Acts 13b - 5/21/17 PM
Turn with me to Acts 13. We looked here this morning at the beginning of the chapter and saw how God empowers Paul to take the role of an Apostle. In in Paul’s example, we learn lessons about how to wait on God’s timing. God had told him years before that He was going to use Paul to be this missionary to the Gentiles, but here in chapter 13 we see God supernaturally empowers Paul for the job before him.
Tonight we want to look at the last half of the chapter and see Paul’s first sermon as an apostle. It may not have been his first sermon, but it is the first one we have recorded in scripture. And from this sermon, we want to draw some lessons that we can apply to how God will speak through each of us as well.
As we come to the scripture, let’s pray. PRAY
Read 13:13-52 So here we see Paul continuing the pattern that he starts out with in chapter 13 as he crosses Cyprus. He comes to town and stops off at the Jewish synagogue. Whenever 10 Jewish men came together they could form a synagogue. Paul starts with the Jews, and when they reject him, he goes to the Gentiles. As a visiting rabbi, Paul would be invited to speak at the synagogue. Especially a rabbi as noted as Paul, trained by the legendary rabbi Gamaliel. And so as Paul is invited to speak, he takes the opportunity the share the gospel message with them. So what lessons do we learn? First
• Start with their interests - vs 16-20 - notice how Paul starts out. Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
What is Paul doing? He is appealing to their common story. He is reminding them of how God loved and cared for the nation of Israel. They are Jews, and so is Paul, and Paul wants to tell them a story of how God loved the Jews enough to send them His Messiah. So he starts with a level of common interest.
What does that mean to us? It means when we want to initiate a conversation with someone about the Lord, don’t come up to them and out of the blue say “You’re going to hell without Jesus!” Instead, look for something you have in common with them. If they are struggling with a problem, you can say, Let me tell you how I deal with problems like that. If they have a need, begin with You know, I have seen God bring me through some amazing jams before and provide in some wonderful ways! Look to start with a common interest. Next we see Paul
• Find a bridge (a transition to the gospel) - we see in vs. 21-23 Paul does this. Paul started with a little history of the Jews, and now his bridge to get to share about Jesus is the prophet David. Paul says in vs 23 - “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as he promised. In the same way, if we start out with an area of common interest or concern, look for a way to transition to the story of Jesus. Because remember, the problem is never the problem, the problem is always that they don’t know Jesus!
After Paul transitions to start talking about Jesus, he focuses on salvation. And that’s what we need to do as well:
• Focus on salvation - Paul does this in vs 26 - “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. In the same way, as we talk about how God can help others with their issues and problems, we need to center in on the issue of salvation. God doesn’t want to just help someone with their problems, He wants to build an eternal relationship with them. And notice here in 26 that Paul includes the Gentiles in God’s offer of salvation. Salvation is for everyone. Whosoever will may come. No one is too far gone.
The next example we see in Paul is to
• Use the Scriptures for Support - As Paul wants to deal with the issue of salvation, he doesn’t use his own logic or reasoning, rather he appeals to the scripture. He points out in 27-31 that even though the Jews hear the scriptures read every week, they didn’t recognize Jesus as their messiah. Why is that? They hear the scripture, but did not take it to heart. Many times we see people quote scripture, but don’t know what it is talking about. Donald Trump in a campaign speech said, Even like it says in TWO Corinthians. . .
President Obama, in a blurb on the anniversary of the Charlie Brown Christmas special said, “They teach us that tiny trees just need a little love, and that on this holiday we celebrate peace on Earth and goodwill toward all,” he said. Mrs. Obama chimed in, “Because as Linus knows, that’s what Christmas is all about.”
HOW can you watch that special and NOT know that Christmas is all about JESUS! But President Obama saw it many times, but evidently never made the connection. So as we talk about salvation, use scripture verses to talk about sin, the penalty of sin, God’s gift, God’s forgiveness, eternal life. Don’t just use your wit and wisdom; use God’s word. Next, we learn from Paul to
• Show that the Gospel IS Good News - we see that in vs 32 - We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As we witness to others don’t focus on being negative; focus on the good news of forgiveness through Jesus. Paul also teaches us to
• Show the Failure of “Other Ways” - vs 39 - Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. People need to understand that there is only ONE way of salvation. We cannot be saved through good works, keeping the 10 commandments, going to church, or any other way but through what Jesus did for us. Paul makes it clear to these Jews who pride themselves in keeping the law that the law can’t save. The law just condemned. It just showed us our need of a savior. Then, we see that we should
• Expect Results - vs 42 - As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. As they leave the synagogue, the people say “we want to hear more - tell us more!” When we share the gospel, we should expect results. If a sweeper salesman came to your door and said “You don’t want to buy a sweeper, do you?” You would never buy from him. As we share the gospel, call people to accept Christ as Savior! Invite them to pray with you and make a decision to follow.
Then, in 45, we see that things are not always positive:
• Be Prepared for Opposition - When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. When you share with others, we should expect that they will respond positively, but be prepared if they reject the message. They are not rejecting you, but God and His call on their life. So we understand that we need to
• Attribute the Results to God - God is the one who saves. We save no one. We can talk till we are worn out, but unless God is at work, nothing will ever change in someone’s life because of our words. God is the one who does the work. Look at verse 48 - and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. We are used to thinking just the opposite. We would like it to say and all who believed were appointed for eternal life. But that is not the biblical pattern. God apoints, elects, chooses those who will be saved. And then the last lesson
• Celebrate Regardless of the Results - because whether others respond or not, we are doing our part. We leave the results up to God. Vs 51-52 - So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Even as they leave those persecuting them, they still have joy - not because of the numbers saved, but because they are doing God’s will, and God is the one who will determine the outcome. Our goal is faithfulness to God.
What other lessons do you see in this chapter as we think about how we share with others?
