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ACTS 13

Acts13:1 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.

Since there were prophets and teachers in the days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I see no reason not to believe there are still prophets. However, they do not serve the same as they did in the Old Testament. If we believe in Jesus Christ and have trusted in Him to save us from sin, we do not have to have a prophet, priest or anyone else to get our prayers heard before God. There is no other intercessor except Jesus Christ.

Prophets do have a ministry though and that is to expound the word of God and do the work they are called to do. It may be warning of judgments to come or other such things but it would be by the Holy Spirit the same as the other ministries in the church. The office of a prophet in today's world would be by the Holy Spirit and the object of their sole prophecy would be to exalt the Lord Jesus and proclaim His word. It would never be to exalt himself as a prophet or as being greater than anyone else in the body of Christ. He is a servant, a minister and a follower of Jesus just like those that are not used of God as a prophet.

Acts 13:2 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.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

We don't always rely on the Holy Spirit to do the calling any more but when He does the calling we will see results. They fasted and prayed before sending these men out. They took the calling of the Holy Spirit very seriously. It was not taken lightly and these two men were chosen of God, not man. Fasting with fervent praying is a way to take time to seek the will of God. It is a time apart from the cares of this life to concentrate totally on the Lord. This was necessary to get direction. We can't expect to hear from God if we are sitting in front of the TV all day. I guess in my case, if we sit in front of a computer all day.

We should not just go in our own efforts and send ourselves but we need to be always in prayer and in the study of the word so as to be in the place where we can hear the Holy Spirit if He should call. We can't just sit idly and wait on the spirit, we must continually seek Him the minute we have come to Jesus Christ, growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord becoming a willing and obedient servant of the Lord. The Lord will increase our desire to learn from Him. The more we spend in His presence, the more we will want to spend in His presence. I don't believe this is something we have to be obcessed over though. God knows how to call someone and let them know it is His calling. Raising our children in the ways and word of God is also a great calling.

Acts 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

This man's whole livelihood was in jeopardy. When the gospel affects people's paychecks we will see resistance to the gospel for those reasons alone. Yet if one would only come to Christ, he or she would find something greater than anything they find in the world and I'm not talking of anything material.

Acts 13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

Being filled with the Holy Ghost is the only way to deal with this type of spirit. Paul did not do this in his own flesh or by his own instincts.

Acts 13:10 And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Acts 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

It is one thing to reject the gospel ourselves but to try to hinder others from receiving the gospel is very dangerous. This man's life could have been destroyed but God had mercy on him and only temporarily removed his eyesight. In this way he could see that the things of this life as temporary and the things of God are eternal. This same thing was done to Paul years previous when he also was trying to keep people from believing in Jesus Christ.

Acts 13:12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought he them out of it.
18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus:
24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher.
30 But God raised him from the dead:
31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

Here is the whole gospel in one chapter. Paul starts by reminding them of what they already knew, that that God called out Israel for His own people and brought them out of the land of Egypt in which they had been held in bondage for years.

He further stated that God at first gave them judges but then granted them a king. He reminded them that the law and the prophets including David told of one to come that would come to rule Israel and to save people from sins. This same one that was told of by Moses, in the Psalms and in the prophets came to them but was rejected. They did not recognize Him at His first coming but they will recognize Him at His second coming.

At His first coming after His mission to preach the gospel was finished, He was then put to death and raised from the dead that all who would believe in this Messiah, savior, Son of God would be saved from sin and granted eternal life. The Jewish religious leaders didn't mind hearing of one who would save them from the Roman rule but they were not expecting a Messiah to save them from sin. God had to deal with sin before He could set up any earthly kingdom. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this world. He had to make the way for our eternal salvation and then send out the gospel to the whole world by His faithful believers. Now all others can hear and then either accept or reject the gospel.

Forgiveness of sins is taught and preached throughout the whole bible. God has always required us to repent and change. In order to have forgiveness of sins, we have to recognize that we have sinned and are in need of repentance.

Paul warns these people here to take heed to these words and not be unbelievers. God gave us a way to be free from sin and have eternal life. If we neglect this great gift, it will be to our own peril. Sin separates us from eternal life and from God. Jesus came to make the way for all who receive Him to be free from sin and be granted eternal life.

Acts 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

The Gentiles at that time was so excited by these words of Paul that they wanted them to come and preach to them the next Sabbath. Notice that they preached the gospel on the Sabbath at this time in the synagogues as well as in people's homes.

Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

When people believed, Paul admonished them to continue in the things that they heard and not depart from the words. It is possible to allow the word to pass from us and not take root and grow.

2Timothy 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

It is so important to continue in the faith once we have found Christ as Lord and savior. It is a continual new life, not a one time experience.

Acts 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could see our whole cities come to hear the word of God. In order for them to hear the word of God though, we have to begin teaching it. I'm all for praise and worship. I love it when we spend time in worship, singing and praise. I prefer it to just sitting and listening to various singing groups. The whole congregation needs a time of worship, not just sit and watch someone else worship. In saying that though many are getting away from the teaching of the word.

It is the word that sustains us through the times of trials. If we just praise and worship, neglecting the word, when the music stops, where is our strength. Perhaps that is why so many go back into sin and get caught up with it without bringing forth fruit and spreading the gospel even further. Perhaps they have no word within them. We must be teachers of the word, teachers of good things. I don't want anyone to misunderstand though. Worship as a corporate body of believers is very important and should never be left out. To sing, to praise and to rejoice in the Lord is very important because we are all together participating in the believer's meeting and not just being spectators. However, this should be accompanied by the study of the scriptures and the word by those who are called to teach and preach, exhort and expound the word of God.

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Never be idle. Never stop. Keep on seeking and searching the scriptures. They not only help us find the truth but will likely spill over on others that live around us when they see our lives change. Sometimes this causes some to react negative toward us but if we could just save one from being lost for eternity, it is worth everything.

Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Continue, press on, seek, never stopping.

1Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Notice the words Paul gave to Timothy, continuing in the true doctrine of Christ will save ourselves and those that hear us.

1John 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

Abiding in Christ and allowing His words to abide within us without slacking off and getting lukewarm, is absolutely necessary. That will causes us to continue in the Son and the Father.

Acts 13:45 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.

It is the established religions of the day that resist most of the truth of God's word. Religions cause more persecution than the secular world does. In this day it was the religious Jews who were jealous over the crowds that seemed to follow the disciples. When one rejects truth, their heart hardens and the devil can then stir them up to do evil.

Much persecution results from envy. Here are some examples:

In the first century the religious Jews persecuted the first Christian believers.
Roman religions of pagan worship persecuted the early church.
When the church gained status and power some from within it moved into apostasy and began to persecute Jews and true Christians who did not follow them into apostasy. The church of Rome began to force conversions to Christianity resulting in people becoming religious but did not know the Lord. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit no one can be born again by God's spirit and any conversion would be just accepting a religion not a true conversion to Jesus Christ. True salvation can never be forced.
Persecution by the Roman Church to the first Protestants. Protestants were protesting the departure from the true teaching of the scriptures.
Persecution of the backslidden Protestants to Anabaptists and other dissenters. We must be careful that our descendants are also born again by God's spirit and not just inheriting our religious beliefs. True doctrine is necessary and should be taught but being changed from the inside out by the new birth is necessary so that we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and not just outward religion.
A brief persecution by Puritans in the United States to Quakers and other nonconformists groups.
A very short period of persecution by mainline denominations to the latter day Pentecostals.
There were a few church burnings but no real damage at least in the United States. However in the rest of the world there still is much persecution of true believers and Jews in many countries.

Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

This is where the main thrust of the gospel is given to the Gentiles. The church age begins and the Jewish nation is temporarily cut off the vine until this present day and age.

Many Jews have come to Christ and we see Messianic congregations popping up all over the world. The nation of Israel has not yet see the light (2025) but they will according to bible prophecy.

Acts 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

This is a prophecy being fulfilled that was given by Isaiah:

Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

The New Testament actually fulfills prophecies in the Old. Not all is yet fulfilled but we should never ignore or neglect the study of the Old Testament.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

Little did they know the horrors that they and generations after them were to suffer because of their rejection of Jesus Christ and those who followed Him.

In saying that I must make sure to state that true believers in Jesus Christ are never and I mean never to lift a hand against the Jewish people or any people that reject the gospel. We are allowed to correct false teachers and stop them from preaching in our churches but we are never to physically harm anyone. We are to be wise but harmless. We may be persecuted but we are never to be the ones doing the persecution. If we find ourselves harming someone thinking we are doing God a favor, we are deceived and do not even know the Lord.

Acts 13:51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

This will be the true result of being faithful in spreading the word. They didn't sit and feel sorry for themselves and they didn't plot revenge or strike back. They were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. This is the attitude of a true child of God. Joy is ours and we must never allow anything to rob us of that joy. DC

Acts 14