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Acts 13:4–12 On Cyprus with Sergius Paulus

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Sergius Paulus on Cyprus had a Jewish sorcerer in his cabinet

  • This shows he was into spiritual stuff, which gives us some insight into why he wanted to listen to Paul speak.
  • Paul said “you are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun” and Elymas was struck blind! Paul knows what this is like!
  • Look at the amazing and radical mercy and grace of the Lord here. God spoke to these men in the language they would understand.
    1. The sorcerer got a show of supernatural power.
    2. Sergius got his little magic show with a message.

WCAGLS: Session 14: Andy Stanley

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Session 14: Andy Stanley

Jesus asked His disciples, who do you say that I am?

Peter said: you are the son of the living God

Jesus said: On this rock I'm going to build a congregation, an assembly, and death isn't going to stop it.

There is no way that those guys had any idea of what Jesus was talking about.

"it is so unfortunate that the word church has turned up in our New Testament"

it was 100s of years later that people used that word to refer to a place

ekklesia is a group, a gathering, a team

You won't find the word church in the first english bible, it is a congregation (english word for group)

If we separated every denomination, there is only one thing that would still keep us together. The exact thing that Jesus predicted on the road outside of Ceasarea-Phillipi.

You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God

when you go to church, you are about to fulfill a prophecy. Jesus said "I will build my church, and death won't stop it"

[It's an absolute freaking miracle that the Christian religion made it out of the first century. It really is.]

Guys, there are going to be a lot of people, some will be loud, some will be weird, but they are all going to know me.

You fugitives from the law, go tell everybody in the world. The whole earth. Go.

How Jesus? None of us have ever been more than 30 miles from home?!

How did it happen? Because Jesus made a promise that it would happen. He has been working on it ever since.

Peter's sermon in acts is one that we stopped preaching a long time ago in America. How did this thing get started?

  • You killed Him
  • God brought Him back to life
  • You say you're sorry

This sums up a lot of the sermons in the book of Acts. Not so much about how there is grace for you. Not so much about how your life can be better.

"You killed the author of life and God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this!" Peter called those people out.

Why? Because it had happened, it was undeniable, and it was important.

The central teaching wasn't "we believe something is true" it was "We believe something happened. God has done something!"

People fled Jerusalem to avoid persecution, but they didn't go far. They fled far enough to avoid persecution then they huddled.

Then God called somebody else.

A killer.

Somebody that was single-handedly dismantling all of Jesus' work!

A pharisee.

Somebody that would go after it with all of his might, not just to flee persecution.

Somebody like Saul of Tarsus had to get slammed off his horse. He wouldn't leave nets and follow some guy.

God interrupts careers, plans, families, to build His church.

Paul goes back to Jerusalem, puts a map up on the wall of the conference room, draws a circle around Jerusalem.
"guys, you are doing great, keep up the good work, but now let's do this. You take Jerusalem, I'll take everything else."

Do you think I'm afraid of death? Don't we serve a risen savior?

James might be the best evidence that Jesus was the Son of God. What would your brother have to do to prove to you that he was the Son of God? If James believed it so can I!

"If a guy predicts his death, and that he'll come back from the dead, and then he pulls it off, I'm going to believe in that guy even if I don't understand anything else he says!"

Can you imagine what Paul didn't know?! He wrote Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians, while waiting for a trial.

When he was being led out to be beheaded, he had no evidence that the stuff he had done would continue.

psst, Paul, 2000 years from now, people are going to walk into this coliseum, see a cross, and ask where you and Peter are buried. The most phenomenal building ever built is going to be built on top of Nero's circus in the honor of Jesus. And all over this town, there are going to be thousands of crosses that won't symbolize crucifixion, but just one crucifixion.

The only time people will mention Caesar in the the story of Jesus. They will name their sons Peter and Paul, and they will name their dogs Nero and Caesar.

And Paul, one more thing. One day there will be no Roman Empire, but there will be an ekklesia. It will last much much longer than the Roman Empire.

My brothers and sisters, stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

When he wrote that he had no idea. There is a cross hanging over the Emperor's Gate in the Roman Freaking Coliseum!

Work It

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Ephesians 2 gives a great balance to some order that a lot of people have screwed up.

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Let’s take it bit by bit.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NET

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

There was a time when people asked Jesus, “What is the work that God requires?” and Jesus’ answer was almost too simple: “Believe in the One that He sent.” Faith is the closest we come to salvation by works. Faith that God did what He said He did is all that is required of us to be saved. In Romans 10:9, Paul says “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So there is no work on our part to get ourselves saved.

Ephesians 2:10 NET

For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

If I make something beautiful–if I brew up for you the best cup of coffee you’ve ever tasted, who gets the credit? Does the coffee get the credit for tasting good? NO‽ I get the credit because A.) I made great coffee and B.) I gave you some.

It is the same way with Christians and God. He saved us by grace SO THAT we could work for Him and bring Him honor, glory, attention, fame, etc. Our works are a result of our salvation, not the road to salvation.

BUT our salvation isn’t just a happy face and a get out of Hell free card. Our salvation is a commissioning. Our salvation is an inauguration.

We are saved in order to do the works that God wants to do! Not that He needs us, but that He wants to share in the action with us.

That is the double extra grace of it all. Not only do we get be with God, but we join Him in His glorious work!

Divisions, Teams, and Defeat

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In 1 Corinthians 1, the apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church that they should not be choosing sides and boasting about which traveling preacher they will follow. Some are saying they side with Apollos, others with Paul, and others boast but still separate themselves and say they are better than others because they are just gonna follow Jesus!

After all of this talk about divisions among them, Paul seeks to get their focus back where it is supposed to be in their lives: on Jesus.

He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:3031 NET)

They were being arrogant and prideful and fleshy in their love of their preference. They loved Paul, or Apollos, or whatever, even to the point of boasting that they weren’t boasting in taking sides and boasting that they were following Jesus.

Let all boasting, all honor, all attention be toward Jesus.

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NET)

Now Paul does something really awesome. Since he doesn’t want to downgrade the others, or talk bad about anyone else, he downgrades himself. Basically he is RESETTING that which they originally put their faith in, Christ, and not an amazing teacher!

This and recent church events erupting over preference and pleasure makes me want to swing that crazy pendulum all of the way over and find the place where this happens:

What should you do then, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26 NET)

Hear me through on this, I’m not saying this 14.26 stuff happens instead of the awesome huge gathering we have on a Sunday morning, but in addition to it!

I told the Bible Attack League this week, “I get fed every day, and on Sunday mornings I eat out.” This has become my perspective of church on Sunday mornings. All week long I talk to my kids about God. On Sunday mornings they hear it from others (so they can see Mommy & Daddy aren’t the only ones that think this stuff) and do fun stuff around the topic of the Bible.

As for me and my wife, we get to sing songs with a bigger congregation (when we sing during the week there are only 7 in our choir, and that’s only if everybody joins in) and we get to hear an interesting speaker. It isn’t Biblical church, it never can be, and that is PERFECTLY ALRIGHT because we aren’t expecting it to be something it can’t be.

I was talking to some pastors from a church I used to go to on Sunday mornings and used to be a huge part of (and by huge I mean I was employed there, were supported by them for 3 years of overseas work, and got a lot of remodeling help done to our new home when we returned) and we talked about thinking in terms of communities instead of churches.

By thinking in terms of communities you can be at a certain address on a Sunday morning but have a different group of people that you are worshipping and growing with day to day and house to house. If a Sunday morning service doesn’t fit you well, don’t demonize or deify your preference and go away mad! Find a place that fits and keep the other folks in your worship community!