LifeWay Family Bible Series Lesson for Nov. 16: Complacency can strangle ministry still today_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

LifeWay Family Bible Series Lesson for Nov. 16

Complacency can strangle ministry still today

Acts 13:1-52

By David Jenkins

New Hope Baptist Church, Big Sandy

The curse of complacency, of being satisfied with the status quo, has been the greatest enemy of Christ's commission to believers to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” Even after the Day of Pentecost, the early believers were hesitant to leave Jerusalem and carry the good news of their faith to other regions.

The first inkling of the early church's missionary spirit and outlook came with the missions of Philip to Samaria (Acts 8:5-13) and to the Ethiopian nobleman (8:26-40) and of Peter to Caesarea (10:23-48). Believers, forced to flee Jerusalem after the martyrdom of Stephen, also shared their witness in other places (8:1,4). Luke's record of the church's activity in Acts 13, however, reveals the first account of an organized missionary campaign to the Gentile world.

The birth of a vision

Sometimes God works in unexpected ways to accomplish his purposes. Who would have thought the base of missionary operation would be transferred from the church at Jerusalem, made up predominantly of Jewish believers, to the church at Antioch, where the majority of the Christians were Gentiles?

Throughout the book of Acts, we find traces of discrimination by Jewish Christians toward Gentile believers. Apparently God knew the Jerusalem church never would embrace a Gentile missionary campaign with the openness and enthusiasm of the believers in the Antioch church.

At Antioch were five dynamic, Spirit-filled leaders who were spearheading the work of the church. The church had grown by leaps and bounds, but still the hearts of these men were continually seeking God's leadership in the direction of the church's ministry. They gave themselves to fasting and prayer and thus were sensitive to the Holy Spirit's guidance. They were led to set apart two of their number, Saul and Barnabas, to carry the gospel to the Gentile world.

Any body of believers that sustains a vital relationship with the Lord is going to reproduce itself, just as the branches produce fruit because of their connection to the vine. Saul and Barnabas were sent out with no idea what lay ahead for them. They were armed, however, with the gospel message and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The power of the gospel

From the time Saul and Barnabas landed on the island of Cyprus, they encountered satanic opposition. For the first time, the light of Christ's gospel was penetrating the spiritual darkness of the Gentile world. Naturally, Satan did all in his power to thwart their efforts and to dissuade those who heard them from accepting the truth of their message. After the party left Cyprus, Luke referred to the two leaders as “Paul and Barnabas,” rather than Barnabas and Saul. It seems obvious that Paul became the leader of the mission.

When they arrived in Antioch of Pisidia, Paul was invited to preach in the local synagogue. His sermon was all-inclusive. His introduction was to the men of Israel “and you Gentiles who worship God” (3:16). He began with the sojourn of God's people in Egypt and their wilderness journey to Canaan, the land God had promised them through Abraham. He covered the ministry of the judges and the prophets and explained God's plan in the reign of David. From the descendants of David came the Savior, Jesus.

Led by the Holy Spirit, Paul brought his message to a close by declaring the redemptive mission of Jesus–his crucifixion, followed by his victorious resurrection. He completed his message with the good news that forgiveness of sin was available to all who exercised faith in what Christ had accomplished. He told Jews that they could not be justified by the law of Moses, but only through Christ.

The response of the hearers

Paul's passion, his knowledge of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit in his preaching awakened a deep sense of concern in the minds and hearts of both Jews and Gentiles. As the congregation was leaving the synagogue, the people urged Paul to return and preach to them again the next Sabbath. The people followed Paul and Barnabas out of the synagogue, and the two men urged them to “continue in the grace of God” (v. 43).

Again, Satan capitalized on the prejudice of the Jews toward the Gentiles. They were incensed that Paul would include the Gentiles in his invitation to accept God's privileges. Many devout women were swayed by the Jewish propaganda against the apostles. Some of them were wives of government officials. They were used by the Jews to influence their husbands, the chief men of the city, to arrest Paul and Barnabas and expel them from Antioch.

Paul and Barnabas “shook the dust from their feet” as they left the city. This act signified the Jews of Antioch had taken a curse upon themselves by rejecting the gospel and those who had proclaimed it to them. But the irony of it all was that those who had been changed by the gospel “were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (v. 52).

Questions for discussion

What confirmed the Lord's leadership in this missionary endeavor?

How do Christians today allow complacency to hinder the true mission of God's people?