Years back, Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, wrote a book called Unfinished. He was writing about how so many people, even Christians, long for a “deeper sense of purpose in life.” It's not that we're not busy. Research shows that we’re all neurotic enough! If we notice things piling up around us, we have a compulsion to resolve whatever is piling up. It could be unopened mail, undeleted emails, or unorganized files on our hard drive! At home it might be dirty clothes, dishes, leaves, or clutter. The sight of something unfinished eats at us until it compels us to act! It’s the same in the workplace. People will indulge almost any unfinished task, if for no other reason than to justify their unemployment. For many, looking busy is the key to job security. Meanwhile, so many truly great things remain unfinished.
In Revelation, the church at Sardis had a reputation for being “fully alive.” If they were a modern church, their calendar would be full of activities. But in reality, they were spiritually dead. The angel tells the church, Revelation 3:2, “. . .I have not found your works to be complete before my God.” In this Christian life we're not aiming for mere busyness, as if spiritual busyness or Christian busyness is noble. *What we’re striving for is “deeper, purpose-filled living.”
I'm going to make several assumptions this morning about you. Assumption #1: You are already plenty busy. You may think a day is coming when you'll have more time to serve God—"I'll retire and then serve God.” No, you won't. When you retire, you become “retired busy.” You just graduate from one type of busyness to another. Assumption #2: You are longing for a deeper sense of purpose in life. I assume this because I’m assuming you’re a Christ' follower. We have the same Holy Spirit working in our life. If we'd listen to the Spirit, and follow his voice, he'd open our eyes to even greater things and greater works he has in store for us. Assumption #3: You need to have your life radically recalibrated so that your busyness no longer sidelines you from God’s Unfinished Business.
This morning, I invite you to consider Acts 13. You might recall how back in Acts 11, after Stephen was martyred and stoned to death, Christians scattered from Jerusalem as far away as places like Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch (map). The first Christians were like little embers of fire. Wherever the wind of God’s Spirit scattered them, little brush fires would start, little churches would start, then entire cities would be won to Christ. What we have in Acts 11 and Acts 13 is the beginning of a ferocious firestorm. In time all the Roman Empire would be Christianized… but it starts with these little pockets of believers who begin to gather, meet, and form churches. In Acts 11:21 we’re told how this began happen in Antioch, “Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”
In Acts 13:1, we’re told how in the church there were prophets and teachers. Some of these people, we've never heard of. But we know Barnabas. In Acts 11 he was sent from the church in Jerusalem to encourage the believers. Acts 11:23-24 says, “When [Barnabas] arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers of people were added to the Lord.” But the other person to show up in Antioch is Saul—Saul is the one, who just a year earlier, persecuted the church! Acts 11:26 says, “When [Barnabas] found [Saul] he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.” Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch! Thank you Barnabas! What were you thinking!
Barnabas and Saul were making God's Unfinished Business their business. Every day they arose. The most pressing matter on their mind: How can we help people FIND GOD? How can we help people FOLLOW JESUS? How can we cause God's Kingdom to FLOURISH? To some degree, we all need to recalibrate our lives from “mere busyness” to doing kingdom business. Acts 13 is a great place to let God recalibrate us. If I might share some observations…
First, we find the church at Antioch Worshipping, Fasting, and Praying.
What is worship? In the context of Acts, worship is marveling at God's outstretched arm. In Acts, they're coming to terms with the reality that God Himself has descended, and dwelt among them, lived among them, taught them, awakened them, and healed them in the person of Jesus Christ. God's Christ had been crucified, died a criminal’s death, was raised three days later, vindicated by God in the resurrection, ascended to the right hand of God, and poured out his Spirit on all people. So, the whole Church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Through the sacrament of communion, they commemorated Christ’s life. Through baptism, they declared their allegiance to following Jesus whether in life, death, or resurrection. Their worship wasn't just this overwhelming sense of God unveiling the mystery of life, revealing Jesus to be God's King, Christ, Lord, Savior. In worship they contemplated, “What ought our response be to Jesus King? How ought we live?”
They were Fasting. Fasting is intentional, disciplined longing, hungering, thirsting. We realize that what we most profoundly need in our world comes not of the flesh, but from God himself. We realize our purpose isn't to gratify the flesh, it is to seek first God's kingdom and righteous and will to be done. They were Praying. Some things are so grand, only God can make them so.
In his book Unfinished, Richard Stearns contemplates Matthew 9:35-38, “Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” To worship is to know God's heart for the nations. To fast, is to enter into solidarity that salvation must come of God. The crowds are harassed and helpless, they need a meal for sure. But they most need a shepherd. To pray is to ask God to raise up workers to do his bidding!
Acts 13:1-3, “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon. . . Lucius. . . Manaen. . . and Saul. 2 As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.”
Without worship, fasting, prayer the church may never hear a single word from the Spirit. Without worship, fasting, and prayer we may find ourselves perpetually busy, but not faithful. Exhausted from busy work, yet like Sardis, our busy work found incomplete and lacking. Without worship, fasting, and prayer no workers will ever rise up from our ranks to “be set apart" to “be called" “to shepherd God's sheep” “to be sent by the Spirit.” So, Acts 13 is a portrait of how a worshipping, fasting, and praying church not only hears from the Spirit but is filled with a sense of profound purpose.
Second, we find the church at Antioch Obeying the Spirit of Christ. Acts 13:4-5. “So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John (John Mark) as their assistant.” If I might pause here—God's Unfinished business always involves people. The Spirit of Christ will always lead us toward circles of people. And we’ll encounter two types people:
Acts 13:6-12, “When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.”
“9 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? 11 Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”
Wherever the Spirit leads, we will encounter friendlies and hostiles! There are intelligent, thinking people who want to hear the word of God! But there are also those who are threatened by the gospel, and use their power to oppose you. Obedience in the Spirit comes down to two things. First, we faithfully and boldly share God's Word to the receptive… and then we let the Holy Spirit deal with those hostile to God. Notice that when we're about God's business, the Spirit of Christ is with us always to the very end of the age. Helping people find God, follow Jesus, and flourish isn't primarily our work—it’s the Spirit's business!
Acts 13:1-15, “Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John (John Mark) left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”
Third, we find the church Encouraging People from the Word. Several years back, after Covid, I attended a “think-tank" of church leaders in Chicago. These weren't ordinary people. The room was full of some of the most prominent church builders, planters, networkers in all the United States. They were lamenting how even some of their own organizations and people were suffering from Missional Drift. The think-tank topic was “How do rekindle missional obedience? How do we call the church, and ordinary Christians back to her roots?”
After a whole day of conversation here was my take away: We have to re-gain Gospel Conviction. And the only way we can regain Gospel Conviction is to regain Gospel Clarity. If we don't have any clarity what the Word of God says (or what the gospel is), how can we possess the conviction needed to do our mission?
In Acts 13:16-41 Paul stands up and spontaneously recounts the entire Old Testament in summary form. I am so torn about what to do. On the one hand I want to walk you through his sermon, and “clarify the gospel facts." But on the other hand, I want you to feel conviction on how critical it is we Christians find our voice. If we don't master the gospel story, and become master story tellers, who else will?
I mentioned to you that I am going to be doing a Discipleship Track. It will run on the fourth Monday nights here at church 6:00 to 7:30 pm. After I was in Chicago I came back and created seven Scriptural guides. It took almost a year. But the first book is a 30-day reading guide that unpacks the Father’s Purpose. If you were to take the 30 most potent passages, in all of Scripture, that point to the Father's purpose, what would they be? If you were to weave them together into a single storyline, what would the story be? It's essentially Acts 13:16-41. Paul hits all the highlights of God’s mighty working leading right into the present (God, Creation, Abraham, Moses, Israel, Judges, Kings, King David, Prophets, the arrival, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Messiah.). He recounts story of God with brilliant clarity.
At the conclusion of his spontaneous message Paul says: Acts 13:38-41, “Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. 39 Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses. 40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you: 41 Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”
Could I just say that our biggest problem isn't just that the church needs to recalibrate it’s priorities—we need to recalibrate our message. Our message isn't come to church and enjoy good music, good times, good friends, and suffer a sermon. Our message is that the grace of God has broken through time and space. God has done the unimaginable. He has forgiven, washed, justified the otherwise unforgivable and unjustifiable. His mercy and grace are great! His love unmatched.
In Acts 13:42-51 it says, “As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath. 43 After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God. 44 The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord.” Our whole town might not gather to hear how great we think our church is…. But they may well gather to hear how Great a thing God has done.
Acts 13:45-52, “45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him. 46 Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district. 51 But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.”