To the Ends of the Earth, Part 21
God’s Directions for the Church’s Ministries
Acts 14:8-28
Dismiss children for nursery (under 4) and children’s church (ages 4-7)
Camper – appreciate your understanding for a time
Introduction
- Welcome to Seasons Church & 2024 sermon series, “To the Ends of the Earth”
-- In 2023 we unpacked the beginning of all history (Creation/Fall/Promise)
-- And we looked ahead, anticipated the coming & victory of Jesus (Revelation)
-- But, in order to get to the end, we have to be busy doing the work now (Acts)
- Last time saw: God placed a hunger in our heart to hear the truth of the Gospel
-- It is the “missing piece” that we have – it is this truth that draws us to God
-- The witnessing of Paul and Barnabas revealed this to people in Iconium
-- What they heard (and felt) is the truth that they too needed a Savior
-- This is the same message we have to share today: offering Jesus to all
- Today, we will dive deeper into the ministry of the church
-- Need us to see these simple facts, through one simple action:
-- Being faithful to preach what they knew, and obey what God told them to do!
- Read Acts 14:8-28 / Pray
Point 1 – God’s calling is to witness wherever you are!
- We must realize there are people all over who know very little about God
-- Many people exist today without hope, or without knowing what’s next
-- What becomes critical then, for the CHURCH, is it’s SOLE ministry
- See this: Paul preached in the city streets (v8)
-- If the Jews were meeting together, he would have gone to them
-- Instead, he went to where they were – in the streets of the city
-- They are preaching to any who would hear, inc. a crippled man
-- APP: Speaks to their willingness to go to where this man was located
- But a special message was needed based on their superstitions (vv8-13)
-- KNOW: Superstitious people are open to hearing about faith
- Take this man in the street for example:
• He was helpless, crippled and prob very poor
• He heard (GR: akouó) the gospel being spoken, and,
• His heart was opened because he had a need (more than just physical)
- He had faith (GR: pistis) to be made whole; believed God could do something
-- So in response, Paul commanded that he be healed (power of Spirit)!
- But we need to see something in the people who stopped
-- They too had an affliction: lost; they believed in myths & legends
-- They did now know the power of the Gospel, but rather, had faith in man
- Notice humanity’s common (wrong) response:
-- The people, when seeing God’s power, assumed that they were gods
-- And why not – why not attribute to them godlike names as well? (v12)
-- Barnabas is called Zeus (king of gods); Paul is called Hermes (god of speech)
- Why? They thrived on myths, legends, and manmade things of this world
-- They also were quick to believe stories they “thought” were true
-- The same foundation as folks who follow astrology, crystals, etc.
-- They willingly give themselves to sacrificing to this world’s “gods” (v13)
- Know this, however – there are only two correct sacrifices:
1. The sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin: John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
2. The sacrifice of man, to Jesus, for forgiveness of sin: Luke 9:23, “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
- TR: So what do Paul and Barnabas give these people? The same thing we must!
Point 2 – What message should we share?
- Paul gives them 5 things to consider: (vv14-18)
1. Men are only men (think: we do what we do) (v15)
2. There is only one living God – and you are worshipping the wrong one
-- Worse yet, you are bringing “worthless things” to God when He wants you!!
3. The living God is the creator of all things
-- Nehemiah 9:6, “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.”
4. God permits men to live as they want (v16)
-- Critical: He continues to suffer with us (continues to put up with us)
-- APP: In God’s grace there is incredible patience to continue to love/forgive us!
5. KEY: God will always give witness to Himself (v17)
-- 1 Tim 6:17, “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.”
- FOCUS: How does this msg apply to what we must do today?
- The calling of a disciple is to reach all people (vv19-20)
-- FACT: This comes at a price that many want no part of:
• Must be willing to suffer persecution, even martyrdom, to reach the lost
• DON’T MISS: Paul was stoned & left for dead for preaching the Gospel
• APP: Must be faithful to witness and continue making disciples
- This means we are to trust God’s provision & protection
-- 2 Tim 4:18, “Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.”
- Consider: even King David understood what God had done for him
-- Psalm 116:8, “He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.”
-- BIG: We must learn this: memorize it, repeat it, share it, & live by it!
- TR: Building on this truth, what do we need to see for today?
Point 3 – The church has two great ministries
- This is all that matters! There are two great ministries in the church:
• Preaching the Gospel and Making Disciples
- Sad: Today, we see a terrible neglect of these primary responsibilities
-- Evangelism is the method of sharing; teaching is the method of growing
-- The rest of Acts 14 give us a clear picture of this mission
-- CHALL: Believers must be willing to hear this and act on it!
- Here are the three tasks for us to focus on:
Task 1: Preach the good news & make disciples (v21)
- The ministry of Paul and Barnabas is clear:
-- GR: euaggelizó; to announce good news
-- To teach what people need to hear, and to share openly what Jesus has done
- Don’t miss this: This is exactly what they did! (It’s not a secret mission here)
-- CHALLENGE: Why would we (in 2024) do anything different???
Task 2: Be committed to strengthening the church (vv21-27)
- Strengthening and making disciples is MORE than leading them to Jesus
-- Leading people to Christ is a one-time decision … but then what? (discipleship)
-- Teaching people and making them into disciples involves:
• Day to day choices to live for Christ
• Different opportunities for spiritual growth and wisdom
• Appointing others to serve - to lead - to minister – to show Jesus
• Being willing to not stay just in one place (holy huddle) – GO to the people!
Task 3: Revive your own spirit (v27-28)
- Don’t miss the simplicity of the last 2 sentences (re-read v27-28)
-- They stayed a long time with other believers – being encouraged and growing
-- Know this: Apart from one another we are vulnerable and open to attack
-- But together, unified, we are able to bind together and encourage each other
BIG IDEA
- What are we seeing here? Common theme repeated over and over!
-- We should be devoted to making disciples, to gathering together for strength
-- It is the difference between being the church and just spending an hour here
-- Truly, this is where Acts is headed – which is where we should be headed too!
- Pray
