Have You Ever Gone a Whole Day Without Food?

Acts 13:1-12 “The Word Goes Forth” September 9, 2007

Have you ever fasted? Have you ever gone a whole day without food?

But for that matter, why would you do this? Why would you spend a whole day without eating?

Some people have objected to fasting on the ground that it seems like it is trying to manipulate God. “I’m going to starve myself until God does what I want!”

That may be the point of a hunger strike, but that is not the point of fasting.

What is the point of fasting?

The point of fasting is very closely related to the point of praying. After all, if God already knows all things, then what is the point of praying?! There is no argument against fasting that does not equally strike against praying.

Prayer and fasting are closely related in scripture. Fasting is a way of getting your whole self involved in prayer. Prayer utilizes the mind and heart, but fasting adds the body. When you fast, you include both body and soul in the discipline of praying.

1. Prayer, Fasting and the Call of the Gospel (13:1-3) In the first part of our passage, fasting plays a significant role in two ways. 1) It was while the prophets and teachers were worshiping and fasting that the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul; 2) It was by prayer and fasting that they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Luke tells us: Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

This is an interesting bunch. Barnabas we already know – he was a Levite from Cyprus. Simeon was called “Niger” (which means black) – suggesting that he was an African. Tradition suggests that this may be the same Simon of Cyrene who was forced to carry the cross of Jesus in Mark 15:21, but we do not know for certain.

1 Lucius of Cyrene was from the north African region of Cyrene Manaen was a “syntrophos” of the court of Herod the tetrarch— translated here as “member of the court” – a term used for people who were close associates. Herod the tetrarch is not Herod Agrippa who died at the end of chapter 12, but Herod Antipas, who was governor of Perea. And Saul – who had formerly been a persecutor of the church.

But now these five men were the prophets and teachers of the church in Antioch. Clearly you can see that the Antioch church is maintaining an emphasis on the plurality of the ministry. Ministry is a team effort.

But not only is ministry a team effort between the leadership, it is also a divine work. If we ever think that the key to ministry is technique – figuring out the “right” way to do it – then we are in trouble!

These five men include two of the greatest teachers in the history of the church. They have Barnabas and Saul. But these five men understand that their ministry is futile apart from the work of God’s Spirit.

And so While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…

Some say that the “they” refers to the whole congregation, others think that it is only the five prophets and teachers. If Luke thought that it was a big deal, no doubt he would have been more specific! The context suggests that it is referring to the prophets and teachers, but that does not mean that the congregation could not have been involved.

But the point is that leadership of the church in Antioch was committed to seeking God’s face together.

We’ve done some of this at Michiana. We certainly need to do more. Elders, deacons, committees – all the work of the church should be rooted in seeking the face of God.

And of course, this starts with what we are doing right here in worship. What we do Sunday morning ought to become the pattern for the rest of life. We acknowledge our need for the grace of God in our corporate worship, we must also acknowledge our need for his grace in the rest of our life. And that includes our ministry together.

2 Sometimes our prayers at the beginning and end of meetings can become perfunctory. Do we really believe that we need grace and mercy to accomplish our task? Then let us pray like we believe it! Do we really long to see the Holy Spirit work in our midst? Then let us pray like we long for him! Because it was While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting that the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’

What was this work? Apparently there was a little bit more to the Spirit’s message – or perhaps they had been discussing the need for someone to go west, and now the Spirit is telling them who is to go.

Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. We see three things in this one verse: 1) Once again we see the importance of fasting and prayer. Fasting is a means of denying yourself and seeking first the kingdom of God. It can be done individually, or as a family, but the primary focus of fasting is a corporate activity, in which the church (or the leadership of the church) humbles itself before God. It is especially appropriate to do this as we call or ordain officers.

[we will be having a day of prayer and fasting before the fall presbytery meeting, asking God to bring Frank Hamilton – and also to bless Markus Jeromin, since he will be taking his licensure exams.]

There are some people who may not be able to abstain from food entirely due to health reasons (diabetics, for instance). But even a partial fast – where you eat only the bare minimum, and limit yourself to the simplest of foods, is certainly acceptable to God, who knows our hearts.

2) We see the importance of the laying on of hands. It appears that both Barnabas and Saul were already ordained. But they are now commissioned for a new work, and as such they are commissioned by the laying on of hands. In the Old Testament “laying on hands” was used for the ordination of the Levites (Numbers 8), as well as the ordination of Joshua (Dt 34:9). It was also used in sacrificial rituals, symbolizing the transference of guilt from the worshiper to the sacrifice. The laying on of hands in ordination symbolizes a transference of office.

3 When a man is ordained, he is set apart to the work of the gospel.

3) We also see the importance of the church in sending out missionaries. Even as the Jerusalem church had sent out preachers throughout Judea and Samaria, so now the Antioch church is sending out preachers to modern day Turkey and Greece.

Missionaries are not self-appointed. They are appointed by the church. The case of Saul makes this clear. Jesus had said already that Saul was “a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:15) But that was not sufficient to send Saul to the Gentiles. Saul still had to be sent by the church.

There is an inward call – God does call us by his Spirit – but there is also an outward call from the church. The outward call is necessary in order to confirm the inward call.

This work of missions can be viewed both in terms of our immediate area as well as distant lands. The PCA has distinguished these two aspects as our Mission to North America – the work of church planting in the United States and Canada – and our Mission to the Word – the work of church planting around the world.

One thing I should make clear: mission is not just something that some of us do. Mission is for all of us. Because our mission is nothing less than making disciples of the nations. And there are lots of roles in this mission. Some preach and baptize. Others teach. Others encourage. Others pray.

And you see this in the commissioning of Saul and Barnabas as they are sent forth with the prayers and encouragement of the church.

We have a daughter church in LaPorte. How are we engaging in this part of our mission? How can we encourage the work there? We would like to plant daughter churches all over Michiana –

4 including your neighborhood.

But we also desire to plant churches all over the world. We now even have missionaries in our midst (Rex and Becca). What will it mean for us to send them?

And who else will we send? Who else will go?

2. The Spirit, the Word, and the Astonishing Teaching of the Lord (13:4-12) So the church sent them off with fasting, prayer and the laying on of hands.

And yet verse 4 says that they were sent out by the Holy Spirit! This is how it should be! The Spirit works in the church.

When the church sends you, the Spirit sends you.

And so Barnabas and Saul sailed to Cyprus. And there they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. Notice their method. They started in the synagogue, as Paul will say later in Romans, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” They started where they had the closest natural affinity. -- where they also had the most likely chances of success. They could have started by going into the streets and preaching to Gentile slaves, but they didn’t. They started with those who knew the message of the scriptures, and they called them to believe in the Messiah – the one whom all the scriptures had foretold.

And they even had an intern with them – They had John to assist them.

We’ll see throughout the book of Acts that Paul did not travel alone. Even missionary work is not supposed to be done solo. Paul has a traveling presbytery – a traveling eldership – that ministers together. And almost invariably that traveling eldership will include a trainee or two. Here at first it is John, later it will be Timothy, Titus and others.

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. Bar-Jesus is called a “false prophet” and a “magician.” In verse 8 he is called “Elymas the magician” and Luke says that

5 this is the meaning of his name. The name Bar-Jesus means “son of Joshua” – but that is not what Luke is referring to. Rather the name Elymas probably comes from the Arabic ‘alim, which means “wise” or “great” – which is what the Greek “magus” means. So Luke when Luke says that “magician is the meaning of his name,” he is explaining the meaning of Elymas, not the meaning of Bar-Jesus.

But in verse seven we are told that Elymas was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulos, a man of intelligence. Sergius Paulos is apparently a “seeker” – one who is looking for wisdom. Elymas is a powerful wise man who as a false prophet was nonetheless able to impress the proconsul with his abilities.

When he hears of Barnabas and Saul, he summons them. He is a man of intelligence. He wants to understand the latest religious and philosophical trends. He wants to be wise. And so he summons these traveling philosophers.

Up until now, Barnabas has taken central stage. He was the senior member of the elders of Antioch. His name has always come first in the pairing “Barnabas and Saul.”

But now the Holy Spirit fills Saul – and at this moment, Luke chooses to mention that Saul was also called Paul. And from this time on, he will always be referred to as “Paul” – perhaps in view of his filling with the Holy Spirit, as he now takes on his Spirit-anointed task of proclaiming the gospel of Christ to the nations.

And I cannot help but recall that when his namesake, King Saul – also of the tribe of Benjamin – was filled with the Holy Spirit, the book of Samuel tells us that King Saul became “another man.” (1 Sam 10:6). Now the Spirit of God rushes upon the second Saul and he too becomes “another man,” but this time with the greater glory and power of the new covenant, and even as the first Saul prophesied when the Spirit came upon him, so now the second Saul prophesies and proclaims the Word of the Lord!

Because as Elymas opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith… Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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?

6 This is a great evangelistic strategy, isn’t it? You son of the devil!

Some might say, “well, he was an apostle, so he could do that!” True. But as we are bringing the gospel to the nations, it is entirely appropriate to rebuke and condemn the powers that deceive the nations. Those who make crooked the straight paths of the Lord should be rebuked.

Sometimes you may need to teach against those who pervert the gospel. You may have noticed that I don’t spend a whole lot of time rebuking errors from the pulpit. But that is simply because I do not get the sense that many of you are tempted to listen to false prophets! (I suppose the one exception is the false prophets of consumer culture!)

But not only does Paul rebuke Elymas, he goes one step further:

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.

This goes back to Deuteronomy 28:28-29. God had warned Israel through Moses that if they disobeyed the voice of the LORD, The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.

Isaiah had spoken of the fulfillment of this in Isaiah 29 when Isaiah spoke of the blinding of Jerusalem and the closing of the eyes of the prophets.

Now, through the apostle Paul, we see the same thing happening again. The false prophet is blinded: Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Of course this had happened to Paul himself, when he was on the road to Damascus.

Even as Paul had been struck blind when he persecuted the church, so now Elymas receives the same judgment – the difference is that Elymas (as far as we know) never repented.

7 The proconsul, on the other hand, believed when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

It would be tempting to say that the proconsul believed because of the mighty act of God, as Paul struck Elymas blind. But that is not what Luke says. Luke says that Serigius Paulus believed because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

And we should believe Luke, because mighty deeds, while impressive and truly demonstrating the power of God, do not actually convert people.

After all, Elymas had incontrovertible evidence of the power of Paul’s God. He was blind! And yet there is no indication that Elymas believed!

The same judgment that was used to harden Elymas was also used by God to confirm Sergius Paulus in the faith. But it was not the mighty deed that astonished Sergius Paulus. It was the teaching of the Lord.

The word of God increased and multiplied (12:24) The proconsul believed, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord (13:12)

Do you believe in the power of the word of God? It is the word of God that converts, astonishes, grows, and multiplies. And that word – throughout the book of Acts – is invariably the preached word.

Our mission is to preach the word of God. We do not preach ourselves, but Christ, and him crucified. We do not design our worship service to be “evangelistic” per se, but the preaching of the word of the God is inherently evangelistic, because every sermon is a proclamation of Jesus Christ. Every sermon is a call to repent and believe the gospel! A call to turn away from your former way of life, and to put your hope and trust in Jesus.

In my first pastorate I had a man tell me that he didn’t feel comfortable bringing his unbelieving friends to church, because he was afraid of “scaring them off.” In the year and a half that I spent there, only one man brought an unbelieving friend to church. A few weeks later that man repented, put his faith in Christ, and was baptized.

8 There is a place for streetcorner evangelism, special outreach events, and the like, but the ordinary means that God uses to call people to himself are the ordinary means of grace.

And we see this, yet again, as we baptize Lydia Marie Belden this morning…