Acts 13:13-52, Paul's First Sermon

[Music] a couple weeks ago when we were together we covered 12 verses of acts chapter 13. this morning we're planning to cover 39 verses of the 13th chapter and complete it so that we can go into the 14th chapter next week and there's a lot to talk about a lot of content so we're going to go straight into verse 13 of chapter 13 read it with me won't you now when paul and his party set sail from paphos they came to perga and pemphilia and john departing from them returned to jerusalem now keep in mind the the author of the book of acts is luke and luke decided to use a very interesting word to describe john barnabas or john mark's departure he said he departed from us in the greek departed in this translation is a is a as a patreto means to get up to go to return and the reason why i'm pointing out this specific word in the greek in the text is because paul the apostle used a different word to describe uh john mark's departure in the 15th chapter paul used the word in the greek oppostonda which in the 15th chapter means to defect to fall away to flake out so paul if there's anyone any bible characters i don't want to upset and get you know not be happy with me it would be paul the apostle because in paul's i mean luke was very gracious describing john mark's leaving he was like you know john john mark departed to jerusalem and paul's like uh the dudes of flake ran back to his mom he just was so upset to the point that we're gonna find out that barnabas and paul are gonna have a dispute over this matter when we get to the 15th chapter and we have no idea what happened we don't know if he got sick we don't know if he just wasn't cut out for missions work i mean when the going gets tough the tough doesn't get going for john mark i don't i don't know what happened but i will say this that ministry is not for the faint of heart a lot of times people come to the church and they're like what do you do all week here and it's and it's a fair question um there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that a lot of people don't see not just including myself but everyone that works on staff even for you guys who volunteer throughout the week to make church what it is ministry is not for the faint of heart it's it's hard work and in john mark's case paul saw whatever happened as not a good thing and he wasn't happy with him uh and so for whatever reason he did go back home paul wasn't happy with it we move on let's read verses 14 through 15 of acts 13. but when they departed from perga they came to antioch impersidia and went to the synagogue on the sabbath day they sat down verse 15. after reading of the law of the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent to them saying men and brethren if you have any word of exhortation for the people say on now this is a great great example of how the synagogue and the order of service took place a lot of times when it came to the synagogue service and the order of service they began with an opening prayer then they would read from the law the first five books of the old testament as we know it or as they would call it the shema and typically there was a reading from one of the prophets but what's rad is a lot of times that the rulers of the synagogues would look for someone to exhort and give a bible exhortation on whatever was read and in this case paul was present fyi paul the apostle studied under the tutelage of gamaliel who was a prominent figure in jerusalem that they were familiar with this guy who had revered the law in the study of it and paul was in a way like his student so they look at paul they say men and brethren if you have any word of exhortation for the people say on what say you paul and thankfully paul had a lot to say especially paul had a lot to say concerning his love for the word correlating it back to christ and and just his need if you will to express the jewish people and their call in their life in fact let me give you an example romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 4 paul once said with christ as my witness i speak with utter truthfulness my conscience and the holy spirit confirm it my heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people my jewish brothers and sisters i would be willing to be forever cursed cut off from christ if that would save them again it's just giving you a glimpse of how much he loved his brothers and sisters his jewish brothers and sisters they are the people of israel chosen to be god's adopted children god revealed his glory to them he made covenants with them gave them his law he gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving the wonderful promises now that was paul's exhortation to those in rome and we're going to find out that he's going to use the same format to those uh presiding now impersidia and he's going to use church history to show the calling on their life and the relationship they can have with jesus so let's read what he has to say in verse 16 of acts 13. then paul stood up motioning with his hand i don't know what he did i don't know if he like told everyone to be quiet i'm going to say something said men of israel as he gets their attention and you who fear god listen the reason why it's just as important for us to listen is because what we are going to read here the text is paul's very first sermon recorded in all the new testament does that mean it's his first sermon ever i don't know but in this case it's definitely his first sermon recorded in the scriptures and uh when i think about my first sermon i ever gave i thank god in heaven that it was not recorded because it was just so it was so bad you guys if i could describe my first sermon i ever preached it would be like the sound of a dying ostrich singing a miley cyrus song and you're just like it's this painful guys it was worse than a nicolas cage film i mean it was that awful i was a freshman no excuse me i was a sophomore in high school we were going through the book of first peter um with our bible study class in the school and it was it was just it was so bad now thankfully paul's first sermon is fantastic so you guys are here at a good time because paul is going to give us a great tasteful time of of how to really expose the scriptures and explain it let's read verse 17 through 22 paul begins his sermon gets their attention motions with his hands and then says listen verse 17 the god of this people israel chose our fathers exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of egypt and with an uplifted arm he brought them out of it now for a time for about 40 years he put up he put up with their ways in the wilderness and when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of canaan he distributed their land to them by allotment after that verse 20 he gave them judges for about 400 years and 50 450 years until samuel the prophet and afterward they asked for a king so god gave them saul the son of kish and man of the tribe of benjamin for 40 years and when he had removed him he raised up for them david as king to whom also he gave testimony and said i have found the son of jesse a man after my own heart who will do all of my will the whole point of why paul is going to expound on a section and a text that a lot of you are familiar with as i'm reading you're like i remember that from genesis i remember that from first and second samuel you remember these these stories and a lot of the jewish leaders in the synagogue that paul is preaching to they're just as familiar with it but the whole purpose of why paul is recounting the history of israel israel's history was to prepare them for the messiah the christ he said that god chose our fathers the ones who were brought out of egypt in verse 17 the ones who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years in verse 18 and after the wilderness escapade the people were divided into seven nations he's teaching them and going through a series of events that they were familiar with and he was trying to show them just as god by his grace chose the patriarchs and liberty liberated the israels from out of egypt and god gave the land back to israel and god gave the people a king all of those things happen in israel's history to prove what this next climactic truth all that happened for this singular reason verse 23 read it with me that from this man's seed from the seed of david is gonna come according to the promise that god raised up for israel a savior it's jesus now again the jews knew of the references of the old testament the coming savior they know of scriptures like isaiah 9 7 that he will reign on david's throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever the jews are familiar with that they know that passage of scripture but i want you to notice who paul announces is this savior who is it he says it at the end of verse 23 from this man's seat according to the promise god raised up israel a savior jesus and that had to have spread quickly because a paul is a jesus follower he teaches now a doctrine centered on the ministry of jesus and now he's promoting to them listen everything we ever learned about in our history was pointing to this guy jesus christ and then look what he says in verse 24 and 25 after john had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all of the israel and as john was finishing his course he said who do you think i am i'm not he but behold there comes one after me the sandals of whose feet i'm not even worthy to lose again you have to think of what paul is doing he's going far far far back in there in israel's history and even sharing something in terms of who they might know and that's john the baptist and the ministry of john the baptist to show that even john the baptist spoke of jesus but referenced the old testament to validate the point which is why it only makes sense that paul in referencing john the baptist i want you to notice uh he he quotes john the baptist and nails it on the head as paul references in verse 24. here's the point of israel's history here's the point of why jesus came so that the people of israel needed to repent of their sins and that is important then as it is today because we live in a culture that avoids those words we we live in a culture that avoids words like sin and repent and hell these are all offensive words john and and here's the harsh reality it's not just within christian circles that it's offensive there's some in the evangelical church that are avoiding these words like john you can't say those words because you might you never know who's going to step in there but it doesn't change the fact that we need to know about the issue of sin for example my mom is a breast cancer survivor some of you may know this some of you may not know this she was diagnosed with breast cancer and they treated her and then it came back a second time and then they removed the cancer completely and she's been cancer-free for 20 years which is remarkable i mean that woman is just phenomenal and as i was thinking about it when they told us the news of the cancer it was the worst news ever just like some of you are familiar when you hear those those words you have cancer no one wants to hear that that's the worst news ever but it doesn't change the fact that you need to know it in fact my mom knowing that she had cancer was the best news and i'll tell you why because if it was neglected it would have killed her and i need you guys to understand something the bible says that the wages of sin is death there are consequences for it even though we don't want to talk about the very subject that makes us squirm and move around and when the reality is avoiding words like sin repent hell i need to give you now a picture of why we say those things because we serve a god of love who who not only is the beginning and the end the great i am the one we're hearing about right now we need to understand that jesus that jesus is righteousness i need to help you understand jesus's righteousness demands that sin is dealt with and jesus dealt with the issue of sin when he carried the cross to golgotha and will die on it for your sake he he recognizes that sin we can't just skim over it like it's that big we don't need to talk about sin no jesus is recognizing it's it's the sin that's going to separate you from me but i'm willing to take it all in myself so that you can be righteous in my eyes and prove that i am who i am by rising from the dead and that's the promise we hold on to promises like john 11 25 where jesus says i'm the resurrection and i'm the life and he who believes in me though you die you shall live he can't make that statement unless he himself is going to rise from the dead proving his deity and his validity as god death is not the end for believers it is only the beginning amen we we serve a risen savior and the promise of that is so amazing because the reality is our sin is going to separate us from that truth and yet we have promises like romans 10 9. that says well if you confess with your mouth the lord jesus you believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead you will be saved he dealt with the issue of sin by taking the cross to golgotha but he helps us understand the resolution to that so what do i do about that you confess with your mouth your need for a savior recognize he loves you enough that he's willing to die for you and give your life to him that's why paul's bringing it up here in acts chapter 13. that's why he's bringing up the the history of israel and incorporating john the baptist into it because john the baptist is going to be the one who ushers in if you will jesus's ministry before it begins as he's going to baptize jesus at the jordan river but that's the message reprint repent from sin turn to god and that's why we're finding ourselves here which by the way john the baptist was mistook for the messiah in fact a group came to john the baptist and john already sees him and he's like i'm not the christ and they're like well who are you are you elijah and he probably has like like i don't know locust beef jerky he's like no i'm not elijah either and they're like well then who are you a prophet no okay we love this 20 question game tell us who you are so that we can report to those who sent us and what did john have to say about himself listen to this john chapter 1 verse 26 john said i baptize with water but there stands one among you whom you don't know it is he it is he who coming after me is preferred before me who's sandal strapped i'm not even worthy to lose that's why john is so important because it's john like i said who's going to baptize jesus jesus's earthly ministry is going to be really established at that point and that's why paul is referencing him in verses 24 and 25 of acts 13. let's continue to verse 26 of acts 13 men and brethren sons of the family of abraham and those among you who fear god to you the word of this salvation has been sent now i can imagine many of the men the rulers of the synagogue who are present and listening to paul intently they're agreeing with a lot of things that he's saying they're especially agreeing with him saying you're the sons of the family of abraham they're like yes we are that's exactly right you're welcome world yes we are the sons of the family of abraham but but look what paul says at the end of verse 26 yeah you're the sons of the family of abraham it's to you the word of this salvation has been sent meaning what paul is saying in in a sense is guys you're god's chosen people god has made a covenant with you the jews he has created this perfect union and a relationship between you and him and not only that it's to jesus who has been sent to save and to jesus that he presented this message to you first so even though jesus was sent for them verse 27 proves to be a sad realization read it with me verse 27 for those who dwell in jerusalem and their rulers meaning the ones he's talking to paul says because they did not know him nor even the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath have fulfilled them in condemning him wow so in a sense what he's saying right here is like like you guys have been reading about the messiah the savior jesus from the beginning of israel's history and for a lot of you you didn't even realize it was jesus that they were talking about it was jesus which seems like a shocker right because he just said it like every sabbath you've been reading from this yourself and it's been speaking of jesus which i'm looking at you guys and just even thinking about this for the reality is it you know is it possible to go to church all your life and still not know jesus uh yeah that was me i'm the pastor's kid the pastor's kid should know it i didn't give my life to jesus until i was 15. i knew of who jesus was i obviously heard of jesus from my father at the pulpit but it wasn't until i gave my life to the lord understood grace for the first time that i was unraveled i couldn't believe his love for me and then all of a sudden it starts to make sense reading the scripture because now i know jesus because he lives inside of me and for a lot of the jews who are present hearing paul preach right now they're hearing this reality and it's probably a shocker to some of them like hey you know the scriptures you know what isaiah says you know these prophetic writings it was speaking of jesus all of those that's why i'm excited to tell you again that the old testament points to the coming messiah jesus and the new testament affirms that truth in and of itself as well in fact if you're a note taker there's over 300 different prophecies of jesus and the coming of jesus but i'm going to list only eight of them to validate what the old testament has shown in terms of this coming messiah jesus has been fulfilled i'm going to read some of them the ones that have been fulfilled concerning jesus genesis chapter 3 verse 15 tells us that jesus would be born of a woman micah 5 12 tells us that jesus would be born in bethlehem isaiah 7 4 jesus would be born of a virgin psalm 69 8 jesus would be rejected by his own people isaiah 61 1-2 jesus would be sent to heal the brokenhearted isaiah 53 5-12 jesus would become the sacrifice for all sin and in that same chapter isaiah 53 12 that jesus would be crucified with criminals and finally psalm 16 10 psalm 49 15 states that jesus would rise from the dead fulfilled over 300 different prophecies and again to share just some of them in order to save on time these are just ways to affirm what paul is saying in verse 27. paul tells him you don't even know him nor even the voices of the prophets which were read every sabbath they're the bible experts they're the experts of the law and here i mean the ones who knew the shema what moses spoke of and basically they didn't even know it was it was talking about jesus it's fascinating to me because the ones who rejected jesus are not the ones that didn't know the scripture but rather it's the ones who knew the scripture but still rejected him and i'm here to tell you that was one of my tests that's why i came to know the lord guys because it was as if the lord showed me my future i knew the scriptures and i knew i heard it from dad from the pulpit every week but it was almost this realization that i even knew it but i chose i deliberately chose to reject jesus and this is what paul's presenting to them it's not an issue that you didn't know you know the scriptures but now i'm telling you it was jesus so what are you going to do about it so look what that look what it happens in verse 28 he continues to give a testimony of jesus and though they found no cause for death in him they asked pilate that he should uh that he should put be put to death now again i'm imagining paul's empathy and potential frustration because paul was in their shoes but he's basically telling him like listen all these prophecies have been fulfilled by you condemning jesus to death and if that wasn't the cherry on top of this bible smackdown look what he says in verse 29 through 30 to affirm that now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning him they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb by the way that's shown in deuteronomy chapter 21 as well look at this next part they they took him down from the tree they laid him in a tomb verse 30 but god raised him from the dead it was almost like yeah you fulfilled the scriptures by condemning jesus to death you're the ones that told the pilot that we need to crucify him but reality check death didn't hold him down he rose from the dead so although you played a part in this and by the way i'm not saying this politically i'm saying this just reality the spiritual reality of this we all put jesus to the cross each one of us we are responsible for it because he knew it was the only way to fulfill the prophetic writings that it he needed to come but more specifically so that we can enter into a relationship with him this isn't some political uh i don't know just conspiracy conspiracy of the jewish people that although the jews presented this to pilate it's our sin that put jesus to the cross and paul is calling him out he's like yeah we fulfilled those prophecies because of it and then but then he says but then god raised him from the dead great and fantastic reality because ladies and gentlemen we don't serve a dead savior not only do we not serve a dead savior all throughout the new testament you see this recurring theme that we serve a risen savior for good reason because it's the foundation of christianity everything we would do the songs we're singing about the sermons you hear about the bible we're reading is all for nothing if jesus never rose from the dead but he did rise from the dead and not only did he rise from the dead that's why even for you guys who are hearing my voice like celebrate that he's not dead he's alive my god's not dead he's truly alive no don't stop him again levi play the song at the end to appease the crowd but honestly guys that's why you identifying with jesus's death and resurrections it's so powerful because you are who you are because of that singular event that took place and not only that listen to this powerful promise paul said in romans chapter 6 verses 5 through since we have been united with him in his death we will also be raised to life as he was we know that our old sinful selves were crucified with christ so that the sin might lose its power in our lives we're no longer slaves to sin for when we died with christ we were set free from the power of sin and since we died with christ we know that we will also live with him we are sure of this because christ was raised from the dead and he will never die again death no longer has power over him and when he died he died once to break the power of sin can i get an amen in church today that that's what i'm talking about this singular moment that allows us to do what we're doing worship a risen savior and celebrate that his death allows you and i to not be a slave to sin anymore you don't have to be a slave to sin anymore not because of your acts of righteousness or your ability to memorize this scripture because we're going to find out here in a second they thought they were justified by the law of moses we may think we're justified by memorizing scripture we're justified because of jesus and jesus alone so celebrate death no longer has power over you jesus dies once and for all to break the power of sin and again if i gosh if i was there listening to paul preach that like yes you've got it right and then look what he says in verse 31 through 35 he continues to talk of the history of jesus he was seen or post jesus's resurrection and this is important he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from galilee to jerusalem who are his witnesses to the people and by the way paul the apostle even expounds on this in the 15th chapter of corinthians first corinthians that over 500 people witnessed a post-resurrected jesus and we declared to you glad tidings the promise which was made to the fathers verse 33 god has fulfilled this for us their children in that he raised up jesus as it was written in the second psalm you are my son today i have begotten you again paul is validating the scriptures they were familiar with to affirm it was speaking of jesus and these are some of them verse 34 that he raised him from the dead no more to return to corruption he has spoken thus i will give you the sure mercies of david therefore he also says in another psalm you will not allow your holy one to see corruption i i love that in paul's first sermon he's using scripture to define the greater point of who jesus is he was using what they knew the psalms and what was declared the writings of david speaking to of the savior the messiah the one who's going to conquer death and not only that he uses even what was happening there like listen it's not just david who spoke of it we have witnesses we have witnesses that saw jesus rise from the dead you can't make this stuff up and not only not make this stuff up the old testament knew he was going to rise from the dead this is also why we go through the bible i i'm hardwired i'm not a a sermon series guy i think there's appropriate times for him but all i know is go through the bible and i know i jokingly say this but after six after we go through the 66 books of the bible i'm laughing because it's going to happen if the lord wills guess what we're going to do after we go through 66 books do it again start over because it's the word that's going to reveal a timely truth no matter what the year is and that's that jesus is savior and he is lord but is it possible that people can go through the bible know it from beginning and end and yet they will never allow the bible to go through them a lot of you may know this passage of scripture very well a lot of you may know a lot of the stories that we're going through in the book of acts but the reality is god has called us and i'm and i mean this like when my father-in-law was teaching last week i was so excited because i when i'm familiar with passages of scripture my response isn't like oh i've heard this before but like yes god's gonna give me a fresh word in a passage that i'm familiar with in a way that i probably wouldn't have thought about through my father-in-law or whoever's teaching from this pulpit god calls us to be doers of the word meaning don't just memorize scripture but let the scripture dictate your life become the very reason why you do what you do not because of what the pastor said or what a political party is demanding of you but because what the scriptures declare and not only that as paul is trying to help them understand everything especially as he's using scripture to support his greater point look what he says in verse 36 and 37 for david after he had served his own generation by the will of god he fell asleep was buried with his fathers and he saw corruption verse 37 but he whom god raised up he saw no corruption he's again talking about king david you guys know king david you go to israel today they have this area that they believe is the basically uh the monument the grave the area where david was was laid and you have people there who are seeing it and it's like this profound thing i suppose but at the same time it's this reality david was buried he says he saw corruption that's what they meant in verse 36 but then jesus died in the same way but he's not dead he's alive now and he saw no corruption according to verse 37. and so those who are listening in the same way you're listening to me right now it's like okay david died stayed in the ground jesus died didn't save in the ground what is the solution because jesus doesn't just die in order for us to say oh that's cool the question really becomes now what's the application what do we do with this information paul gives them what they need to hear look at verse 38 39 therefore let it be known to you brethren that through this man he's getting their attention let it be known to you what do i do with this information it's through this man that has preached to you the forgiveness of sins and by him everyone who believes is justified from does it say some things it doesn't say that you're justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of moses it's epic this is just guys this is so profound because he was talking to a group of people that maybe some of you can relate with where they believed they were justified because they were a part of the family of abraham the descendants of abraham and moses they are justified because they knew the writings of moses but the reality is their justification could only be found in jesus which is why jesus will say this is jesus's word john chapter 5 verse 39 you search the scriptures because you think they give you eternal life but the scriptures point to me i love that i love that because even jesus does a bible smackdown on the bible experts or those of the law and and the reality is this if we're okay if we're justified through jesus what does that mean well it means that the forgiveness of sins is only through jesus that justifies you not your ability to keep the law of moses and see that's the problem though as a culture we it's hard to wrap our mind around that even today because we celebrate success some of you have gone to school for two four six years and you've received a degree and rightfully so you worked hard for that degree they hand you your diploma they say congratulations you devoted your life to this amount of time and here it is proving it and you celebrate and you should celebrate with those you celebrate the job you got because you worked hard that you didn't dawdle you didn't demand something from someone you recognized he who works or wants to eat needs to work you celebrate with those good hard work good job here's a paycheck and yet the reason why this is a hard concept is we've wrapped i have to do something to earn it but with salvation it has nothing to do with what you have done it has everything to do what christ has done it has nothing to do with your ability to keep the law even memorize scripture and i need to say and preface this the bible says your word i have hidden in my heart not to look righteous so that i don't sin against you it is hard even today to wrap our minds around this concept that jesus loves you solely he will take you as you are today well john i haven't been a christian a long time and i'm actually a pretty terrible person and you don't know he still loves you and he's still going to die for you well what do i have to do to earn favor in god's eyes confess with your mouth that jesus is the lord believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead and this is what saves you that's it really that's why the gospel is so powerful guys and then when you finally realize it has nothing to do to celebrate your success to give your life to jesus has everything to do with his love for you then you take the focus off of yourself and you put it back under christ who won why that you would save me and that's what paul is trying to do right now he offers forgiveness and each one of you at the end of the sermon you have the choice to receive that or to reject it and that's the beauty of god's love for you too it's up to you but paul warns them for those who reject the free gift of salvation read verses 40 through 41 with me beware therefore lest what has been spoken and the prophets come upon you behold you despisers marvel and perish for i work a work in your days a work which you will by no means believe the one were to declare it to you now what paul's doing he's coming to a close with his message he's trying to help them understand and even quote another scripture they were familiar with he's quoting from habakkuk in that portion a time that god was doing a great work among them and yet there were still those who wouldn't believe that great work or as he put it as the prophet habakkuk put it as one who were to declare it to you even if someone's declaring it to your face here's the work that god is doing and you can choose to accept that or reject that and paul gives them the chance to respond to what is being declared to them right now and what is that declaration jesus christ is the savior he's the messiah jesus christ was spoken of by the prophets jesus christ the one you guys read about in the sabbath ever the the scriptures you read about every sabbath was speaking about jesus so what are you going to do how are you going to respond so look what happens in verse 42. so when the jews went out of the synagogue the gentiles begged they begged that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath oh isn't that awesome isn't that awesome when you hear them respond to the word and they're like yes we want more of that will you come back will you preach god's word back to us because that's what god's word is it's exciting it should cause us to question and wonder like why do i believe in what i believe and then you read the scriptures and you're like oh this is so amazing they begged him to come back and preach the next sabbath and look what happens in verse 43 when the congregation had broken up many of the jews and devout proselytes followed paul and barnabas who speaking to them persuaded them look what look what they're persuading them to do they persuade them to continue in the grace of god that is a beautiful term you guys and let me let me explain to you why because i'm curious how many of you are going to relate with or need to hear what i'm about to say next that continuing in grace is just as important as a beginning in grace we we let me let me let me explain a lot of us think that grace in and of itself is only an introduction to the christian life you understand grace you respond to it by giving your life to jesus and a lot of people think that's where it stops just the beginning and i'm here to tell you guys that god wants grace to remain the foundation and to continue even in your life right now because you know what will happen the trickle-down effect you know what that is it's when you exhibit god's love in your life not because again you're righteous or your ability to keep the word but because you understand grace and you continue in it and people see that grace in your life but not only do they want more of it they ask questions about it and here's paul and barnabas persuading him and continue in it continue in the grace of god i love that worded and then look what happens in verse 44 so on the next sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of god notice how paul didn't shy away from offensive words like sin and repent but persuades them to continue in the grace of god gives them the word exhorts the expounds the word and then they just their response is we want to hear more of it not only do we want to hear more of it the text says almost the whole city came to hear it that's how exciting it was as paul is presenting it to him they couldn't get enough of it also it had nothing to do with paul's awesome ability to teach it was the word of god that was spreading that caused them to want more but as i've always said when there's an opportunity to amplify jesus opposition usually follows look what happens in the following verses verse 45 but when the jews saw the multitudes they were filled with envy contradicting and blaspheming and they opposed the things spoken by paul because again paul's promoting a salvation not by works or by keeping the law and they're looking at that as well that's a problem and here's the thing guys don't you agree or disagree with what i'm about to say you know those moments in life you know god is doing to work in you and you recognize it you're excited about it you want to even respond to it is it interesting to you that there's this immediate opposing force that causes you to want to be distracted from it where satan will try to do anything and everything to distract you from the greater point of what god is trying to minister to you i mean even right now i didn't share this last week but i'll share it today this is a season i'm fasting in the new year like i just started this last tuesday and you know what's crazy is i feel like god is revealing truth to me that i've always known but it's causing me to deny temporarily these things in my life in order to focus on the lord so that's the point of fasting when you are good whether you're fasting from social media from like coffee or food or certain things in that moment when you want whatever it is you stop and you're like okay lord i want this but i'm going to pray instead and then also the lord reveals these truths to you i think god was revealing these truths to paul and barnabas and if anything we're going to learn from these guys examples to not give up easily when god is revealing truth and when there's opposing force trying to stop you don't give up because look what happens in verse 46 then paul and barnabas they grew bold and they said it but just really quick i want you to understand their boldness was generated not on the basis of their ability to be strong tough it out their boldness was generated because they actually believed in what they were teaching they actually believed it enough that they're willing to die for it face opposition their boldness grew on the basis of you know what i don't care what comes because i believe in jesus enough to take whatever comes my way and for a lot of you it's like well i'm struggling with that now right right now john i don't believe in everything you're saying i don't believe in the songs that we're singing about i i struggle with all of these things and i'm here to tell you you're in good company and you're not condemned in this place we exist as a church to point you back to the scriptures but also to help affirm that faith does not instantaneously grow faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word your faith grows not because what i said because it's what god's word says and so this boldness is generated with paul and barnabas back to the text i'm sorry again you can't be bold for jesus if you don't even believe in the promises of jesus they believed it so they their boldness is growing look at the second part of verse 46. they said it's necessary it was necessary that the word of god should be spoken to you first that's the jews but since you rejected and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life wow behold we turn to the gentiles and everyone in the house of god those who are gentiles said amen that's got to be exciting because for a lot of the gentiles they're like wait so you're saying that i can embrace jesus apart from the law sign me up how exciting is that for look what it says but it doesn't end there look at verse 47 for so the lord has commanded us i have set you as a light to the gentiles that you should be salvation to the ends of the earth yes yes they got to be excited to hear that and not only that look how they respond in verse 48 49 now when the gentiles heard this they were glad i wonder why and they glorified the word of the lord and as many have been been appointed to eternal life they believed verse 49 and the word of the lord was being spread throughout all the region wow the momentum of paul's sermon right in fact you guys want to know what makes a great sermon you want to know what makes an amazing sermon it's when god's word is spreading like wildfire when it has nothing to do with the one or presenting the word but it has everything to do with the person presenting god's word as the driving force it has to be because at the end of the day whoever is at this pulpit or whoever presents god's word to you in your homes which i hope you're doing it's god's word that becomes the thing that spreads like fire not like hey come to my church you got to meet all my pastoral leaders in the children's ministry and you know what all the i affirm god's calling on people's life but don't put your hope in the leadership put your hope in jesus in the same way don't put your hope in a political party i mean put your hope in jesus guys the word of god was spreading because the gentiles are now understanding the grace of god that paul and barnabas were persuading them to carry on and they're like we want more of it tell us more and the whole city is gathering they're a part of the family of god and look at the last verses verse 50 and 51. let's read those two before we read verse 52 but the jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city raised up persecution against paul and barnabas they expelled them from their region but they shook off the dust from their feet against them they came to iconium so paul's entering into the continuation the uh missions trip that he's on and he does he does a weird thing that some of you are like why is he shaking the the dust off of from his feet it was a symbolic way if you will to say uh you know they're taking the responsibility that was on them and they're giving it to the lord hey we we've given you the gospel we've done everything we can to point you to jesus uh but hey we're shaking the dust off our feet and we're putting the rest in god's hands that doesn't mean they're leaving on bad terms they are just accepting that god had to do the rest which by the way jesus is the one who commanded them to do this so they performed the ritual sign to free them of that responsibility they shook the dust from their feet or as taylor swift says it best the players gonna play play play play play and the haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate so what's taylor's advice i'm just gonna shake shake shake shake the dust off my feet no wait those aren't the lyrics those are actually terrible advice i'm gonna actually end with this with a good good advice i'm going to invite the worship team to come up and i want to end with this advice john corson said it best and it's i thought it was more than noteworthy to present it to you guys concerning this i hope it encourages you john corson says in ministry and in life we will either shake it off or get shaken up those who shake the dust off their feet when an attack comes or when rejection hits will go on but those who get shaken up will quit and i pray that you and i will be the ones who like paul and barnabas shake off the dust and keep going in order that those around us might be filled with joy and with the holy ghost and i think paul and barnabas knew that because a lot of times we think it's our responsibility to push and push and push on people and sometimes maybe you need to hear that this morning god's put you in someone's life for a reason and maybe god's used you to present the gospel but they're rejecting it they're not rejecting you they're rejecting it my advice give it to the lord that doesn't mean they're out of your life shaking the dust off your feet doesn't mean well i'm done with you it just means you're trusting that god's going to do a work through them in another way and then look what it says which makes sense that the the chapter ends this way verse 52 and we're done with chapter 13 and the disciples were filled with joy and with the holy spirit what a great way to end the chapter what a great way to end the chapter and my hope and my prayer for each of you is to remember a couple things the bible exists in order for you to understand the history of this thing called the scriptures and the israelites and now our relationship to respond to it and my prayer for this morning is that you understand the scriptures in order to respond to it believe in it and trust that god is still continuing a great work i mean how discouraging would that have been if paul and barnabas gave up when people rejected the gospel and they're like it's too hard but they don't they were filled with joy and the holy spirit believing god still has a work and you know what god still doesn't work for you guys so don't give up don't give up let me pray for you lord i thank you again for this group this this church and i i can't speak on behalf of everyone but i speak for me lord i thank you that your word reveals truth in times and in seasons when i'm doubting and my faith is lacking your word lifts me up your holy spirit allows me to experience joy again and lord i just pray that this time as we're about to enter into worship would be used to reflect what we've learned so that we can trust in you and maybe for some of you especially since it's so appropriate given the text maybe some of you have been coming to church your entire life and you've heard the scriptures you've heard of jesus but you've never given your life to jesus and today is the day that you're saying i want to surrender my life to jesus and i get it now i get it has nothing to do with me and works of righteousness has everything to do with what jesus has done and if you want to give your life to jesus right now in this place just repeat after me jesus i believe you are god and jesus i want to give my life to you i believe you died on the cross i believe you rose from the dead and i want to give you my life i'm yours now help me lord help me jesus to be used all the days of my life i'm yours now and it's in jesus name and all god's people said amen [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Calvary South Denver

Views: 406

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary Chapel, Gino Geraci, Christianity, Bible Study

Id: E324g7YYiAg

Length: 49min 42sec (2982 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 14 2021