From
Acts to Revelation
Part
34 – LEADERS HEARING THE WORD
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
Last week we read about how Herod was held
accountable by God, as is all leaders, for their roll in leading a country.
This week, we will see what happens to
those who try to prevent a leader from hearing the Word of God.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 13:1-12
Barnabas and Saul
In the church at Antioch there were prophets and
teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up
with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the
Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for
the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and
prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went
down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When
they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish
synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island
until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false
prophet named Bar-Jesus, 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. 8 But
Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and
tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called
Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and
said, 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? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going
to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately
mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead
him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed,
for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
I.
SET APART
a. They
worshiped the Lord in Antioch
i.
Scripture takes the emphasis from Jerusalem
to Syria
b. There,
Prophets and Teachers were worshiping the Lord, and fasting
i.
It is during this time of worship and
fasting the Holy Spirit speaks
ii.
The Holy Spirit still speaks, at least to
those who have the right type of relationship, and anyone can who so desires!
c. The
Holy Spirit says
i.
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.”
ii.
This is a “command”, not a suggestion. The
Lord does the calling, not man.
d. When
God called me
i.
I was a new convert, and knew nothing about
the Lord
ii.
While I was praying and fasting, looking to
hear from God, He spoke
a.
He said, “I will make you a pillar in my
church, and you will teach my word to my people.”
b.
I didn't fully understand what this meant,
but I knew I had to prepare myself for this calling.
iii. After
years of Seminary, the Pastor of the church I was attending approached me.
a.
He told me that the Holy Spirit had laid it
on the hearts of the elders of the church, that I was to be an Elder. (A pillar
in the church, one of many.)
b.
He asked if I ever felt that calling on my
life, and I said “Yes!”
c.
I had never revealed this to anyone in the
church, this was God's Holy Spirit at work!
iv.
The Lord calls, and set's apart those whom
He chooses for certain ministry.
e. They
fasted and prayed, and laid hands upon them to prepare them.
i.
This laying on of hands signified the
blessings of the church upon Paul and Barnabas.
ii.
This represents, as far as we know, the
very first missionary trip to a new place for the expressed purpose of planning
a new church!
f.
The
scriptures continue by stating in verse 4
i.
“...being sent forth by the Holy Spirit...”
ii.
The Holy Spirit not only called them, but
sent them as well.
iii. They
traveled over 100 miles to Cyprus, which was Barnabas' boyhood home.
a.
Acts 4:36-37 “Joseph, a
Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of
Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at
the apostles’ feet.”
II.
THEY PREACHED THE WORD OF GOD IN THE JEWISH
SYNAGOGUES
a. Not all
the Jews were against the teachings, or else they would not have been allowed
to teach in the synagogues.
b. They
traveled all over the Island of Cyprus, teaching the Word
c. They
ran into a sorcerer and false prophet
i.
Named Bar-Jesus
ii.
This man claimed to be of God, but in
reality was of Satan
d. The
Deputy of the country wanted to hear the Word of God
i.
Obviously, if he did, it would mean an end
to the False prophet
ii.
So Bar-Jesus, or Elymas the Sorcerer, saw
Paul and Barnabas as a threat.
iii. So
Elymas tried to turn the Deputy from the faith.
e. So
Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, does the unthinkable to the unsaved...
i.
He “judges” Elymas...
ii.
Looking directly at him saying in verse 10-11,
“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? 11 Now
the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a
time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
a.
You are a child of the devil
b.
an enemy of everything that is right
c.
you are full of deceit and trickery
d.
Will you never stop perverting the right
ways of the Lord?
e.
Now the hand of the Lord is against you.
f.
Paul had the gift of discerning spirits, I
Corinthians 12:10
i.
And God's hand was against Elymas...
a.
He fell blind.
b.
But we see, there is room for “repentance”
c.
Paul states, “You are going blind, and for
a TIME, you will be unable to see...”
g. With
sin, comes consequence...
i.
There is an earthly consequence to our
sin...
ii.
But as long as we are on the earth, there
is an opportunity for us to repent of our sin...and when we repent, we receive
forgiveness.
iii. But,
forgiveness only comes after repentance.
iv.
If we do not repent, then we are not
forgiven, and we may end up paying the ultimate price for our sin...the second
death and eternal damnation.
h. The
Deputy seeing this, believed and accepted the doctrine of the Lord.
III.
THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SAINTS
a. I grow
very tired and weary of the attacks by the ignorant
i.
Those who do not know the word of God
ii.
Who have designed for themselves a
“THOUGHT” or “IMAGINATION” of who God is, or is not, and how one who follows
Him should behave.
a.
Isaiah 65:2 “All day long I have held out my hands to an
obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations”
b.
Ezekiel 13:2b “...Say to those who prophesy out of their
own imagination: ‘Hear the word
of the LORD!”
c.
Ezekiel 13:17b “...set your face against the daughters of
your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them...”
d.
Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they neither
glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their
foolish hearts were darkened.”
iii. God's
answer to these fools;
a.
Ephesians 4:17 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in
the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of
their thinking.”
b.
I Corinthians 14:20 “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in
your thinking be adults.”
b. Those
who are ignorant of the Word should remain silent
i.
I would not tell an alcoholic how to drink,
nor a prostitute how to sell herself in the darkness of night, nor a homosexual
how to be gay.
ii.
Yet, those who are deep in sin, search
longingly, and diligently, for a way to instruct a follower of Christ on the
proper etiquette for a Christian.
iii. Why?
a.
Not to correct as one would expect...
b.
But, to discredit, attack, and defame that
which is Holy.
c.
It is not really an attack on the believer,
but an attack on the God, whom they know, judges their sinful lives.
d.
If they can make the follower of Christ
“worse” then themselves, then they, in their imaginations and vain thinking,
have made themselves “better” than the forgiven.
e.
They believe that they can secure a place
for themselves in heaven, by being “better” than a Christian, who claims they
are going.
c. News
Flash to the Ignorant and unsaved
i.
A follower of Christ is not going to heaven
because they are;
a.
perfect
b.
never sin
c.
are holier than a sinner
d.
are better than anyone else
ii.
They are going because;
a.
They have “repented” of their sins, thus
received forgiveness
b.
Have received Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior
c.
and is obedient to Him
d. The
Ignorant do not write the rules
i.
Just because someone “thinks”;
a.
Jesus loves you, and will overlook your un-repented
sins, does not mean He will!
b.
Jesus is this weak, soft-spoken minister
who never rebuked someone because it may “hurt their feelings”, you're wrong!
1. It's
not about “feelings”, but about salvation.
2. Anytime
someone gets their feelings hurt about God's word...that's actually their pride
breaking.
e. What
was Jesus really like?
i. He
offended
a.
Offended Pharisees in Matthew 15:12 “Then the disciples came to him and asked,
“Do you know that the Pharisees were offended
when they heard this?”
b. Offended
the Disciples in John 6:61 “Aware that his disciples were grumbling
about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?”
c. Here is a list of others who are always offended; I Corinthians 6:9-10 “ Do you
not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor
adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
d. Have you offended with the Word of God like Jesus?
ii. He
rebuked
a. Jesus rebuked demons (Matthew 17:18)
b. He rebuked the Disciples in Matthew 19:13
c. He rebuked Peter in Mark 8:33
d. He rebuked the Apostles in Mark 16:14
e. Perhaps
you have rebuked like Jesus?
iii. Remember,
Jesus is our role-model...we are to have a mind like Christ, the scripture
says.
a. I Corinthians 2:16 “For who has known
the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have
the mind of Christ.”
f. Ignorant...BEWARE
i.
When you judge a follower, you are allowing
yourself to be judged by the same measure, only that judgment will come from
the Lord, not man.
a.
Matthew 7:1-3 ““Do not judge, or you too will be
judged. 2 For
in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you
use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of
sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own
eye?”
ii.
Judgment day is coming...and if you are not
in a right relationship with the Lord, it will be a terrible day for you...not
the follower of Christ, who is repentant, forgiven, and obedient to Christ,
though they are not perfect.
iii. Why are
they not qualified to judge followers?
a.
2 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they
cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
CONCLUSION
Those who do not read the Word
of God, nor understand or live by it, should take caution when judging a
follower of Christ for their words, actions or behaviors.
When they attack a follower,
they are not attacking the individual, but the Lord Himself.
Matthew 18:2-7
He called a little child and had him
stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change
and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. 4 Therefore,
whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.
5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like
this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of
these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to
have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of
the sea.
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