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Paul’s Second Trip: Paul’s Idea

Mar 302010

A Little Disagreement

Paul’s first trip started under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Remember how the Holy Spirit specifically selected Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-4). The beginning of Paul’s second journey was a little different than the first (Acts 15:36-41). There is no mention of the Holy Spirit directing them in this second venture. Notice…

1. Paul decided to go on this trip (Acts 15:36).

This second journey was completely Paul’s idea. He wanted to see those churches who were established during their first trip. Does that mean this was not a good idea, since the Holy Spirit did not specifically direct them? Not at all! This WAS a good idea. Perhaps a lesson for us is this: God directed Paul the first time to show him what to do; now it is Paul’s responsibility to continue the work. We can see Paul’s example today and know missionary trips are a good work.

2. Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement (Acts 15:37-39).

John Mark was Barnabas’s cousin. Do you remember that he deserted Paul and Barnabas at the beginning of the first missionary journey (Acts 13:13; 15:38)? Paul had still not gotten over that, but Barnabas was ready to give John Mark a second chance. Maybe it was a family thing…or maybe it was because Barnabas just had a really big heart. Later, we will find that John Mark would become a great friend to Paul, but at this time there was a rift. Some might look at the trouble at the beginning of this second journey and think, “I wonder if this is a sign from God that this is a bad idea?” Might you be tempted to think that?

When God wants to let us know something, He is almost never vague. We get so involved in trying to read “signs” that we cripple ourselves and the Kingdom of Christ sometimes! Instead of second-guessing himself, Paul just continued on doing what he KNEW was right, even when things were going wrong. I must confess, I probably need to stop thinking less about my troubles as signs from God and just get on doing the work God has mapped out for me to do!

3. The result was a double journey (Acts 15:39-40).

Paul and Silas went one direction while Barnabas and John Mark went another. Barnabas and John Mark went back to the island of Cyprus (Barnabas’s home), to strengthen the churches there. Paul and Silas headed north to the churches on the mainland in Asia Minor. Though there was contention among brethren, all brethren involved still pitched into the work God had designed for them and even more good was accomplished. What should we do when we are out of sorts with some of our brethren? What if a brother or sister is not interested or excited about a particular work that WE are excited about?
Should we clam up and do nothing until that brother or sister comes around to our way of thinking? No! We should find another brother or sister who IS excited about it…or just pitch into the work ourselves. If it is good work God has given us to do, just do it. Good fruit is sure to come when we work for the Lord.

God bless,
Nathan

God’s Formula for Missionary Work

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Mar 222010

Ready for the Trip

Luke recorded three of Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts. We just finished reading about his first trip in Acts 13-14. The church at Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark out together. What can we learn from this first journey?

1. It’s a Biblical pattern for a church to build up teachers and preachers and send them into the mission field.
There is no pattern for what we sometimes call a “missionary society,” but there is a great pattern of local churches doing missionary work. If you don’t believe in the power of this pattern, just see what the Lord accomplished through Paul! If we follow the Biblical pattern, we should be training up men to do this kind of work. I know most churches want to keep all their good Bible teachers…but we really need to learn to share

2. There is also a Biblical pattern for sending out men in groups.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.” This is the principle of SYNERGY. Paul could have done a lot of good by himself. Barnabas could have done a lot of good by himself. But put the two together and see what happens. Together they accomplished more than they could have accomplished working separately. An explosive, exponential increase in productivity occurs when two or more workers pitch in together with one mind. Each man compliments the other. One supplies where the other lacks. One supports when the other is weak. This principle is what makes a strong marriage so powerful!

3. Paul and Barnabas returned to the church in Antioch when they were finished.
They gave a report of their trip and encouraged the saints at Antioch with descriptions of salvation across the country (Acts 14:27). It’s always encouraging to have a preacher come home to recharge, renew, and relate all the good that the Lord is doing. I’m sure it encouraged not only Paul and Barnabas, but also the church at Antioch.

This pattern is repeated several times in the New Testament. It’s a good system, authorized by God, and guaranteed to produce amazing results. God’s word does not return to Him empty!

God bless,
Nathan

Do You Talk Right?

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Mar 162010

Good Conversation

If I said, “Bekah and me are going out tonight,” what would you think? Would you catch the misplaced pronoun “me”? It should be “Bekah and I.”

On the other hand, if I said, “Someone gave Bekah and I a coupon for the Olive Garden,” would you have caught the problem there? It should be “Bekah and me” in this case. Would you say, “Someone gave I a coupon”? No, you would say, “Someone gave ME a coupon.” Adding another individual to the sentence doesn’t change it.

Unfortunately, whenever someone uses a phrase like this incorrectly, I mentally correct it. I have made the mistake of correcting Bekah at the wrong times, by the way. Not good. So I generally keep my corrections to myself.

But, ultimately, speaking with incorrect words and phrases is not going to send a person to hell. It’s not a matter of salvation to misspeak like this. However, there ARE good and proper ways to speak to one another the word of life.

Acts 14:1 says that Paul and Barnabas “spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed.” How did they speak? I’d love to know how to speak in such a manner that many of the people around New Orleans would believe!

1. They spoke the WORD.

In the verses immediately preceding and following Acts 14:1 we see the following clues as to their message:

The whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord (Acts 13:44)
It was necessary for the word of God be spoken to you first… (Acts 13:46)
They began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord (Acts 13:48)
The word of the Lord was being spread throughout the whole region (Acts 13:49)
Testifying to the word of His grace (Acts 14:3)

Getting the Message Across

If I want to speak in such a way that many will believe in the Lord, I must speak ONLY the Lord’s message. I must speak ALL the Lord’s message. His word is that which saves (Romans 1:16).

2. They spoke BOLDLY.

Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly (Acts 13:46)
They spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord (Acts 14:3)

The manner of their speech was important. We must not bring the word of God to the people in a timid fashion.

“Um…I don’t guess you’d like to hear about your soul’s salvation, would you? You wouldn’t like to know about how to have eternal life would you? No? Oh, that’s okay…”

“We preach the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’” (Acts 13:32-33)

So, how do I “talk right” about Jesus? I must first KNOW the word of God before I can speak it with boldness! Knowing the word is half the battle. Then I must stand with courage and speak with my neighbors.

May God bless us with grace in our speech today,
Nathan

Paul’s Modus Operandi

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Mar 112010

Preaching to the People

1. Preach to the Jews. Even though God’s message was open to all nations, He still gave the Jews the preferred first opportunity to hear and obey the gospel. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Whenever Paul entered a new city, he first went to the Jews (Acts 13:46). It was through the Jews that God had brought salvation to the world, so they did have a special place in God’s plan.

2. Preach from the Old Testament. The Jews were brought up on the “Law and the Prophets,” what we now call the Old Testament. Paul had a habit of running through a history lesson with the Jews, reminding them of their glorious and not-so-glorious past. He showed them how Jesus was all over their Scriptures in prophecy. Their hero, David, wrote of the Christ in Psalm 2 (Acts 13:33) and in Psalm 16 (Acts 13:35). God had made special promises to David regarding the Christ (Acts 13:34). He brought up a terrible prophecy from Habakkuk 1:5 (Acts 13:41) to indicate an impending judgment on the Jewish nation – “Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; for I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.”

3. Preach to the Gentiles. When the Jews rejected Paul’s teaching, he turned to the Gentiles. He even used Old Testament Scripture to defend this action (Acts 13:47): “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring salvation to the end of the earth’” (Isaiah 49:6).

Paul was quite effective in his teaching efforts. I am sometimes baffled at why I am not so “successful” with my teaching in this community. What is my modus operandi? Do I have a plan? Am I not teaching the same gospel? Are the people different today than they were in Paul’s time? Have I just not found what really works?

I hold these truths to be self-evident: that men’s hearts are always the same; that the gospel message is just as powerful today as it was in the days of Paul; and that my duty is simply to scatter the seed (the word) and that is the END of my duty. God will not hold me responsible for those who don’t want to hear the message and reject it.

Like Paul, my modus operandi must simply be to preach the word.

God bless,
Nathan

We Need a Few Good Men

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Mar 032010

An Encourager

Do you consider yourself to be “good”? Would you use that word to describe yourself? Do you think GOD would call you “good”?

Barnabas was blessed by God in this special way – God called him “a good man” (Acts 11:24). Notice two quick things about this good man:

1. His main purpose in life was to encourage. His real name was Joseph, but the apostles nick-named him Barnabas, “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). Are there any sons or daughters of encouragement around? Are you one? Am I? What does an encourager do? Specifically, Barnabas rejoiced with the brethren when he saw the work of the Lord prospering, and he encouraged the brethren to remain true to the Lord with a resolute heart (Acts 11:23). The seed for his encouraging nature must have been strong faith. He believed…and he shared his faith with others – probably with a big smile on his face.

2. His encouraging attitude led many to the Lord. As a direct result of his encouragement, the church at Antioch flourished and prospered. “Considerable numbers were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). This attitude of encouragement fostered real growth! You can imagine unbelievers looking at all the joy and unity of the Antioch church and just wanting to be part of something like that. Also, the brethren at Antioch would be energized by this attitude to go out and share this faith with others.

There’s a lot of power in the right attitude and focus. There’s a lot of good one good man, or one good woman, can do in the kingdom. Are you that encourager? Then encourage with all your might! See the kingdom prosper as the attitude of faith, hope, and trust pervades the church.

We need a few good men.

God bless,
Nathan

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Paul’s Second Trip: Paul’s Idea

God’s Formula for Missionary Work

Do You Talk Right?

Paul’s Modus Operandi

We Need a Few Good Men

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