Missions Paul

7 prayers to be strengthened today

Acts 15:41 “He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

We end this chapter with a beautiful picture of Paul and Silas travelling from church to church simply to strengthen the believers through words of encouragement and comfort.

Like me today you may need to be strengthened.

Perhaps the only way to keep leading people is for you to be strengthened.  “But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” Deut 3:28

Perhaps the only way to stand your ground when the enemy next strikes is for you to be strengthened. “Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.” 1 Kings 20:22

Perhaps the only way to stand against intimidation is for you to be strengthened. “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” Nehemiah 6:9

Perhaps the only way to get through your grief is for you to be strengthened. “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” Psalm 119:28

Perhaps the only way to stand when it seems everything around you is dry and barren is for you to be strengthened. “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

Perhaps the only way for you to face your greatest ordeal on earth is for you to be strengthened. “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” Luke 22:43

Perhaps the only way your seen life can keep going is for your unseen life be strengthened. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:16

And so we pray:

My Lord, what is in front of me is too big for me. I feel dwarfed by its challenge. I feel weakened by its power. Strengthen me. (Deut 3:28)

My Lord, I am not certain what is ahead of me. I do know the enemy of my life will come again with attacks on my mind, body and inner being. In these days of peacetime, strengthen me. (1 Kings 20:22)

My Lord, I am physically tired and cannot continue another day. Strengthen me. (Nehemiah 6:9)

My Lord, my very inner being is crying, it is a well of tears, darkness clouds my soul. I have no words of comfort only a numbness of heart. Strengthen me. (Psalm 119:28)

My Lord, there is no life around me nor in front of me. There has been no refreshing rain for a long time, everything is dry, there seems to be no new shoots of life. Strengthen me. (Isaiah 58:11)

My Lord, I stand in this garden crushed by the solitude. I drop to my knees under the weight of the burden you are asking me to carry. Is this your will for my life now? If so, strengthen me. (Luke 22:43)

My Lord, I don’t ask for material things or for my life to improve on the outward to be seen by all. I don’t want the praise of man nor the riches that come with that applause. What good is that if inside me there is no power? What good is that if my inner being is poor? Strengthen me by your Spirit. (Ephesians 3:16)

Amen.

Decisions

Acts 15:40

“but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.”

Sometime before the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, Judas and Silas on completing their task at the Antioch church were given the blessing of the believers to go back to Jerusalem.

Silas made the decision to stay.

Unbeknown to Silas his decision would put him in the right place for Paul to choose him as his ministry partner.

You never drift into your destiny with God. It takes decisions, choices, and personal discipline.  Ask the athlete, the musician or the artist.

I am today a product of what I decided I would be or how I would respond to matters yesterday. How I use my ability to respond today will determine what my life will be like tomorrow. This is a massive principle of life for Gods people.

There are 3 major decisions that I have succeeded in and failed in ……

1. The decision to make the most of the moment

To make the most of the moment you must decide not to wait for the moment to change nor waste time wishing the moment had not taken place. But you firmly decide that it is not the moment which dictates how you respond, but you “who can do all things through Christ who strengthens” will take control and make the most from it.

2. The decision to say NO.

Many of us have taken on too much because we cannot say NO to people.

Say NO to the need.

• Unless you know why you are here everyone will demand.
• Saying YES to God can only happen because you say NO to people.
• Saying NO to people can only happen because you said YES to God.

Say NO to the unimportant.

• The unimportant always cause the greatest worry and upset.
• What you must do can be simplified to one thing.
• The unimportant is not wrong but the important task is simply better.

Say NO to what is not right for you.

• If you don’t say NO then the task will suffer.
• If you don’t say NO then you will end up saying NO to something.
• If you say NO to the important then you must take responsibility to help find someone who will say YES. Saying NO does not abdicate you from the problem.

 

3. The decision to start again.

You can go back.

Many of us need to go back to the beginning. To the place of renewed dedication and commitment.

You can overcome the setback

The enemy cannot cut off what is destined to grow. Whatever level you find yourself Grace will find you.

You can come back

Many lose their way in life, they lose direction and they don’t ask for guidance.

But you are not like that, no matter what comes your way. When joy has been taken from you, you can laugh again. When dark clouds hover over you, you can find the light. When humiliation has landed at your door you can regain your dignity. No matter what comes your way, you can keep going. You can return home. You can keep living, loving, giving, receiving and working.

Today make a decision.

Disagreements and divisions

Acts 15:39

“They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,”

 

Two great friends in ministry now parted company over one man.

Many have offered their views on who was right and who was wrong. They were both wrong. It is the last time we see Barnabas mentioned. He sails off to Cyprus with Mark, going back to his homeland and read nothing more of him. However for Paul he continues to thrive in his ministry.

Last year I was sat round the table with 2 leaders who were in disagreement over a matter. They had been together for over a decade but by the end of that meeting they parted company, their ministry together was over. It mattered for nothing because their difference was more important.  I notice on the Facebook statuses of one of them that they have not stopped disagreeing with the other, even though they have parted.

What have I learnt from disagreement among leaders?

1. Leaders disagree.
2. Parting company doesn’t solve the problem.
3. Not many apologise
4. Because God makes things work together for good only reveals the ‘things’ were bad, so let’s call the disagreement bad.
5. In division some will drift away and may never be heard of again and others may be spurred on to other things.

 

No, I don’t think so!

Acts 15:38

but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark his cousin on the trip back to see all the believers that they had been with previously. Paul didn’t think it wise because John Mark had left them for he saw it as a desertion from ministry.

Many have speculated as to who was right and who was wrong. You may even have a view yourself.

Is Luke indicating who he thought may have been right by simply saying Barnabas wanted but Paul didn’t think it wise? Why not say but Paul didn’t want to because of the desertion? Why say Paul didn’t think it wise?

I am not sure to be honest. I wouldn’t want to call it. One of those questions we will ask them personally one day!

The main thing is this. Even the closest of friends have different opinions at times.

What are you going to do when the ‘but’ strikes in your friendship or in your ministry team?

A little while ago I sat between 2 leaders who were experiencing a ‘but’ in their relationship. They had been together for over a decade and on that day their relationship boiled down to a simple ‘but’. I will tell you tomorrow what happened.

So what can we learn from this verse today?

1. Godly leaders differ in their views but they remain God’s leaders.
2. Life is made up of decisions and not one of us has the sole authority and wisdom from God. We are not God.
3. Some leaders focus solely on the best in people and others focus more on the best for the ministry. We need both.
4. God is not in a crisis when His children differ, in fact it would seem He already knew and had a written plan.
5. Therefore it would appear that sometimes we need to differ.

Who are you taking?

Acts 15:37

“Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them”

It was 9^th July 2000 and I was in Zambia. It was all very new to me. The culture, the people, the food, the church, everything was different. And I loved it.

How had I got there?

One man decided he would take me. In the years before, God had opened the way for me to serve this man and following the Biblical blessing of sowing and reaping it was now my time for doors to open and they did. In fact a lady of my church gave me a prophetic message that said “when I arrive I would immediately see 3 goats, loaves of bread and a skin of wine, I would join a procession of worship and that having been changed into a different man I should do whatever my hand finds to do for God is with me” (1 Samuel 10:1-7). All of those descriptions came true for me from the day I arrived in Zambia to this present time.

How did it all come about? Because one man said ‘come with me’.

That man is in a Belfast hospital right now fighting for his life. He is David Tinnion, a dear friend and a member of my staff. I ask you to pray for him today for we need a miracle.

Who are you taking with you today? Who are you inviting to your home? Who are you investing your time into? Who are you giving to so that they can go further than you can go even? Who do you have? Friends if you invest in people then even when you are going through the valley of the shadow of death then those people will be by your bedside.

 

Who is behind you?

Acts 15: 36 “Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”

In the age of only knowing what is going on in people’s lives other than you visit them, Paul suggested they go back to see how the believers brought in by their ministry were doing.

I think the most amazing reward in life is to have people behind you who you influenced in some way.

This morning I will again go to the hospital to visit my friend David Tinnion who is seriously ill. I posted his need on facebook and was not surprised to see many people from all over the world sending greetings but also stating how David had touched their life in some way in the past.

Look behind you for a moment, who is there? There will be people you have forgotten. Your acts of kindness, neighbours, old friends, work colleagues, church believers, your words of comfort, cards and letters you have written.

They are innumerable. More than you probably will care to admit. Your humility won’t allow you to speak the truth probably for fear of pride. But the fact is you have many people in your past who benefited from you in some way, small or large.

Look back, how are they doing today?

I often ask this question. My friend in the hospital today fighting for his life, he has a trail of people behind him.

This is the success, the reward of life. It is what you give to others that counts for everything. It is who you have in the past who is better because your path crossed theirs. That my friends is what life is about.

 

Preachers and teachers

Acts 15:35

“But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.”

The circumcision issue is dealt with. Judas returns to Jerusalem with some others, Silas remains along with Paul and Barnabas.

Can you now notice what Luke records?

He doesn’t mention the salvations and healings etc and there would have been those to report about.

He focuses on the teaching and the preaching of God’s Word.

We need both today in our Churches.

Can you imagine if every Church had teachers and preachers?

There should always be an element that is shared in each, for example in teaching, what good is knowledge and understanding if there is no application towards decision? What good is preaching when calling people to live for Christ if there is no knowledge of how to do this?

But I believe we need both unique and separate gifts within the Church.

Preachers have a mixed crowd of believers and non-believers. If they used some teaching element or a theological word like ‘Trinity’ it is really important that they also take the time to explain it, but it does take up their valuable time. Teachers are generally speaking to believers who are there to receive further understanding in order to grow in their knowledge of God. It doesn’t matter how much time it takes to understand the ‘Trinity’ as that could well be what the teaching is about. However teaching always needs to move people to make a decision too.

Several years ago I appointed one of my assistants to be the teacher. I still have those notes on this laptop as I write my morning blog: Angels/Baptisms/Fasting/Heaven and Hell/Homosexuality/Islam/Predestination/Spiritual gifts/The Bible/Trinity. It was a valuable time for sure. The church may not have realised what was happening at the time but they were receiving continued preaching calling them to make decisions and then they were also receiving teaching helping them to live out those decisions for God.

Preachers and teachers are needed.

Preaching is usually monologue style from behind a pulpit whereas teaching can be a variety of styles from Q+A to classroom discussions to even interruptions within the teaching session with observations and questions.

Now that I work with Elim around the world I see one of the greatest needs of the church is for more teachers. It is the most common request. We need teaching on leadership, on the Bible, on practical ministries. I get requests even for teaching for preaching.

I love these 2 gifts. I love great preaching and great teaching. The Church needs both.

 

Why did you stay Silas?

Acts 15:34 (Some manuscripts include here) “But Silas decided to remain there”.

Why did Silas remain in Antioch after he and Judas had been sent away in peace?

Many theologians have their opinions and theories.

The fact is that Paul and Barnabas were remaining in Antioch and Silas decided he would remain there too.

Wherever Paul and his team went then it seemed God was doing something whether healings, salvations and deliverances.

With the teaching given and accepted and now the possibility that many more Gentiles will come into salvation, maybe Silas wanted to be there to see this happen.

I don’t know why Silas remained but he did.

But if I was him I would want to be with leaders who knew God. If I was him I would want to be where God was. If I was him I want to be where the Spirit is bringing revelation and there is freedom in the Church. I still do.

 

 

Sometimes it takes time.

Acts 15:33 “After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.”

Sometimes it takes time. Decisions needing to be made can take time to convey to people. There can be a tendency for leaders to rush through their views, their desires and their vision. They have held the roadmap for a long time and what they don’t want is any wasted time. But time over such important decisions and communications is never wasted. We need to allow people to take whatever time they need to fully understand. And for these people of Antioch? ‘Don’t listen to the Pharisaic believers, you don’t need to be circumcised, you belong to God now.’ It took time for the Antioch church to receive this, it was too good to be true, but it was true and Judas and Silas spent time explaining it to them.

Sometimes it takes time. I remember a few years ago visiting some people with a fellow minister and prior to stepping into that meeting the minister said to me, ‘let’s get this over with and get out of here.’ The whole point was going and coming away, not being there. Receiving a blessing of peace does not come after a rushed meeting.

Let’s slow things down with people. Let’s take time with our conversations especially when we are bringing hope and encouragement. People deserve the time. Let’s enjoy our conversations today. Sometimes it takes time.

 

Prophets, Preachers and People

Acts 15:32 “Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.

Prophets are needed where the threat of performance religion exists.

Prophets are needed where division and disunity is rising.

Prophets are needed when decisions are to be made.

Prophets are needed when the people are discouraged.

Prophets are needed when hope is dying.

 

We need preachers who carry words from God.

We need preachers not preaching their favourite subject or spouting their latest theories.

We need preaching that comes from God that speaks into the heart of true situations.

We need preaching that says much, not necessarily the amount of words but the depth and variety of the approach to the message.

We need preaching that leaves the hearers stronger not weaker.

 

People need to hear and listen.

People need to believe, believers must believe!

People need to be ready to move from discouragement.

 

Let God work through prophets and preachers so that His people are strengthened.