Well, here we are back in the Book of Acts.
I’m so excited! Today, we are in Acts 14:21-28.
Let’s do a little recap. Here’s what’s happened so far:
Jesus appeared after His resurrection and told His disciples that they would be witnesses for Him.
Jesus went back to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit came upon the early Church and filled them with power.
The early disciples were bold witnesses for Jesus. Peter and John were the two most prominent.
Saul (Paul) was changed from a persecutor of the church to a preacher for the church.
Saul became a great missionary force, sent out by the Church of Antioch and accompanied by Barnabas.
So, that brings us to where we are today. Paul and Barnabas are in the middle of a missionary journey.
In today’s passage, they’re going to visit their last stop, then retrace their steps as they check on the places where they have ministered.
Today’s sermon is entitled “A Journey of Discipleship.”
Before we get into the passage, let’s pray together and ask God to prepare our hearts and minds.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage. Look at Acts 14:21-28:
21 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
Why do we exist, church?
We exist to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others.
We exist to develop disciples because that’s what Jesus told His followers to do.
We exist to develop disciples because that’s what the Church has done from the very beginning of her existence.
As Paul and Barnabas are traveling, they are on a mission to develop disciples. They are on a journey of discipleship.
So, let’s notice the discipleship that is taking place in this passage.
First, see that . . .
I. Disciples need to be made.
We see in verse 21 that Luke (the author of Acts) says “After they had preached the gospel in that town . . .”
Well, what town? Just go back a few verses and you can tell that the town to which Luke is referring is Derbe.
So, while they were in Derbe, Paul, Barnabas, and their companions were preaching the gospel and making disciples.
We see that Paul and Barnabas were on a journey of making disciples.
Additionally, each disciple actually has their own journey.
You see, I was being kind of cute with the title for today’s sermon. This is the journey for Paul and Barnabas, but we each have our own “Journey of Discipleship,” so to speak. Our journey of discipleship must begin with being made into a disciple.
Being made into a disciple means being made into a follower of Jesus Christ.
Being made into a disciple means that we understand we are sinners in need of being saved, we understand that Jesus came and lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, then rose from the dead, went back into heaven, sent His Holy Spirit, and makes us totally new when we turn from our sins and turn to Him.
Church, we must be made into disciples ourselves, and we must be about the task of making disciples. We exist to develop disciples.
Everywhere Paul and Barnabas went, they would not stop talking about how God saves sinners through the transforming work of Jesus.
We then learn that Paul and Barnabas didn’t stay in Derbe.
Rather, Derbe was the end point of their destination; then they retraced their steps all the way back.
Notice that verse 21 says, “ . . . they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch . . .”
You can see this continued retracing of their steps in verses 24 through 26: “They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch.”
Here’s a map to show you the journey and the retracing of their steps.
What were they doing as they traveled?
Well, that takes us to our next point:
II. Disciples need to be strengthened.
Look at verse 22: Luke tells us what Paul and Barnabas were doing with the disciples they encountered. They were “ . . . strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith . . . ”
You see, Paul and Barnabas helped plant these churches and lead people to Christ. They didn’t want to leave them to themselves. They wanted to strengthen them and encourage them.
Can you imagine a newborn baby being born and then the parents simply saying, “Well, good luck to you young man. I hope that all goes well,” and just leaving that baby to themselves? No way! That’s crazy!
In the same way, why would we leave a newborn disciple to themselves without encouragement and strengthening? No way! That’s crazy!
That’s why we’ve developed a discipleship journey for our church family. We’ve talked about this before, but I think it’s helpful to come back to this again.
Church, we want to develop disciples.
Here are the ways that we want to develop each other as disciples. Check out the screen. We want to lead disciples to experience spiritual growth, be part of a big group, be part of a small group, experience Christian fellowship, serve others, reach others, and develop others.
Church, we want to develop as disciples ourselves, and we want to develop other disciples.
As Paul and Barnabas sought to strengthen the disciples, we should seek to strengthen one another.
Also, notice how verse 22 continues. It says that Paul and Barnabas said to the disciples, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
Of course, hardships do not earn us entrance into the kingdom of God. Rather, hardships accompany the path into the kingdom of God.
You might wonder, “Well, why is that?”
You see the pathway into the kingdom of God is submission to Jesus. It’s giving yourself totally over to Jesus.
The pathway of submission to Jesus often involves suffering and hardship.
Peter said in 1 Peter 4:1 “Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding.”
Jesus said in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you.”
Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Jesus was strengthening His apostles by saying, “You will have peace. Be courageous.”
Paul and Barnabas were strengthening the disciples by saying, “You will encounter hardships. But that’s ok; it’s the way of Jesus; it’s the way to enter the kingdom of God.”
Paul and Barnabas are essentially saying, “Trust God; He’s got this. It will be hard, but it’s worth it to receive the glories of the kingdom of God.”
We also should strengthen each other, church. We should encourage each other.
Part of our discipleship journey is that we strengthen one another.
Third, we learn that . . .
III. Disciples need to be led.
Look at verse 23:
When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Paul and Barnabas saw it necessary to appoint elders. You may remember that elders are also known in the New Testament as overseers, shepherds, bishops, and pastors.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elder-pastors so that the churches could be led well.
I love what one scholar said about this passage. He said, “The believers were given not only edification but also organization.”
You see, God has a design for His church. That design involves not only that the disciples would be encouraged, but also that they would be led and organized by godly pastors.
God doesn’t want mass chaos for His church. He has a design, and that design involves elder-pastors.
Paul and Barnabas recognized this design, and so they installed elder-pastors in the churches so that the disciples could be led.
Notice, also, what they did after they appointed elders: they prayed, they fasted, and then they committed them to the Lord.
This model of prayer and fasting demonstrates the desire of Paul and Barnabas to have the Lord get involved.
They recognized that they needed the Lord and these churches needed the Lord, so they asked God to bless them, then they entrusted them to God.
We learn here that disciples need to be led.
By the way, if you want to learn more about prayer and fasting, go to our website and check out the sermon series, “The Spiritual Disciplines.”
If you want to know more about elders and pastors, check out the two sermon series, “The Church” and “Instructions for the Local Church.”
Finally, let us see that . . .
IV. Disciples need each other.
Let’s pick it up in verse 26:
From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
You may recall that the Church of Antioch was the church that sent out Paul and Barnabas.
Now, their work was complete. They were back in Antioch.
When they arrived, they gathered the church together and shared a report of all that God had done through their ministry.
What a glorious thing this must have been. The people of God were coming together in celebration of the work of God.
The church prayed for Paul and Barnabas, they likely financed part of the trip, they encouraged them and strengthened them, and then they got to hear about all that God had done through their collaborative effort.
These disciples shared all this together because they needed one another. God designed them to have one another.
Church, we need each other. Disciples need each other. We exist to develop disciples who . . . love the church!
Notice the last verse says that Paul and Barnabas spent a considerable time with the disciples in Antioch.
They were like family. They needed one another’s love, encouragement, support, accountability, and more.
Listen, church: God’s design is that we would be a family, united together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We need each other. We are better together.
Part of your journey of discipleship is that you would be united with and involved in a church family.
Let the example of Paul, Barnabas, and the Church in Antioch encourage you.
Also, let this bottom line summarize what we are learning today.
Bottom Line: Paul and Barnabas were committed to the task of developing disciples.
They traveled, they preached, they suffered hardships, they encouraged, they strengthened, and they did all of that because they were committed to the task of making disciples.
Why were they so committed to developing disciples? Because that is the mission that Jesus left for us.
Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples . . .” (Matthew 28:18)
Church, are we committed to the mission? Are we willing to take our discipleship journey of being disciples and developing disciples?
That takes us to our weekly challenge:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Consider where you are on your discipleship journey.
Evaluate yourself this week. How are you doing when it comes to being a disciple? How are you doing when it comes to developing disciples? Where are you on your discipleship journey?
Some of you have not yet begun your discipleship journey. Perhaps today is the day that you begin.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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