Missions Paul

How can the synagogue help our Advent season?

Acts 13: 14

“From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.”

This is not the Antioch that they had been sent out from. The region was known as Galatia and Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in the cities and towns of this area.

What was happening on the Sabbath for Paul and his team?

• They went to the synagogue. It is what Jews did on the Sabbath, Jesus did it.
• The most important prayer of the meeting was the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Jesus prayed this prayer.
• Two main focuses of the meeting was: The Law, that no one could ultimately keep; and the Prophets who often spoke of a Messiah to come, which everyone hoped would be in their lifetime. How often the synagogues would speak of the one who was amongst them but they did not know, Jesus.
• The synagogue was not just a meeting, it was for community living. If you wanted to meet people and get to know them and know what was happening in the community, go to the synagogue. The reason for the rejection of Jesus in the synagogue of his hometown Nazareth was because they all knew he was the carpenter’s son. Everyone knew everyone and the Nazareth community knew Joseph and Mary, they knew their son Jesus, so they thought.
• The meeting would then have an invited speaker, preferably one who was the most intelligent there or perhaps would have some understanding on the readings that had been used. On that rejection day in Nazareth Jesus was invited to read the prophets, he read Isaiah 61 but then without invitation continued to expound the true Messiahship.

Why do I say all this? Why am I focusing on Jesus and not Paul?

1. To show that Paul was doing what Jesus had done. He went to worship God. He went to focus on prayer and Scripture.
2. Paul was called to the Jew first then the Gentile. Paul was a Jew. It was the ideal place to look for opportunities to teach these people and he took each one given to him.
3. He and his team sat down. They became part of the congregation.

By the time of around AD50 the church had split from the synagogue and began a completely different path.

How can I encourage you today?

Starting with all that we have just read:

1. Love your God with everything. This Advent make a new commitment of love to your Saviour. Say the Shema.
2. Know that Jesus has fulfilled the Law, the requirement to please God, He has done that, you please Him. Celebrate this Advent the coming of Jesus that you are at peace with God.
3. Jesus fulfils the Law but also He is who the Prophets spoke about. Know that Jesus will always be your hope and the hope for the world. This Advent tell him so.
4. Know that Jesus wants you in community, in the church, but more importantly those who are yet to know Him. Where do these communities gather at Advent? Yes our church buildings will have their programmes, do all you can to take someone along to a carol service. But how about going into their community gatherings, a party, or some place you would never go perhaps asking the Advent Jesus to give you the opportunity to speak when invited within the conversation.
5. This Advent, be there. Be where God wants you to be. Do what you should do. Go to church and sit down.

 

U-turn

Acts 13:13

“From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.”

Something happened on that sailing. In between Paphos and Pergia, John Mark came to a decision that would effect not just himself but later the friendship of Barnabas and Paul.

He decided not to continue.

‘In between’ can be a dangerous place. You have left but you have not arrived. Transitioning between the past and the future when the journey could be stormy and life challenging can be the decider for you. Will you keep going or at the first opportunity are you going to give up?

The difference between those who succeed and those who fail is that those who succeed thought about giving up but didn’t.

There are times on the roads of life when a U-turn is just not unacceptable it is life-changing for many other people connected with you. The ripple from the stone in the water is more like a tsunami.

Today friends, don’t bale out, don’t throw in the towel, don’t go back, you are needed on this mission.

 

What is success?

Acts 13:12

“Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.”

 

Cyprus was a success, the proconsul was saved and being such an influential figure on the island no doubt many more believers followed.

We don’t know what happened to the proconsul nor how long Elymas was blind. But it was time to move on for the team.

Success didn’t mean the island was saved but it did mean they had put in position a new believer, the proconsul, who would bring the island to Jesus.

In AD 325 at the Nicene Council, Cyprus was represented by 3 bishops. These early centuries found monasteries set up across the island and in AD 478 the remains of Barnabas with the gospel of Matthew were found.

Your success could be just to start a chain reaction. One person that’s all it might take. One conversation of what Jesus means to you and how He shapes your life could cause something to last for 4 centuries! Now that is success.

 

 

What do Bar-Jesus people know?

Acts 13: 11

“Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

The Bar-Jesus people act differently. They don’t use their hands to craftily fool others. In fact it is nothing of themselves that is able to change any situation. Bar-Jesus people know about the hand of the Lord.

His hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:5

And all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8

The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. Psalm 118:16

If you want the ground under you to be firm then the hand of the Lord forms dry land.

If you wonder what is happening to you then know that the hand of the Lord is working in and through you.

If you are facing enemies then the hand of the Lord will rise with you.

How amazing is this, how encouraging for us today!

Bar-Jesus people (the sons and daughters of Jesus) know this.

Paul knew that he did not need to do anything, God would.

Interestingly, Paul pronounces what perhaps was a temporary blindness which is as we know part of his testimony. ‘For a time’ was for Paul up until he repented and surrendered to the Lord. Maybe this is what he means for Elymas. Certainly his story and experience is not wasted. It is clear his Damascus Road experience is still fresh with him and he uses that in his approach to others. Nothing in your life is wasted. Even when the hand of the Lord is against you for a time it will be used later for His kingdom.

Bar-Jesus

 

Acts 13: 10

“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right!

You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.

Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?”

 

Bar-Jesus people are full on lovers of people. They look for the good in everyone. They love LIFE. They are not perfect but they have a strong desire to do the right things. If they see other works that are right works they encourage them, even if those works are bigger and better than their own.

 

Bar-Jesus people have been filled with TRUTH. Jesus is the truth. They are not perfect but they are transparent, vulnerable, easy to understand, simple people. Behind the scenes they speak well of other people, they are promoters of those who even threaten their own position or status by their works.

 

Bar-Jesus people are WAY people. They have not arrived. They do not know everything nor pretend they do. They know discipleship is a journey. They experience a WAY which has many unexpected turns, but they know it is not crooked, nor do they make it so.

Bar-Jesus people are Way, Truth and Life people.

Bar-Jesus are sons and daughters of Jesus.

Elymas was actually not a Bar-Jesus person. Saul knew he was a Bar-devil person.

 

Straight ahead

Acts 13:9

“ Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “

I love how Paul looked straight into the eyes of Elymas. He was saying ‘You do not intimidate me’.

Friends, maybe you need to not be intimidated by that which is coming against you. Maybe you need to lift your head and not be downcast today. Maybe you need to have confidence and face your enemy (whatever that is) straight on. Let today be a new day for you. Yesterday you may have been a certain person but today you are different, you are new, changed, even a new name! Receive the filling of the Spirit on you now even now as you read this, for He is with you.

Bring down the strongholds that oppose you even those that say your mission is over.

Look straight on!

Be true to who you are

Acts 13:8

“ But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.”

Bar-Jesus meaning son of Jesus practiced some sort of supernatural activity that was known in Paphos. He was also just called sorcerer. His work defined who he was.

Who was this man?

Did he create the name Bar-Jesus because he wanted people to think he was a disciple of Jesus, that he was doing greater works than Him?

Did people not see the man but just what he did and so gave him the name of his work?

It is all a bit confusing. Though several commentators think they have found the answer to this complexity.

Sometimes we just have to go with our gut feeling don’t we?

Like Peter, who realised that something wasn’t right with Ananias and Sapphira, Saul now faces his first false prophet and goes with his belief that all is not what it appears to be.

Elymas tried to undo all that Barnabas and Saul had succeeded in sharing their faith with Sergius Paulus.

But something else happened which is not in our daily verse but I want to mention it here as it sits well within the present thought. Elymas wasn’t the only person with a name that had been changed to fit his situation.

Saul decided he would change his name. It was here at Paphos having encountered Bar-Jesus, Elymas, he decided I want to be called ‘small’. He could have chosen to use names that would appear to be great and worthy, but he chose the opposite, probably because that is what he felt, what he perhaps learnt from his encounter with Elymas. That man was a trickster, trying to appear great and who tried to turn Sergius against them.

I can imagine Saul about to move on from Paphos deciding that he had enough with big deceiving men who announce they are son of Jesus, disciples with amazing huge ministries, trying to attract crowds for large sums of money. Today I am going to be different.

It is time for more true disciples of Jesus to be small in the Christian culture of big is best.

My name is Andrew Paul. Andrew means man, masculine, macho. I am not that person. I have never been called Andrew except at a security airport desk. I have tried to be that person but I just look ridiculous. Some want me to be that person to fit their mould of leadership and they are disappointed. My name is Paul. I am small, missions has ruined me. I sit with those who mourn today, with those who have nothing because the deceiver took from their life. I sit with the abused, the leper, the dying. I sit with the persecuted where corruption and cruelty are part of their daily life. I weep often. But as I try to decrease more and more, as I become smaller it is there in that place that I find a very big God and when I do I smile and laugh, for He is good and His love endures forever.

I am trying to be true to who I am. You may worry that you are not what people think you are. That is perfectly okay. The problem comes when you announce you are great but you are not great at all. Don’t do that. But don’t pander the needs of others who always need a guru in their midst. Resist. Be who you are. But come and be small with me, it is great down here in the dirt, God is great!

Sergius Paulus

Acts 13:7

“ who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.”

The Sergius Paulus would be one of a team of managers who looked after the welfare of the city of Paphos. As soon as they arrive into the city he is sending for the missionaries as he wants to hear the gospel message.

Recently I was able to host a Church Planting Forum, the speakers of which were 3 of our most prolific Church planters in the Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist world. We discussed many things including the man of peace (Luke 10:6).

Sergius Paulus was perhaps the man of peace for Barnabas and Paul. Here is what we discovered at the recent forum and of course there has to be cultural awareness and application for each nation we are in:

• The Person of Peace is the one God has prepared to receive the gospel for the first time into a community. This can be a man or woman who has an influence in the community for example, elder, employer or police officer. They will welcome to you, listen to the evangelist’s message, help with the evangelist’s livelihood and offer hospitality in their home.
• The Person of Peace is found through prayer, good discernment and ministry. The evangelist/missionary will equip this person to be the church planter for their community.
• The Person of Peace who hears the gospel and accepts Jesus Christ as their Saviour will become the focus of attention. The evangelist will focus on this household and will not move around. The person of peace will often make disciples of this household/ family and will often take on the responsibility of reaching their community for Christ. The evangelist will teach the person of peace and their family how to study the word of God.
• The Person of Peace will then look to reach their community and invite people to their home to share the gospel with them. A bible study is then formed, usually with a group of up to 10 people. Emerging leaders are identified and then trained to lead the bible study group and form a ‘house church’

Sergius Paulus was an intelligent, important person in the community. Barnabas and Saul had struck gold.

Who is the influential person in your community? Who is God trying to show you? Are you praying for such an opening? Is this part of the strategy of your discipleship?

Some days nothing much happens

Acts 13:6

“They travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,”

Some days nothing much happens.

They travelled for approximately 100 miles to get to Paphos. They no doubt went through several cities, towns and villages to get there. Maybe they did some gospel work or maybe they just travelled. Whatever happened, it wasn’t that significant that Luke felt he should record it.

Some days nothing much happens.

Today you may do the same thing that you always do on this day. Not every day has to be an awesome day. Even if it is a church service day, it doesn’t have to be miracle day. You cannot force God to do something that is jaw-dropping. There are days of mission when it is just about sitting on a plane, on a bus, in a car, or walking and you are just happy to be going somewhere, you are happy to be alive. You may be going to work today and you will do exactly what you did yesterday.

Some days nothing much happens.

And that is okay.

We all need help!

Acts 13:5

“When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.”

So the mission begins and they begin a strategy that they have used before, first the Jews then the Gentiles. However within these synagogues there were many proselytes, Gentiles who had turned away from their idols and were now seeking the One God, the Jewish God. So their message was easy, this One God can be found through His One and Only Son Jesus Christ.

Alongside them was a family member of Barnabas, his cousin John Mark. He was their helper which probably meant he did everything from meeting basic needs of Barnabas and Saul to even helping with the preaching and teaching load.

Helpers in the ministry are valuable to the mission.

I learnt to play the tenor horn as a child in the Salvation Army and then later in my High School. Throughout those years I played second horn pieces. It often meant I never played the melody but played bits in between which sounded a bit like ‘umpah umpah’. I longed for a tune or often prayed that sickness would hit the first hornist! Those days taught me the importance of the second role. The melody never sounds complete without ‘umpah umpah’. The helper completes the overall sound or picture or indeed the mission.

After only a couple of years into the pastorate of my first church I was compelled by the Spirit to begin to serve another. Many ideas flowed through my mind of what that could mean until one overwhelming thought would not leave me. I was going to offer to help a man who had gone through what could only be described as a valley of the shadow of death. I was going to help him get going again. I remember the day I approached that man who I did not really know that well with a little trepidation of what his reaction would be. So along with pastoring my small church, I became his promoter. I felt it a real honour to do so and I loved that period of time very much.

There is tremendous joy in being a helper. To hold up some ones arms like Aaron and Hur did for Moses when he tired in prayer is a privilege. To see someone blossom and thrive and to know you helped that is an incredible feeling. To know that our real HELPER, the SPIRIT, is helping us being the helper to an individual, to carry the burden a little, to make it easier, well, this is a joy, it really is!

Today I have many helpers, helpers of intercession and of hospitality, helpers who bring joy, helpers who finance the mission, helpers who listen and helpers who speak it straight to me.

And in a beautifully written story of my life, the man I helped 23 years ago is now one of those helpers of my life. Sowing and reaping really works.

If God has called you as a John Mark, thank you, thank you for serving in this way, those you serve are better for having you with them.

If God has given you a John Mark then make sure you look after them!