Through The Bible - Acts 13 - Part 1

Brett Meador: Notice it says as they ministered to the Lord. Interesting, there's a difference between ministering for the Lord versus ministering to the Lord. Ministering for the Lord is serving and doing, but ministering to the Lord is prayer and praise and worship, just honoring Him.
Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Meador answering the Lord's call to ministry. This is true for the church; it should also be true for your life personally. Do you have time where you minister to the Lord, and then you have to ask yourself, do you have time when you serve the Lord practically? Acts Chapter 13 marks the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey and reminds us that God's work begins with God's direction. Because Paul and the early church leaders followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, they found themselves divinely equipped for their calling. Pastor Brett Meador recognizes a similar call for the ministry of believers in today's word.
Brett Meador: The book of Acts. We've been studying just the beginning of the early church and what a precedent it sets on just about everything. It gives us a chance to talk about what a church should look like and how we should be acting, what's important, those kinds of things. It's been a great study. I love going through the book of Acts. In Chapter 11, we saw the Gentiles saved at the city of Antioch there in Syria. That was such a big new thing: evangelism to the Gentiles. And then in Chapter 12, we saw James martyred for the faith, and then Peter was thrown in prison, and then we saw him miraculously delivered, set free from prison and quite a scene there. Really how the Lord just did a great work and Herod ended up dying of worms because he was trying to glorify himself. But now we get back to the story and the ministry of Saul of Tarsus. We saw earlier Saul was the guy that was martyring and imprisoning Christians. He was anti-Christian. But he had that miraculous coming to the Lord there on the road to Damascus and was turned into a Christian by meeting Jesus face to face. It was a pretty radical deal. Now, one of the things about this is this is where we start to get to the new name of Paul. From Saul to Paul. What was the name change? Well, often in the Bible, God would give different names to different people. Even Peter got a new name. He was Simon and then Jesus said, "You're going to be called Peter." But here with Paul, it's not as much God giving him a new name, but you should note that Saul is sort of the Hebrew name. And then if you were to transpose that into sort of a Roman name, it would be Paul. Interesting definitions. Saul into Hebrew means desired or sought after. Remember Saul of the Old Testament? He was more handsome than all the other men in the kingdom and stood a head taller. And that name Saul fit him. He was a desired one. "We want a king," remember that old story back in the Old Testament? And God gave them a king, but he was desired and sought after, but he ended up being a big loser. Interesting. So, that's Saul's Hebrew name. And it seems that Saul was going by that even back in Acts Chapter 7 when we saw him as a young man guarding the clothes and really signing off on Stephen's martyr death. One of the first Christians martyred in the early church was Stephen, and Saul sat there and consented to that story. Then he had the conversion on the road to Damascus and he's been called Saul ever since. But now we're going to shift over to Paul. And we wonder, I guess the question is why. Paul in the Greek, the Roman text, I should say, the Roman would have looked at it as little. That's what Paul means, little. So he goes from Mr. Desired and Sought After, which that's kind of who he was. He was the Pharisee of all Pharisees. He was the smartest guy in the room kind of thing. But then when he becomes a believer, somewhere along the way, and you're going to see a funny little transition here in Chapter 13 where he's going to suddenly be called Paul. And it's not that a bright light came down and said, "Thou shalt be called Paul from here to for." No, it wasn't like that. He just kind of starts calling himself Paul and the church started calling him Paul, which was his Roman name. So, why the name change? Maybe it's just Paul was humbled. And instead of being called sought after, he knew it's better to be called little, to humble himself in the sight of the Lord instead of being Mr. Sought After. Maybe that's it. We don't know for sure. Maybe he's proud of his Jewish heritage. We know that's true and Philippians 3:5 he said, "I was circumcised on the eighth day of the race of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of all Hebrews," he said. This idea of observant Pharisee. I think that was a prideful point in his life at one point. But then he became a humbled Christian. There's something about becoming a Christian; you do find a little healthy dose of humility when you stand before God. So, now another reason why after Paul changes his name we'll see here, his ministry really would be to the Gentiles and he'd eventually end up in Rome. So it does make sense that Paul says, "Well, I guess I'm going to go with my Roman name because I am to be the minister to the Gentiles." So unlike some of the other name changes like Jacob in the Old Testament was changed to Israel by God himself, or Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, those were God-given names. And here we actually see Paul sort of seeming to let the early church change his name, or maybe he himself changed his name. But I think that's kind of an interesting thing to note. Now, here in Acts Chapter 13, we start in verse 1. It says, "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch and Saul." Now, pause here for a second. We got a bunch of names here, but the one thing I want to do is help us geographically because we're getting ready to go on one of Paul's missionary journeys, which is kind of important to note. So I want us to get a little more familiarized with the region. This is kind of much of the known world, the Roman Empire pretty much by this time. In what we know today as Syria is where Antioch is, and we've seen this before. But Antioch is where that big revival happened of the Gentiles. And Antioch is where these guys are hanging out, it says here. And after that big revival and Gentiles accepting Christ, they've got some pretty important people of the church. Now, let's go through this list because it is kind of an interesting list. Who are the people of the church of Antioch here? Well, before we get into the people, notice it says of the people there, there were certain prophets and teachers. That's kind of important to note. Prophets? But I thought you said there's no Old Testament prophets in the New Testament church, and I mean that. That's true. I didn't say that; Jesus said that, if you recall. In fact, remember Matthew Chapter 11, verse 11 through 13. Jesus was talking about John the Baptist, and he said there's no one greater than John the Baptist. From the days of John the Baptist till the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and violence taketh by force. Then he says, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied up until John." So Jesus sort of set the end of the prophets kind of thing there, which is an important thing to note because there's two people listed here: prophets and teachers. Now, you say, "Well, Brett, if there's no prophets, then how is there prophets here?" I didn't say there's no prophets; it's just a different thing. Does anybody remember where do we get the definition of a New Testament prophet? First Corinthians Chapter 14, which you have to remember that tells us exactly what a prophet is. It says there, just real quick, "But he that prophesies speaketh unto men edification, exhortation, and comfort. When you speak in an unknown tongue, you edify yourself, but he that prophesieth edifieth the church." So in the Old Testament, the prophets often spoke on behalf of God and often that would include futuristic things: "Thus saith the Lord, this is what's going to come down," and the foretelling of all kinds of things. The fall of Jerusalem, foretelling prophets telling about the coming of the Messiah. It was predictive in nature, but it was also God's voice being represented through the prophets of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, however, the prophets are those who speak a word of edification, exhortation, and comfort. That's kind of an important thing. So First Corinthians 14, verses 3 through 4 talks about that. So with that, you've got all these people that claim to be prophets. But there was also notice with me, teachers. And one of the things I'd like to note is it seems like when you read the New Testament, every church had a teacher as well. There were evangelists, prophets, pastors, and teachers. Some people think pastor-teacher's the same word, one and the same. I don't know. I think it could be, but I think it may not be; it depends on the church. If you have a small church, I think sometimes the pastor is the teacher, the teacher is the pastor. But in a larger church, sometimes a pastor might not be the teacher, but definitely a shepherd-pastor caring for the flock. That's what pastor means: feeder of the flock. But teaching is really much a part of what the New Testament church was all about. It's sad because I see a lot of preaching, but we do lack in the world today a lot of teaching. Just what does the Bible say and just teach it at face value? What does it really teach us and just bringing the hay down from the loft? That's what Bible teaching should be, and I think it's great it says there were those that were prophets, but also those that were teachers. And then we meet some of these people of the church. The first one in verse 1 is Barnabas. We met him earlier if you recall. Barnabas, interestingly enough, his name was not originally Barnabas. The church gave him this name. Does anybody know what was Barnabas's original name? Joseph. Joseph or Joses, which Joseph or Joses were the same, by the way. But the apostles gave him the nickname Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, or son of consolation, or son of rest—any one of those definitions. A guy that brought encouragement, that's why they gave him the name. He was Mr. Encourager. Don't you love people that have that kind of gift of encouragement? There's some people have the gift of draining you. You go up and walk and say, "Hey, how are you doing?" and it's like, "drain, drain, drain, drain." But there's some people you walk up and they just encourage. Man, you walk away feeling lighter than air and just joyful and encouraged. A church needs as many of those as we can possibly find. The Barnabases. But his name Barnabas means son of consolation or son of encouragement. Interesting facts: he was a Levite, which means in the Old Testament he would have served for sure in the temple. He was an owner of property and he sold it and gave it to the church, sold all his land and put it towards the work of the Lord. That was in Acts Chapter 4, verse 36. So that's the first character, and he's going to go through a lot of this story with us. He's a real key part of the New Testament church, Barnabas. And he's a big deal right now. He's really a big deal right now. I'll show you what I mean. The next guy that we have on the list there is Simeon and some of your translations say Simon, but you have to understand Simon, Simeon are kind of considered synonymous in the names. But it means harkening, which is interesting. But most likely, most scholars believe this is the same Simon the Cyrene who carried the cross of Jesus when they killed Jesus on the cross. He was the one from Cyrene, which is Northern Africa. He came, and notice what it says here: "Simon that was called Niger." And that's an interesting thing. Some of you are doing the math on that. They called him black? Actually, I think the early church didn't have the racism in the same way that we did. We saw racism in the early church in our study thus far between Jews and Gentiles. But you're going to find that the early church was made up of a very multicultural bunch of people, and not really a lot of white people, to be honest with you, which is funny. Because the next guy's name is Lucius, and his name means light or bright white. So they called Simeon Niger, which means black. And he was also from Cyrene, so that's probably the same guy, because of his nickname Niger. But it wasn't a racist thing that they were saying. I hope you understand that. Lucius, we don't know much about him. He's most likely the same person spoken about in Romans 16:21 where Paul greets Lucius, probably the same guy. Then another interesting character, Manaen, which is a guy whose name also means comforter, interestingly enough. Now, this guy was brought up in the court, the royal court of his foster brother, Herod Antipas. Remember I talked about Herod Antipas? Herod Antipas. He was also called Herod the tetrarch. This is the same Herod, by the way. So this guy, Manaen, he was the guy that was brought up as sort of a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch. This is the Herod that killed John the Baptist, beheaded him. It's also the Herod that presided over one of the trials of Jesus before his crucifixion. So one became a worldly leader and an evil, horrible guy, and then the other guy raised in the same household becomes this Christian and a leader and a dynamic part of the church in Antioch. What an interesting irony: raised in the same household, one goes full-bore Christian believer, the other still just a pagan whacko worldly leader. Sad to say. And then we also have Saul that's mentioned here. And again, this is his Hebrew name because we're still on that desired sought after. So those are the characters that we got in verse 1. It's quite a list, but these are the ones that are teaching and prophesying there at Antioch. Well, verse 2: "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.' And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." Notice here in verse 2 it says, "And as they ministered to the Lord." Interesting, there's a difference between ministering for the Lord versus ministering to the Lord. One of the things you might want to think about is which one's more important? I'm going to say both are important, wouldn't you agree? Ministering for the Lord is important. But what about ministering to the Lord? What does that mean? Well, it's a different kind of ministering. Ministering for the Lord is when we're His hands and His feet and we're serving others and trying to represent the Lord. Ministering for the Lord is serving and doing. But ministering to the Lord is prayer and praise and worship, just honoring Him. And if you remember, Jesus told us which one was the better: the prayer and worship one, right? Because remember Martha chose the lesser of the two; Mary chose the better of the two. She was worshiping at His feet. Martha was serving at—you know—doing. And that's something to remember. Remember Judas said there at the washing of the disciples' feet when Jesus did that? He became a servant, doing. But also Mary when a costly box of ointment was put on Jesus' feet. Remember Judas was standing there going, "Oh, we could have given that money to the poor and helped out." That's do-do-do. We could have been doing rather than worshiping. And Jesus said, "Leave her alone," because she's chosen to do this and this is better. She's doing this for my burial. So the idea of serving is really good, serving for the Lord. But one thing we should never neglect is the ministering to the Lord. That's what they're doing here, and that's why they're fasting and praying. That's just noteworthy. This is true for the church; it should also be true for your life personally. Do you have time where you minister to the Lord? And then you have to ask yourself, do you have time when you serve the Lord practically? Now, in verse 2, what an interesting thing. As they're fasting and praying, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." Interesting that they were sent away in verse 3. It says, "So when they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them." The laying on of hands means they prayed over them. They all circled around, put hands on them—that was kind of the model in the book of Acts of sending people out or even praying over. Do you remember when Paul talked to Timothy about when the laying on of hands of the presbytery when he was called into ministry, all the leaders put their hands on him and prayed about his gifting and talent and that God would bless him? That's the way we do it today at Athey Creek. When somebody becomes an elder or pastor or leader in the church, we pray with them and pray over them like this. So they laid their hands on them and sent the two of them away. By the way, this is that two-by-two thing we talked about a few weeks ago. You don't ever really see people going out one by one as much as you see the sent-out ones going two by two. Accountability, help, encouragement, strength—stronger together. So, sending out. Notice there's a difference between "went" and "sent." They didn't just go, but they were literally sent. And I have to say, I think that's a good model for if you feel called to go into ministry somewhere or missionary work or plant a church or something like that. I do think that being sent is really important. Hopefully, you're doing something wherever you are right now where the church, the formal church, recognizes your calling and your gifting and says, "We feel the Lord is calling you to go." And so it's not a "went" as much as it's a "sent," and that's what these guys do. And so, interesting tag team we got: Saul and Barnabas, the dynamic duo for now. Verse 4: "So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John to their minister." Antioch is where we start from this story. And then we move our way from Antioch over to Seleucia, which is the seaport town of Antioch. They went from there over to Cyprus, which is that island just off the Mediterranean, and they went to this place called Salamis. And from Salamis, they went from the east side. There's two capitals of Cyprus: one is Salamis and the other is Paphos, which will come into play here in a second. So, one thing you should note about this: this place was very pagan and it was very worldly. I'll talk about that perhaps even a little bit more later. But it says here at the end of verse 5, "And they also had John to their minister." Which John was this? John the Apostle? No, John Mark. Let's add him to the list of names that we have here of the people of the church. John Mark, he's been around in the story. Most scholars believe all the way back in the Garden of Gethsemane. Remember the little kid that ran away naked without any clothes on because they were trying to apprehend him? So he ran off. He was just a kid back then. But one thing about John Mark: he was an eyewitness of Christ and that whole thing seen in the Garden of Gethsemane. So that gives John Mark some credibility. And he's probably in his 20s by now. He's a young man, but he jumps in with Barnabas and Saul. Verse 6 goes on: "And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus." So they traveled over the island of Cyprus over to the second capital city of Paphos, and they meet this guy who's called a sorcerer. The Greek word for sorcerer is the word Magi. Does that ring a bell? The sorcerer was Magi, a magician or wise man. But it shouldn't shock us that one of the first big guys they meet is a Magi. It shouldn't shock them because Paphos was infamous for its worship of Venus, the goddess of sexual love, an aphrodisiac-styled religion. In fact, Spurgeon taught about this years ago. He said it was dedicated to the religion and the dedication of lust. Neither men nor women could resort to the shrine of Venus without being defiled in mind and depraved in character. So this sorcerer pops out into the story. It's the same word, the magos, the same word in Matthew 2:1 when it says, "There came the wise men from the East to Jerusalem to see the baby." Same word. But the implication is magic, power that's not from God. And the wise men of the East, they probably did practice those kinds of things, definitely astrology and signs from the stars. And so his name is Bar-Jesus, but he practiced magic. He was a false prophet, and shockingly, a Jew. What an interesting character, this Bar-Jesus. It says in verse 7: "Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God."
Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Meador pausing at a verse-by-verse look into Acts Chapter 13. Just the first part of this message that will continue next time here on Today's Word. And if you've missed any portion of this study, you'll find all of Pastor Brett's messages online at todayswordradio.com. And I have Pastor Brett with me now.
Kurt: You know, one of the most famous men in the Bible is King David. Before he was king, he was known as a shepherd, he slew the giant Goliath, and was also a man after God's own heart. But he was also a writer of multiple songs, many of those which are found in Scripture. So music was of course a huge part of his life, and I know music is also a big part of your life and Athey Creek Church. In fact, you occasionally play with the Athey worship band. So why is music so important to you personally, Brett, and why is music so vital in worship?
Brett Meador: I love that you brought up David because I think that some men particularly think that worshiping God is kind of a soft thing to do. It's for the ladies. But I dare you to say that to David's face when you get to heaven. I mean, David was a guy who made the Seal Team Six guys look like wimps. I mean, David was a guy who—the women in the street said David has killed his tens of thousands, let alone the giant Goliath. The thing I love about David, he was a warrior, but he was also a worshiper. And I think one of the things that we men need to really remember is that worshiping God, there's nothing wimpy about it. David wrestled with depression, he wrestled with challenges and difficulty, but when you read the Psalms that he wrote, you realize this is how he was working through the challenges of life. It's almost like he had the truth in his head, but it would have to reach into his heart. And I think that's what happens when we are worshipers. It's like in Colossians 3:16 where Paul says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." So worship through music isn't just about performance—it's really not about that. It's more about participation, and it's the body of Christ coming together to say, "Here's what God is and look what he's done and let's celebrate that together." It's just a good reminder. So I think for me, I like to be a part of the worship team whenever I can be because I want people to see that their pastor who loves the Bible—have you noticed, Kurt, that there's sometimes people that love the Bible but aren't really into worship? And then there's people that love to worship but aren't really into the Bible? I want to show our congregation that both are essential, and that's really one of the reasons why I continue to jump in.
Kurt: Oh, Brett, that's really good insight—how we need to be mindful of how important both worship and the study of God's word really is. Thank you for that. Well, if you'd like more information about Pastor Brett Meador, Today's Word, or Athey Creek Church, you can just go to our website at todayswordradio.com. That's todayswordradio.com. Well, next time Pastor Brett will continue looking at Paul and Barnabas's missionary journey where they'll encounter both fierce opposition and incredible opportunities.
Guest (Male): Today's Word with Pastor Brett Meador is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in West Linn, Oregon.