Set Apart By the Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
I want to talk to you about good guys and bad guys. A lot of stories and TV shows and movies have good guys and bad guys, right? In Paw Patrol, Ryder and the pups are the good guys and Mayor Humdinger and the Kitten Catastrophe Crew, they’re not so good. In the movie Bolt, Bolt the dog and Penny were good but Dr. Calico, he was the enemy. When I was little, we played games like cops and robbers, the good cops were supposed to stop or tag the bad robbers.
What makes us think someone is good or bad? Good people are kind, nice, follow rules, help others. Bad people are usually mean, selfish, break the law, hurt others. The Bible says all people are sinners, none of us are good or perfect, but we still have ideas of good and bad people.
Can people change, though? Yes, they can! That can go both ways—a person we might call good can end up doing bad things and a bad person can change and become good. One of the people in our passage today was a person who used to be bad. His name was Saul or Paul. We read about him a few months ago. Earlier in his life he was not good towards Christians. He threw them in jail just because they believed in Jesus. He wasn’t a person we’d probably want to hang out with. But now Paul was a leader in the church and a missionary. Instead of trying to put people in handcuffs for believing in God and scaring them, he believed and wanted others to, too.
That’s important for us to learn when we’re little or young. It’s great that all of you have parents who are Christians, who love Jesus, who take you to church, who want you to love God. But there are other people—kids, big kids, adults, old people who don’t know Jesus. Sometimes it’s easy to say some are just bad people. But we should remember bad people can change if God works in them. They might need someone to love them, and to share Jesus with them. If they put their trust in God, even if they didn’t believe in him when they were young, even if they’ve done really bad things, their lives can be changed. They can change to good just like Paul did.
We have arrived at the beginning of a new section in the book of Acts, the beginning of the apostle Paul’s missionary journeys. If you’re new to the Bible or you haven’t been with us, Paul is kind of a big deal in the New Testament. Whether you come across Saul or Paul, we’re talking about the same person. The reason for him having these two names is not that he was Saul pre-conversion and Paul post-conversion or that he disliked the name his parents gave him. No, the difference is his Hebrew name versus his Roman name; it has to do with who his audience was.
Paul is traditionally credited with authoring at least 13 books in the New Testament, from Romans to Philemon. The first nine of those were letters to churches about different things they were going through—things that needed encouragement or correction or rebuke. Then the last 4 letters of his in the New Testament were more personal, written to individuals either as ministry leaders or friends. That’s who our journey through most of the rest of Acts is going to follow.
I can’t talk about journeys without also including a map. A lot of Study Bibles have maps in the back that plot the course of each of the three major missionary journeys, so I encourage you to check those out if you have one. If you don’t, there are some in the library or my office, or do a quick search online, and you be able to better see and find the places these early missionaries went to. Today, we’re in the red circled area, the journey begins from Antioch sailing to Cyprus.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul would later write in his letter to the church in Ephesus, “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received…To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” With that in mind, I begin this morning by asking: What is your calling? What grace has Christ given to you? And what is your role in the body of believers?
As Christians and those connected to the church, but also for people outside the church, it’s easy to think Christians are just focused on themselves. Here’s an example. I can say: “I, Daniel De Graff, personally profess my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I want to be forgiven, redeemed, saved, and held by him. I want to be sanctified by him. I want my behavior, my lifestyle, my thoughts, my actions to get closer and closer to what he has called me to. I want to get rid of sin. I want to know more about him. I want to know God more fully.”
That’s all true and heartfelt and, I think, it’s an admirable confession. Yet saying that almost feels like what I imagine joining a fitness class or getting a personal trainer might be like. The instructor or the trainer asks, “What do you hope to get out this?” and someone like me could respond, “Well, I want to lose weight. I want to feel healthier. I want to improve my self-image and self-esteem. I want to be able to go on that strenuous hike. I don’t want to be out of breath so fast. I want to gain muscle. I want to lower my risk of heart problems or other health risks.” None of that is bad or wrong; it’s all beneficial. But it’s also all only about me, about self-improvement.
If our relationship with Jesus, our faith, our participation in a church or community of believers is solely about you and me and what we as individuals get out of it, and everyone else around me feels the same way—the church doesn’t get very far. If discipleship is only about those who are already disciples, then people who don’t know Christ are not going to be met. Being a Christian must not be just about me, about us, being Christians. We are also called outside of ourselves. We’re given grace by Jesus Christ, not just grace having to do with our personal sin, but grace also to minister to others in some way. As we look at this kicking off of Paul’s first missionary journey, we want to ask, “What am I and what are we being set apart to do?”
Our first point this morning is knowing your role. Ephesians 4 provided certain special roles and callings. The roles we heard from verse 11 were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Not every believer is designated to one or more of those roles. We know that because the very next verse tells us that these leaders are “to prepare God’s people,” that’s speaking more generally in the body of believers, “[these leaders] are to prepare God’s people for works of service.” Some of us are called to the equipping tasks, but if not, we’re called to works of service.
Acts 13:1 gave us the names of 5 men who were prophets and teachers. Each one of them was called by God to ministry in special roles of leadership in the church in Antioch. Two of them were now being set apart by the Holy Spirit to go and minister elsewhere. But an underlying question is how did they know and how can we know our role whether in leadership or laity.
In order to know our role or roles of service under Christ, we must first be willing to serve. Maybe that seems really obvious and simple, and yet it’s not always practiced. In order to know your role serving Christ and his church, which all God’s people have a role in, we have to be willing to serve. The second piece is that we must be willing to listen. Will you listen to God’s call for your role—whether that comes like it did in Acts 13:2, “the Holy Spirit said”? Or will you listen as you read Scripture, and you feel drawn to a certain kind of service that is laid out in the Bible? Or will you listen to the encouragement of a faithful and loving brother or sister in the faith? Someone notices certain gifts, and gives you direction or an invitation to serve in a particular way? We must be willing to listen. The third step in this process is apply yourself being willing to grow in caring for others.
In working through the book of Acts, we typically see the smooth road in people knowing their roles. “God said, and usually it’s obeyed, and things turned out well.” But it’s easy to page through Scripture and find people who didn’t feel qualified or who didn’t want to listen to God or who don’t seem to fit a certain role.
Back in Exodus chapters 3 and 4, God was calling Moses to lead his people of Egypt, out from under Pharaoh’s control, to the Promised Land. He called him at a burning bush that miraculously did not burn up. God was speaking to him. Yet what did Moses say in response to God’s requests? “‘Who am I…’ ‘What shall I tell them….’ ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me…’ ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’” Hesitations and excuses—this is what unwillingness to know and follow God’s call looks like.
How did God reply? Did he just give up? No, Exodus 4:11-12, “‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’” And still Moses said, “‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.’ Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, ‘What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well…’” Even with his initial disobedience, God gave Moses help. And yet we know that over time Moses did grow in the roles of serving and leading. He applied himself, but it wasn’t just for him, it was for the sake of God’s people living into promise that God had spoken long before.
If you are wondering how or what you may be called to serve Christ’s church—and it may be a ministry of this church, it may be volunteering somewhere, it may be in your workplace, it may be that he’s calling you into ministry somewhere away from Baldwin, these are practices for knowing your role. Are you willing to serve? Are you willing to listen? Will you apply yourself being willing to grow in caring for others? The 5 prophets and teachers were willing to do that here in Antioch, which may not have been “home” for any of them. But they did this because they were serving God and his church, and God had called them each to this at this time.
We move now to our second point: discerning being sent. Everything we’ve been told up this point about the church in Antioch has been good. This was a church possibly with both Jews and Gentiles in it. Acts 11:21 told us, “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” in Antioch. It was a place of encouragement for the spread of the gospel and evidence of God’s grace. And it was from here that God called two influential people in the early church to leave and to serve him elsewhere.
There’s a bit of a resonance for me in preaching this passage this Sunday as 1 year ago, February 10, 2019, was when I came and preached here as you were all were going through the process of calling a new pastor. That Sunday, after the potluck, Christie and I and the kids ended up not going back to Corsica, but instead going back to the hotel because it was snowy like today and I-94 was slick. Already then, I felt and Christie felt, if the vote to call came to us, we could see God calling us to depart from one location where we were involved in ministry and loved the people there to come here to another place of ministry to love and serve and lead among you.
Those inclinations, those leanings, those decisions aren’t picked at random though. It’s not like just flipping a coin or choosing between a beef burger or a chicken sandwich in a drive thru. No, there’s intentional discernment. Acts 13 verses 2 and 3, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” These leaders and potentially this body of believers made the decision in unity with one another and with God. They had heard from the Lord, but they took time and they sought confirmation together. The people of Antioch didn’t kick Barnabas and Saul out. No, they laid their hands on them—they were part of the sending and blessing of these missionaries.
As we think about how all this went, was there fear for Paul and Barnabas? Was there uncertainty? We’re not told, but I imagine there probably was some wondering, “What are we doing?” “Where and to who exactly are we supposed to go?” This was really new for them. But they knew that they were supposed to do this. They discerned God was calling them to it, and they would trust him. They could worship him in the place they had been, and they would continue to worship God as they went forth to share the gospel of Jesus.
Some of you have been through this process before in different ways. You’ve wondered and discerned where God may be sending you. For some that’s been in a town or a state, for others it’s been moving across the country or to the other side of the world. Maybe someone here even this morning is wondering about a tug on their life to come or to go somewhere, to make a significant change, and you’re thinking, “Is God leading me to do this?”
Have you prayed to God and have you worshiped him? Is that something you can and you will continue to do if you make a move? Have you taken some time, even fasting, giving something up so that you can have your attention focused on your need for God? Have you asked fellow believers, fellow servants of God, to join you in seeking God’s will? It’s not easy to leave places or people or environments that we love, but if it’s in obedience to God, what greater joy is there than knowing we might be “sent on [our] way by the Holy Spirit.” We have the promise that not just a good feeling goes with us, but God himself goes with us.
We end with this third point. If you know the role God has called you to, as a leader or as one who’s equipped for works of service, if you’ve discerned you are where he wants you or you’re seeking to follow where he’s calling you, live boldly into the calling the Spirit has given you.
If I had to guess, the first thing most of us probably think of doing in a new place, in a new calling, is not to confront someone, even if they’re clearly in the wrong, in this way: “‘You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind…’” I haven’t yet said that to someone here in Baldwin.
That’s a startling event, and yet there are a couple of things we have to see. First, in verse 9, we’re told Saul/Paul did this “filled with the Holy Spirit.” He wasn’t just personally a little ticked off at this Bar-Jesus Elymas. No, God was confronting this man through his servant Saul. God was showing authority over this man who was deceived and who wanted to deceive others. Saul boldly lives into his calling as a mouthpiece of the Spirit.
Also notice the end, the conversion of Sergius Paulus, “He believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” By bringing down the one who was seeking to further the devil’s cause, God brought this other man to saving faith through his servant. The way some people might think of “living boldly” is having everything planned and ready to go, being loud and boisterous. At times, that can have a place. But living boldly can also mean living in the moment and trusting God to be at work through us, so long as we’re honoring him. If I had to guess, Paul didn’t leave Antioch knowing that he would meet this false prophet and this proconsul. Yet God put him among them, and it was God who showed his justice and mercy through Saul. It’s not for the glory of Saul that he did this, it’s not for our glory that we live obediently into the calling God has given us. The glory that is received for our labor is all for God because it’s his work.
Servants of God, what is your calling? What grace has Christ given to you? What is your role in the body of believers? I encourage us to listen for what God has for you and for me. I encourage us to share with others what we’re discerning. Through that process and as we live into our callings, let us obediently and boldly honor God by how we live into his service. Whether that’s something behind the scenes or something up front, whether he’s calling you to consider being part of the Council or to lead or volunteer in any of our discipleship ministries, whether that’s to be a compassionate volunteer to those who are hurting or whether it’s to go—let us worship God with our whole lives, willingly serving others where he calls us. Amen.