Satanic Opposition to a Spirit-Filled Church, Part 1
Acts 13:1-2a
We've said many times the book of Acts presents for us the standards and the patterns and the blueprint for the church by way of example. The book of Ephesians presents them by way of theology or doctrine and here we see them in living reality in the book of Acts. All the way through our study of the book of Acts, which we've pursued verse-by-verse we have continually been made aware of principles that apply to the church. And since we are the church there couldn't be anything more important than understanding who we are and what is required of us. We've seen, for example, in Chapter 2 of Acts the pattern of the church in its own light. We saw how the church was to be involved in fellowship, prayer, the breaking of bread, and the doctrine of the apostles, and we saw how the church shared its faith and how it grew, and how it handled persecution, how the church is to be in the world a catalyst for God without any shame and without any fear, bolding proclaiming Christ. We saw all kinds of ingredients that make up a really dynamic church.
And here again as we come to the 13th Chapter we find the pattern again for the church in a little bit different light. We've seen a little bit about the leadership of the church in Chapter 6, and a little bit about church organization in the same chapter and how it is to function. We're going to see a little more of it here as we look at the church at Antioch. We find here a blueprint for the church that reaches the world. And really that's what every church should have as its goal, as its desire, to reach out to share Christ with the world around.
Now Antioch becomes for us a sample church, a model church in many ways to set our standards after. And as we look at this 13th chapter and what will be two messages on these opening verses. I want to say this at the very beginning. Obviously as a pastor, and yet perhaps not so obvious by virtue of being a pastor, I have a tremendous desire to understand the biblical blueprint for the church. It's just my nature, I guess, and maybe the Spirit of God within me, that I desire above all things that if there is a church, and if it's this church that God has placed me in that this church be as much the church of the New Testament as is possible in the 20th century because I believe that the patterns are timeless, that the standards are universal, and so I give this message to you this morning with passion that comes from my heart, not my head, and there are so many salient features that are my particular hobby horse that I could just ride right through Chapter 13 that you'll pardon me if I don't get very far this morning.
These are things that are on my heart to say, and I want you to know too that as I say them I do not say them reflecting on any other man or any other ministry. I only say them out of the positive conviction of the word of God. Where they are applicable, they are applicable.
Now Chapter 13 of Acts marks also a great division in the book of Act. The first 12 chapters is the ministry of Peter. From Chapter 13 through 28 is the ministry of Paul. Two great men formed that division of the book. Then again it can be divided another way. The first 12 chapters is the formation of the Jewish church, the church in Jerusalem and Judea and then the inclusion of half-breed Samaritans. But it still is very characteristically Jewish.
Beginning in 13 is the Gentile church, the pagan church, the church that reaches the world. So it's a great break that comes between 12 and 13. Paul takes over and the Gentiles move in and the church becomes in 13 what it was designed to be in the mind of God all along, a combination of Jew and Gentile in one body. Up until this time the Jewish character of the church has dominated, but now Jewish ness fades. It still will appear from time to time, but it is not that same dominate theme that it was in the early chapters.
You remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:21? He said, "There is coming a day when you will neither worship God in Jerusalem or in this mount referring to Gerizim, where the Samaritans worshipped, but the one who worships God will worship Him in spirit and in truth. And so Jesus predicted a time when Judaism would fade, where Judaism would cease to be the prevalent issue. And we find that in Chapter 13 this begins to be true. As the church is a blending of Jew and Gentile, a rather motley blending even in its leadership, as we shall see, and is really fulfilling the plan of God that Jew and Gentile would be made one body, the middle wall or petition torn down as Paul clearly indicated in the book of Ephesians.
Now the pattern for the church is very clear again here in Antioch as it was in Jerusalem. Before the church has much effect on the world it must be strong in itself. And so there is a very careful delineating even back in Chapter 11, which we studied a couple of weeks ago of the fact that this church in Antioch was founded in teaching. It had a solid basis, and then from that solid basis it began to move out into the world. You know that was the pattern in Jerusalem. Jerusalem grew up first of all in itself. Then, as best as we can tell, it was seven years after the founding of the Jerusalem church that people were first sent out from there, first sent out toward Antioch. That church grew strong and then established a beachhead in the world. And that beachhead in the pagan world was Antioch.
There's been time for Antioch to get strong, and as Antioch has become solid and strong it's ready to move out and establish new beachheads elsewhere in the pagan. And that's the way the church is to work. The church is to grow strong. It is to grow virile in the word of God. It is to grow solid and then when it grows solid then it can have an effect on its world and it moves out from there sending out equipped and trained men to establish new beachheads. That's the plan of the church.
Now Antioch fits the pattern of the church that reaches the world. You know you ask the question, "What's the difference between church over here and a church over here?" One is going, it's aggressive, it's dynamic, it's effusive, it's productive, it's zealous, things are happening, it's a where it's at kind of thing and then there's that church and sits there and languishes on the corner and the spiritual weeds grow and maybe the physical ones, and nothing ever happens. What makes the difference? Why are some churches dynamic, some churches aggressive, some churches making an effect, and other churches just there?
Well the answer to that, I think, is given in the picture of the church at Antioch. And to start with, just picking up a review, you go back to Chapter 11; you find that at the very beginning Antioch got off on the right start. It says in Chapter 11:21, "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord." Verse 24 at the end says, "And many people were added unto the Lord." To begin with it was a saved church. These people were really born again. The church started with real believers. Believe me that's basic obviously, but you'd be surprised how many churches are devoid of real believers, even in positions of leadership.
All right it had a great start. It also had a great progress. Look at verse 25, "Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus to seek Paul. When he had found him he brought him unto Antioch and it came to pass that for a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught many people." All right they two good teachers in Barnabas and Saul and they really learned the word for one solid year. They had learned it before that because Barnabas had been teaching. They had learned it before that because certain men of Cyprus and Cyrene who had come originally had taught them. So it had a great start. They were really saved. They had a great progress because they were being taught the word.
It also had a great effect. Verse 26 says, "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." They were so obviously identified with Jesus that people called them Christians. Their testimony was so clear and it was so overt, it was so apparent, that people really identified them with Jesus Christ, so they had an effect.
Fourthly, they not only had a great start, and a great progress, and a great effect, they had a great attitude. The one pervading attitude of a good church is an attitude of love, and they gave it in verse 27 through 30. It simply says, "They sent an offering to the saints in Jerusalem who had some needs during a famine."
So here was a church that got off on the right foot. Two ingredients: love and sound doctrine. And they had an effect on the world. They put a big dent in the world in Antioch. They were solid at the beginning. They were a growing church, a loving church, just the kind of church that God could really move out. And the church of world missions was about unfurled fully, and it was going to unfurl right out of Antioch. They were like the sprinter in the blocks waiting for the gun. They were just ready for that first stride to fire out of the blocks and reach the world. And God had done all the preparation. And it took time believe me.
Some say that many years had come before this commissioning of Paul and Barnabas. They had time to mature, to be strong. Now let me remind you friends that this is what has been on my heart for several weeks and I've been sharing it with you. And the Spirit of God just keeps bringing it up in the text all the time. The fact that a church must begin there, and our commitment is simply that. We have endeavored to commit the word of God to your understanding, to build you solidly in the word of God, to firm you up, to establish this church on a strong doctrinal foundation. Once that has been done then the Spirit of God very supernaturally will just begin to make the outflow happen without us having to invent it. And we believe that's what's happened.
I tell you I have a long list every day of people who are continually calling me about outreach projects, mission field projects, witnessing projects, evangelism projects, so that I can't even keep up with talking to all of them. And what's happening is we're beginning to reap some of the dividends of a strong base. And I believe we've grown in missions and we've endeavored to do that. I don't think we've even begun to see what God's going to do in terms of outreach now that the foundation has been laid. That's our commitment.
We've been endeavoring to do two things: teach the word of God and train gifted men. We've seen so many of our young people being trained and growing and now they're ready to go out, and now they're go out, and now we're endeavoring to find areas and avenues and opportunities and wait on the Spirit to see where He's going to lead. This is exiting.
Now Antioch becomes for us just that kind of a blueprint. That's exactly what they did. They just grew strong at home, now you're going to see this, and then they waited and prayed. They never invented a program, they just waited and prayed and the Spirit of God moved in and said, "I'm ready to go and here's what I want you to do." And they just took off. But the home base needed to be strong.
Now what is it that makes the difference? What is it in the church that makes one church powerful, dynamic, and effective and another church even if it's small or large or middle sized, that isn't the issue, but what makes one effective and one not so effective? What makes the difference? Here's our first key thought. To begin with the church that reaches the world, the church that is effective will be a church that is, now watch, Spirit controlled. Now you say, "I know that." Good, then you're going to be able to follow easily what I want to say. Glad you knew that.
The church that is going to be effective in the world is going to be one that is Spirit controlled. Now that sounds obvious, but believe you me, we would assume that most churches are not operating under the control of the Holy Spirit. And what happens when you don't operate under the control of the Holy Spirit? You produce carnality. You produce the worse kind of carnality, which is a kind of a masked super-religious carnality. You actually harden people into carnality, in the very context of the church, when the church is not under the control of the Holy Spirit.
Now let me show you about the church at Antioch. Go back to Chapter 11:24. Now it's talking about two key leaders, the first one being Barnabas. Barnabas was righteous, now watch, and full of the Holy Spirit. Very good. Very important. Now go over to Chapter 12, Chapter 13, excuse me, and verse 9. Here's the other key leader in the church at Antioch. "Then Saul, also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit," stop there. Now to begin with the two leaders of the church at Antioch were filled with the Holy Spirit. That simply means they were under His control. But not only was the leadership under the control of the Holy Spirit, incidentally there were three other key leaders mentioned in verse one, they too were under the control of the Holy Spirit, but so were the people.
Verse 2 says, "They ministered to the Lord, fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work under which I've called them.' When they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, sent them away." And here you see the whole church is involved in commissioning them. Verse 4, "So they being sent forth by the Holy Spirit," but they had approval and the confirmation of the church at Antioch. What am I saying? In those verses we see the free flow of the will of the Spirit through the people. You know the two sharpest guys going in the church at Antioch were Paul and Barnabas, and when the time came to send out people to the mission field you would have thought they'd pick Simeon and Lucius. Everybody would have been madly in love, spiritually, with Paul and Barnabas. We need Paul and Barnabas. You're not going to send the best we've got, you see. Not our pastors. But they didn't have that attitude at all. The Spirit of God said send Paul and Barnabas and so the church said go. What did that say? That says that was a Spirit controlled body as well as a Spirit controlled leadership.
Now people that is the beginning of the church in terms of effect. A church that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is not going to have an effective ministry. Now that is so basic it almost beggars the terms to even talk about it or the concept. Now let me show you what I mean by that.
Now go to I Corinthians 12:7-13. I Corinthians 12, and I want you to just catalog in your mind generally the idea of the importance of the Spirit in the life of the church as you listen to me read these verses. Just key in on the word Spirit, referring to the Holy Spirit. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit." Verse 11, "But all these worketh that one and very same Spirit." Verse 13, "For by one Spirit were we all baptized int