Lent series intro: The Letter to the Church at Ephesus, Stick with our First Love (2:1–7)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, March 9, 2025

Think with me for a moment about when you first fell in love with your spouse, your children, or someone else. Think with me about love. It can be a love for a friend or sibling as well, but it cannot be a love for an object. Studies will show that when you first fall in love your whole mentality changes. The brain literally changes. When you are new in love you have more energy, and this is why you can stay up late at night to go on dates and spend time together. Employers will complain about employees that were once good employees until they met that someone. Love changes us, and to an extent that needs to happen. Pastors will often not officiate a wedding for a couple that hasn’t been together longer than six months because they have yet to realize each other’s idiosyncrasies. Many of you have raised children and maybe you have had to have that conversation with your daughter. She is saying, “I love him.” But you are saying don’t you realize that he is wanted in six states for something…” She doesn’t get it, because love is like a drug.

Then things change. You stay together and get married. Maybe you have children. Eventually, maybe you think, “Do we love each other?” This is because we associate love with that euphoria we once had. The euphoria changes but that does not mean the love isn’t there. Everything we do for each other is because of the love that is there. This is also true of our commitment to Jesus. Let’s talk about that.

In Rev. 2:1-7 The Church at Ephesus is exhorted to not forget their first love.

My burning theme today is that we love Jesus.

My burning application is that all we do stems from our love for Jesus.

Let’s read Rev. 2:1-7:

Revelation 2:1–7 (ESV)

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

1. All that we do must stem from our love for God.
   2. The church at Ephesus persevered (verse 2), we see this in verse 2. There was a real church at Ephesus, but I do believe these letters are to apply to all the churches. In fact, if you look at verse 7 it says for us to hear what the Spirit says to the “churches,” plural.
   3. This likely included persecution.
   4. We must persevere. But we must not forget about why we are in this. We must remember that it is all about Jesus.
   5. We will face hardship and maybe persecution, but we must persevere as well.
   6. The church at Ephesus did not tolerate evil (verse 2), we see this in verse 2. It actually says “evil people.” I would refer you to 1 Cor. 5:9-13:
   7. 1 Corinthians 5:9–13 (ESV)
   8. ⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? ¹³ God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
   9. The issue is when we condone evil within the church.
   10. The church at Ephesus would test the apostles and would not tolerate false apostles (verse 2).
   11. Testing church leaders is critical.
   12. 1 John 4:1–3 (ESV)
   13. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
   14. 2 Cor. 11:13: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
   15. The church at Ephesus endured for Jesus and did not grow weary (verse 3).
   16. The church at Ephesus hates the Nicolaitans as does Jesus (verse 6).
   17. It is difficult to say who the Nicolaitans were, but they were some form of cult that may have denied moral values during that time, or it could be metaphorical of something else. We could get into that at another time or give me a call or an email if you want more answers to who they were.
2. The church at Ephesus neglected their first love (verse 4).
   1. This is the key application for us. Let’s break it down.
      1. We can be very good about a routine of studying the Word and prayer, but we must do these because of our intense love for God.
      2. Our Christian life must not be simply about blind orthodoxy. Orthodoxy means correct beliefs.
      3. We must be careful about always learning but never coming to a knowledge of the Truth (2 Timothy 3:7).
      4. We must love Jesus.
      5. We must desire Jesus.
      6. We must be satisfied in Jesus.
      7. Loving Jesus means that we do love His Word because we want to be close to Him and being in His Word means that we are listening to Him.
      8. Loving Jesus means that we love prayer because this is communicating with Him.
      9. Loving Jesus means that we love the church because He loves the church (Eph. 5:25-26).
      10. Timothy Keller shares:

          We had a set of trees at our house in Virginia. They were odd trees. They were some kind of oak trees. (Maybe Kathy remembers them.)

          The leaves would die in the fall, but they wouldn’t fall off. They’d stay on the tree, and they didn’t fall off until the spring when the new leaves came out of the buds and pushed the old leaves off. You see, there’s a way of trying to change that simply relies on willpower. It says, “I’m going to stop this. I’m not going to do this anymore.” But the Christian approach is so different. Christianity says you have to be continually in worship and in prayer and in study of the Word.

          Through the sacraments and through a personal encounter with God you have to be constantly meeting him so you’re changing and growing, and as Christ’s character begins to grow in you, it comes out and pushes off the old leaves. It pushes off the anger. It’s not something that happens overnight. It comes gradually. It comes bit by bit. For example, some of you know … I guess you can be too personal in a sermon. Some of you know if you were here earlier today at any of those other services, I was talking about how the gospel came to Korea.

          I went back into an old history book I had in order to tell this story. In the story, as many of you know, there was a man who came to Korea back when it was illegal in the 1860s for a foreigner to come to Korea. When his boat was sinking, he came out of the boat and waded out of the river with his arms full of Bibles, and as the people on the shore killed him, clubbing him, and knifing him, he thrust the Bibles into their hands as they were killing him. That’s how the gospel came to Korea.

          Today, at the place where he died, there’s a big, beautiful Thomas Memorial Chapel for Robert J. Thomas, the first missionary to Korea. I read about him, and I got so tremendously convicted, and I realized I had an opportunity to worship. This was happening on Friday. I was typing the thing into the computer for my sermon. I was reading the book, and I suddenly found as I was reading it, I started to cry. I realized, “Here’s a guy who was just so faithful,” and I began to feel like a baby.

          I began to say, “I think my problems are so great. I think the things God’s called me to do are so important and so hard,” and I got convicted of self-pity. I had an opportunity to worship. You stop every thing. You know, when the Spirit of God is preaching to you, is bringing something home, you say, “Here’s a chance.” So you stop everything. You sit down and say, “I see what you’re telling me,” and you begin to worship. You repent. You praise him. You receive forgiveness, and you sense yourself being renewed in the attitude of your mind. That’s the little leaf coming in and pushing off the old leaf. Christianity is an organic thing, it’s a process.[1]

          [1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

   2. This means that we must be a part of the church. In connecting with the church, we are connecting with Jesus indirectly and directly (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:14-31 and chapter 13).
   3. We must remember our first love, we must remember the Gospel which saved us (verse 5).
   4. The church at Ephesus is called to repent.
   5. Repent is listed twice (verse 5). Jesus is giving them a chance to repent. This is showing that there are second chances.
   6. If they don’t repent the Lampstand is removed. Remember the Jewish pool of imagery. I like what the Life Application Study Bible says: For Jesus to “remove your lampstand from its place” would mean the church would cease to be an effective church. Just as the seven-branched candlestick in the Temple gave light for the priests to see, the churches were to give light to their surrounding communities. But Jesus warned them that their lights could go out. In fact, Jesus himself would extinguish any light that did not fulfill its purpose. The church needed to repent of its sins.[1]
   7. Kierkegaard wrote: There are, in the end, only two ways open to us: to honestly and honorably make an admission of how far we are from the Christianity of the New Testament, or to perform skillful tricks to conceal the true situation.[2]

All that we do must stem from our love for Jesus. How do you know whether you really love Jesus? I think in your daily walk with Him examine yourself, think about it. 2 Cor. 13:5 says to examine yourself and see if you are in the faith.

When we think about love I notice that with my children there was instant love.

Once I heard a message from a well-known Christian writer. He was speaking at Moody’s Founder’s week. He referenced how one of Winston Churchill’s generals said, “Winston, I never told you about my grandkids.” Winston said, “Yes, thank you!” The speaker said, “I am going to tell you about my grandkids. He proceeded to talk about how how his daughter was looking for her keys. At that point she said, “I’m losing my mind.” The four year old, said, “Don’t lose your heart mom, I’m in there.”

We are in the heart of God, He loves us. Don’t forget your first love.

I struggle with the question of my true love for Jesus. I struggle thinking to be sure that I am satisfied in Him. Reflect and pray.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Tyndale House Publishers (2011-08-01). Life Application Study Bible NLT (Kindle Locations 161702-161705). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[2] Soren Kierkegaard, “What Madness,” in Provocations: The Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard (Plough, 1999), p. 180; submitted by Mark Galli, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Special Topic: Revelation Introduction: intro the series

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, March 2, 2025

In the eighties, there was a show called Quantum Leap. In this series, the main character leaps between different time periods. One thought to consider is that God exists outside of time and can leap to any moment He wishes. God is the keeper of the timeline; He is in charge.

I’ve used this illustration before, but I think it is worth repeating:

I have a rope up here, and I have plenty of it. I’m going to pull it out and just watch it fall to the floor. Now, imagine that this first end of the rope represents Genesis 1:1. This signifies creation. As I move, observe this rope and envision it representing all of time. We would place Abraham somewhere near this end, followed by Moses, then David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and eventually Ezra—that’s about 3,500 years of history. Then we go another 400 years to the birth of Jesus, followed by 2,000 years until now. From there, we continue until Jesus returns and sets everything right. Now, as we examine this rope-like timeline, we find ourselves here [pointing toward the opposite end of the beginning]. We are limited to our small segment of time. We are caught in the rope. But God, He created the rope. God created time, and He is powerful and in control. Take this thought a bit further and realize that God placed you in your position for a reason. Wow!

Be encouraged, truly be encouraged. We can quickly glance at this rope and feel discouraged by all the time and existence, but no, be encouraged because God, who is not bound by time, chose to place you on this earth during this time. God can go wherever He wishes along our rope timeline. God can “quantum leap.” But let’s take it a step further: God is to time as we are to this rope. He sees all of time at once. He is not limited by it, for He created it.

As we look at Revelation 1:1, we will “Quantum Leap” back to around 96 A.D.

Today, I want to introduce Revelation. Then, for the next seven weeks, we will study the letters to the churches in Revelation chapters two and three.

My theme today is:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, God Tells Us The Rest of the Story, An Intro to Revelation (Revelation 1:1-3)

Our Two Applications:

1. Be encouraged; God is in control of everything [everyone say everything], even time.
2. Take this book seriously.

Revelation 1:1–3 (ESV)

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

1. This letter is a revelation from Jesus Christ. This is all in verse 1.
   1. It is from the Father to the Son.
   2. It is from the Son, Jesus, to the angel.
   3. It is from the angel to John.
   4. It is from John to us.
   5. The verse says that God gave this to His servants to show His servants what soon must take place.
   6. Be encouraged that God is not limited. Nothing is limiting God. God wanted to show us and all Christians through the ages things that must take place.
   7. I must pause here because you are likely looking at this and thinking, “But it says must ‘soon take place.’” Let’s handle some of the background to this letter.
   8. First, notice that it is titled the ‘“Revelation’ to John.” It is not “Revelation’s.’” This work, a letter in the New Testament format, is one ginormous Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John.
   9. Remember that God is outside of time. The Bible says in:
   10. 2 Peter 3:8–9 (ESV)
   11. ⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
   12. There are four primary ways of interpreting Revelation.
   13. One of these is the Historicism method:
   14. This method interprets chapters 1-3 as taking place in the first century, chapters 4-20:6 taking place between the second century and the end times, and then chapters 20:7-22 as when Jesus makes things right.
   15. Second is Futurism: With this method, most of Revelation is in the future, chapter 4 and throughout chapter 22.
   16. Then there is the Preterist. The preterist is a past fulfillment or contemporary to John’s readers. Those would believe that it had to do with the Roman Empire and the fall of the Roman Empire. Fulfillment is entirely in the past by the fall of Constantine and Rome in 476 AD. Some see it as the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but this view is very narrow. This seemed to start in the late 1500s or early 1600s. This would be the earliest understanding of Revelation in the period following its dissemination
   17. Then there is the idealist: They see Revelation operating at two levels.
   18. General spiritual principles operating at all ages.
   19. There was an immediate meaning for John and his readers, but there is also a profound spiritual reality for all ages.
   20. There is the idea that there is a clash between good and evil.
   21. There are variations on each of those interpretations, especially when we get to the Millennial reign and the tribulation period, and we are not getting into that today.
   22. Next, let’s look at dating. It appears that John is exiled to the island of Patmos, and this was under persecution. He might have been there forced to work the mines. This could have been the great persecution under Caesar Nero in the 60’s AD or in the 90’s AD under Domitian, which many believe.
2. John witnessed for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ with all he saw. This is verse 2.
   1. We may wonder what he saw. This gets into the type of literature of Revelation. It is a letter with apocalyptic literature and prophesy. Think of the idea of pulling back a curtain and revealing something. That is the idea of apocalyptic literature. It means that God is showing us the spiritual realm. God is pulling back the curtain and showing us the end.
   2. John uses a pool of images that are familiar to him and his readers but not familiar to us.
   3. John uses a Jewish pool of images.
   4. He uses a few from Hellenistic culture.
   5. Most of the imagery is from the Old Testament and intertestamental period. They are plain to his audience.
   6. We must understand this. If we divorce Revelation from its original context and meaning we can have multiple understandings and make it say whatever we want.
   7. In an early 80s Reader’s Digest article titled “The Motel of the Mysteries,” the writer presents it as an archaeological report. The article discusses late twentieth-century America, now buried under dirt. An archaeologist discovers a motel, but the description suggests it was actually a late-twentieth-century burial site. The toilet seat is described as something worn on the head, the bathtub as a sacred tower, and the shower as a musical instrument. The article continues in detail, but we understand it better. If we don’t, it surprisingly makes perfect sense.
   8. Time Magazine in 1992, when the Republicans took over Congress, shows a Donkey under the Republican Elephant. We understand the image because it is part of our time, but in hundreds of years, they may not know that.
   9. John’s audience understands the image.
   10. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah are primary examples of John’s Old Testament imagery.
   11. Also, imagery from Baruch, Song of Songs, and other intertestamental imagery.
   12. There is no single quotation in Revelation. John is steeped in his Jewish context, and these images flow out of him.
   13. John was a witness to what God was showing him.

• Verse 3 tells us we are blessed when we read this letter.
  1. This is the only Bible book that says this.
  2. But we may not feel blessed. We may feel cursed as we try to get through.
  3. I remember sitting with my older brother on his bed, and I was probably in grade school, as he read the whole book of Revelation to me. I was confused. Yet, we are interested, aren’t we?
  4. The great Martin Luther mistrusted Revelation because of its obscurity. “A revelation should be revealing,” he said.
  5. One wrote (Dr. Constable): “The symbolism is drawn from many previous Bible books. Revelation is similar to an airport, or a railway terminal, where materials from many other sources come together.” I like that description.
  6. We must read the letter. We must study the letter.
  7. Revelation 22:10: And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

Close:

1. Be encouraged, God is in control of everything [everyone say everything], even time.

Speaking of encouragement, it is not directly related, but I want to exhort all of us to be encouragers. I recently heard the following in a Chuck Swindoll message:

In a message such as this, because it illustrates to me that even the President of the United States at times needs a word of encouragement. Another of those golden moments turned up on television the other day, only a small minority must have seen it because not only was it on PBS, but it was a documentary on that most staid of subjects, a library.

His was an agony that reflected the suffering and turmoil of his country. And there is something touchingly pathetic in the picture of this great leader seeking solace and self-assurance from the comfort of a few old newspaper clippings. Who would have thought the night of his tragic death that earlier that evening in the Oval Office under candlelight, the man was reading the words of somebody who believed in him?[1]

[1] From Insight for Living Daily Broadcast: Strengthening Your Grip on Encouragement, Part 3, Feb 27, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/insight-for-living-daily-broadcast/id89603501?i=1000696323884&r=1115
This material may be protected by copyright.

2. Take this book seriously.

I don’t know about you, but I can get discouraged when I hear the news. But isn’t it encouraging to know that God is in control? Look at this rope. [Have someone in the back row pick up the other end.] God is in control of time. God placed each of us here for a reason. God entered John’s time and told him of the things to come.

Revelation is part of the Bible, the Word of God.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Paul and Barnabas Witness on Cyprus (Acts 13:4–12)

Prepared and preached for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 23, 2025

Tony Evans writes:

The reason why we don’t do more evangelism is that we’ve lost our concern for the lost. Most people are not concerned that they are lost. They’re like the little boy at Disneyland who was enjoying Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. He was enjoying the Ferris wheel and the roller coasters. He was having a marvelous time and in the midst of the crowd got separated from his parents. When he got separated from his parents, he didn’t know that he was lost because he was having so much fun on the rides.

Satan has so constructed this world order to give you enough distractions so that you don’t know you’ve gotten lost in your spiritual Disneyland. We’ve got a world full of people who don’t know that the fun in this world and all this world is offering them—the movies, the parties, the clubs, the social relationships, the money, and the job—is all a satanic camouflage to keep them from realizing that they have been separated from God. Mankind spends so much time having fun that they don’t know that they are lost.

However, the parents of this particular child were looking for him. They knew he was lost at Disneyland. They went to an officer and told security that they couldn’t find their child. The security man led the parents to the lost child, who didn’t even know he was lost.

God wants to find lost people. We are the security guards to bring lost people into contact with the God who wants to regain fellowship with them. That’s our task in evangelism. We are the ones God has chosen to deliver this message.^260,[1]

My theme today is:

Paul and Barnabas Witness on Cyprus

1. Context-
   1. In the previous verses, the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work the Lord called them to.
   2. They prayed over them and sent them out.
2. We see the openness to God’s Word (Acts 13:4–7):
   1. Their message is well received throughout the island, especially by the governor, Sergius Paulus.^[2]
   2. Acts 13:4–7 (ESV) ⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
   3. Now, we are getting into the geography of the book of Acts.
   4. They leave the city of Antioch and sail to Cyprus.
   5. Cyprus is an island.
   6. They go to the city of Salamis.
   7. They begin proclaiming God’s Word in the synagogues of the Jews.
   8. Notice that they always go to the Jews first.
   9. Verse 5, Acts 13:5, says that they had John to assist them. 
   10. Look at Acts 13:6: they had gone through the whole island, as far as Paphos. Paphos is the other side of the island.
   11. Now, they see this Jewish magician. There are some extra details about him.
   12. He was a Jewish false prophet named, Bar-Jesus.
   13. The NET Bible reads: Named Bar-Jesus. “Jesus” is the Latin form of the name “Joshua.” The Aramaic “bar” means “son of,” so this man was surnamed “son of Joshua.” The scene depicts the conflict between Judaism and the emerging new faith at a cosmic level, much like the Simon Magus incident in Acts 8:9–24. Paul’s ministry looks like Philip’s and Peter’s here.^[4]
   14. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence.
   15. This man summoned Barnabas with Saul (That is Paul) to hear the Word of God.
   16. Proconsuls in Acts governed a Roman province.
   17. Archaeology has turned up evidence for many of the proconsuls of Cyprus. At least one inscription bears the name “Paulus,” but he is too late to be Sergius Paulus.^[5]
   18. We will see more about this man in the next few verses.

• The opposition to God’s Word (13:8–11)
  1. 1. Elymas’s blasphemy (13:8): This false prophet and sorcerer (also called Bar-Jesus) attempts to prevent the governor from accepting Christ.
     2. Acts 13:8 (ESV)
     3. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
     4. Now, he is called Elymas.
     5. One source reads: Possibly Elymas is a Semitic word, as is Bar-Jesus, and “sorcerer” is its translation. In any case, true to his demonic influence, Elymas tried to keep Sergius Paulus from embracing the gospel.^[6]
     6. So, now they face opposition.
     7. Acts 13:9-11 (ESV)
     8. Elymas’s blindness (13:9–11): He is blinded by the judgment of God at the hand of Paul.
     9. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.
     10. Notice verse 9 now calls “Saul” “Paul.”
  
  
  1. 1. Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit.
     2. Paul looked intently at him and spoke to him.
     3. “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.”
     4. The NET Bible points out: This rebuke is like ones from the OT prophets: Jer 5:27; Gen 32:11; Prov 10:7; Hos 14:9.^[9]
     5. Verse 11, Acts 13:11, reads that this happened just as Paul said.
     6. Again, from the NET Bible: The term translated mistiness [mist] here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18–19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1–11.^[10]
     7. Wow!
     8. Take note, this punishment as only “for a time.” He could repent later on.
     9. Rydelnic (Moody Bible Institute) believes that Luke shows that Paul can do the same miracles with Gentiles as Peter did with Jewish people.[11]
  
  
  1. The obedience to God’s Word (13:12): The governor becomes a believer.^[13]
  2. Acts 13:12 (ESV)
  3. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
  4. The “proconsul” believed. This would be Sergius believing.
  5. One source adds:

• The signs normally associated with conversion in Acts (baptism, reception of the Spirit) do not appear in this account of Sergius Paulus’s conversion. Possibly Luke just abbreviated his account, but it is also possible that Paulus’s belief amounted to nothing more than his being astonished at the teaching and the blindness that befell Elymas.^[14]

1. Applications:
   1. In verse 4, we see Paul and Barnabas go to work sharing the gospel. They were on mission. We must also be on mission.
   2. Do we follow through with commitments in a timely way? In Acts 13:1-3 they are commissioned, and the next verse records their departure.
   3. Do we care about taking the Gospel to those who have never heard?
   4. Do we care about evangelism?
   5. Do we have a burden for those lost?
   6. Paul and Barnabas did. They were on mission to share the gospel.
   7. In verse 5, they proclaim the gospel to the Jews first. There are several applications, but one of which is, do we care to take the gospel to our culture and people? Many times, we will go serve on mission trips far away, but missions begins at home. Yes, they traveled, but they began with their ethnicity. In Romans 10:1, Paul writes about his heart’s desire and prayer to God is for the Jewish people to be saved. He started with the Jewish people.
   8. In verse 5, we see John Mark is there to assist them. Are we comfortable to be an assistant? Are we comfortable to be an understudy?
   9. In verse 6, we see they took the gospel to the whole island. They were not satisfied with “good.” The book “Good to Great” begins with “Good is the enemy of great.”
   10. In verse 7, we see a man, Serius Paulus who wanted to hear the Word of God and they shared with him. Are we sensitive to those who want to hear the gospel?
   11. In verse 8, we see Paul confronts the magician.
   12. It says that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. Do we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Do we seek to be Spirit-led?
   13. Paul boldly confronted the magician. Do we follow the Spirit’s lead?

Tony Evans writes:

About four or five years ago in Texas, a pilot left the motor running on a plane and somehow this plane engaged itself. It was without a pilot and took off. It was flying on its own. It stayed in the air for over ninety minutes. Then, the inevitable happened: it ran out of gas, crashed, and was totally destroyed.

For a while, you can fly on your own. For a while, you can take off and be somebody. For a while, you can act like God does not exist. For a while, you can play a little religion, but not be serious about subordinating yourself. And for a while, you can fly.

I know there are atheists, and they look like they’re flying. I know, sometimes you look at evil people and you say, How come they can be so evil and can fly so high? I know sometimes you are jealous when you look at folk who have no respect for deity and seem to be flying high. Keep watching, because sooner or later, they will run out of gas, crash, and be destroyed. When you fly your life without God in the pilot’s seat of your life, that’s what happens. That’s why the Bible says don’t be envious of the evildoers. Just because they are making money and getting ahead by doing wrong, don’t get jealous of them. One can only fly high on their own for a while, but there will come a point where they will run out of gas and will discover in an abrupt way there is a God who is Lord over the universe.^264,[15]

^[1] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 93.

^[2] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ac 13:4–7.

^[3] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 13:5.

^[4] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 13:6.

^[5] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1741.

^[6] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1741.

^[7] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2109.

^[8] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 13:9.

^[9] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 13:10.

^[10] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 13:11.

[11] Open Line, Moody Radio, 02.18.2023)

chaps. chapters

^[12] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1741.

^[13] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ac 13:8–12.

^[14] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1741.

^[15] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 94.

The Antioch Church Commissions Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1–3)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 16, 2025

Do you have a calling? How do you know if God has called you to something specific? How do you facilitate an atmosphere to hear God speak?

How do you know God’s will? Are you seeking God’s will?

Do you treat God like He is the owner of the universe and the creator? I was at the store when Mercedes was almost three years old. Meagan said to grab some potatoes. I went to grab some potatoes. Mercedes said, “Those aren’t the right potatoes.” I said, “Yes, they are.” She said, “No, they are not.” I said, “Yes, they are.” She said, “They are not the right potatoes, Daddy!” I said, “Mercedes, you have been alive for three years; how do you know?” Is that how we act with God? We act like Mercedes. We act like we know it all to the Supreme Creator, and maybe we do not seek His will when He knows it all.   

In Acts 13:1-3, the church in Antioch hears God’s call to set aside Paul and Barnabas for God’s mission. They follow through with that. I want to talk about this passage for a few minutes and show you that the call to missions was heard because they were worshipping and fasting. They were seeking Him. They were putting God on the throne.  

Acts 13:1–3 (ESV)

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While 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 fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

This is a pivotal point in the Book of Acts. Paul the apostle was just introduced in chapter 7. At that time, he was a young Jewish man persecuting the church.

Then, in Acts chapter 9, Saul became a Christian. Jesus confronted him.

Now, between Acts chapter 9 and Acts chapter 13, around 12 or 13 years have passed. Paul was converted in about A.D. 33; now it is around A.D. 46 or 47. In Acts chapter 13, the focus changes from Peter to Paul. The rest of the book of Acts is predominantly about Paul. Look how it happens.

1. The setting:
   1. Verse 1: they are in Antioch. Antioch would be north of Jerusalem in Syria. In Acts 11:19ff, we read about how they got to Antioch.
   2. Verse 1 tells us there are prophets and teachers in Antioch. Verse 1 lists four of these specific prophets and teachers. Now, prophesy was a spiritual gift. The Holy Spirit would speak through a prophet to proclaim God’s truth. This might be a conviction about sin or some future event.
   3. Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were listed among these prophets. There is also Simeon called Niger. Niger is Latin for black, so it is likely he was from Africa. Lucius of Cyrene is also a Latin name, and he is likely from an area in Northern Africa, too.
   4. Then there is an interesting note about this man, Manaen. He was brought up with Herod. This is the same Herod who had James killed and brought Jesus to trial and others. Manaen was brought up with him. The Greek wording suggests having the same wet nurse. It is possible that Manaen was the child of one of their slaves. Herod grew up in Rome, and it was common for the children of slaves to grow up with the master’s children. The children grow close, and the slave is freed when he or she is an adult. Either way, Manaen is now serving the Lord with the gift of prophecy or teaching.
2. Verse 1 showed us “who” and verses 2 and 3 show us “what.”
   1. Verse 2 says they were worshipping the Lord and fasting. Isn’t that an interesting intro? What is about to happen, happens while they are coming into the presence of the Lord in worship and fasting.
   2. There are other examples of significant things happening during worship. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah was called while in the temple performing a priestly duty.
   3. Fasting means abstaining from food and possibly other pleasures to seek God. The people of Antioch were worshipping the Lord and fasting. They were seeking God for input. God is about to give them His guidance.
   4. They were worshipping and fasting, and the Holy Spirit spoke to them. The Holy Spirit likely spoke through one of the prophets. The Lord wanted Paul and Barnabas set aside for His work. This idea of setting aside means to set apart for a special purpose. The Lord wanted Paul and Barnabas set apart for His purposes.  Back when Paul became a Christian, the Lord said that He would use Paul to reach the Gentiles. That is about to happen.

• The response:
  1. Verse 3 is about the church’s response. The church obeys. At this point, the Lord hadn’t told Paul or Barnabas where they were going. It doesn’t matter. Paul and Barnabas made themselves available. The church gathered together, and they laid hands on them. This is comparable to ordination. They were sent out.
  2. From Acts 13:4- 14:26, we can read about the missionary journey that resulted from this. Many people heard the Gospel because the church in Antioch was in an atmosphere to hear God.
  3. They were worshipping and fasting. Then Paul and Barnabas obeyed. Paul had taken the Gospel to the known world by the end of Acts. He might have taken it as far as Spain. He took the Gospel to Rome. Things happen when you intentionally create an atmosphere to hear God.
  4. This happened to Meagan several years ago. She was working at McDonalds at the time. She was spending some time in prayer before work when she heard the phone ring. We usually don’t need to interrupt our time with God by answering the phone. But in this instance, she received a job offer. This happened during prayer time.

This Scripture passage shows us a few things. One is that foreign missions are essential. This is Paul’s call, and they go far away. Secondly, this text shows how to hear God’s call by being involved in the spiritual disciplines. These are prayer, worship, fasting, Scripture reading.  

People need the Lord everywhere. While Paul was going around the known world with the Gospel, James was pastoring the Jerusalem church. James, the half-brother of Jesus, stayed home to pastor the church. Missions are important, local and foreign.

Missions is about ministering to temporary felt needs and eternal spiritual needs.

You need to know that you will not hear God if you are not in the spiritual disciplines. Prayer, reading Scripture, worship, and sometimes fasting are imperative to hearing God. Maybe God will call you to a short-term mission trip. Maybe God will call you to full-time missions. Maybe God will be calling you to a new ministry around here. Maybe God will call you to do something else. Will you hear God’s call?

Chuck Swindoll shares the following (this is a copy of the transcript, I apologize for anything that doesn’t read correctly):
“Several years ago, I was asked by an organization that I have loved for many years, the Navigators, to come to their reunion at Estes Park, Colorado, and to be one of the speakers. I was thrilled to be able to do that.
And I traveled there and I found out after I was there that they hadn’t all gotten together for 17 years. So it was a great reunion of this fine Christian organization. The camp was just full of people with stories and hugs and embraces and wonderful moments together.
And it was kind of a sort of reliving the past for that whole week. Well, we finished our time there and a man was to drive me back to Denver to catch a plane back home. On the way back, he said, can I tell you my story?
And I said, sure. He said, actually, it’s a story of closed doors. Great, I said, I’ve had a few of those.”

“So tell me what yours was. He said, we could not find peace in any manner staying in the States. And while at a conference with a number of the leadership of the Navigators, it fell my opportunity to be the man who would open the work in Uganda.
Uganda. He said, I could hardly spell it. When they pointed to me and said, perhaps that’s where the Lord would have you go.
He said, I went home, I told my wife and told our children, I think they had three at the time. Their oldest son was just about to go into school. Not quite.
So there are three little kiddos. And he said to his wife, honey, are you ready to take on the challenge of Uganda and all the holes? She said, if that’s where God wants us, I want to do that.
So they flew to Nairobi, Kenya. Now, couples, for a moment, picture it. You got three kids, one of them still in diapers, one of them should be, they’re all little.”

“You got them flying over to Nairobi, you land, you put your family up in a hotel, you’ve got limited amount of money, you rent a car, a land rover, and you drive from Nairobi into the country of Uganda. Remember, this was just after Idi Amin’s terror reign. He said, one of the first things that caught my eye when I came into the little town, the village, where I was going to spend my first night, and it was dark, were eight, nine-year-old kids with automatic weapons.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, shooting them off in the sky. And I’d drive by, it was like, they’d stare at me and point at me. I thought, no, no, no, no, no, not now.
You know, it took me enough to get here. But it was that kind of context. It was that kind of volatile setting.”

“And he thought, Lord, are you there? He pulled up at a little place, a dimly lit hotel, and he thought, well, I’ll spend the night, lonely, unable to connect with his wife at the hotel back in Nairobi. And he goes up to the counter, and the man that’s taking care of the registration is asleep.
So he wakes him up, speaks a little bit of English, and he registers, there’s one room left, one bed available. So he goes up two flights of stairs, and he gets to the room, opens the door, turns on this little naked light bulb hanging over a table, and one bed is unmade, and his bed is still made up. And he realized, I am sharing this room with somebody.
He said, I dropped to my knees, and I said, Lord, look, I’m afraid. I’m in a country I don’t know, in a culture that’s totally unfamiliar. I have no idea who sleeps in that bed.”

“And he said, just as I was finishing my prayer, boom, the door opens, and here’s this 6 foot 5 inch African saying, what are you doing in my room? Beautiful British English. And he stood up, and he said, I stood there, because this fellow is kind of short, and he said, believe me, I got this bed, and I won’t be here but just one night.
And the fellow said, what are you doing in my country? He said, well, I’m with a little organization called the Navigators. And he broke into this enormous grin, put his arms around this guy, and hugged him.
He said, he lifted me up off the floor and just danced around with me, is hugging me. Praise God, praise God, says this African. And he’s thinking, praise God, let me down.”

“You know, and they sit down at the table, and this brother in Christ, this fellow Christian, this African said, for two years, I had prayed that God would send someone to me from this organization. And he pulls out a little verse pack, and at the bottom of each of the verses, it says, the navigators, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He said, are you from Colorado Springs, Colorado?
He said, I was, but I’m coming to Uganda to begin a work for the navigator. That man became his best friend, a member of his board, helped him find a place to live, helped him rebuild a section of his home, taught him about the culture, helped him with a little bit of the language needs that he had, and he became his best friend for those 14 years they were there.

After 12, 14 years—I forget the exact number of years—they finished their work there. It was established.
Others from the staff of the Navigators came and picked up the work, and this dear little family came back. He had not been back quite a year. His son was finishing his high school, and the high school class was to go to Washington, DC for one of those field trips.
You know what they often do with high school kids? They take them there to look at the monuments and let them see the White House and these great scenes across the nation’s capital. He said to his boy before he left, put his arms around him, and he said, Son, here’s $40.
I want you to buy something that will be a great memory for you so that you can put it in your room and just call it all your own. This is your money. Do with it as you please.
So the kid goes to Washington, DC. They stay almost a week and he comes back with his package. He says, I want to surprise you, Dad”

“So he doesn’t let him come in his room until he finishes. And they walk in his room and the kid had bought a huge Ugandan flag that he put over his bed. He said, those are the best years of my life, Dad.
Talk about perspective. He feared that by going to Uganda, he would destroy or hurt or cripple his family when in fact, his son has a passion now for God’s work outside the borders of these United States. He would have never had that if he had not obeyed and walked through the open door.
God is full of surprises. And if you have come to a closed door, be very, very sensitive.”[1]

[1] From Insight for Living Daily Broadcast: Closed Doors, Open Doors, Part 2, Feb 13, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/insight-for-living-daily-broadcast/id89603501?i=1000691549656&r=838
This material may be protected by copyright.

First, Do you know Jesus yourself?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

The Death of James, Peter’s Deliverance From Prison (Acts 12:6–19)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 9, 2025

Maybe you have seen the 1960’s television show Hogan’s Heroes? Colonel Hogan was the leader of a group of POWs in a German prison of war camp during World War II. The show is comic and reveals how many times the POWs can spy on the Germans to get information to the American and Allied forces. As all of you know, being a prisoner is never that comic.

In my research, I read of a US Army Air Core pilot flying back to England and hitting some flack. He crashed in Germany and was placed in a Stalag. He was eventually released (probably after the war); however, he could never see the men he was on the bomber with again.

In the Bible, there is one comic story about Peter, the Apostle, being miraculously released from prison. Let’s read Acts 12:5-19, and then I will show you that God answers prayer and we serve an amazing God who is not limited.

Acts 12:5–19 (ESV)

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

⁶ Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. ⁷ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. ¹¹ When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

¹² When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. ¹³ And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

Let’s talk about this passage:

1. God hears our prayers (verses 6-10):
   1. In verse 5, we heard the people were praying.
   2. In verse 6, we see that Peter was asleep.
   3. Would you be asleep in a prison?
   4. He is asleep between two soldiers. More soldiers were guarding the doors, and he was sleeping. The prisons were probably not that comfortable.
   5. It was customary back then to have your right hand chained to a soldier’s left hand; however, it appears Peter was chained on both sides to a soldier.
   6. Peter could be content because he knew and followed the Scriptures: Peter was content with the situation. He had faith and knew everything was going to be okay. This could be because he knew he would die an old man (John 21:18-19), or he was just not anxious (Phil. 4:11).
   7. Peter knew other principles: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for Thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8). Or, “Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness” (Isa. 41:10).
   8. Peter wouldn’t be asleep for long.
   9. In verse 7, a light shines in; Peter is still asleep; however, now the guards are asleep too. Note, these are Roman guards. These are the best of the best, and they are sleeping!
   10. An Angel comes in and knocks him to wake him.
   11. The chains just fell off. Imagine that. How neat is that? Imagine being in a dark, dirty prison, and now it is all lit up by an angel, and your chains fall off.
   12. The angel tells him to put on his sandals and cloak.
   13. One of my sources suggested that Peter may have thought of this every time he laced his sandals and put on his cloak.
   14. Wow! What a thought, but think about this: this is a life-altering, life-changing experience. Would you forget it? An angel wakes him up.
   15. In the following few verses, Peter thinks this is a dream. He didn’t think it was real. They got up and went through some gates, including the one in the city. The gate opened by itself, and then the angel departed. The gate opened by itself. Realize that garage door and gate openers were not sold at Lowe’s in their day. This was God’s doing, and this is amazing. The angel just disappeared. Puff, gone.
   16. In verse 11, Peter realizes this is real. Peter had been thinking this was a dream the whole time. Peter did not think that this was real.
   17. I find that somewhat interesting. Peter witnessed the resurrection. He witnessed all the miracles of the resurrection. Remember Acts chapter 10, he witnessed that vision, but he did not think this was real. He could have thought this was simply another vision of what God wanted him to do. But he did not think it was real.
2. Peter at the house (Acts 12:11-17).
   1. Peter knocks on the door.
   2. A servant girl named Rhoda comes to answer; she hears Peter’s voice, and before she lets him in, she goes and tells the people he is there. They don’t believe her. However, she insists. They then say it is his angel. Peter keeps knocking, and eventually, they let him in.
   3. Peter tells them what happened and to tell James and the rest.
   4. They were praying for his release, and when he showed up, they did not believe it was him.
   5. Do we ever pray for something and not believe God will follow through?
   6. The story ends with Peter going to another place and Herod killing the guards.

Close:

Unfortunately, all prisoners of war do not get an escape like that. But wait, was Peter a prisoner of war? Yes! He was. We are all in a spiritual battle with the devil. They prayed, and God answered that prayer. We need to always pray about all things. We need not be surprised when God answers. Pray for God’s will and expect God’s will to come through. Also, remember there are many Christians right now being martyred for their faith. Pray for them.

Remember who you are in Christ.

Swindoll shares

Reading, in a little book called Jesus Makes Me Laugh, clever work, good humor, but underneath it is a real message, writes toward the end of the book, I remember going home from the Navy during World War II.

Because he is faithful.[1]

[1] From Insight for Living Daily Broadcast: God’s Mysterious Immutability, Part 2, Feb 5, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/insight-for-living-daily-broadcast/id89603501?i=1000688999795&r=1216
This material may be protected by copyright.

Let’s pray

God is Holy (Isa. 6:1-7)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 2, 2025

Once upon a time, there were two brothers, eight and ten years old, who were exceedingly mischievous. Whatever went wrong in the neighborhood, it turned out they had had a hand in it. Their parents were at their wits’ end trying to control them. Hearing about a priest nearby who worked with delinquent boys, the mother suggested to the father that they ask the priest to talk with the boys. The father replied, “Sure, do that before I kill them!”

The mother went to the priest and made her request. He agreed, but said he wanted to see the younger boy first and alone. So the mother sent him to the priest. The priest sat the boy down across a huge, impressive desk he sat behind. For about five minutes they just sat and stared at each other. Finally, the priest pointed his forefinger at the boy and asked, “Where is God?” The boy looked under the desk, in the corners of the room, all around, but said nothing. Again, louder, the priest pointed at the boy and asked, “Where is God?” Again the boy looked all around but said nothing. A third time, in a louder, firmer voice, the priest leaned far across the desk and put his forefinger almost to the boy’s nose, and asked, “WHERE IS GOD?” The boy panicked and ran all the way home.

Finding his older brother, he dragged him upstairs to their room and into the closet, where they usually plotted their mischief. He finally said, “We are in BIG trouble.” The older boy asked, “What do you mean, BIG trouble?” His brother replied, “God is missing, and they think we did it.”[1]

I don’t remember the date. I think it was a Sunday afternoon. A group of us went to a mall outside of Cincinnati. The group included Meagan and I, my brother, and my now sister-in-law. None of us were married at the time. I was twenty-one years old. While at the mall, we entered a jewelry store and looked at rings. It was not in our plans to look at engagement rings, but I could tell the one Meagan liked. It was a “princess cut” diamond ring. It was under the light and absolutely beautiful. The light made the diamond sparkle. It was the ring I knew I had to purchase for Meagan. I gave her that style ring a few months later as I proposed marriage to Meagan.

Do you ever notice that the jewelry looks more beautiful at the store? Why? The jewelry is clean and displayed in a way that shows its beauty. The light shows how gorgeous the diamonds are.

One could argue that the jewelry in the store is holy. That is a generic sense of the word. It means set apart for a purpose. That is very generic. It does not compare to the subject today, but I did want to use it to explore the holiness of God.

God is holy.

God is set apart. God is completely other than who we are.

My theme today:

God is holy; understand and take seriously the holiness of God.

Application:

Respond like Isaiah- woe is me…

Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. The only way we can come into His presence is through Jesus.

1. Isaiah in the temple.
   1. Look at Isaiah 6:1 (ESV) In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
   2. This gives us some context.
   3. Understand that Isaiah was already a prophet of the Lord. We can read about that in Isaiah 1.
   4. Now, King Uzziah had died which was 740 B.C. This marks the end of a lengthy reign of prosperity (2 Chron. 26).
   5. Uzziah ascended to the throne when he was sixteen years old. He reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. Think of it, fifty-two years!^[2]
   6. How many presidents have we seen in the last fifty-two years?
   7. Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, and Nixon.
   8. I like how R. C. Sproul shares: But when Isaiah entered the temple he saw another king, the Ultimate King, the One who sat forever on the throne of Judah. He saw the Lord.^[3]
   9. C. Sproul shares that the village of Rome was founded the same year Uzziah died. Also:
   10. He points out that most scholars think Isaiah is not seeing this in the temple but seeing into the Lord’s heavenly temple. Further, God created everything with what they need. He created fish with fins. God created Seraphim with the ability to cover themselves from the holiness of God.[4]
   11. So, Isaiah sees the Lord seated upon the throne.
   12. Did he see this? Yes.
   13. Was God literally there, or was this a vision?
   14. It was a vision, but we know it affected the temple Isaiah was in (verse 4).
2. The Holiness of God.
   1. Look at this. Isaiah sees the Lord upon a throne, high and lifted up.
   2. The train of His robe filled the temple.
   3. Isaiah is seeing the Lord in majesty.
   4. Once upon a time, I was in the sanctuary. I started with “once upon a time,” but this did happen. I was walking through and spending time in prayer. It was a Saturday evening, and it was dark outside. Then I thought I heard voices. Eventually, I did hear voices. After some phone calls, I realized that a radio station was coming through the speakers in the narthex. Now, that was quiet. However, what Isaiah sees is not quiet.
   5. Isaiah sees the greatness of God.
   6. How big is your view of God?
   7. I believe if we would only begin to recognize the awesomeness of God we would not trifle with Him.
   8. You are thinking, “I do not trifle with God.”
   9. Yes, you do.
   10. How seriously do you take worship?
   11. How seriously do you take sin? Do you realize that our sin is high treason against the creator of the universe?
   12. What if I told you that this facility had been exposed to a deadly virus and that anything you touched would contaminate you? What would you do? Would you hurry to wash your hands, clothes, and everything else? Would you wash them extra well? Would you try not to touch anything before you leave?
   13. Of course.
   14. Why don’t we think of sin that way?
   15. We are exposed, we are contaminated, and we do not care.
   16. God redeems us through Jesus, but we are not eager to seek Him to get help from our sins.
   17. God is holy.
   18. Isaiah 6:2–3 (ESV)
   19. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;  the whole earth is full of his glory!”
   20. This is more detail.
   21. There are angels.
   22. What do the angels do? They cover their faces, possibly because no one can see the Lord.
   23. They cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts…”
   24. Do you know this is the only attribute of God repeated like that?
   25. In Hebrew, we cannot use the term “holiest.” No, they must repeat something three times to express that God is the most holy.
   26. Sproul shares: Nowhere else in scripture is an attribute of God repeated three times.
   27. Nowhere do we hear that He is “love, love, love.”
   28. Many scholars think that holiness is not a single attribute but one that captures all the others. Holiness makes Him unique. Holiness points to the transcendent majesty, the superlative greatness, the otherness that characterizes God and makes Him unique and worthy of our worship.[5]
   29. Isaiah 6:4 (ESV) ⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
   30. What Isaiah saw affected creation.
   31. There was an earthquake.
   32. There was smoke.
   33. This was Isaiah experiencing the holiness of God.
   34. Timothy Keller shares:
   35. One of the more hilarious examples of the presence of the holy is in Mark 4 where Jesus is in the boat with his disciples. There is a storm that comes up, and they’re all afraid. He calms the storm, and they’re terrified, because the rescue is more terrifying to them than the peril from which they were rescued.
   36. The storm isn’t anywhere near as terrifying as to realize you’re in the presence of God Almighty. They were terrified. They said, “Who is this?” I don’t know what Ludwig Feuerbach and Freud thought about Mark 4. Those are the guys who tried to explain religion. They said, “Religion grew up because when human beings were primitive we were scared of nature. We were scared of the storms, so we had to invent a God we could go to and get help from. We were afraid of impersonal nature, so we had to invent a God who would enable us to deal with the frightening world we lived in.”^[6]
3. Isaiah’s response.
   1. Isaiah 6:5 (ESV)
   2. ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
   3. How do we respond to the holiness of God?
   4. If we read Scripture and something convicts us, do we repent? Do we ask God for help so that we can do better? Do we get help? Do we repent to those we sinned against?
   5. How do we respond if we are convicted in a sermon like this?
   6. Isaiah 6:6–7 (ESV) ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
   7. Sproul shares: A recent survey of ex-church members revealed that the main reason they stopped going to church was that they found it boring. It is difficult for many people to find worship a thrilling and moving experience. We note here, when God appeared in the temple, the doors and the thresholds were moved. The inert matter of doorposts, the inanimate thresholds, the wood and metal that could neither hear nor speak had the good sense to be moved by the presence of God. The literal meaning of the text is that they were shaken. They began to quake where they stood.^[7]
   8. How is God boring?
   9. I think too often, we try to entertain people because they find God boring.
   10. Again, Sproul: The doors of the temple were not the only things that were shaking. The thing that quaked the most in the building was the body of Isaiah. When he saw the living God, the reigning monarch of the universe displayed before his eyes in all of His holiness, Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me!”^[8]
   11. Do we know that we need forgiven?
   12. I saw in a video of a man getting pulled over by a police officer. The man quickly said, “I think I know why you pulled me over. Can I step out of the truck?” The officer said, “Yes.” The man said, “Can I step to the back of the truck?” The officer said, “Yes.” The man said, You see, the woman in the front seat is my wife. The woman in the back seat is my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law came to visit, and she and my wife started arguing. Eventually, my mother-in-law said to take her home right away. Officer, I am trying to get her home as quickly as possible. They may start talking if I take too long, and my mother-in-law may want to stay longer. Do you understand my problem?” The officer said, “Yes, I understand. I am going to give you a police escort. We will use the lights and everything.” They then left.
   13. That man will need to be forgiven for that one. Obviously, that is just for humor.
   14. Ha ha!
   15. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave the illustration for this in one of his sermons I’ve never forgotten, and some of you have certainly heard it. He says if somebody comes to you and says, “I’ve paid one of your bills,” you have no idea how excited to be. It could be they’ve paid postage due, paid a couple of dollars so a package that had postage due could be received. On the other hand, maybe they paid $40,000 of your back IRS taxes. Until you know the actual amount of the debt, you don’t know how joyful to be. The size of the debt actually determines the magnitude of the joy.^[9]
   16. Do we recognize the holiness of God?
4. How do we respond to God?
   1. In Genesis 15:9-17 we see the account of the covenant ceremony between God and Abraham.
   2. God is making a covenant with Abraham.
   3. Abraham brings God a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
   4. The goat and the heifer are cut in two.
   5. A deep sleep falls upon Abram.
   6. God walks between the animals.
   7. That is an ancient covenant ceremony in which God was saying, “If I do not keep my covenant with you, may I be like these animals.
   8. Two thousand years later, Jesus was stricken for us.
   9. The Israelites and we did not keep the covenant with God. Yet, our holy God was stricken for us.
   10. Romans 5:8 (ESV) …but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
   11. Jesus went to the cross, and He was stricken.
   12. Jesus went to the cross, and He was cursed.
   13. Jesus was slain for us.
   14. Why?
   15. Because God is holy, and we needed a holy sacrifice for our sins.
   16. Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. The only way we can come into His presence is through Jesus.
   17. How can we come into a relationship with a holy God? Only by receiving Him as Lord and Savior can we know Him. Jesus went to the cross for us.
   18. God is holy. That is why we need a Savior.

[1] https://www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/humor/where-is-god.html

^[2] R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 27.

^[3] R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 29.

[4] Renewing Your Mind. 03.10.2021

[5] Sproul, Renewing Your Mind; 03.11.2021

^[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[7] R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 39–40.

^[8] R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 40.

^[9] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

In College, I wrote a group paper titled Modern Martyrdom:

Here is a quote from a source we used:

“The grounds for hostility to the Christians were not always the same, and often opposition and persecution were localized. The loyalty of Christians to “Jesus as Lord,” however, was irreconcilable with the worship of the Roman emperor as “Lord,” and those emperors, such as Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, who were the most deeply committed to unity and reform were also the ones who recognized the Christians as a threat to those goals and who therefore undertook to eliminate the threat. As in the history of other religions, especially Islam, opposition produced the exact contrary of its intended purpose, and, in the epigram of the North African church father Tertullian, the “blood of the martyrs” became the “seed of the church.”

Is it over? Is persecution over?

The birth of a healthy baby girl is usually a joyous occasion. But when Meriam Ibrahim gave birth to her daughter, Maya, on Tuesday, May 27, it triggered a two-year countdown to her execution.

On May 15, 2014, the 27-year-old Sudanese doctor was sentenced to death for apostasy by a Sudanese court. In addition, she was to endure 100 lashes for the crime of committing adultery—with her Christian husband. The judge ruled that the lashing would be carried out after she had recovered from delivering her baby and that her death by hanging would occur when her baby reached age two so she would have time to nurse the infant.

During her trial, the judge asked the young woman three times to recant her Christian faith, but she refused each time.[1] [I think she was released after some time]

That was recent. I read that over 100 million people are persecuted right now. A few years ago, I read that the Bible is illegal in 52 countries.

But Christianity is growing in these persecuted countries. Figure that out.

Jesus said in:

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Paul the Apostle wrote in:

2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)

¹² Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…

So, today, we come to a passage where the Jerusalem church is persecuted. We will look at that passage. I wish to teach that passage, and I also want to talk about persecution today. Goals today:

1. Learn about Acts 12:1-5
2. Learn about persecution in the world
3. Be ready for your Christian faith to be challenged, maybe even violently, especially if you are young.

Acts 12:1–5 (ESV)

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. ² He killed James the brother of John with the sword, ³ and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

1. Let’s look at the passage: the apostles are persecuted.
   1. We have seen this before, but not so brutally.
   2. Now, it says, “about that time…”
   3. Take note: We are going back a few years before some of the previous events. This Herod—he died in A.D. 44. We know this.
   4. Things were going on, and it was political. So, what is going on? He wants to win points with his constituents and harm the apostles.
   5. Verse 2: He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
   6. There is a church history legend that James was witnessing until his death.
   7. He was trying to convert the person who was to behead him until his death. However, we do not know if some of those stories are factual. I like to believe they are true.
   8. Now, get this: James is killed, and that pleased the Jews. Can you believe it? It made the Jews feel good that someone was dead. So, Herod brings Peter in. Peter is locked up with 16 guards. Can you believe it? 16 guards.
   9. Peter, he is a dangerous man, right?
   10. We will find out that 16 guards were not enough. Yes, they will have one job, just one job!
   11. BUT— verse 5, there was a church praying, and they were praying for him fervently or earnestly. We’ll come back to that. But let me make a note right now. The American Church cannot handle persecution. Correction: Some American churches cannot handle persecution without changing to put the Word of God and the Gospel at the forefront. Additionally, We need holistic, communal prayer. However, we all have some waking up to do.
   12. Before we move on, James died. He died. Remember that death is not the end as a follower of Christ. Death is not the end. We have an eternal hope. In 1 Cor. 15:50, Paul writes: Where O death is the sting? As we talk about persecution, remember that James was saved. We have eternal life and eternal hope.
2.  Now, let’s talk about persecution.
   1. I know that this is a very depressing subject for some. For some, it is not for some of you. You are like, “Yes, a challenge. I’ll go, send me…”
   2. Sometimes, we often send people on a mission with the wrong expectations.
   3. Jesus did not do this. But we often glance over these verses, at least in America. We have John 15:20, in which Jesus said we will be persecuted. If they persecuted Him, they would persecute us. Now, we can look at this passage in three ways.
      1. We could say. Well, maybe not always, or perhaps we are verbally attacked or something like that. This may be true because I bet most of us have not been actually persecuted.
      2. Or, we may not be persecuted because we are not doing our job as witnesses.
         1. If I am being the witness of Jesus Christ, then the devil will kick back with persecution.
         2. Ephesians 6:12 says there is a real spiritual battle.
      3. There is a third option: maybe you are not persecuted because you do not know Jesus.
   4. What about hope for persecution? I will talk about some things that may give hope in a minute. But let me give a few other thoughts:
      1. Let me say that I have read books about Christians persecuted through the ages, and their testimonies seem to talk of Spirit-filled peace with them, though not always.
      2. Rev. 6:9-11: these are saints who died as martyrs:

Revelation 6:9–11 (ESV)

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

• Pray to be ready-
  • Several years ago, a church member asked me about being ready for persecution; here are some personal applications that I pray for myself and my children:
    1. I will be a faithful witness in persecution as these disciples/apostles were.
    2. I must be a man of prayer, seeking the Lord, and in relationship with Him so that I am ready to be a witness in persecution. In verse 5, we see the church praying for him.
    3. I must be in the Word, always being ready to give an answer with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
    4. I will know that persecution will come. Jesus said that we will be persecuted: Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20: Jesus says that they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
    5. I will remember those in Acts 5:41 who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ’s name.
    6. I will remember Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12, that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
    7. I will remember Jesus’ words, not to worry about what to say (Matthew 10:19).
    8. I will pray for my brothers and sisters in need, as we see in verse 5, earnest prayer.

Close:

Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We must be prepared to do this.

Jim Elliot wrote that and then he was martyred for Christ.

I am not going to ask you about commitment; that is implied.

I am going to ask you about prayer. Pray for the persecuted church.

Pray for the church in America, yourself, your children, and this church that we can be strong witnesses.

Others, do you know Jesus? Why would people go through this for Jesus?

For life everlasting, that is the answer. We always try to live longer, but we never will, not on our own.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] CNN and other articles on May, 16, 2014

https://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/africa/sudan-christian-woman-apostasy/index.html

The Offering for Jerusalem (Acts 11:27–30)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 19, 2025

Think about God’s love:

Tim Keller shares:

But if you want to know that infinitely high and transcendent God loves you, and you can enter into an intimate, personal love relationship with him, the only way to find that out is in the Scripture. Why? Some people say, “What do you mean, only in the Scripture? That doesn’t really make sense.”

Sure, you don’t need to believe God is love by reading the Scripture. In fact, lots and lots of people in New York over the years have told me, “I don’t believe in the Bible, because I believe in a God of love.” They say, “When I read the Bible I see this God of judgment, and he’s got his laws and all that sort of thing, but I don’t believe in a God of judgment. I believe in a God of love. That’s why I don’t believe the Bible.” Here’s what I always do. This is very Psalm 19-ish to do.

I say, “Oh, really? Okay, that’s interesting you believe God is a God of love. Where did that idea come from? Where did you get the idea that if there is a God, he must be a God of love? Did you look at nature, with all of its hurricanes, and volcanoes, and all of its forest fires, and all of its avalanches, and all of its tsunamis, and its tornadoes? Did you look at nature? Did you look at natural selection? Did you look at how nature really works? Did you see the animals in a pack, and then one of them is diseased, and they all turn and eat it?” Bye, Mom. You know, you’re holding the pack back.

Annie Dillard, who wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and won a Pulitzer Prize for it, went out into the woods by a creek in Virginia years ago to observe nature and thought it was going to fill her soul with a sense of love. It didn’t, because she saw that nature is red in tooth and claw! She saw it’s incredibly violent!^[1]

Think about that. People always think we can find ideas of love from nature, but I like how Tim Keller points out that you cannot. Christianity teaches a God of love. Christianity teaches that Christians are to love others. Someone once said, I think it was Fred Rogers, that whenever there is a tragedy, say a hurricane, look for the workers.

In this text, prophets come, and the church helps with a famine.

Let’s read the passage from Acts 11:27-30, and I want you to see that the church at Antioch agrees to help the church in Judea.

Acts 11:27–30 (ESV)

²⁷ Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). ²⁹ So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. ³⁰ And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

1. As we look at this passage notice that God sends prophets to tell us of a need. This is in verse 27.
   • Notice that God had already prepared the foundation for the prophets. So, in the previous few verses, God had opened up the Gospel to the Gentiles, and here in this passage, Antioch, this major city, had become this operation center for many to receive Christ. Now Barnabas had come and encouraged people to stay true to the Lord. That was verse 23. Barnabas is an encourager.
   • Then we come to verses 25 and 26, and Barnabas had gone to get Paul, and they teach the people for a whole year and are first called Christians in Antioch.
   • Why does that matter? Why do I belabor that? Why do I go back to the context? To be Christians means that they identify with Christ.
   • Now, we come to verse 27, and the Bible says, “About that time…” or in the N.I.V., it says, “During this time…” or the ESV says, “Now in these days…” It was while God was laying the foundation of the discipleship that God sent prophets.
   • I have a strong application that just hit me square in the jaw. Am I ready to hear from God today? Are you prepared to hear from God today? Suppose a prophet came here like this; what would I do? How would I react? What would I say? How would I respond?
   • They responded positively because they were being taught the Word of God.
   • They responded positively because they were being a disciple.
   • They responded positively because they were following Christ.
   • They responded positively because Barnabas encouraged them to stay true to the Lord.
   • They responded positively because they were Christ-ians—they identified with Christ.
   • Do I identify with Christ?
   • Do you identify with Christ?
   • Are you ready to hear from a prophet?
   • They were ready, and then the prophets came during this time.
   • So, one of them was Agabus, and verse 28 says that he stood up and spoke.
   • Know that the Bible says that he spoke “Through the Spirit.” He did not just talk in any way but “through the Spirit.” He has the gift of prophecy from the Holy Spirit.
   • He told of a severe famine. This famine was to spread over the entire Roman world.
   • This is likely hyperbole. However, you should also note that there is a parenthesis. Luke tells us that this happened under Claudius’s reign. We know that there were several famines under him.
2. In verses 29-30, the church responds.
3. 1. We see that the church responds.
   2. They give.
   3. I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are willing to serve. They could have said, “No, no, no, choose someone else; I am not going on a mission trip to Jerusalem.” But they did not.
   4. I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are also trustworthy.
   5. I pray that I am trustworthy as well.
   6. I pray that I am willing to serve.

Close:

According to People magazine, two customers walked into a Lincoln, Neb., Cracker Barrel and asked to be seated with the “grumpiest” server they had. The restaurant host replied that there were no grumpy servers in that restaurant, but they did have the “happiest” server: 18-year-old Abigail Sailors.

After seating, the two patrons listened to Sailors’ life story, which included a mother incapacitated by a car crash, a father incarcerated for abuse, and a horrible foster care experience for herself and her four siblings. She finally found a forever home with John and Susi Sailors about five years ago. Sailors currently attends North Dakota’s Trinity Bible College where she majors in psychology and youth ministry and participates in basketball. But she admitted to her guests that she wasn’t sure how she would afford the next semester, since she was paying her own way.

“I’m just thankful,” she told the Lincoln Journal-Star. “Everything we went through, my attitude is: God blessed me with a lot of things. I’m doing good. That’s all that matters to me.”

One of the customers—a Trinity alumni, as it turns out—then proceeded to write a check to Sailors for $5,000 for tuition and another $1,000 for books and supplies, then left her a $100 tip. Sailors told the local media she couldn’t believe it and tried to thank them, but they both replied, “Thank God.”

Maybe you cannot serve in that way, but how can you serve?

First, do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

The Antioch Church Witnesses to Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 12, 2025

Think back for a minute to your days in school. What happens when there is a school bully? Okay, so there is a school bully, and there might be a few options; one option is that everyone will fight him and take him down. Everyone knows that he is the bully, so you all agree that at such and such a day, it is time to say no more, and everyone can take him out. But you know what too often might happen? No one will make the first move, right?

I love history. I love reading historical literature. One reason Rome could win so many battles was not because their army was better trained but because they could toughen things out longer. In ancient warfare, the battles were fought in hand-to-hand combat, so the battles were fought until one army fled. The Roman army was tougher. Okay, what am I getting at, you ask? Am I looking for another excuse to talk about William Wallace? No. I want to talk about Christian persecution.

Here we are in Acts 11:19-26, and it seems to be one of Luke’s common summary passages. He is referring to what has happened since Stephen’s stoning. Now, in the last chapter and the beginning of this chapter, God has opened Peter and some of the Jews in Jerusalem up to Gentiles.

Let’s read Acts 11:19-26.

My theme: the Antioch church witnesses to the Gentiles.

The application: Verses 23 and 24, stay True to the Lord, and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas.

Turn in your Bibles to Acts 11:19-26:

Acts 11:19–26 (ESV)

¹⁹ Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, ²⁴ for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. ²⁵ So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

1. The church begins to grow in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:19-21).
   1. Those who were scattered because of the persecution. Now, you must wonder, “What persecution is he writing about?” We must look back to Stephen’s stoning, which was in Acts 8:1 and 4, and that was when Saul was breathing murderous threats upon the church. At that time, there were wolves after the church. Everyone fled, everyone fled, except… except who?
   2. I heard about this excellent illustration recently. Someone comes to the house with a gun, so everyone will run except who? The kids may flee, the neighbors or friends can flee, but the dad will not flee. The dad is there to protect his children and his wife.
   3. In this case, this was true. The early believers all flee, except the apostles. The apostles stay in Jerusalem and protect the church.
   4. Wolves were on the attack, but they knew the Lord was in control.
   5. In verse 19, they made it through different cities and then to Antioch. Antioch was a very large city. Antioch was the third largest urban city of antiquity behind Rome and Alexandria. Interesting that this is where God will launch the mission to the Gentiles. That is so awesome!
   6. But at this point, the mission is only to Jews.
   7. Then there were some, we find in verse 20, who also started preaching to Gentiles: Praise God! Galatians 3:28!
   8. A large number who believed turned to the Lord. These people trusted the message of Jesus and repented, which is what it means to turn their lives over to Jesus.
2. Barnabas comes to Antioch to encourage the believers (Acts 11:22-26).
   1. Once again, in verse 22, we see that the Jerusalem church is still the home base. They hear something is going on, so they send Barnabas.
   2. In verse 23, what does he do? He rejoices.
   3. What do you do when you hear God does something amazing?
   4. What do I do when I hear God does something amazing?
   5. Do we rejoice?
   6. We become spiritual introverts instead of extroverts; we must outspokenly praise God!
   7. He encouraged them: this means that he brought them aid. He encouraged them to remain true to the Lord.
   8. That is an application for all of us. Remain True to the Lord— don’t fall away—stay true.
   9. Barnabas saw all these new believers.
   10. He is saying, “Remain faithful.”
   11. Look at the description of Barnabas in verse 24:
       1. He was a good man (that is only given by Luke about Joseph of Arimathea in Luke 23:50);
       2. Full of the Holy Spirit;
       3. Full of faith.

1. People were saved

That is something to praise God about.

Barnabas needed help. What did he do?

He went for Saul, and he searched for him. Now, it has been about nine years since Saul has become a believer, and verse 25 describes it as though it was hard to find him, but Barnabas finds him. Saul and Barnabas teach the people for a year. They taught great numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Saul may have been an outcast from his family by now for his Christianity. Also, Luke is setting this up for Acts 13 and Saul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey.

Notice something about the word “Christians”:

“It contains Jewish thought as the equivalent of the Messiah, the Anointed. (ii) It shows the Greek language in the substantive—’Christ.’ (iii) It also includes the Latin language in the adjectival ending ‘ians’ (Latin, iani). This universality is a reminder of the language of the title on the Cross.”

Something else, the “ians” means that we identify with Christ.

Close:

Swindoll shares:

Do you recall what David did after he killed Goliath? God had already appointed the young shepherd as the next king of Israel. Most young conquerors would have located the nearest Macy’s and tried on crowns. Not David. He went right back to the Judean hills to keep his father’s sheep—a true shepherd with a servant’s heart.

Paul kept a similar vigil in Tarsus. He waited patiently until Barnabas tapped him on the shoulder. Only then did he step into that critical, highly visible role of leadership. I find nothing more attractive in a gifted and competent leader than authentic humility. Paul’s giftedness was framed in the crucible of solitude where he had been honed and retooled by the living Christ.

The evangelist Dwight L. Moody, although unschooled, was a gifted man of God preaching in Birmingham, England, far back in 1875. A noted congregational minister and well-respected theologian, Dr. R. W. Dale, cooperated in that enormously successful campaign. After watching and listening to Moody preach and witnessing the incredible results of the ministry of that simple man, Dr. Dale wrote in his denominational magazine, “I told Mr. Moody that the work was most plainly of God, for I could see no real relation between him and what he had done. Moody laughed cheerily and said, ‘I should be very sorry if it were otherwise.'” No defensiveness, no feeling of being put upon, no embarrassing uneasiness. Moody was the most surprised of anyone that God chose to use him so mightily.

That was Paul. No wonder Barnabas wanted Paul to lead the program in Antioch. What a duet they sang! For an entire year these two men served side by side, and God was greatly glorified.

I love Warren Wiersbe’s succinct definition of ministry: “Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.” Paul and Barnabas could have sat for that portrait. Why did Paul and Barnabas experience such pleasure in serving together? No competition. No battle of egos. No one threatened by the other’s gifts. No hidden agendas. No unresolved conflicts. Their single-minded goal was to magnify Christ. It didn’t matter if the crowds multiplied to thousands or shrank to only a few. All that mattered was that Christ be proclaimed and worshipped.

Praise God for the power of two![1]

The application for us is in verses 23 and 24: stay true to the Lord, and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas. He was a good man, full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. So, can we pursue being full of the Holy Spirit? Can we pursue being a good man or woman? Can we pursue being full of faith?

Do you identify with Christ? Are you a Christ-“ian”? If so, go and make disciples as they did in this passage.

God created us to be with him (Genesis 1-2).

Our sin separated us from God (Genesis 3).

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Genesis 4-Malachi 4).

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matthew – Luke).

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John-Jude).

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Revelation 22:5).

Pray

[1] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-power-of-two1

Special topic: Knowing God In the Details (John 17:3; Gal. 5:22-23)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 5, 2025

Pastor J. D. Greear writes:

I once heard the story of a man named Steve who, when he was 2 years old, became deaf after contracting spinal meningitis. For the next 58 years of his life, he lived in total silence—no music, no laughter, no voices of his loved ones. His life was full and happy enough, especially since he couldn’t remember much of the time before he lost his hearing. He had resigned himself, for better or worse, to life without sound.

Then, in 2001, his doctor proposed a procedure that could change Steve’s life forever.

This new surgical procedure would implant a sound wave detection device that could bypass the nonfunctioning part of Steve’s ear. Essentially, the device would transmit the audio signals directly to the auditory nerve in the brain. It wasn’t a dangerous procedure, so Steve happily decided to try it. But there was an annoying catch: They wouldn’t know if the surgery had been successful for six weeks. (What must those six weeks have been like?)

Finally, the day arrived. Steve and his wife came back to the audiologist’s office, nervous and excited. The audiologist programmed the cochlear implant on his device, held his finger over the final key, and looked to Steve to ask him if he was ready. Steve gave the go-ahead, and the audiologist pressed the button.

Then, the audiologist turned to Steve’s wife and gave a silent signal, prompting her to say something. She leaned toward Steve and gently said, “I love you.” Steve’s face broke into a bright smile. Not only could he hear again, but the first sounds he’d heard in six decades were words of personal love. Both he and his wife wept as they held each other, chattering away for the first time ever.[1]

I love that story!

What does it mean to know someone? Do you ever think about how profound it is to be able to say, ‘“My’ wife,” or ‘“My’ son,” or ‘“My’ daughter,” or ‘“My’ mom.” Putting that possessive pronoun, “my,” in front of the noun changes things. It is personal. It shows intimacy. It shows a personal connection. When I married Meagan, she became ‘“my’ wife.” She is not “your” wife. She is not someone else’s wife. She is “My” wife. There is a proper personal connection there.

Likewise, is Jesus “your” Savior? Is Jesus “your” friend? Do you have a relationship with Jesus?

Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

¹⁷       The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

                  he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

                  he will exult over you with loud singing.

Today, is a special topic Sunday. Next week, we will return to Acts.

My theme is:

Knowing Jesus in the details

1. How do we know Him?
   1. John 17:3 (ESV) ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
   2. This verse is part of Jesus’s high priestly prayer.
   3. Jesus is spending time in prayer prior to the crucifixion.
   4. Jesus knew that the time had come (John 17:1) and now He is praying.
   5. Jesus talks about Himself in the second and third person. Glorify “Your” Son (John 17:1). Then, in verses 2-3 Jesus referred to Himself in the third person.
   6. In this prayer, Jesus shares how we receive eternal life.
   7. We must “know” the only true God. We must know Jesus Christ, whom He sent.
   8. Do we know Him?
   9. Do we know the real Jesus. Tim Keller shares about Heb 1:3:

      You know the average person sees … Here’s a book written to people in a setting just like ours, and it will not compromise. It starts right out saying what it says, and surely there are people today who say, “We’re never going to have global peace like this until everyone in their religion is willing to admit that all religions are equal, until everyone stops claiming, ‘My religion is the best one,’ or “My religion is the superior one.’ ”

      They say, “As long as people say things like this, we’re not going to have peace. Until everyone admits all religions are equally valid, we’re never going to have global peace.” I want to say in response to that, that is by no means the way to get global peace in the slightest. Here’s why. The only way all religions could be equally valid is if you assume either there is no God or there is a God who doesn’t hold people accountable for what they believe. Of course, that God is different than the God of all other religions.

      But do you hear what you’re saying? When you say all religions are equally valid, you are assuming a very particular view of God which you’re saying is better than what everyone else believes. Therefore, when you say, “Stop making exclusive claims! Religions have to stop making exclusive claims,” that is the most exclusive possible claim.

      Yet you won’t admit what you’re doing. What you’re saying is, “My white, Western, relativistic take on objectivity and subjectivity is the right one. Religions are subjectively true, but objectively they’re all basically the same.” You’re taking your view and putting it on top of everybody else’s.

      When another religion, when any religion says, “My religion is the best one. Convert!” there’s integrity there. There’s openness there. There’s self-knowledge there. There’s consistency there. But when you say, “All religions are equal. No religion should claim to be the superior one,” you’re making your spiritual view of reality the superior one. That’s hypocrisy. It’s infuriating to all the adherents of all other religions, and it will never lead to global peace.

      Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

   10. This is not referring to a one-time prayer.
   11. Dallas Willard shares: Accordingly, the only description of eternal life found in the words we have from Jesus is “This is eternal life, that they [his disciples] may know you, the only real God, and Jesus the anointed, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). This may sound to us like “mere head knowledge.” But the biblical “know” always refers to an intimate, personal, interactive relationship.[2]
   12. Do we have an intimate, personal, interactive relationship with God?
   13. First, have we “Firmly made the decision to be with Him”?
   14. Have you decided that you want to live with Him? That would mean having a relationship with Him.
   15. Have you decided “to become like Him”?
   16. Have you decided “to learn and do all that He says”?
   17. Have you decided “to arrange your affairs around Him”?
   18. If you have done that and are striving for it, then I think you know God.
   19. This assumes confessing we are a sinner in need of a Savior. That means repenting.
   20. This assumes believing in Jesus as the One and only Savior.
   21. John 14:6
   22. John 3:16
   23. This assumes trusting in Him and committing to Him (Luke 9:23).

Tim Keller shares:

Jean-Paul Sartre in his work Being and Nothingness, where he has this very famous illustration. He says imagine yourself in a room, and you see a keyhole, and you see light through the keyhole. When you get down and look through the keyhole, you see people doing things, and they don’t know you’re watching.

Wow. There’s nothing more empowering and satisfying than to be the unviewed viewer, to be able to see everything and they don’t know you’re watching. You can see them; they can’t see you. One-way mirror. You can see them; they can’t see you. Now you have power. You’re in the driver’s seat.

Suddenly, in this illustration, as you’re looking through the keyhole and feeling really good, you hear a noise and you look behind you. You see another keyhole, and you see a little eye through that keyhole. You realize your unviewed viewing is being viewed by an unviewed viewer. You are now the object, not the subject. You’re dehumanized, and it’s unbearable. Why?

What Sartre says is there’s nothing more dehumanizing than to be out of control with what people see of you. We need to control how people see us. We need to control what people see. For someone to have access, for it to be uncovered, for someone to have complete access to what you’re thinking and what you’re doing and how you’re living without you knowing it or being in control of it is utterly dehumanizing. We cannot bear it. Why?

That’s an interesting illustration, isn’t it? Of course, Sartre is an existentialist. Sartre of course does not believe in moral absolutes. Of course he doesn’t believe we’re supposed to live up to somebody else’s standards for us. Of course not. Yet he says it is absolutely endemic to every human being to desperately want to be covered. We do not want people to see who we are. We don’t want people to see what we do, how we think. Why?

What Sartre is saying is if anybody has that kind of access to us, they will see things of which we are ashamed. We will do things, we will say things, we will think things of which we are deeply ashamed, and we cannot bear to have other people looking at it, to be able to look inside, to catch us. Why would that be? It’s stupid, frankly. It’s stupid to say, “Well, you traditional people have problems with guilt and shame, but you see, we create our own standards.”

What Sartre is pointing out is we don’t live up to our own standards either. Sure, here’s a traditional society, and they say, “The meaning in life is to live according to the given standards.” Here is our modern Western society, and they say, “The meaning in life is for you to work out your own standards,” but you don’t live up to your own standards either. You’re never the person you say you want to be. You’re never the person you aspire to be. You’re never the person you claim to be. Never.

That means everybody has a problem with guilt and shame. Everybody desperately needs to be covered. Everybody desperately wants to be covered, has to be covered, has to keep people from seeing who we really are. When we are exposed, we’re filled with guilt and shame. That’s true no matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what your century. It doesn’t matter what your culture. That’s why Franz Kafka says about modern people today … He was talking about the twentieth century, but it’s also true of the twenty-first century.

He says, “The state we find ourselves in today is we feel sinful quite independent of guilt.” That’s in his diaries. All of the commentators say … It was a brilliant thing. What he’s saying is we don’t have the concept of guilt. We’re sophisticated. We laugh at this whole idea of guilt, yet we still sense there’s something wrong with us. You may laugh. “I don’t believe in heaven or hell or the moral law. I don’t believe in sin.” Yet you know in yourself, your own heart, there’s a voice that’s always there calling you an idiot, calling you a fool, calling you a failure.^[3]

We need to be covered. We need forgiveness. We know that inside. We can only get that in Jesus.

2. Firmly making the decision to be with Him gives you eternal life.

1. 1. Eternal life means that we are alive spiritually.
   2. Are you alive spiritually?
   3. Tim Keller shares:
   4. Christianity is not defined in terms of intellect or morality. It’s not defined in terms of quantity, but in terms of essence and quality, and a change of essence, and a new constitution engrafted into your being.^[4]
   5. Keller defines it more. Plant life versus animal life, versus human life.
   6. But, we are dead spiritually without Jesus. Eternal life makes us alive spiritually. This means we know Jesus now.
   7. A person who gets eternal life says, “I was as uncomprehending of holiness, of love, of eternal life, of the righteousness God gives, of adoption into his family, of the gift of salvation, of heaven and hell … I was as uncomprehending of those things as an animal is uncomprehending of beauty and ugliness, of justice and tragedy.”^[5]
   8. What happens without eternal life is the concepts of holiness and of righteousness, of heaven and hell, spiritual truths, spiritual realities either are nonsense to a person without eternal life or they are simple abstractions, but they are not solidities, they’re not realities. They don’t affect you; they don’t control you. You never act as if they’re there. All the difference in the world … A person who becomes a Christian, a person who has received eternal life says, “Suddenly, there is a whole new part of reality I never saw. It never affected me. Those realities were never there. It’s like night and day.”
   9. A Christian is somebody to whom these realities have become realities indeed. They’ve become no longer abstractions. They’re not philosophical or academic things. They are realities. They are at the center of the being. They make a difference.
   10. The truth becomes alive. Spiritual truths become alive.^[6]
   11. Are you alive spiritually? Do you know Jesus?

• Knowing Him in the details?
  1. When we know Jesus, we have a relationship with Him.
  2. Oftentimes, I have talked about this with spiritual disciplines. I have talked about prayer, Bible study, fasting, silence, etc.
  3. But, do we care about the fruit?
  4. If an apple tree did not produce apples, but tomatoes it would have serious problems.
  5. Do we pray—“Lord, help me to have the fruit of a relationship with You.”?
  6. Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)
  7. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
  8. I call that knowing God in the details.

Dallas Willard shares:

Our problem is that we don’t truly see the greatness of Christ. In his book Your God Is Too Small, J. B. Phillips laid his finger on the chronic problem of failing to grasp how big God is and our failure to understand the greatness of Christ. When Christians talk about Jesus, they struggle because they have a tiny Christ, a puny Christ who doesn’t compare well with others.

My University of Southern California students have occasionally asked, “Why are you a disciple of Jesus?” My answer has been to ask, “Who else did you have in mind?” And I mean this seriously. They’ve wanted to talk about Buddha, Gandhi, or even their favorite musician or politician, but none of them compare to Christ on close examination.

The reality is that everyone is following somebody. But people are typically not thinking about what is guiding their lives. Good questions for each of us to ask are, Who am I really following? Who do I look up to? Who are my role models? No matter who that might be, that person’s goodness is finite and even limited. But the goodness of God available through following Jesus is so unfathomable you will never see the end of it.[1]

A lot of folks sitting in range of the kingdom are not there for the purpose of discipleship. Often it’s because they haven’t been challenged or even taught how to be a disciple. Other times, they’ve had it explained and have turned away. Even in the Western world, many people have never heard anything about life in the kingdom of God. They think the church is the building on the corner instead of a people who are infiltrating the whole world. This will continue until people realize the solution to human problems is not a human solution. It is learning to live in the kingdom of God through apprenticeship to Jesus Christ and increasingly becoming like him and of his kingdom.[2]

 Firmly make the decision to be with Him.

In order to become like Him, to learn and do all that He says, and to arrange your affairs around Him.

Prayer

[1] Willard, Dallas. The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God (pp. 83-84). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

[2] Willard, Dallas. The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God (pp. 96-97). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

[1] J. D. Greear: blog on 11.19.2024

https://jdgreear.com/the-first-sounds-we-hear-are-words-of-personal-love/

[2] From The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. Copyright © 1997 by Dallas Willard. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

^[3] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[4] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[5] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).