Sent

This morning, Pastor Dave continues our series on Acts.  We discuss what it means to be a people who are turned around, not to stand still, but to be sent forward to be hands and feet in the world.

A song for your listening pleasure 

Please find the slide deck for this week's teaching here.

This week's reading here.

1.Paul and Barnabas were sent out of a community that had worshipped, prayed, fasted, and listened together. What does this tell us about how we might discern God’s calling in our own lives?

2.Paul didn’t send himself—the church recognized and affirmed his calling. Who are the people who have helped you recognize gifts or possibilities in your life that you might not have seen yourself?

3.Paul and Barnabas didn't know everything that was ahead of them. How do you respond when you know what the next step is but don't know where the road will ultimately lead?

4.The gospel crossed significant boundaries in Paul's ministry. What boundaries—social, cultural, generational, economic, or otherwise—can churches unintentionally create? How might the gospel challenge those boundaries?

5.Paul experienced rejection, conflict, and even violence, yet continued his mission. How do we distinguish between a difficult road that calls for perseverance and a situation where we should step back or change direction?

6.Could he be sending me?” Where might God be asking you to pay attention right now—to a person, a need, a relationship, or an opportunity? What might your next faithful step look like?

Instagram: @theharbournewmarket
Website: theharbournewmarket.ca
Email: david@theharbournewmarket.ca

Instagram: @theharbournewmarket
Website: theharbournewmarket.ca
Email: david@theharbournewmarket.ca

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:22

All right. Well, last week we began our fall series, The Gospel on the Move, and uh we met Saul. And Saul was convinced he was on the right road, he was passionate, he was committed, absolutely certain that what he was doing was right. And then on the road to Damascus, Jesus stopped him in his tracks, and Paul met Jesus. And we learned that his life was turned around. And we also learned that there's more to the story. While Ananias immediately greeted Paul as Brother Saul, we do recognize that, although it's not outlined a great deal in the text, that there were other people in the surrounding community that may have been affected by Paul's actions that weren't so quick to greet Saul as brother Saul. And we looked at some of the questions around you know very lightly, around, you know, do we just forgive and immediately call brother? And uh we learned that healing takes time, reconciliation doesn't always happen immediately or sometimes not even become possible in the way it was before. But Ananias showed us last week something different and perhaps just as challenging. You know, he was willing to allow God's grace to create the possibility of a new relationship without denying the reality of the old one. So our takeaway was Brother Saul wasn't just saying what you did doesn't matter. It was saying what you did does not have to be the final word about who you are. So that brings us to today. Um and our big idea is God just doesn't simply turn us around. We don't stay there, he gives us somewhere to go. I don't think Saul encountered Jesus just to have a better life. He was given a mission, and that's where we pick up our story today and for the next few weeks. And it's simple. Sent. Paul was sent because the gospel, as you trace it from Acts on, is on the move. Well, our story this morning begins in Antioch, and Luke introduces several of the church's leaders. And we sometimes breeze through this section, but I think in today's context, they're really important. So Luke names five leaders, but only Saul and Barnabas become major characters in the story. The other three are almost hidden from us, yet they're significant enough to be named among the prophets and teachers who were praying, fasting, and discerning the Spirit's direction. So, who are the early church leaders? Well, probably the most prevalent is Barnabas. He was the encourager, and Barnabas was a bridge builder. His real name was Joseph, a Lev from Cyprus. So the apostles named him Barnabas, and that's traditionally understood as the son of encouragement. So he first appears in Acts selling a field and giving the proceeds to the apostles. And he becomes really important because he's the one who is willing to take a chance on people. When Saul first came to Jerusalem after his conversion, of course, the disciples are afraid of him. And rightly so. Saul had caused a lot of harm. But Barnabas, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, takes Saul to the apostles and vouches for him. That's Acts chapter 9, 27. And when the church in Jerusalem hears about Gentiles becoming question, Christians in Antioch, that would have been scandalous in the day. They send Barnabas to investigate. Barnabas sees what God is doing and rejoices rather than trying to control it. He then goes looking for Saul and Tarsus and brings them to Antioch. And eventually, in Acts chapter 13, our text for today, Barnabas and Saul are sent out together. So there's something important here as we continue on this fall. Paul's ministry does not begin with Paul believing in himself. Paul was a strong guy, a highly competent guy, a passionate guy. But Paul's ministry really believes with Barnabas believing in Saul. So when Acts chapter 13 begins, Barnabas is listed first, if you'll notice. And Saul's listed last. And it takes a while for that to shift. Now there's others in the story, of course. Simeon called Niger, and he's a man we know nothing about. Luke just simply names him. Many interpreters would think this indicates that Simeon was a black man, but we cannot establish this with certainty. We're just not sure. There's no biography. And that silence is actually worth noticing because he's just a character. He wasn't Simeon, the great evangelist, you know, one of the team on the power play. He's simply called Simeon. And then Niger, one of the early church leaders. So this is a diverse community of leadership that's developing. And this is where the Holy Spirit chooses missionaries, friend, not the ones that have everything together. Number three is Lucius of Cyrene. Probably part of the Gentile missionary movement. Cyrene was in North Africa, which is now Libya, and there was a substantial Jewish population there. So people from Cyrene were already playing a role in the spread of the gospel. And earlier on in Acts, we're told that some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch and began speaking to Greeks about Jesus. So we can speculate quite reasonably that Lucius was connected to that missionary movement, although we're not explicitly told that. Interesting that he's not identified as Lucius the Jew or Lucius the Greek. He's identified geographically where it was from, Lucius of Cyrene. So we're already seeing a reach of leadership far beyond Jerusalem. God has a plan. I think one of the most interesting characters to me, and again, we don't know much about, and I was looking for more information this week, Manin or Manan, a man who grew up with Herod. Hmm. Brought up with Herod, which was in question, named Herod Antipas, and he's the ruler that had John the Baptist executed. And he is in all of the passion narratives around Easter. So the Greek expression perhaps means someone who was raised alongside another person, maybe a childhood companion, but uh interesting that uh his um yeah, his connection would have been surrounded by violence and mayhem. What a contrast. Well, we've got quite a diverse group of people, don't we? Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Menin, and finally Paul, a Pharisee from Tarsus. And Luke chapter 13 starts off with no preamble, just powerfully. Now in the Church of Antioch, there were prophets and teachers. And of course the five are named, but Paul is named last. Paul is just a member of the team, he's not the team captain. So what are these five doing while the spirit is speaking? Well, they are worshiping the Lord, they were fasting. Interesting that the Spirit doesn't call Saul in isolation, the Spirit speaks in community of this diverse community of leaders. And then the Holy Spirit speaks, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them. So notice the order, church. The church prays, fasts, lays hands on them, and sends them. And I think this is an important point. Paul was a powerful, strong leader. His call calling was certainly personal. It just was given his journey. Yet it was never private. It was done in the context of community. And the church helped him discern the call. So before Paul became the great missionary of Acts, he started as simply one of the five leaders sitting around a table in Antioch. Barnabas had a pass in Jerusalem. Simeon carried a name that may have identified him as black. Lucius came from North Africa. Manin had grown up around Herod. And Saul had once hunted Christians for something to do, believing he was right. And together, this diverse bunch worshiped together, they fasted. Most importantly, they listen. And I think that's the diverse community. That's a great place to become. A community that has their ears on, as I like to say. And another interesting point here, three out of the five virtually disappear from the biblical record. We have no idea what they preached. If they baptized any, if they did, how many? What their greatest ministry accomplishments were, we don't know. But they mattered enough to be there when the Spirit launched one of Christianity's greatest missionary movements. So not everyone whose name appears in God's story becomes famous. Some people are just faithful, standing in a room when God does something new. And they all have a part to play. Because somehow in Jesus they've become a church. So we note with emphasis that Paul's missionary journey begins in community. He doesn't wake up and say, I think I'll be a missionary today. He's being formed by the community, being formed by the church, and he's been encouraged and he's been serving and he's been worshiping. Well I think that takes us again into a another area. The church simply isn't a place where people come. Although for the most part we like to come to church. These are our people, this is our community. But it's also a people who are sent, and that's something worth noticing. And again, Paul didn't send himself. We all have gifts. Paul had an extraordinary calling, but again, he wasn't a lone ranger. His calling was recognized and affirmed. And there's great wisdom in that, the affirmation of community. Because sometimes we're quick to say, and and God told me to do this, or God told me to say this. And maybe God did. But maybe he didn't. And so God has given us community to uh discern the pattern of God's call together. And sometimes people see things in us that we don't see in ourselves. And friends, that can be anyone, right? A teacher, a pastor, a friend, a parent. Someone says, You have a gift for this. You have the gift of hospitality. Maybe you should consider this. You could help someone in this area, and suddenly a door opens. And Barnabas had been doing something like that with Paul. And now the church recognizes this and says, Go. Well, that's where it gets tricky. What does that even mean? Well, Paul and Barnabas they leave Antioch and they travel to Cyprus, and that, of course, is the modern-day Turkey, and they preach, they teach, they meet people, some welcome them and some don't. They oppose them. And the text doesn't indicate that they know everything that's going to happen. They really have no clue what's going to happen. They don't have the whole journey mapped out. They simply know God has called them to go. So sometimes we imagine faith. Well, faith, we like to know the entire destination. It's just helpful. We like to know the entire future. But sometimes I've learned that faith means enough light just for the next step. You don't need to know the whole road. You just need to know the next faithful step. We know people in our lives that are facing decisions that you don't know where they're going to lead. You don't know where everything's going to work out. And we just don't know where the road ends. So maybe our question is, what's my next faithful step? That may be enough for now. And as Paul and Barnabas travel, the gospel keeps crossing boundaries. Jew, Gentile, insider, outsider, people who were expected to belong, and many, many people who weren't. And that becomes one of Paul's greatest themes that we're going to learn over the next few weeks. And it's it's simple, but it's powerful. The grace of God is bigger than any boundaries we create. And that's going to matter a whole lot when we get into some of the letters. We're going to dive into Galatians a bit next week, where we learn about the gospel of grace. So Paul isn't simply asking, how do we get more people to believe? He's asking, what kind of community does the gospel of Jesus Christ create? And it's one, of course, defined by Jesus. So his message is not simply be nicer, try harder, become more religious. Paul proclaims Jesus, his death, his resurrection, forgiveness, new life, grace. And Paul says that this all happens through Jesus. People are made right with God, not through religious performance, not through heritage, and not through being a part of the right group. Well, the road gets difficult when this message is being proclaimed. And Luke doesn't romanticize that part of Paul's ministry. Not at all. We see the gospel moving, but not everyone applauds. There's fierce opposition, there's rejection, there's conflict, and eventually in Lystra, Paul is stoned. They drag him outside the city and they think he's dead. But Paul's a resilient guy. So what does he do? He gets up and goes back into the city. Goes back into the city. Probably for more. We don't know. So I'm not suggesting that Christian faith means we ignore danger. Absolutely not. We don't stay in abusive situations or situations that cause harm. But Paul demonstrates something important. Opposition doesn't automatically mean we're on the wrong road. Sometimes we assume if God is in this, it's got to go smoothly. And that's just not the reality, and it's not really the biblical story. Jesus experienced opposition, the apostles experienced opposition, and now, of course, Paul experienced fierce opposition. So faithfulness doesn't guarantee an easy road. Sometimes it just means continuing because you know in your spirit why you're doing it. So let's talk a little about success. What does success look like? And uh I've learned over the years, having many friends who are pastors, it's measured in so many different ways. Often in numbers. But there's different metrics, as I've learned. So Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. Um they call the church together, and Luke says they reported. They reported all that God had done through them. So not look what I accomplished. He says, look what God has done. Which takes the pressure off ourselves, doesn't it? Because God uses us. But at the end of the day, it's up to God. Well, they give the report. Um, and again, it's a mixed report, but the gospel was being proclaimed. Yes, there is opposition, but Paul continues to remind us that we're just called to faithfulness. That's the message, and God takes care of the results. Well, friends, what does it mean to be sent today? And I've had so many illustrations come to mind this week. Um, that's where Paul's story meets all of our stories. Um of us, well, might get on a ship and travel across the Roman Empire. I would suggest it's probably on a cruise ship, not to be not to be sent on a missionary journey. But um what does it mean to be sent today? Now, for those of us who grew up in the church, especially with young families and uh, you know, the missionaries would come, usually in the summer. They'd be home on furlough and usually bringing slides, which sometimes meant for a long evening, but I digress. Um but in the church there was a map of all the places around the world where our church at the time supported missionaries doing wonderful, wonderful work. There was tremendous commitment, there was support from the church, and uh it's something that I really struggled with. I had no interest in being sent to, as described, a foreign field. Um and that's that's okay. Um now the song I'm gonna invite you to listen to on the podcast. I didn't want to take our time today with that, kind of pokes fun at that. I mean, we're comfortable where we are. Um so then I got thinking about being sent today. Well, Esther does these beautiful cards when it's a birthday or a special occasion. That's being sent. Brother George, rain or shine, Wednesday, you want a hamburger, you're homeless in New Market, even if you're not homeless, go see George. 52 weeks out of the year on a Wednesday, no matter. The temperature, no matter whether it's raining or sunny, Georgia's serving with a with a group of committed people right in town. You've met some of you who are here in the summer, met my friends Connie and Jeff that I met in the pool. They quietly go to Cuba twice a year just to serve. They've connected somehow with a church and a group in Cuba. They don't talk a lot about it. They've shared it with Sherry and myself over dinner, and they pack suitcases full of stuff and they just go and support. That's being sent. Because again, I say good sociology usually lines up with good theology. I think of people who were instrumental in my life and part of my journey. I joined a fellowship group that was a safe place, and you would have heard a little about it last spring from Paul Tuck, Dismas Fellowship. And there I spent time in community with volunteers who just felt committed to the to the reintegration of men who had been to prison. And end up the anteolittle working with Mennonite Central Committee. I worked with many volunteers who felt strongly that even the worst of the worst, those who had offended sexually, deserved to be appropriately reintegrated in the community, which required work. It required accountability, it required paperwork, it required all kinds of stuff. But the commitment was there that reconciliation was God's God's heart for all of us. So there's a there's a serious spiritual question underneath all of our thoughts of being a missionary in a foreign field. The question is, are we willing to follow God when the assignment is not so comfortable? It's not familiar and convenient. Because sometimes God asks us to do stuff that takes us out of our comfort zone. And so is there a place, a person, a ministry, or calling where I might say to God, anywhere, but not there. And I know I can identify some that are a struggle, and I suspect all of us can. So we don't live in guilt with that. There's some practical things we can do. Number one, just pay attention to where you are. We don't have to overthink this. God has us placed where he wants us. Your mission filled maybe already around you. I hear stories. I know how many of you connect with people in the community and just model the heart of Jesus. Families, workplace, neighborhoods, coffee shops, friends, the people you encounter all the time. Just pay attention where you're already placed. So the question isn't always, where's God sending me today? Sometimes the question is, who has God already placed in my life? So being sent begins with paying attention. So yesterday morning I woke up a little crankier than normal, as Sherry would say. She's at the trailer, and of course I wake up early, and now it's dark, and boy, it's cold in the house. So I look at the thermometer. I'm still on Fahrenheit, sorry, but it's 64 degrees, and I'm like, I should put the heat on. I'm very resistant to putting the heat on before Thanksgiving. But I I at least turn the air conditioning off and moved it halfway. Well, it's only 10 after 6 by this point, and of course no one wants to be texted or phoned at 10 after 6, so I I discover that the Costco Business Center is open at 7. So done I go to the Costco Business Center. And um I get there and uh I was less cranky because well my my toy store is well the meat section. I like to go in into that cold area at the back and gaze lovingly at all the strip lines, and and I was far less cranky doing that, but then I flipped over and saw how much the strip lines were, and when did 300 become 600? And so then I was cranky again. Well, I got what I needed to get in in Costco, and I had had this little just this little niggling thought. I'd been recommended to go to Princess Auto to look at tarps. Um now, and it was Jacqueline, try Princess Auto, and I'm like, that's an auto store, blah, blah, blah. But I didn't say that. I just kept anyhow. For whatever reason, at 8 a.m. yesterday morning I go in the Princess Auto, and I look at the tarps and lovely selection of tarps, and there's all purpose, and then there's heavy duty. The heavy duty are twice as much. So I go talk to somebody. I don't know who they were. There were three capable-looking people standing there, and it wasn't that busy at eight in the morning. So, for whatever reason, I start a conversation with the manager. I said, I want to talk to you about these tarps. So he asks me what I'm doing. So I tell him what I'm doing. Part of the Harbor Church and got a little project happening, and we want to uh, you know, part of a kit, you know, tarps are very handy. They can go on the bottom to keep people warm, they can go on the top to keep people dry. And these all-purpose ones don't look quite as good as those ones there. Um, what's the difference? Well, he just said the heavy duty ones are twice as good. And then he looks at his phone and um asked me when I would be buying them, and I said, Well, shortly. When do you need me to buy them? You know, type of thing. And he basically says, I think you want the heavy duty tarps, and I will give you the heavy-duty tarps for the same price as the all-purpose tarps. If you so I gratefully accepted, I immediately took his name and said I would be back Wednesday. Asked him when he was going to be in next, and it was going to be Wednesday, and he gave me some boundaries, and uh I was sent. I didn't know it then, but I was sent. I never go in the Princess Auto. I think I've been once in my life, I've driven by it thousands of times. Jacqueline mentioned Princess Auto, I go in the Princess Auto. I think we're gonna have a good outcome. So just paying attention where God's placed us. A box was ticked with a good outcome, and my attitude for the whole day changed based on that. Well, being sent means making room. You know, we have to make room for others, and that can be challenging. So, who's God asking us to make room for as a community? The newcomer, those who don't fit, people of different beliefs, different politics, complicated stories, there's lots of those. The people who don't know the language of the church, sometimes we have our own language, as you're aware. Or maybe the person who just needs to be noticed. And again, sometimes being sent doesn't mean going anywhere, sometimes it just means making room. Number three, sometimes being sent means taking a risk, taking a risk for the sake of love. Ananias took a risk, big risk, huge risk. Barnabas took a risk, and they did not have all the answers. They had no idea how Saul's story would turn out. And that's a hard space to be because if it goes the other way, you can imagine the blowback. But they prayed and they obeyed and they were willing to take the next step. And sometimes that's all God asks of us. Not to know the whole journey, just take a small faithful step, whatever that looks like. And finally, being sent means believing that God can write a new chapter. And I think that's the most personal part of Paul's story to me. Paul has had a past. But Jesus isn't finished with any of it, friends. And I think that's a good takeaway for us this morning. Our story is not done. Our past individually and in community is part of the story, but we're not at the conclusion yet. So maybe there's people in our lives whose past we have allowed to become their permanent identity. And there's still a few like that in my life, but I'm grateful that the great majority have shown me tremendous grace. Ananias reminds us this morning that grace can say, I know what happened, and I still believe God can do something new. And that doesn't mean ignoring justice, it doesn't mean pretending wounds don't matter. They do. They absolutely do. It means that redemption is possible. So remember, we're not all called to preach, we're not all called to travel, we're not all called to leave a church, but every one of us can be sent. And it's simple. Just ask Jesus to show me where you're already at work and give me the courage to join you, because that's what happened in the early church. Nothing manufactured, just worshiping, praying, fastening, and listening. And when the Spirit spoke, they were willing to say yes. Barnabas and Saul were sent, but the whole church participated. So a final question, and I leave it with you as you uh go out into the week. Where is Jesus sending you this week? Maybe it's not across the world, maybe it's just across the street, but that's okay. As the church opens its hand and said, Go, may we be that kind of church, a church that makes room, a church that listens, and a church that just takes the next faithful step. Because I believe and I think the gospel teaches us, and certainly the teaching of Paul teaches us that God is still changing people, and we want to be part of that story. So let's just pray together. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your grace, your abounding grace and your mercy. I thank you for this community, a community of compassion, a community that cares locally and globally. Um may we follow you well this week. May we listen to other stories well and give us the discernment to just follow you in every step that we take. And Lord, I pray that you would bless the spaghetti dinner in a special way this evening. I know some clients of mine in New Market, and I know some of our homeless community are looking forward to it. Um just bless each hand that is preparing. Bless those who are planning to come and those who come to share in the cleanup. May you be honored in all that we do. In Jesus' name. Amen.