44 Acts 13:13-26 Perfect Record | Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast (2024)

Series: Acts Sermon Series

June 16, 2024

Chris Freeman

Title: Perfect RecordText: Acts 13:13-26FCF: We often struggle paying attention to the glorious message of our faithful God’s salvation of His people.Prop: Because God has always provided for and protected His people and most perfectly in the gospel, we must believe Him. Scripture Intro:[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 13. In a moment we will read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 13. You can follow along in the version you prefer. Last week we saw how the Lord actively expanded His church by sending Barnabas and Saul west to take the gospel to new people and places. Saul, also known as Paul, has a confrontation with a sorcerer and blinds him. As a result of this sign miracle, the proconsul of the Roman province becomes a Christian. But this is only the first leg of their missionary journey. Now Saul, Barnabas, and John Mark head North, crossing the Mediterranean sea to what was then Southern Galatia. It is here that Paul will preach his first recorded sermon in the book of Acts. The similarities to Peter’s first sermon are remarkable. What will he preach and to whom will he preach it? Let’s look. Stand with me out of respect for and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation:Our great Comforter, speak peace to your people, to your saints; show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Revive us again with your Word today, that we may rejoice in you. In is in Jesus’ name we ask this. Amen. Transition:[Slide 2] How do we know that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow? How do we know that when we attempt to draw air into our lungs that there will be oxygen available for us? How do we know that we can plant crops in the ground and the rain will fall on them and cause them to grow? While true that we could study the stars and our world and perform many scientific tests to ensure that such things are true… in reality we all knew long before we were able to read that these things were certain. Why? Well by the time you are 3 years old, you’ve seen the sun come up, every single day without fail, over a thousand times. After three years of life as a wised toddler living in Michigan, you have seen over 400 days of rain. That means that every day you lived in those three years, you saw a rainy day about 40% of the time. Almost a coin flip’s chance. And in those three years, you have taken about 21,024,000 breaths. And each one gave you oxygen without any of them failing. How do we know that all these will happen? Because they have never failed. Does it not stand to reason that the God who set up these systems is equally as reliable? Does it not stand to reason that He is able to do all He has already done and more? That is Paul’s sermon… That is what He preaches today to the Jews. And we would be wise… to listen. I.) God has always provided for and protected His chosen people, so we must believe Him. (13-18)a. [Slide 3] 13 - Now after Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. i. Notice Luke points out a subtle shift in leadership of this missionary team. ii. Before it seemed to be right to call Saul Barnabas’ companion. But now Barnabas and John Mark are Paul’s companions. iii. [Slide 4] The preaching of Paul and the miracles performed in Paphos seems to have shifted the leadership of this mission’s team. iv. Pamphylia, as you can see on the map, is located on the southern coast of Modern Turkey. v. This entire region would be known as Galatia. It would be to these churches, after his missionary journey comes to a close, that Paul writes his first letter to the Galatians just before the Jerusalem council convenes in AD 49. vi. Last week I misspoke and said that the missionary journey took place in AD 40. I meant to say, and my notes said, AD 48. And probably very early in AD 48 at that. So apologies for the confusion. vii. But here we see that John Mark left Paul and Barnabas and went back to Jerusalem. viii. In Acts 13, Luke does not get into any details of this departure. In fact, we could read this as if it was a planned departure. ix. However, we will learn in chapter 15 that Paul sees this as a desertion. x. Speculation abounds as to why John left them. xi. Some say perhaps he resented Paul taking leadership of the group over his cousin Barnabas. Some say he grew fearful. Perhaps his mother was ill. We simply do not know. xii. What we do know is that Paul and Barnabas must continue on without him.b. [Slide 5] 14 - But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. i. [Slide 6] One potential item of confusion we face here is the question, why did Paul and Barnabas trek all the way up to Pisidian Antioch, through the mountains, passing several highly populated cities in the area, in order to reach this city. ii. The road would not have been easy and the elevation would have been around 4300 feet above sea level. iii. There have been two suggestions put forward by scholars.1. From many recent archeological discoveries it seems that Sergius Paulus, the proconsul in Paphos who became a Christian, had a family estate around the city of Pisidian Antioch. It is possible that he gave Paul and Barnabas letters of introduction so they could receive safe passage to and in the city itself.2. Also, because Paul references in Galatians 4 that when he first came to preach the gospel to the people in this area, he was very sick, and that sickness affected his eyes to some extent, the common scholarly suggestion is that somewhere, either on the boat or on Cyprus, Paul contracted Malaria. Since Malaria is a parasitic infection of the red blood cells, and a common treatment for this is to move to colder and higher altitude climates preventing the parasite from gestating quickly in the body, this may be another reason that Paul and Barnabas chose Pisidian Antioch.3. But for me it makes most sense that probably both of these worked hand in hand.4. No doubt Paul and Barnabas intended to get to Pisidian Antioch eventually, using the papers they had received from Sergius Paullus to travel there, but because of his illness they may have altered their itinerary to go straight to the city. iv. As the capital of southern Galatia, Antioch, commonly called Pisidian Antioch to differentiate it from other Antiochs around the Empire, was another large city. v. We see very clearly the methodology of this first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas sought out the largest cities to share the gospel. vi. It is in these large cities that they would be guaranteed to find a significant Jewish population and synagogue, along with many other people to share the gospel with. vii. [Slide 7] Having no doubt arrived on a day other than the Sabbath, they probably had made introductions to various Jewish people throughout the city. So, on the Sabbath, Paul and Barnabas go into the synagogue and sit down.c. [Slide 8] 15 - And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” i. Here we see that this synagogue operated in a similar way to others around the empire. ii. A reading from the scriptures, probably one from each major section, the law, prophets, perhaps a psalm or proverb. iii. After this, the floor would be offered to someone to give a homily based on the text that was read. iv. Here we see that the synagogue officials pass Paul and Barnabas a message to indicate that they were welcome to share an exhortation. v. Why them? Aren’t they the new comers? vi. Either Paul revealed that the was a student of Gamaliel, which would have made him a highly prized speaker, or that Barnabas was a Levite, which would have also occupied a prominent position to teach. vii. No doubt Barnabas deferred to Paul who was the better speaker.d. [Slide 9] 16 - So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: i. Paul wastes no time. ii. I’m sure he was chomping at the bit to share the gospel. iii. In all of his travels, and despite his reputation for going to the gentiles, Paul consistently has a heart for his own people to know that their Messiah had come. iv. Unfortunately, as we will see, they didn’t love him for his concern. v. Paul addresses the sermon that follows to both the Men of Israel and also to those who fear God. Probably Gentile God-Fearers who were also among them in the synagogue. vi. The way Luke has structured Paul’s sermon here conforms to a form of homiletical style that would have been commonly used in synagogues in those days. vii. Verse 16 consists of the preamble. viii. It is here that Paul addresses his audience and pleads with them to listen to him. e. [Slide 10] 17 - “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. i. Next, Paul moves into another division of the homily where he recounts biblical data or history in order to establish a point. ii. With a birds-eye-view of the sermon we see that it encompasses a quick summation of the history of Israel up to David and the promise for one of his descendants to reign forever as King of Israel. iii. There are two primary emphasizes of the sermon.1. God is the benevolent, faithful, sovereign giver and keeper of His chosen people.2. His people continue to distrust and even work against Him. iv. In this opening remark, Paul points out how God chose the fathers of this people Himself. This is no doubt a reference to Abraham who was from the land of Ur which is modern day Iraq. v. God made a nation for Himself rather than selecting a nation that already existed. He did this by calling Abraham out from among the other nations. vi. Fast forwarding a number of years Paul shows that God continued in faithfulness to His people. vii. There is another theme that will come up several times in Paul’s sermon. God lifting or raising someone. viii. In this case He is said to lift his people or to make them great. Probably meaning to increase them in number. ix. He is also said to lead them out of slavery to Egypt by His uplifted arm. Again, the imagery of raising them. x. It is by the hand of God that they were led out – and not by Moses or any human representative. A point that many Jews would not have argued with in theory but they did tend to think of Moses as almost infallible.f. [Slide 11] 18 - “And for a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. i. The word “put up with” is 1 letter away from another word “cared for” or “nurtured”. ii. Manuscript evidence is split almost down the middle with a slight edge being given to the former. iii. It is worth noting that although scholars are split on which word goes here, translators are almost unanimous that it should be “put up with”. iv. Both are certainly true, but looking at the general tenor of the sermon, it seems best that Paul subtly indicates the rebellion and disbelief of the people here. v. God put up with them for 40 years in the wilderness as they continued to distrust Him even though He had proven to be faithful to them.g. [Slide 12] Summary of the Point: So again, we see Luke emphasize, this time through the sermon of Paul, that God has always been the sovereign provider and protector of His people. He chose this nation and made them great. He lifted them out of slavery and bore with them in the wilderness. Despite the unfaithfulness of the people, God continues to give and provide so that His promises would be true and His name would be glorified. In the sermon thus far, what has Paul called on his hearers to do? He has called on them to listen. Not just to hear… but to pay attention. To take heed. It would be wise for us to observe, to listen, to learn, and believe that God is faithful to His promises and will accomplish what He has decreed. He is faithful though all else be unfaithful. This must be believed. Transition:[Slide 13 (blank)] So, this is the God that He has been. That is all well and good Paul. But what about today? He rescued us from Egypt but then we were stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. It kinda feels like we are in a wilderness now. The Romans are vile yet they control the world. Where is our King that is supposed to reign forever? Where is our Messiah? Where is that Servant that the Rabbis keep insisting is coming to save us? This God you speak of is stuck in the past. II.) This same God now sends the message of salvation to us, so we must believe Him. (19-26)a. [Slide 14] 19 - “And when He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years. 20 “After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. i. Again, Paul returns to the faithfulness of the Lord. ii. Even though the people waged war against these seven nations, Paul puts the glory squarely on the shoulders of God as He destroyed them in order to provide an inheritance for this people. iii. From the beginning of the Egyptian enslavement to the taking of the promised land it took around 450 years. iv. Then the Lord GAVE judges and Samuel the prophet. v. Yet another theme arises in Paul’s sermon. vi. God as a giver. vii. God not only chooses and raises up he also provides and gives. viii. He gave them judges and prophets… Human guides to keep them from straying.b. [Slide 15] 21 - “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. i. Once again Paul returns to the Israelites. ii. Just like in the wilderness they refuse to trust God alone and want to be a nation like all the other nations around them. iii. They desire a King to rule over them and are not satisfied with God ruling. They aren’t even satisfied with the judges and prophet that God had given them. iv. So, God gives them Saul the son of Kish, of Benjamin. v. God allows this man to rule for 40 years. vi. Notice how in each illustration Paul gives of the people’s unfaithfulness, they are judged for a generation, for 40 years the Lord puts up with the poor decisions of His people. vii. But…c. [Slide 16] 22 - “And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.’ i. Paul strings together quotes from I Sam 13 and Psalm 89 to make his point here. ii. God’s faithfulness again becomes the theme. iii. God finds and raises up a man after His own heart. iv. Just as God rescued them from Egypt by raising them up out of slavery, so God rescues them from a faithless monarch by raising up one who is righteous. v. A man who does His will. A man completely different from Saul. vi. God gives them David, who is without question the greatest King Israel had ever had from a spiritual perspective.d. [Slide 17] 23 - “From the seed of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had preached before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 “And as John was fulfilling his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’ i. As just another in a long list of God’s faithfulness, God having promised to David a descendant that would reign forever on the throne of Israel, has provided that seed. ii. Jesus, the Savior has come. iii. His way was prepared by the coming of John the Baptist – the greatest prophet of the Old Testament who preached a baptism of repentance to prepare the hearts of the people to receive their own Messiah. iv. John’s message was for all of Isarel. That all of Israel needed to turn from their sin and come to God. They needed this One whom he announced. Their hearts would be prepared to receive Him when they turned from their sin in the waters of baptism. v. Though many questioned it, John himself said that he was not the One who was to come but the One who came after him was much greater than he. vi. That is, this Jesus of Nazareth. vii. This is the promised descendant of David. viii. Jesus is the next and final step in the fulfillment of the promises God made to Israel.e. [Slide 18] 26 - “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation was sent. i. Paul again engages with his audience. ii. This is a pivot point in the sermon. Paul has left the biblical and historical data to make a proposition which flows from all that he has just said. iii. What is that proposition? iv. He reminds them that this final showing of God’s faithfulness to them had come in their time. v. That whether they were children of Abraham’s family or God-Fearers, the word of this salvation has come to them at this time. vi. In essence what he is going to attempt to prove in the next several verses, is that not only is Jesus this descendant, this seed, the promised Messiah, but that He is also the suffering Servant and the Savior. A role which is always attributed to God in the Old Testament, thus establishing not only His Messiahship but also his Divinity. Everything the Father is, the Son is. vii. Unfortunately, we must save his proof of this proposition for next week.f. [Slide 19] Summary of the Point: The same God who raised up Isarel from nothing to give them inheritance in a land and a great King like David, has also raised up for them a Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. He sent them a prophet to prepare them for His coming, and has accomplished their salvation in their very day. Many to whom Paul preached that day were no doubt alive 15 years before when Jesus was crucified. Not only has God provided and protected His covenant people in the past… but He has even now, this very day, provided salvation and protection to them through Jesus of Nazareth.. Once again, the command in this text thus far is simply to listen. To take heed. To pay attention. It is the most important set of truths that you could ever hear. God is faithful and has provided the word or message of this salvation to us. Give ear and take heed. Conclusion:So, CBC, what have we learned and how shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway:[Slide 20] Paul’s sermon opens up addressing his kinsmen with the reality of God’s enduring and faithful hand of provision and protection over them, not only to their ancestors but even to the very moment he preached to them in that synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. God has provided and protected His people, giving and raising them up from various perils, but today, He gives His greatest gift to them. Today, God raises them up from their greatest enemy. Today, God sends word of their salvation. God has truly and finally protected His true people. He has truly and finally provided all His true people will ever need. Paul’s only word of exhortation so far to them has been… to listen. To take heed. To accept, to believe, and to respond in that belief. That same God, that faithful provider and protector, who sent this message to these first century people… He is the same today as He has always been. He sends to us the same gospel the same good news… the same message of salvation. We too must listen. We must hear and heed. We must believe. In only a half sermon, where simple belief in historical fact is so far the application, we may leave feeling a little lost in how exactly we are to respond to Paul’s message. So let me do my best to get a little more practical with you today and apply this to our lives right now. 1.) [Slide 21] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that God will always keep His promises to provide for and protect His people because He has always done so.a. What God commands us to believe in the Word of God is not baseless conclusions requiring blind faith.b. God has recorded for us in His Word His dealings with mankind.c. He has proven Himself over and over again to be working for the sake of His own name and to preserve for Himself a remnant.d. He has shown time and time again His faithfulness to that remnant preserving them through the greatest trials and tests and delivering them safely to the other side.e. He has given gifts and people to lead them to spiritual purity.f. He has raised them up out of darkness and spiritual debauchery.g. God faithfully walks with His people rescuing and redeeming them even from their own unbelief.h. My friends, God is always faithful.i. He has loyal love for His people.j. With all of this backdrop, and upon this foundation, the promises of God are laid.k. The promise of salvation through Christ’s penal substitutionary atonement for His people is all based upon His track record at protecting and providing for His people.l. As soon as all mankind fell, did He not promise to send a descendant of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent? Did He not clothe them in animal skins as a picture, not only of penalty for sin, but also of substitution as the animal skin covered them?m. And after thousands of years, did He not preserve and deliver on His promises that the Scepter would never depart from Judah? That there would be a prophet like Moses but greater? That there would be a future Savior lifted up on a pole to which they could look to for salvation?n. My friends… everything that has happened, everything that God has done, has proven over and over again that His promises are iron clad. They cannot be broken.o. And that means when God said “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased,” when Jesus said that He and the Father are one, when the Spirit opens the eyes of the blind and regenerates the hearts of the spiritually dead only to proclaim that Christ has been crucified for them…p. Such promises must be believed. For God has never failed to keep a promise. And He never will.q. So when we face times of great suffering or opposition… what then?2.) [Slide 22] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that God has departed or left us during times of great suffering or cultural opposition.a. My friends it is foolishness to doubt the ever present hand of God on us.b. In good times or bad. In suffering or comfort. In reception or rejection… our God is with us. Always.c. He promised He would be.d. Though we be blind to his presence. Though we be deaf to His comforting voice. Though we be numb to His hands holding us. Though our mouths be full of bitterness and we cannot taste that He is good. Though our nose be full of the stench of death, and we cannot breathe in the refreshing wind of His Spirit’s strength…e. Though all our senses be dead to Him… He has not left us. And He never will.f. Though all the world hunt us unto death – He is there with us when our last breathe is released.g. Though we lose everything we have held dear and watch it all crumble to dust, He has kept us from becoming dust as well.h. My friends. If you are His child… He will never forsake you. Why?i. Because Christ took every reason God would forsake you on the cross. He cried out “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!” So that you and I would never be able to say the same!j. Even when we sin my friends. God is not far off. We have walked away but He won’t let us go far. He stands ready to forgive and cleanse us from our sin.k. This is His relationship to the bride of His Son. For Christ’s Sake… we are never forsaken.l. And that means we should stop doing something…3.) [Slide 23] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop neglecting or doubting the promises that God has yet to fulfill.a. There are many promises that we as God’s people are still waiting to see fulfilled.b. We await the fullest installment of the Kingdom of God.c. We await the return of our Lord to reclaim His people and His world.d. We await the final defeat of sin and the forces of darkness.e. We await the New Kingdom and our Eternal life with Him.f. We await Justiceg. We await peaceh. We await love… TRUE LOVE that we’ve never truly knowni. We await tearless, painless, sinless, living.j. We await satisfaction in work.k. We await the wedding feast with our Grooml. We await the words “Well done my good and faithful servant.”m. But while we wait, we are surrounded on all sides with injustice, war, hate, pain, tears, sin, death, dissatisfaction, emptiness, loneliness, the appearance that the forces of darkness are winning and the Kingdom is far from here.n. Oh, we may be tempted to see the waves all around us as we try to walk to Jesus.o. And if we have shallow roots in rocky soil our hearts may wither under the heat of suffering.p. And if we are so wrapped up in the cares of the world and distracted by lesser things, we might be choked out from the promises of heaven.q. Oh, we might fear that we might lose all that the Father has given us so we bury it and think that He will be pleased with no return on His investment.r. Oh, my friends we might be those bridesmaids who thought they had enough oil to last until the Groom returned… and rather than getting more they depleted it all before he came.s. Do not doubt my friends the promises we have yet to receive. Why?t. Because unlike us…our God does not lie! Our God’s promises are always fulfilled!u. He will keep them. Be ready.4.) [Slide 24] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must continue to pay attention and take heed of the truth of the gospel verified by all of history.a. Believer or unbeliever...b. The gospel of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners is a message, a word, that cannot be ignored.c. All of history has flowed to and from this event. All of history has culminated and exploded from this one point.d. God’s promises finally fulfilled and expanded.e. Are you an unbeliever here today? Have you never received this truth that Christ was crucified for sinners? Have you never realized that you are such a sinner. A vile, wicked and hopeless creature devoid of anything good, unable to please God with your good works, unwilling to approach the true God of the bible for fear He’d take over your life. Are you such a sinner?f. Now you have heard the gospel truth proven by all of history.g. Today God has sent His message of salvation. God has sent a Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, to trade the sins of His people for His righteousness. He has come to release them from the family of Satan and adopt them into His family as heirs.h. If the Holy Spirit has awakened you today to see this truth…i. Take heed. Listen. And Believe.j. Believe such things as you believe in oxygen. Believe such things as you believe that the sun will rise and that rain will fall.k. Believe these truths in such a way that you depend on them for life.l. Yield your entire being to such truths today.m. God is calling. Do not neglect such a call.n. But what about for believers?5.) [Slide 25] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God has sent the message of salvation to us.a. Oh my friends…b. God has sent the message of salvation to us.c. Who here is worthy of such a message?d. Who here loved God first before He loved you?e. Who here can claim that God never revealed the truth to us we simply knew Him from birth?f. Who here can claim that they had only barely sinned and God needed to cover but a small amount to reconcile them to Himself?g. Who here is a Jew of the family of Abraham?h. Oh my friends. To merely have heard the message of salvation… is a grace beyond measure. For none of us even deserve to hear it.i. Christ crucified for sinners. Oh what a glorious message. Christ crucified for sinners. Oh what a glorious word.j. That you have heard it – is a blessing. That you believe it… is a miracle of God.k. Believer… Let the message of the gospel wash over you again and again. May your repentance of the sin that made it necessary continue. And may the grace that made it possible endure.l. Let it sweep you away into heavenly rapture… that God has given you this message and you have received it…m. Christ was crucified for sinners. Us. [Slide 26(end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church Father Gregory of Nyssa. Surely, Lord, you are the pure and eternal fountain of goodness. You were right to turn away from us, and in lovingkindness you had mercy on us. You hated, and were reconciled. You cursed, and blessed. You banished us from paradise, and called us back. You stripped off the fig leaves— an unattractive covering-and put on us an expensive garment. You opened the prison, and released the condemned. You sprinkled us with clean water, and cleansed us from our filthiness. Adam will no longer be bewildered when you call. He will no longer hide himself, convicted by his conscience, cowering in the thicket of paradise. The flaming sword will no longer surround paradise, cutting off the entrance to those who draw near. All is now turned to joy for those of us who were once heirs of sin. We can now walk in paradise-heaven itself. And the creation once in conflict with itself, in the world and above the world, is now knit together in friendship. We humans now join in the angels' song, offering worship of praise to God. For all these things let us sing to God that hymn of joy-a song which lips touched by the Spirit long ago sang loudly in Isaiah 61:10: "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation andarrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" And surely the one who adorns the bride is Christ, who was, and is, and will be blessed now and for evermore. Amen. Benediction:May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!May His goodness and lovingkindness follow you and continually preserve youSo that you can say, the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Until We Meet Again… Go in Peace