water, but the truth of God’s Word. People do not know why they are living and what they are living for.
Moody: “The only way to overcome the great enemy of our soul is by the written Word of God.”
Jesus says, “It is written…” 3 times to the devil in the wilderness temptation.
So this is the most meaningful thing we can do – share what God says, encourage others with the Word, and then allow the Holy Spirit to do the rest.
• On a personal level, read and meditate on the Word. Think through. Ask questions – who, what, when, how, where and why.
• It is important to meditate on the Word of God, because the Holy Spirit inspires, encourages, comforts, and guides us through it.
You know this is important. You may not be reading and studying it enough, but don’t give up. You will grow to appreciate and love it.
• Find interesting ways to dig into the Word. If one way doesn’t suits you, find another. If the OT is dry, read the NT. Or the proverbs.
• Find a way that will help sustain the interest and joy of studying His Word.
You will be blessed because you honour the Word of God.
Paul says to the Jews, “I speak the Word of God to you first, but you rejected it! You had your chance, to be blessed with eternal life, but you do not believe it.”
• And so God turns to the Gentiles and they received it gladly. Verse 48 says “they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord”
Psalm 1 says blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on it day and night.
• He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
• There is a direct correlation between a good life and the Word of God. That really puts a lot of weight on the Word.
Verse 48 says “they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord”
• The Word of God ‘makes our heart glad’.
• The disciples left the place “filled with joy” (v.52), even though they were persecuted and actually ‘expelled’ from that place.
• When you share the Word, when you honour the Word, God gives you joy.
I was thinking about this the other day. So how can I really be happy?
• God gives me joy when I do share His Word. When the Gentiles heard the Word they were glad, when the disciples share the Word they were filled with joy.
• Are you happy today? If you’re often frustrated with work, irritated by people, feeling sad for yourself, you need to get back to the Word of God.
• Listen to a good sermon again. Get the CD and play it again. Read the Bible.
• You will stay evergreen and yield fruit in season. The one who meditates on the truth of God’s Word is always glad about life. “Whatever he does prosper,” the psalmist says.
A rabbi and a soap maker went for a walk together. The soap maker said, "What good is religion? Look at all the trouble and misery of the world! They are still there after years of teaching about goodness and truth and peace. They are still there, after all the prayers and sermons and teachings. If religion is good and true, why should this be?"
The rabbi said nothing. They continued walking until he noticed a child playing in the gutter.
Then the rabbi said, "Look at that child. You say that soap makes people clean, but see the dirt on that girl. Of what good is soap? With all the soap in the world and so many people are still filthy. I wonder how effective soap is after all!"
The soap maker protested. "But, Rabbi, soap cannot do any good unless it is used!"
"Exactly!" replied the rabbi.
Make the Word alive in your life.
• We believe and honour it; we accept what it says and live by it.
• That changes you. Otherwise it would just be mere knowledge.
• God did not leave us the Bible to give us more knowledge but to change our life and that needs your faith and obedience.
Three things you can do:
1. Do your own chewing. Meditate on the Word provides your strength.
2. Eat regularly. You are weak if you’ve not been eating well. You need regular intake of what your spiritual life needs.
3. Have a balance diet. You only know some verses; certain favourite subjects like prosperity. A wholesome meal prevents you from a lop-sided view of God.
You are holding something ‘eternal’ in your hand.
• Jack Hayford: “Consider the one thing this world which you and I can touch that has "eternity" written into its fabric. It’s the Word of God. Every time I take a Bible in hand, I hold eternity, because the life-force inherent in that Word exceeds all time and space: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not pass away."
