YOUTH STS LESSON 204 PAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY

TEXT: Acts 13:1-52; 14:1-28

MEMORY VERSE:

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2).

The commission of Paul and Barnabas by the Holy Ghost resulted into the first missionary journey of Paul. This commission set forth as a fulfilment of Christ’s prophetic instruction to the disciples before His ascension.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The early Church had fulfilled the Great Commission in Jerusalem (Acts 2:14), Judaea (Acts 8:1), Samaria (Acts 8:5,14,15) but were yet to witness to “the uttermost part of the earth”. Furthermore, this commission was the beginning of Paul to specifically carry out his ministry as was revealed by the Lord on the day of his conversion (Acts 9:15).

From our text, the Church in Antioch had grown both spiritually and numerically. She had developed her membership so that some could become missionaries. Despite the great fellowship going on in Antioch, the Holy Spirit preferred reaching out to souls dying in sins in both the home and foreign missions.

In this first missionary work, we could learn the pattern, programme, principles, problems and prospects facing soul-winners on the mission field. The soul-winners in our text give us examples of the power of unity and the place of the Holy Spirit in confronting the devil and his agents while preaching the gospel.

In addition, Saul’s name was changed to Paul by God (Acts 13:9). This is what the grace of God could accomplish in every life: (1 Corinthians 15:10).

1. DEVELOPING SAINTS FOR SOUL-WINNING AND SERVICE

(Acts 13:1-5; 11:19-26; Ezra 7:10; Micah 3:5-8; 6:2-5; 1 Corinthians 12:28-31; Ephesians 4:11-16; John 3:1,2; Acts 3:22; Matthew 5:1,2; 7:28,29; Colossians 1:28; Amos 3:7,8).

“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul” (Acts 13:1).

Antioch was the capital of Syria and was situated on the Mediterranean sea. The Church in this city consisted of notable Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene. Barnabas was sent by the Church at Jerusalem to oversee the young Church at Antioch (Acts 11:22-24).

As the work prospered in Antioch, Barnabas went to Tarsus and brought Saul to this city. This was where disciples were first called Christians; which means followers of Christ (Acts 11:25,26).

With scriptural and balanced teachings of the word of God, this Church became a central point of spiritual activities where believers were discovered and developed for soul-winning and service. In this Church, there was a concentration of prophets and teachers like Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen and Saul.

Question 1:

(a) Who are prophets and teachers?
(b) Does the Church need prophets and teachers today?
(c) What are the responsibilities of prophets and teachers?

A Bible-based prophet is someone who acts as a spokesperson between God and humanity. Whilst a prophet declares and predicts the mind of God (Micah 3:8; Acts 3:19-26), a teacher of the word of God teaches, explains, interprets, applies and presents clearly and correctly the word of God to His people in a balanced manner (Ezra 7:6,10; Nehemiah 8:1-8).

Today, the Church is in need of prophets and teachers from God to declare the word of God without favour and fear. Timothy was instructed to “teach and exhort” (1 Timothy 6:2), commanded to teach (1 Timothy 4:11), appoint leaders who are “apt (able) to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 2:24), commit to faithful men “who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:1,2) and women were to be “teachers of good things” (Titus 2:3).

Also, in the teaching ministry, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are involved (Exodus 4:12; Isaiah 28:26; Ephesians 4:20,21; Luke 12:12).

The plan and purpose of God is:
“… I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go” (Isaiah 48:17).

The responsibilities of a true prophet of God include:

1. To pray and intercede for the people (Genesis 20:7,17; Jeremiah 37:3; 42:1-4; 27:18)
2. To preach or declare the word of God faithfully (Jeremiah 23:28; Micah 3:8; Acts 21:8,9)
3. To lead the people of God in obedience to the word of God and holiness (Micah 3:3-5)
4. To direct the people of God from danger (2 Kings 6:8-12)
5. To restore backsliders to God (Judges 6:7-10)
6. To give the knowledge of salvation to the people (Luke 1:76-78; 2:36-38)
7. To lead people in the way of God (Psalm 77:20)
8. To exhort and confirm saints in the Lord (Acts 15:32)
9. To perfect and edify the saints (Ephesians 4:11-14)
10. To bring solutions to the challenges of life from God to the people (1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 5:1-4,13,14; 7:1,2,18-20; Acts 11:27-30).

Paul the apostle said:
“Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity” (1 Timothy 2:7).

The duties of a teacher from God are to ensure the people understand the word of God (Nehemiah 8:7), explain distinctly the word of God (Nehemiah 8:8), teach with the wisdom of God (Colossians 1:28), develop and mature saints (Ephesians 4:11-14), teach all the counsels of God (Matthew 28:20), show the way to the people on how to walk with God and work for God (Exodus 18:20), and diligent in the things of the Lord (Acts 18:24-28).

Our prayer should be that our teachers should not be removed to a corner (Isaiah 30:20). To function effectively and efficiently as prophets (prophetess) and teachers of the word, we must discover and develop the gifts of God in us (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6).

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2).

While the fellowship and ministry characterised with teaching and prophetic gifts were going on, the Holy Spirit revealed God’s will regarding the missionary call of Barnabas and Saul. Interestingly, none disputed, doubted or despised the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Church simply prayed, fasted and laid their hands on them, signifying their support and cooperation.

Question 2:

What lessons can we learn from the response of the Church in Antioch to the directive of the Holy Spirit concerning Barnabas and Saul?

1. As we behold the early Church sending out missionaries, we see orderliness, carefulness, gravity and spirituality attached to their mission activities (1 Corinthians 14:40).
2. Mature men were released for the work of soul-winning. Ordinarily, these should come from a spiritually revived Church (Acts 11:22-26).
3. The prayer, provisions and support of the Church is needed for success in the mission work.
4. The qualities of the missionaries are worth noting. They were selfless, mission-minded and compassionate.
5. They were converted, called and commissioned for this great work.
6. They were led by the Holy Spirit to where the word would be preached (Acts 13:4,5).
7. They focused on the souls without distractions.

However, as students, we are to wait till we complete our studies and mature both spiritually and physically before we launch into mission work.

“So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus” (Acts 13:4).

Paul and Barnabas left Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch and sailed to the Island of Cyprus and landed at Salamis. They went into the synagogues and “preached the word of God”. The church today should learn from this first missionary journey in terms of the pattern, principles, plan, and programme for mission work. With the aid of technology and modern equipment, much could be achieved in reaching more people with the gospel of Christ.

DELIVERING SOULS FROM SINS BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

(Acts 13:6-43; Nehemiah 4:1-23; 6:1-14; Acts 8:9-24; 16:16-24; Luke 4:16-19; Acts 8:20-25; 16:16-18; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Ephesians 6:10-20)

“And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:” (Acts 13:6).

In Paphos, Barnabas and Paul met two notable people. The first was Bar-jesus, a false prophet, who opposed the missionaries. Bar-jesus is a type of foe with whom Christianity has to contend with. His purpose was to turn souls from the Christian faith. Today, we may face or meet youths who act as Barjesus to divert or despise the truth impressed on the minds of people who desire to hear the gospel.

Question 3:

What activities and strategies are Satan and his agents are using to hinder the salvation of souls?

“For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

The Devil is the great enemy of God, Christ, Spirit of God, ministers of God and the children of God. He always attempts to hinder the plan, programme and progress of God and His Kingdom. The Christian youths should not be ignorant of his strategies and devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Some of his activities and strategies against the salvation of souls include:

1. Blinding the minds of sinners against God and His word (2 Corinthians 4:3,4)
2. Hindering ministers from reaching out to souls at a suitable opportunity (1 Thessalonians 2:17,18)
3. Seeking to destroy souls (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8,9)
4. Causing evils and withstanding the word of God (2 Timothy 4:14-18)
5. Introducing bad examples to influence the fellowship negatively (Matthew 13:19)
6. Stirring up persecution against ministers and Christians (Acts 16:19-24)
7. Seeking to corrupt the Church (Acts 5:3-11)

In all these, we must not be terrified by the adversaries (Philippians 1:28).

Perfect! I’ll continue exactly where we left off and format the rest of your lesson word-for-word, keeping all Bible passages bolded.

In Paphos, the second notable person was Sergius Paulus, the deputy of the country. He was a Roman official and the governor of the Island. He was a prudent man, who “desired to hear the word of God”. But Elymas the sorcerer withstood Barnabas and Paul and “sought to turn away the deputy from the faith.” Preaching the gospel is fighting to deliver souls from Satan. We must “Fight the good fight of faith” and “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (1 Timothy 6:12; Jude 3).

Question 4:

Why should believers be filled with the Spirit’s power for greater effectiveness in soul-winning and service?

In the face of the contest from the enemy, Paul, who had been “sent forth by the Holy Ghost” and now “filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him”, demonstrated boldness, courage, and forthrightness in dealing with the sorcerer. The Holy Ghost gave him the power to denounce Elymas, pointing to the secret root of evil in the false prophet’s life. He called and described him as “full of all subtilty and all mischief”, a “child of the devil” and “enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10).

Hence, Paul pronounced judgment upon Bar-jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:11). Through the demonstration of God’s power upon Bar-jesus, the deputy received the Lord. “Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord” (Acts 13:12).

The miraculous manifestation broke the spell and exposed falsehood. The miracle proved to be the key to the heart of the deputy and the heathen nation. “Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:13).

We also observed that through this act, Paul received greater approval upon his ministry and became the leader of the missionary team (Acts 13:13). Although the missionaries achieved great success at Paphos, yet they still launched out to Antioch in Pisidia. They had the same vision and passion like Jesus their Master (Luke 4:43,44). They truly “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Paul knew the kind of congregation he had: a combination of the Jews, who naturally would make their boast of everything God could give to Abraham and his descendants (Romans 2:17-20). The Gentiles might have been subdued in the inferiority complex imposed on them by the boastful Jews. This informed how he presented his message without starting off in an offensive way.

He started and prepared the mind of his audience by keeping the prestige of the Jews in the congregation, altogether without offending or disregarding the Gentiles. He portrayed the Jews as being chosen and exalted by God. They were specially attended to and delivered by God from Egypt. Then he traced their history in the wilderness to the time of the kings and prophets to sustain the attention of the Jews (Acts 13:18-21).

Furthermore, he spoke about the birth of the Messiah, a Saviour of Israel, through David. They were all captured by the presentation of the history that they could not stop it. Then he began the gospel preaching. He exalted Jesus and presented Him to the “children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever” was among them (all Gentiles). He began to talk about the suffering and the death of Christ. After that, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. This he called the good news (Acts 13:32,33).

Question 5:

What important attribute do we need to successfully preach the gospel?

Paul was able to make his audience listen to the gospel with the help of the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gave him. He even regarded himself as “a wise masterbuilder”. His approach to the preaching of the gospel was not to deliberately offend in anything. He always tried to start his message from a point acceptable to his audience (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

To be a successful preacher of the gospel, we need wisdom. The Bible makes it clear that wisdom is necessary if one must be an effective soul-winner (Daniel 12:3; Proverbs 11:30).

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).

Paul preached that the forgiveness and the complete justification which the men had long desired, for which they had always made several sacrifices, can only be obtained in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel has a unique and uncommon power (Romans 1:15,16).

Question 6:

Enumerate what the gospel can do.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus has great power and can do many things in our lives.

1. The gospel is the anchor and the hope of the poor (Matthew 11:5; Luke 4:18; Colossians 1:23)
2. The gospel stimulates faith (Acts 15:7)
3. Through the gospel, we receive the power to be saved from sin and to live a righteous life (Romans 1:15-17; 1 Corinthians 4:15)
4. The gospel brings grace and light into our lives (Acts 20:24; 2 Corinthians 4:4)
5. Our lives and services become acceptable to God the moment we begin to live by the gospel (Acts 10:1-6,34-38; Romans 15:16)
6. The gospel brings us into fellowship with God’s children (Philippians 1:5; Philemon 13)
7. The gospel launches us into the abundance of God’s blessings (Romans 5:29; Ephesians 3:6)
8. The gospel is the only link between humanity and God – the temporal and the eternal (2 Thessalonians 2:14)
9. The gospel is the reference point on the judgment day (Romans 2:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8)

DISCOMFORTING SITUATIONS AGAINST GOSPEL MINISTERS

(Acts 13:44-52; 14:1-28; 16:19-23; 17:5-10)

“And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming” (Acts 13:44,45).

The preaching of Paul charged the whole atmosphere in Antioch such that the whole city came together to hear the word of God. This angered the Jews because they had lost their authority over the people. Besides, they had not been able to gather so much people to hear their doctrine as much as Paul and Barnabas had done. So, they began to envy them.

However, it is important to see that Paul and Barnabas were very courageous (Acts 13:46,47). This looked like an encouragement to the Gentiles. They were filled with joy (verse 48). The result of this bold and brave stand was the progress in the work.

“And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region” (Acts 13:49).

The Jews did not relent but “…stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts” (verse 50).

These preachers continued the preaching in another place instead of giving up. When we are being persecuted for the preaching of the gospel, God wants us to stay on. He has promised to be with us and to strengthen us when persecuted (John 17:15; Matthew 28:20).

Our courage and steadfast spirit will lead to the progress in the work. However, after serious persecutions, the city became unsafe for them as they became aware that the rulers and the unbelievers decided to “use them despitefully, and to stone them.” (Acts 14:5).

Having obtained this knowledge, they had to leave the city and go over to Lystra to continue preaching the word of God. It is important to note that they afterwards returned to Iconium, and encouraged the church to continue in the faith (Acts 14:21,22).

However, Paul preached the gospel at Lystra (Acts 14:2-7) and he healed a lame man who never walked from his mother’s womb through faith.

Question 7:

What lessons do we learn from Paul’s and Barnabas’ missionary journeys to Iconium and Lystra?

1. Paul and Barnabas had a singular goal of winning souls to Christ. They utilized every opportunity to achieve this goal.
2. They were wise in running from life-threatening danger when faced with it so that they could have more opportunities to preach the gospel.
3. They were resolute and determined. They did not let the persecutions give them an excuse not to preach the gospel.
4. They were not seeking their own glory. When they were strangely exalted by the superstitious men of Lystra as gods, they quickly restrained them and directed them to give all glory to God.
5. Paul and Barnabas did not hate their persecutors. They still searched for opportunities to preach the gospel to them again.
6. God’s promises are always true. Christ promised signs and wonders to follow when we preach the gospel. As Paul and Barnabas went about preaching the gospel, miracles happened and souls were saved.
7. As a result of the empowerment of the Holy Ghost, the disciples preached the gospel effectively. Believers today need the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to convincingly preach the gospel with power to a world plagued by sin and wickedness.