First Baptist Church Bartow First Baptist Church Bartow

Everyone has an opinion about life after death.  Just about everyone assumes there is something out there somewhere.  Few people stop long enough to think it through, and yet it’s the most crucial issue facing all of us.



In 2 Samuel 14:14 (NLT) a wise woman was sent to counsel King David in an attempt to persuade him to offer mercy to his banished son Absolom.  She said, “All of us must die eventually.  Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.  But [before then] God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him.”



God is always devising ways so that people far from God could be brought into fellowship with Him.



I had the privilege of teaching here last year through the Four most Common Views around the world regarding life after death, concluding with the way Jesus taught – the Biblical Christian system, outlining how Only Believers and Followers of Jesus Go To Heaven.  We looked at how it is the most just system available and how it is really the only one that makes sense:



1. Everyone is welcome.



Romans 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.



2. Everyone gets in the same way. 



John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.



3. Everyone can meet the requirement.



Martin Luther called John 3:16 “The heart of the Bible – the Gospel in miniature.”  It’s so simple a child can understand it; yet it condenses the deep and marvelous truths of redemption into these few incredibly powerful and pointed words:  “For…”



    “God”…The greatest Lover – He literally is love



    “So loved”…The greatest degree – absolutely



    “The world”…The greatest number



    “That He gave”…The greatest act



    “His one and only Son”…The greatest gift



    “That whoever”…The greatest invitation



    “Believes”…The greatest simplicity



    “In Him”…The greatest Person



    “Shall not perish”…The greatest deliverance



    “But”….The greatest difference



    “Have”….The greatest certainty



    “Eternal Life”…The greatest possession



I want to spend a few moments on John 3:16 with you this morning.  To do so properly, we need to look at this verse in context, and especially in the light of the 2 verses that precede it, v14-15.



John Chapter 3 is a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, who is here under the cover of night.  He’s a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, and a member of the Sanhedrin, but he sees Jesus as a teacher having come from God.  He recognizes no one could perform the signs Jesus is doing if God were not with Him, and he wants to understand what it is that Jesus is trying to teach us.



In John 3:3 “3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again [or born again from above].”



Nicodemus does not understand, but he wants to, else why bother any further.  Jesus reaches in through all the Pharisee-corruption, hypocrisy, politics, and office-seeking legalism and basically asks Nicodemus, “Shouldn’t you who claim to represent God…know?  I’ll put it as plainly as I can.  I know what I’m talking about here, because I am God’s Son.”  Jesus continued:



John 3:14-17 – “14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.“



In the Old Testament, every time the people of Israel would stray from Him, God wou

Have you every had someone ask you what you did during your day, and you think, “Where do I start?” Perhaps you had a wide-variety of tasks; perhaps you had a long day; perhaps you had a lot going on.



‌



‌



We are in the middle of a section in the Book of Acts that describes the missionary journeys of Paul, Barnabas, and their companions.



‌



‌



There is a lot going on with Paul and Barnabas during this time. Indeed, there’s a lot going on in today’s passage.



‌



‌



Well, today, as we look again at Paul and Barnabas, we’re going to see that they had a lot going on. Indeed, the title of today’s sermon is “A Lot Going on with Paul and Barnabas.”



‌



‌



Let’s pray together before we go any further.



‌



‌



(prayer)



‌



‌



Ok, let’s look at the passage together, and then we’ll look at what’s going on with Paul and Barnabas.



‌



‌



Look at Acts 14:1-20:



‌



‌



1 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them, 6 they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside. 7 There they continued preaching the gospel.



‌



‌



8 In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. 9 He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around.



‌



11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.



‌



14 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting: 15 “People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own way, 17 although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.



‌



19 Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. 20 After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.



‌



‌



Ok, let’s look at what’s going on.



‌



‌



First, we see . . .



‌



‌I. A synagogue



‌



‌



Verse 1 says right away, “In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual.”



‌



‌



Ok, let’s look at our map again.



‌



‌



For reference, here’s Jerusalem. Remember from last week, Paul and Barnabas were in Pisidian Antioch. Now they have traveled to Iconium.



‌



‌



Notice what was happening while they were at the synagogue in Iconium.



‌



‌



L

Have you ever thought about a missed opportunity? When I first started a job as a youth pastor in Naples, Florida, I was invited by a family member to go on an Alaskan cruise and have the entire thing paid for by that person. Well, everything within me said that it was not a good idea to ask for twelve days off work after I just started a new job. So, I didn’t go. They had the time of their lives, and I stayed behind to work. Though I think I made the right decision, it was certainly a missed opportunity.



‌



‌



Opportunities come and go in our lives, don’t they? Some of those opportunities are chances to share the love of God or tell someone about the saving work of Jesus Christ. These are gospel opportunities.



‌



‌



Today, we’re going to hear about the continued missionary work of Paul and Barnabas. In the second part of Acts 13, we’re going to see them ministering in another city named Antioch. Today’s sermon is entitled “Another Antioch, Another Gospel Opportunity.”



‌



‌



Let’s pray together before we go any further.



‌



‌



(prayer)



‌



‌



Ok, so let’s recall what was happening in the earlier part of chapter 13.



‌



‌



Paul and his companions were ministering on the island of Cyprus.



‌



‌



Now, let’s look at verse 13 and part of verse 14:



‌



‌



13 Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch.



‌



‌



So, Paul and his companions left Cyprus, then came to Perga, from there they went to Pisidian Antioch.



‌



‌



Now, pay attention to two aspects of these two verses.



‌



‌



First, this is a different Antioch than the one from where they were sent off.



‌



‌



This is Pisidian Antioch. This is another Antioch.



‌



‌



Similarly, there’s a Lakeland, Georgia; there’s a Bartow County, Georgia; there’s a Polk County, Georgia; and so forth. So, also, there were several different Antiochs.



‌



Remember, this is another Antioch, another gospel opportunity.



‌



‌



Second, notice that John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem.



‌



‌



We’re not really sure why John Mark left them, but we know from later in the Book of Acts that Paul was not happy that John Mark left them. There will be more on that later in our series in this book.



‌



‌



Alright, now we have some context for what’s going on in this passage, so let’s dive into this passage some more.



‌



‌



Initially, we see . . .



‌



‌I. The first opportunity.



‌



‌



Let’s pick it up in the second part of verse 14:



‌



‌



On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”



‌



16 Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm. 18 And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness; 19 and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’



‌



23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, J

Do you remember what is going on in the Book of Acts?







In Acts 11, we learned about the rise of Antioch as a city of Christian influence. We also learn that Saul and Barnabas became teachers and influencers in the city of Antioch.



‌



We learn in Acts 12, that Saul and Barnabas came down to Judea with an offering from the church in Antioch. While there, James is put to death, and Peter is jailed. Yet, Peter is miraculously set free by the power of an angel of God.



‌



‌



At the end of Acts 12, we see Saul and Barnabas make their way back from Jerusalem to Antioch.



‌



‌



Today, our passage picks up with Saul and Barnabas back in Antioch.



‌



‌



Before we read our passage, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.



‌



‌



(prayer)



‌



‌



Ok, let’s look at this passage together. Look at Acts 13:1-12:



‌



‌



1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.



‌



2 As 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 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.



‌



4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant. 6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.



‌



9 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas 10 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? 11 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.



‌



12 Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.



‌



‌



By the way, church. I mentioned a few weeks ago that the attention of the Book of Acts would soon shift away from Peter and the twelve apostles towards a focus that is primarily upon Paul. This is that time. As we continue through Acts, you will see the primary focus will be on the ministry that God accomplished through Paul.



‌



‌



So, in today’s passage we will read about a journey that Saul and Barnabas take as one of their very first missionary journeys. Today’s sermon is entitled “The Journey to Cyprus.”



‌



‌



So, let’s learn about this journey.



‌



First, we see that . . .



‌



‌I. Saul and Barnabas are set apart.



‌



‌



We learn right away in verse 1 that there were several different prophets and teachers in Antioch, including Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, Barnabas and Saul.



‌



‌



Then, in some way (we don’t know specifics), the Holy Spirit of God spoke to them and told them to set apart two of these prophets and teachers for a work to which God was calling them.



‌



‌



Of course, we are familiar with these two who are set apart: they are our friends Barnabas and Saul.



‌



‌



Notice what the church does: verse 3 says they did four things:



‌



‌



1. They fasted – That is, they went without food in order to turn their focus to God.



‌



‌



2. They prayed – They spoke to

Listen, church: God’s mission cannot be stopped.



‌



‌



I want to tell you the story of a man named Min-jae, a man from North Korea.



‌



Min-jae became a follower of Jesus during a lengthy business trip to China in 2004.



‌



Five months later, after being baptized and receiving his own small Korean Bible, Min-jae returned to North Korea. As he prepared to leave China, someone from the church made a bold request: Would he accept a shipment that included ten hidden Bibles once he returned to North Korea?



‌



At first, he declined. He was already nervous about bringing his own small Bible into the country. If border guards caught him, he could be tortured or killed, or end up in one of North Korea’s notorious concentration camps.



‌



As he agonized over the decision, he remembered that he had given his life to Christ, and it was no longer his own. He decided to trust his Lord.



‌



“Now I believe in God, and in God, everything is possible,” he thought.



‌



The shipment arrived a few months after Min-jae’s return to North Korea. At 1 a.m. on a morning in November 2005, he approached a boat along the bank of the river, praying for God’s protection and guidance with every step.



‌



After retrieving three large vinyl duffle bags, he hoisted them onto his back and ran toward his home in the dark. Once inside the relative safety of his home, he opened the bags to find them tightly packed with pants. But wrapped randomly within the clothing were 10 small Bibles. Min-jae decided to keep the dangerous books hidden until God led him to the right people.



‌



Then, as he walked through his village one day, he heard a man whistling a Christian hymn. Min-jae made note of where the man lived and decided to deliver some Bibles to him that night under cover of darkness.



‌



After midnight, Min-jae rewrapped eight of the 10 Bibles in the pants and left them at the man’s front door. He didn’t leave a note for fear that it could be traced back to him.



‌



Months later, Min-jae returned to China with the intent of defecting, but in November 2006 he was arrested and extradited to North Korea.



‌



In prison, he met a former friend who had been arrested because of his Christian faith. And as they talked, Min-jae came to realize that the man he gave the Bibles to was his friend’s uncle. That man had also been arrested and was being held in a different cell in the same prison.



‌



Min-jae’s friend told him that his uncle had given the eight Bibles to relatives, who had then committed their lives to Christ. The entire family of 27 people began to gather secretly at night to worship God and to read and discuss the Scriptures. But one night, a neighbor overheard the believers singing hymns and reported them to authorities. The secret police raided their home and arrested everyone, including his friend and his friend’s uncle, and sent them all to a concentration camp.



‌



Min-jae was released after seven months in prison, and in 2014, he successfully defected to South Korea.



‌



He remains concerned — even feeling a bit guilty — about the Christian family suffering in a concentration camp. After all, he supplied the Bibles that helped lead to their imprisonment. Still, he knows that God ultimately provided the Bibles and that he is with them as they suffer in His name.



‌



“I just want for North Korean people to hear the gospel and share the gospel,” he said. “That is my only prayer.” (this true story was taken from the ministry called “Voice of the Martyrs”)



‌



‌



Church, God’s mission cannot be stopped.



‌



‌



God’s mission could not be stopped in the Book of Acts, and it cannot be stopped today.



‌



‌



As we continue our study in the Book of Acts, let us read about some of the difficulties of the early Church, and how God’s mission pressed on.



‌



‌



In our study of Acts 1

In the 1500s there was evidence of a small native settlement in Florida that was labeled Rio de la Paz. Later that settlement would disappear and a group of Black Seminoles would establish a settlement in the area named Minatti.



‌



Still later, a settlement would be established named Ft. Blount. The community would undergo several different names, including Peace Creek, Peas Creek, and Reidsville. However, in 1862, the community would come to be known as Bartow, Florida.



‌



The late 1900s was a period of growth for the city of Bartow. In 1885, the Florida Southern Railroad opened in Bartow. A year later, the Bartow branch of the South Florida Railroad, connecting Tampa and Orlando, was completed. In 1887, Summerlin Institute, the first brick schoolhouse south of Jacksonville, was built.



‌



By the turn of the century, Bartow had become the most populous city south of Tampa on the Florida peninsula – larger than Miami or West Palm Beach.



‌



As the city grew, a number of industries moved into the Bartow area. In the first few decades of the 1900s, thousands of acres of land around the city were purchased by the phosphate industry. Bartow would become the hub of the largest phosphate industry in the United States. Polk County was the leading citrus county in the United States for much of the 20th century, and Bartow had several large groves.



‌



Well, that’s just a bit about the rise of Bartow. I’m grateful to Wikipedia for some of that information.



‌



It’s interesting to learn about the rise and influence of a city. Today, we’re going to learn about the influence of another city. Today’s sermon is entitled “The Rise of Antioch.”



‌



‌



Let’s read the passage for today and learn about this city.



‌



‌



Let’s look at Acts 11:19-30:



‌



‌



19 Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 News about them reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers of people were added to the Lord.



‌



25 Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul, 26 and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.



‌



27 In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius. 29 Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea. 30 They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.



‌



‌



Join me now in prayer as we seek to hear from the Lord.



‌



‌



(prayer)



‌



‌



Ok, let’s learn what is so significant about Antioch.



‌



‌



First, notice that . . .



‌



‌I. Barnabas travels to Antioch.



‌



‌



Luke starts off in verse 19 by giving us a bit of a refresher. We need to recall that after Stephen was killed for his faith, persecution broke out, and the people of the early Jerusalem church scattered.



‌



‌



You may recall that Acts 8:1 says, “On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were sca