The First Mission Trip (Part 3)
a commentary on Acts 13 (Application
Thank you, Lord, for this day. May it be used for your glory!
Good morning everyone and welcome back to Biblit!
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This week we’ve been doing a deep dive into Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark’s first mission trip.
Today we’re going to talk about some application points we can glean from this trip, and no, you don’t need to go on a mission trip to do any of these! You can start today!
Be Humble
The first point I want to say is that every single one of us is justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Later on the Galatian church receives a letter from Paul because they started adding to this truth. They started saying, yes, faith in Christ saves, but also you need to be circumcised.
Over time, this same tragedy has taken different perspectives. For a while it was faith in Jesus AND don’t touch alcohol at all.
When we do this, we make our salvation based on works. You are saying, yes, I’m saved by Christ, but if I touch alcohol His work is null and void.
As I said yesterday, I think Paul’s point in preaching first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles is to show them humility.
To show them that we are only attached to the olive tree because Jesus puts us there. Not because of our work.
Isaiah says this about our works:
“All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:6 CSB).
Our most righteous deeds apart from Christ are filthy, polluted rags.
Oddly enough, this is actually great news!
This means that with Jesus, we have freedom from the bondage to sin and the law. It means if you are striving for perfection because you think that is the only way to be right with God, then you are in luck! If you turn to Christ and just look to Him and put your faith in Him, then boom, you are counted righteous.
When God looks to you, He not only sees someone who never sinned, but someone who has always obeyed.
Face Opposition with Boldness
Now that we know Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to do work for God. Not by our strength, but by His alone.
Look back at the passage where Paul speaks out in boldness against Elymas:
“But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you.You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.” (Acts 13:9-11 CSB).
Paul didn’t do it by his own strength. Paul spoke out with boldness because of the Holy Spirit.
This is still really hard to do, though. Because, while the Spirit lives in us, we so often want to take charge of our life.
AW Tozer paints the picture of a ship out at sea. The Holy Spirit should be the captain because He knows the destination and the best way to get there. But so often, we, in our ignorance and pride, assume we know better and shove Him aside to take a nap while we take charge and sail in all sorts of weird directions.
So my challenge to you and myself is this: if you know Christ and you feel that strange urge from nowhere to do something God-honoring…just do it. Satan would not tempt you to do a righteous act, so the only other person to tell you to do it would be the Holy Spirit.
And in my experience, the hardest part is often starting. Once you take that first step it really does feel like the Holy Spirit takes over, gives you the words to say, the actions to do, and the overwhelming peace the whole time.
It’s still difficult, it still takes practice, but God is patient, and God is willing to teach if you simply ask Him.
Unity First
Next, unity in the church is so vital.
I don’t want to spend too much time on this, but also it should be devoted to an entire devotion.
The relationship between Paul and John Mark seems complicated. We definitely don’t have the whole picture, and in fact we have yet to see some of the fall out that happens later.
But the fact that we know how it ends shows everything we need.
So, just like John Mark, every one of us has a gift from God, and a part to play in the body of Christ.
That is what needs to be celebrated and encouraged. Not disagreements over who voted for who, or what sermon series the church is or isn’t doing to relate to modern times, or any of that garbage. The devil uses that to divide us.
And truth be told, he is doing an amazing job at it. Over centuries, we have multiple denominations and even the individual denominations are beginning to divide.
It’s a genius plan. No one said our enemy was stupid.
We just know that Jesus is smarter, more powerful, and has already won the war. If we look to Christ for our unity in the church instead of ourselves or our differences, then we can be empowered to embrace our differences and build the kingdom of God!
Relatable Testimonies
Our final point today is to encourage everyone to share relatable testimonies.
We all live different lives and have different experiences to share. So when you meet someone new or are sharing the gospel with someone you already know, make sure that you first listen. Listen to them, who they are, what their life experience has been like.
Then, share your life experience. Find the intersections that can relate to their own life experiences. And how Jesus has entered into yours. And how Jesus can enter theirs too.
This is not something I have tons of experience with, but I think Paul gives us a powerful example of how this can work to open hearts, be a light, and be genuine the whole time.
When we intentionally listen and understand who the person is that we are witnessing to, then it shows them the love of Christ. That’s what Jesus did; He was always seen eating with people, talking with people, and serving people.
And with that, we will call it a week!