The Church God Uses
Tom Shrader walks through Acts 13:1-13, the turning point where the early church deliberately sends Barnabas and Paul on the first missionary journey to take the Gospel to the Gentile world. He highlights the church at Antioch as a model of a healthy, integrated congregation whose members ministered to the Lord through prayer, fasting, and the use of spiritual gifts — and whose readiness made them the kind of people God chose to work through. The passage also addresses the opposition Paul and Barnabas faced from the occult-connected Bar-Jesus, and the conversion of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus, as evidence that faithful, Spirit-directed ministry will encounter resistance but will not be stopped.
“As you decide to become a man, woman, student of God, as you decide to live for Him, to do the right thing at the right place, in the right time, in the right way, under the direction of God, don't for a second think you aren't going to have opposition.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 2000 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 48 min
Themes: missions, prayer, fasting, spiritual gifts, the church, evangelism, opposition, Holy Spirit, new believer, feeling called to ministry, church member wondering how to serve, pastor, missionary, struggling with spiritual opposition, young adult, seeking purpose in the church
Scripture: Acts 1:8, Acts 4:36, Acts 12:25, Acts 13:1-13, Matthew 6:16, John 8, Colossians 3, Colossians 4:10, Acts 20, 2 Corinthians 8
Theological Themes: missiology, sending church, pneumatology, work of the Holy Spirit, ecclesiology, healthy church, spiritual warfare, great commission
Full Transcript
The Church at Antioch: A Turning Point in Acts
Open your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 13. If you are just joining us today and have never been part of our study in the book of Acts, that is okay — you have joined us at an important time. Ray Stedman tells us that the 13th chapter is a turning point in the book of Acts. The reason he says this is that the first 12 chapters are really the story of the church beginning to push out, but it is still primarily a Jewish church. It was Jesus who said in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth."
Beginning in Acts chapter 13 and through the rest of this book is the story of the church pushing out to the remotest parts of the earth. The church had primarily been focused with a Jewish emphasis — primarily to Jews — even as it spread out. But now, and through the remainder of this book, the emphasis shifts to the Gentiles, especially as the gospel spreads throughout the Roman Empire. One author writes this: "The Christian church is now poised to take the greatest of all steps. They had decided quite deliberately to take the gospel out to all the world. It was a decision taken under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit."
This was not some haphazard approach. This was a deliberate approach to taking the Word of God throughout the world. These words were surely fresh in their minds, passed on from those who were eyewitnesses and then to the people gathered here just a few years later — their charge, their responsibility, as Jesus spoke both prophetically and in an imperative form, was to take the gospel throughout the world. And they were excited to be part of that.
Let me tell you, you too can still be part of that. There is a sense, obviously from a dogmatic position, in which the book of Acts is done. But there is also a sense — a broader sense — in which the book of Acts is still being written. The Word is still being spread, and you can be part of that. Your approach needs to be just as deliberate and clear as it was for this early church as they moved under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Shift from Peter to Paul
The first 12 chapters of this book focus primarily on Peter as the main character. Now the spotlight shifts to Paul — to Saul. Acts chapter 13, verse 1: "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers."
You need to stop right there. This church at Antioch was a strong church. As I was studying and preparing this lesson, I found myself saying, "Father, let us be — that is, East Valley Bible Church — let us be like this church at Antioch." It was a strong church. It was a healthy church. The people there were exercising their spiritual gifts, serving one another, and actively engaged in ministry. That is the type of people, individually, and the type of church, collectively, that God uses.
God uses people who every day are demonstrating a desire and a capacity to serve Him. If you are faithful in little things, He continues to give you more and more ministry, more and more opportunity. This church had in it people exercising their gifts, and Luke outlines two areas: there were prophets and there were teachers.
Prophets and Teachers in the Early Church
The way the sentence is structured indicates that this list — Luke gives us five examples — the first three were prophets and the last two were considered teachers. A prophet in the early church was someone responsible for accurately teaching and instructing the congregation. In some rare instances, they were still receiving direct divine revelation from God, but that is done. You have all the direct revelation you need when you sit with this Bible in front of you.
William Barclay makes this distinction: the prophets were wandering preachers who had given their whole lives to listening for the Word of God and then taking that word to their fellow men. The teachers were men in local churches whose duty it was to instruct converts in the faith. What you see in both instances is that this church at Antioch honored, studied, learned, and taught the Word of God. What God had to say was of preeminent importance to them.
They were consumed first with the Lord Jesus Christ and who He was, and secondly with understanding that — with studying and understanding what God has to say. We saw that in the first church: they were a church involved in prayer, fellowship, breaking of bread, and the apostles' teaching. They were studying, but it was not a study sterilized in some academic pursuit. It was a study they engaged in so that they would know how they could best serve God.
The Five Leaders at Antioch
Luke tells us there were five men there. The first is Barnabas. We know a little about Barnabas — we have already met him, and we will obviously see much more of him in the next few chapters. He was a Levite, a Jewish priest, born in Cyprus — a Jew who was very much in touch with Greek culture.
There was Simeon, a man who was dark-skinned, probably black, perhaps from Africa or Egypt. He was a leader and a prophet in this church. There was Lucius of Cyrene, who also was from Cyprus. It was men from Cyprus who came and first planted and evangelized this church at Antioch. Lucius was probably one of the first missionaries to arrive there, and a few years later it would only make sense that he was still present, ministering and serving as part of the leadership team.
There was Manaen, a man who, according to the text, was brought up with Herod the Tetrarch — raised with Herod as a foster brother, in the same palace and the same setting. These were two men
Ministering While Waiting
One becomes a man who kills John the Baptist, is involved — although somewhat in an apathetic way — in the trial of Jesus, and has no interest in spiritual things. The other becomes a leader and a teacher in this church. Not just a Christian, but a man who is fully engaged in the pursuit of the things of God and making them clear to the people in this church. And then lastly, there was Saul of Tarsus, who is about to be known to us more commonly as Paul.
It is interesting that as you look at the composition of just these five men, you get a picture into the church at Antioch. It was an integrated church. By that, I don't just mean racially, although we see that is there. You see Greek, and Roman, and Jew — educated, uneducated, poor, rich.
In that culture, perhaps even in ours, but certainly in that culture, these groups hated one another. The Romans hated the Greeks, the Greeks hated the Romans, the Jews hated them all. The educated hated the uneducated, the uneducated hated the educated. The poor despised the rich, the rich looked down their nose at the poor.
But when it came to the church at Antioch, they didn't just peacefully coexist. This was a group brought together under the power and the Spirit of God — not enduring one another, but serving one another, ministering. Not looking down their nose, not making judgments, but understanding they were children of God working together. Obviously, it is our prayer that that is what this church would be.
Set Apart While Serving
Verse 2: "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them.' Then when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away."
A couple of observations. It is while they were ministering that God spoke to them. So often I meet people who say, "I really want to be used by God," and I will say, "What are you doing about it?" And the answer is, "I'm waiting. I'm waiting to see what God is going to do. Won't it be exciting to see what God is going to do?" But these people were not just waiting.
What do you do while you are waiting? Perhaps it is unclear to you exactly what God wants you to do. We went through these last week: you pray, you study, you fellowship with Him, you fellowship with one another, and you share your faith. These people were fully engaged in ministry. Luke uses the structure of this sentence to emphasize the point to us — while they were ministering, they were involved, they were using their spiritual gifts.
When you are unclear on exactly what God has for you, pray, study, fellowship with Him, fellowship with one another, and share your faith.
God as the Audience
Notice the recipient of this ministry. It was not merely that they were serving one another, though they were — they were actually ministering to the Lord. God was the audience.
We talk about this all the time when we talk about worship. This is the brochure that is part of the worship team materials, and in it Gary talks about worship principles. Worship is active, not passive. God is the audience and receiver of our worship. Those leading in worship are facilitators of worship, not performers. Those leading in worship must be leading worshipers, actively pursuing the presence of God.
When we come together and we sing, it is not that the people on the platform are performing and you are watching. In a sense, all of us are performing — all of us sing and worship — and the audience is God. We sing unto the Lord. All that we do is unto the Lord.
When Paul says goodbye to the elders at Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, he says, "I serve the Lord with all humility." When he speaks to the Corinthian church about giving, he says of them that first they gave themselves to the Lord by the will of God. When he speaks to Timothy about serving and teaching, he says, "Present yourself approved to God." Before you want to teach, you have to be approved by God. Before you give, you give as one who has already, in heart and mind, given yourself to the Lord first. In Colossians chapter 3, Paul writes, "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."
Paul also says to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Our minds tend to think this way: I will do this activity, I will give a little here, I will serve in junior high over here — these are the things I am going to give to God. But God says, no, present your body. That is a picture of all that you are. All that you are is a living sacrifice. And not coincidentally, if He has your body, He will get your finances as well. He will get your service. He will get you involved in ministry. That is the natural response of someone who is serving the Lord.
Demonstrating Conversion
How were the people at Antioch ministering to the Lord? They were serving one another. And it is to your credit — and I mean you, the people of this church — that rarely do we have to go out and pull and work to manipulate people into action.
We will have on campus today, this morning and tonight, almost 900 to 1,000 children from birth through sixth grade, another 300 junior high and high school students, and another 150 college students. The truly labor-intensive group is that first one — birth through sixth grade. It is amazing to us, and by the way, it is amazing to the people who come and visit us, how readily you are willing to serve in those areas.
Do you know what that demonstrates? It does not demonstrate a committed group, though they are a committed group. It does not demonstrate commitment. It demonstrates conversion.
Ministering and Fasting
They are a converted group. They understand that because they are converted and committed, they need to serve. Those are the people God uses. I think God is moving in a powerful way in this church, and I think it is because we have a group of people who are ministering unto the Lord. That tends to be where God works.
There is something else these people are doing, and it jumps right off the page: fasting. As I read that, it does not take a long period of investigation to see that I am not one who has been actively engaged in this process on a regular basis. But as I study it and look at it, I am convinced — and therefore you will be shortly — that this is an important exercise for us as Christians. They are ministering, and they are fasting. Even after God speaks to them in verse 3, they fast and pray.
When Jesus is speaking in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 6, He is talking about hypocrites and false religious behavior, and He is contrasting hypocritical behavior with genuine behavior. He speaks first of giving, then of praying, and then of fasting. He said, "Whenever you fast, don't put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do" — Matthew 6:16 — "for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting." They let personal hygiene slide so that everyone around them would think, "These are really holy people engaged in a really holy activity."
Jesus says no. "But when you fast, anoint your head" — a picture of grooming, of taking care of yourself — "wash your face, not so you'll be seen fasting by men," but fast unto the Lord. There is an interesting word in that instruction. It is the third word: *when* you fast. The idea is that fasting is a normal, acceptable activity on certain occasions for all of us to be engaged in.
When we fast, we are not trying to achieve some heightened spiritual experience or visions. We fast in response to a test, a struggle, a trial, a time of sorrow or grief. David fasts in repentance of his double sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder he presides over. When I fast, what I am doing is setting aside my normal activities in pursuit of understanding God — who He is — and perhaps seeking direction from Him.
Fasting and Prayer as a Body
Returning to the text, it is worth noting in verse 3 that they fasted and prayed. We see them pray without fasting on other occasions, but we do not really see fasting without praying as they seek what God has for them. As you and I begin to want to know what God wants and to be used by Him to accomplish it, it makes all the sense in the world for us, out of deep spiritual concern, to enter into this process of fasting. The evidence is also that they were engaged in this as a body.
God spoke to — I presume — the leadership. We do not know exactly how He spoke, but He evidently made it very clear that they were to send out Barnabas and Paul. The leaders then brought this to the church: we are getting ready to do this; will you join us in this time of prayer and fasting? Then they laid hands on them — identifying with them, saying, "These are our men about to be sent out by us" — and they prayed God's blessing over them. The word itself means literally that they let them go, or they released them.
It is significant that the two men being sent out are Barnabas and Saul, two of their leaders. They did not say, "Let's find a couple of guys who don't quite fit here and send them out to the mission field." God called two major players. He said, in effect, "I know this is going to create a hole in the ministry you have there, but I will fill that hole — these are the men I want from you." And so they released them.
Paul's First Missionary Journey Begins
Verse 4 tells us that, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they proceeded on what is most commonly identified as Paul's first missionary journey. If you have a study Bible, most of you have a map in the back. Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch, and their first stop is Cyprus. This makes complete sense. We learn from Acts 4:36 that Barnabas was from Cyprus, so as they head out there is in his heart a natural desire to bring the truth to his own people.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It has two major cities — Salamis and Paphos — and Paphos is the capital of the Roman province there. Cyprus also has a large Jewish population, so it makes every logical sense, and God has made clear to them, that this is where they are to go. The island is roughly a hundred miles long and about sixty miles wide. When they arrive, they proclaim the word of God in the synagogues to the Jews. This becomes Paul's custom — to stop first and share the truth with the Jewish people.
Luke then tells us in verse 5 that they also had John with them as their helper — John Mark.
John Mark Joins the Team
We know this man more by the name Mark than by John or John Mark. He is the Mark who writes the Gospel — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We know a little bit about him. He is a young man at this point, a cousin of Barnabas, as Colossians 4:10 tells us, and a native of Jerusalem. His mother's home appears in Acts chapter 12 as the place where believers gathered to pray for Peter's release. We think — though we cannot be certain — that the same room logically served as the location of the Last Supper. His mother was a wealthy Jewish widow in Jerusalem. We are going to learn a great deal more about John Mark next week, but this much we know. He joins this missionary team as something of an intern, coming along as they head out.
A Spirit of Pioneering
As they leave the mainland and set out for Cyprus, I have to believe there is a spirit of pioneering among them. I was reminded of that kind of excitement just last Sunday night. People were so energized to be there. I went back to speak with the praise team, and I want to give you a look into the heart of the people serving you. Based on Sunday morning attendance, our prayer was simply for more people to be in the congregation than on the platform — that was our honest goal going in. So when I walked out and saw nearly fifty to a hundred people there, I was genuinely surprised.
I went back and the praise team and band were gathered in prayer. Someone asked, "Is there anybody out there?" I told them it looked like there would be. I thanked them for being willing to come back on a Sunday night, which is no small thing — they had already been here since six-thirty in the morning. I said that not so you would be impressed, but simply to show you the level of commitment they carry. When I thanked them, they said, "Tom, it is an honor for us to come back and be used by God in this way." That was the environment in that room.
Now imagine the spirit among this missionary team as they set out on their journey. If anyone is especially excited, it is probably John Mark. He is young. He is eager. He cannot wait to see what God is going to do. He is traveling alongside his cousin Barnabas, a man of enormous faith, and he is simply proud to be part of it all. This is the group that goes out.
Right Guys, Right Time, Right Place
Here is what I want you to see, and it carries a great deal of application for your life. These are the right guys, at the right time, in the right place, doing exactly what God wants them to do. That is really important to hold onto. There is no question about whether they belong here. They are precisely where God has called them to be.
They travel all the way through the island of Cyprus, landing at Paphos on the southern end. There they encounter a magician — someone dabbling in the occult — named Bar-Jesus. He is associated with Sergius Paulus, the Roman authority in the region. Luke describes Sergius Paulus in verse 7 as a man of intelligence. This is a sharp, curious mind — someone engaged with mathematics, science, philosophy, and religion. He is asking the same questions people ask today: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? These are the things occupying his thoughts.
Bar-Jesus, which means "son of Jesus" or "son of salvation," is anything but what his name suggests. He is a magician who dabbles in the occult. Sergius Paulus, this intelligent and curious man, summons Barnabas and Saul because he wants to hear the Word of God. He wants to know what God has to say. I have to assume they arrived with some level of fanfare, and the word goes out: bring these men in. I want to hear from them.
Opposition Enters
Bar-Jesus — whose Greek name is Elymas — moves to oppose them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from Barnabas and Saul. Right guys, right time, right place, doing exactly what God wants them to do, and in comes opposition. The same thing is going to happen in your life. As you decide to become a man, woman, or student of God — as you commit to living for Him, doing the right thing at the right time in the right way under His direction — do not for a second think you will be exempt from opposition.
When opposition does come, it is fair to ask yourself: is there any sin in my life? Is there something I am doing that is opening the door to this? That is a legitimate question. But opposition does not necessarily mean you have done something wrong. Barnabas and Saul are the right guys, in the right place, at the right time, carrying the right message, exactly where God wants them — and opposition still comes. The opposition is from the devil. Satan is real, and he is out to destroy and devour.
Saul Confronts the Sorcerer
In verse 9, we see something significant. Saul, also known as Paul — and from this point on Paul becomes his dominant name — is filled with the Holy Spirit. God gives him the ability to see this situation clearly. He gazes at Bar-Jesus and says, "You are full of all deceit and all fraud." The word translated "deceit" carries the image of a snare. The word translated "fraud" appears only this one time in the entire New Testament. It describes the act of easily persuading someone to move from one direction to another — not necessarily toward good or evil in itself, but always carrying a tone of recklessness.
Confronting the Enemy of the Gospel
Imagine this on your tombstone: "You are a son of the devil, an enemy of all righteousness. Will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?" Here comes the opposition, and Saul knows — he doesn't need to stop and take an inventory of sin in his life — he knows he is where God wants him to be. He gazes upon this man, and because he knows the Word of God and the things of God, as he hears him speak and understands that he is trying to direct Sergius Paulus away from the true teaching of God, he says: you are of your father the devil, you are a son of the devil.
Does that sound familiar? It should. In John chapter 8, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and says, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in truth, there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his nature, for he is a liar and the father of all lies" — and so is anyone else who follows him. At a time when people speak of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, meaning we are all children of God, Jesus made a clear distinction: no, some are not of God, some are of the devil.
Saul, now Paul, comes into contact with this man Bar-Jesus and says plainly: you are not of God. And isn't it striking? This man even uses the name "son of Jesus," "son of salvation," yet he is as far away from that reality as a person can be.
Discernment and the Anatomy of a Lie
Here is an important point. Cults frequently attempt to make themselves appear legitimate by using terms and words that would be acceptable to believers. But that does not change what they are. Consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — they are as far away from true Christianity as Bar-Jesus is when Paul looks upon him. This is why you need discernment. You need to be able to look carefully at what is being taught and recognize that people can use the same words while working from an entirely different dictionary. That distinction matters enormously.
No effective lie presents itself as an outright lie. Nobody simply comes out and says Jesus doesn't exist, Jesus never was, Jesus never rose. Any good lie has a significant amount of truth wrapped around it, because you cannot sell a lie without it. I learned this even as a pagan. My wife Susan would ask me whether I had been drinking, and when a flat denial stopped working, I realized I needed to put a little truth into it. So I would say, "I had three." She would ask how large those three were, and the answer was: evidently, quite large. But I understood, even then, that you have to take the lie and wrap some truth around it. Bar-Jesus understood the same principle. He was working with enough familiar language and recognizable terms to mislead people effectively.
Paul sees straight through it and confronts him directly: how long are you going to take the straight ways of God and make them crooked? How long are you going to divert people from what God has to say?
Judgment, Mercy, and the Power of the Word
Then comes what amounts to a curse upon Bar-Jesus. Paul declares: "Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind and not see the sun for a time." Notice the mercy embedded in that judgment — Paul says it will not be a permanent condition, only a temporary one. And immediately a mist and darkness fell upon Bar-Jesus, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. He was blind.
When the proconsul Sergius Paulus saw what had happened, he believed. But Luke is careful to note something important: as dramatic as the blindness was, what truly amazed Sergius Paulus was the teaching of the Lord. That is the greatest power and the greatest asset we carry as we speak to other people about Christianity — the teaching of the Lord, what God has said. That is what moved this man to faith.
After that moment, Sergius Paulus largely disappears from the biblical record. But archaeology has more to say. As Ray Stedman writes, it is interesting that archaeology has confirmed this incident, because inscriptions bearing the name of this very man, Sergius Paulus, have been found in Cyprus. Furthermore, Sir William Ramsay uncovered evidence that he became a Christian, that his entire family became Christians, and that they were very prominent in Christian circles following this event. Here is a case where archaeology has clearly confirmed the report of the accurate historian Luke.
The Reasonable Conclusion
God intervenes, Luke tells the truth, and here is an intelligent man who — when he honestly examines the facts — can only arrive at one conclusion. Someone who is truly intelligent and truly honest must look at the evidence and see that this is true. The only reasonable position is that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Josh McDowell's book *Evidence That Demands a Verdict* makes exactly this case. When you examine the facts of the resurrection, there is only one conclusion you can draw: the tomb was empty, and He had to come out of it. And that is the conclusion this man reached.
A Shift in Leadership
God opened his eyes and allowed him to see the truth. Luke tells us he was an intellectual man, because coming to faith in Jesus Christ is not committing intellectual suicide — it is the only reasonable thing to believe.
In verse 13, Paul and his companions put out to sea and move through the area toward Pamphylia. There we read that John left them and returned to Jerusalem. Something very significant happens in this verse: there is an order change. It now reads "Paul and his companions."
Look back at Acts chapter 12, verse 25, and notice the order there: "Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem." We have seen that same ordering any time these two men appear together. When God says to send them out in Acts 13:2, it is "set aside for me Barnabas and Saul." When Sergius Paulus calls for them in verse 7, he summoned "Barnabas and Saul." But now in verse 13 it is "Paul and his companions," and the next time these two men are listed together it will be "Paul and Barnabas."
Barnabas is a mighty man of God — a generous man held in the highest possible regard. He was the one the church of Jerusalem sent out and said, confirm all of these things, let us see if this is really happening with the Gentiles. He was the leader. But the time has come for Paul to emerge as the leader. A subtle shift takes place here, and now the spotlight really focuses on Paul.
Saul of Tarsus is gone — he is a memory, a fresh memory, to remind us of how fallen Paul was. There is a tendency among some of us to lift Paul up and make him almost superhuman. But he was a lost pagan like you and me, until God opened his eyes to see the truth of the Gospel message. Now he becomes the man God will use to push this Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. That subtle shift has taken place.
John Mark Departs
There is one other thing that happens in verse 13. John Mark says, in effect, "I'm out of here — I've had enough of this already." We will pick up exactly there when we look at this passage next time.
Closing Prayer and Commission
It is our prayer that we would be like the church of Antioch, and that means each of us needs to be like the people of that church — fully engaged in ministry, ministering to the Lord as we serve one another, using our spiritual gifts. These are the kinds of people, and this is the kind of church, that God will continue to use.
We have all these discussions throughout the weeks about how God is working and how we keep things fresh. The answer is straightforward: we continue to use our gifts to serve the Lord, and God will continue to send people out from here, establish other churches, and move people outward. He will continue to keep us fresh — even as we grow old in our bodies and old in the faith — because we are desiring to see Him. We are people who minister, who fast and pray and say, "God, what do you have for us to do? Open our eyes to see it."
Father, that is our prayer this morning — that You would take us and open our eyes, individually and collectively, and use us in a powerful way to touch our world. This world right here, first and foremost in the East Valley, then throughout the Valley of the Sun and the state, and, God, we are even hoping that You would use some of us to go to far places of this world to teach the truth that You have. Let us be men and women who exercise our gifts, who serve You, who understand that You are our audience, and whose desire is to please You and You alone. Father, we pray this to You this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.