Okay this morning we're looking
at Acts chapter 15 We'll begin by reading verse 35. I'm taking
the title for the message from verse 35 Paul also and Barnabas
continued in Antioch That was their home church. That was their
home base. They continued their teaching
and the Word of the Lord and preaching the Word of the Lord
with many others also teaching and preaching the Word of the
Lord. It's so important when we meet
together that we meet together around the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Take his word and teach it and
preach it line by line and verse by verse. Someone years ago said
of my pastor, Henry Mahan, someone said of him, well, he's a good
teacher, but he's not much of a preacher. Now, I think what the person
meant by that, that is he does not or did not rant and rave
and carry on like some men in the pulpit do, but rather plainly
declared the gospel of the grace of God and the message of the
gospel so folks could in plain language understand what the
message of the gospel is. I was quite encouraged when I
went down to the TV station where we broadcast Pastor Mahan's TV
sermons on Sunday night at eight o'clock. on WPRG, WPRG. And I took some more sermons
down there on DVDs and handed it to the manager of that station,
whose name is Wayne Fugate. And I struck up a conversation
with him and he said, he said, you know, I remember years ago
watching those broadcasts, Pastor Henry Mahan on the TV. And he said, these messages here
are a special treasure. And I said, well, I'm so encouraged
to hear that. But Brother Mahan, he took the
word of God and oftentimes he's standing in front of that, you
who watch the TV broadcast on Sunday night, he would take that
word by word and preach the gospel clearly and plainly. And some
people criticized him saying, well, he's a good teacher, but
he's not much of a preacher. WELL, MY FRIEND, TEACHING AND
PREACHING GO ALONG TOGETHER, AS YOU'LL SEE HERE IN JUST A
MOMENT. THE APOSTLE SAID THIS IN 2 CORINTHIANS 3, SEEING THEN
THAT WE HAVE SUCH A HOPE, WE USE GREAT PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. NOW, IF I CAN'T COMMUNICATE THE
GOSPEL MESSAGE UNTO YOU, I'M NOT PREACHING THE GOSPEL. AND
THEN AGAIN, PAUL SAID THIS, 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 5 we preach
not ourselves but Jesus Christ the Lord and ourselves servants
for the Lord's sake those who are sent to preach the gospel
of Christ are both teachers of the word and preachers of the
gospel you cannot separate the two teaching the word and and
preaching the word, they're both one in the same. We read a moment
ago from Ephesians chapter 4, he gave some to the church. He
gave apostles, those sent of God, special men. He gave prophets. He gave some evangelists. He
gave some pastors and teachers. A pastor-teacher, that's what
a pastor does. He teaches the word of the Lord,
and in doing so, he feeds the sheep. for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ, that is, believers are mercy beggars telling
other mercy beggars where bread is found. That's what preaching
is. It's just one beggar telling another beggar where bread is
found, and doing it in such a way that you can understand that
salvation is in Christ. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ,
L-O-O-K. Everybody here, even the youngest,
understand what the word look means. LOOK TO THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST. SALVATION IS IN HIM. NOW, IF
WE'RE NOT TEACHING THE WORD IN LANGUAGE THAT PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND,
TURN BACK AND LOOK AT THIS STATEMENT WITH ME IN ACTS, CHAPTER 11.
ACTS, CHAPTER 11. WHEN PETER IS RECOUNTING AND
RECALLING THE MESSAGE WHEN HE CAME TO CORNELIUS' HOUSE, ACTS,
CHAPTER 11, VERSE 14, who shall tell thee words whereby thou
and all thy house shall be saved." To do what? To tell you words,
words. And then another place I was
reading earlier in Acts chapter 16, we're going to see, notice
verse 17. This woman that was demon possessed
followed Paul and us and cried, saying, These men are servants
of the Most High God, which show us the way of salvation. They
tell us words whereby we shall be saved, and they show us the
way of salvation. So if we're not teaching the
Word in plain, everyday, what my friend Paul Harvey used to
say, shirt-sleeve language, if we're not teaching the Word in
language that people can understand, then we're not communicating
the Gospel message. And if we're not communicating
the Word of the Lord, we're certainly not preaching the Word of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel of God. Do you understand what
I'm trying to say? So we try to use words that we
can all understand and relate to in our everyday life. Now, getting back to our story
here, when the church at Jerusalem had fully considered the matter
of how God saved sinners, remember some people came to that church,
the Gentile church in Antioch, WHO SAID TO THOSE PEOPLE, YOU
MUST KEEP THE LAW, YOU MUST BE CIRCUMCISED IN ORDER TO BE SAVED.
AND PETER DECLARED CLEARLY THAT IT'S THE GRACE OF GOD, THROUGH
THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WE SHALL BE SAVED AS OTHERS. GOD SAVES THE RELIGIOUS JEWS
THE SAME WAY HE SAVES THE PAGAN GENTILE BY THE GRACE OF GOD. LOOK AT ACTS 15, VERSE 24, FOR
AS MUCH AS WE HAVE HEARD THAT CERTAIN WENT OUT FROM US, and
have troubled you with words, words that subverted your soul
rather than pointing you to the Lord Jesus Christ, they pointed
you away from the Lord Jesus Christ, saying that you must
be circumcised, that you must keep the law. We gave no such
commandment. Now they send this letter back
with Paul and Barnabas and with Silas and with Judas. Look at
verse 30. Verse 30, so when they were dismissed,
they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude
together, they delivered the word of the Lord, this epistle,
which when they read, they rejoiced for the consolation. Now, what
do believers rejoice in, and what is the comfort or consolation
that believers have? Christ is our Savior. Comfort therefore we rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone So when they came to Antioch
they delivered this Message and they rejoiced and Judas and Silas
verse 32 being prophets Being prophets those who were called
son of God those who were taught the gospel of God they also exhorted
the brethren with many words and CONFIRMED. NOW, WHAT WERE
THE MANY WORDS THAT THEY SPOKE? THEY SPOKE WORDS ABOUT THE GOSPEL
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. YOU KNOW THAT BECAUSE THEY WERE
PROPHETS, SIN OF GOD. YOU REMEMBER IN ACTS CHAPTER
10, VERSE 43, WHERE IT SAYS, TO HIM GIVE ALL THE PROPHETS
WITNESS. THOSE PROPHETS THAT ARE SIN OF
GOD HAVE BUT ONE MESSAGE. THAT ONE MESSAGE THAT JUDAS AND
SILAS PREACHED WAS THE SAME MESSAGE THAT PETER PREACHED AND BARNABAS
AND PAUL PREACHED. JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED IS EVERYTHING
IN SALVATION. THAT'S OUR HOPE. THAT'S YOUR
HOPE, RIGHT? IT'S CHRIST ALONE. SO THEY EXHORTED
WITH WORDS AND CONFIRMED. NOW VERSE 33, WATCH THIS. AFTER
THEY HAD TARRIED THERE IS SPACE THAT IS PREACHING THE GOSPEL
AND WORSHIPING TOGETHER THEY WILL LET GO IN PEACE FROM THE
BRETHREN BACK TO THE APOSTLE JAMES AND PETER BACK IN JERUSALEM
FROM ANTIOCH NOTWITHSTANDING, VERSE 34, IT PLEASED SILAS THERE
TO ABIDE. NOW WE'RE GOING TO READ A LOT
AS WE GO THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS. WE'RE GOING TO FIND A LOT
OF SCRIPTURE THAT TELLS US ABOUT This missionary team, this new
team of Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas. Now, Silas, after Silas and Judas
preached the gospel, Judas returned to Jerusalem. Now, this is not
Judas the apostle. We know this is another man.
Silas was pleased and compelled BY GOD TO STAY THERE AND CONTINUE
THERE WITH THE BRETHREN. NOW HERE WE SEE THE SOVEREIGN
WORKING PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD. JUDAS WENT BACK TO JERUSALEM
TO THE APOSTLES AND SILAS WAS SOMEHOW IN HIS MIND AND HIS HEART
WAS COMPELLED to stay there. Now, we see the sovereign providence
of God preparing, and I'm sure that Silas probably didn't know
at that time what the Lord was preparing for him for the ministry,
but he's about to find out. WE KNOW THAT HE BECAME A FAITHFUL
GOSPEL MISSIONARY. HE PARTNERED WITH THE APOSTLE
PAUL TO PREACH THE GOSPEL IN MANY PLACES TO MANY PEOPLE AND
HE WOULD SUFFER TERRIBLE PERSECUTION FOR PREACHING THAT MESSAGE. IF YOU'LL FIND IN ACTS CHAPTER
16 when he first goes out with Paul preaching the gospel, and
they come to the city of Philippi, and there they preach the gospel,
and there they got in trouble. So much so that it says down
here in verse 22, Acts 16, the multitude rose up together against
them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes and commanded
to beat them, and commanded to beat them, and when they had
laid many stripes upon them. Now this is Silas. Here's his
first journey with Paul, the first city they go to, and they
preach the gospel, and they're beaten with many stripes. CHARGING
THE JAILER, AND CAST HIM INTO PRISON, CHARGING THE JAILER TO
KEEP THEM SAFELY, VERSE 24, WHO HAVING RECEIVED SUCH A CHARGE,
THRUST THEM INTO THE INNER PRISON, AND MADE THEIR FEAST FAST IN
STOCKS And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises
unto God and the Lord and the prisoners. Of course, the Lord
did as well, but the prisoners heard them. So Silas didn't get
very far. And you reckon he was somewhat
discouraged when he was beaten and put in jail? No doubt he
was. But yet, he's singing and praising God for the salvation
that is of God's grace alone. Now, verse 35. Here, we want
to camp right here for just a minute. I wrote a note to myself, camp
here. Okay, verse 35. Paul, also in
Barnabas, continued in Antioch teaching AND PREACHING THE WORD
OF THE LORD WITH MANY, MANY OTHERS AS WELL. NOW, WHEN WE TEACH THE
WORD, WE ARE PREACHING CHRIST AS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION. THE ONLY WAY THAT GOD SAVES SINNERS. WE'RE PREACHING THE WAY OF SALVATION. IF YOU LOOK BACK AT ACT CHAPTER
4, ACTS CHAPTER 4, AND I QUOTE THIS VERSE ALL THE TIME, WHEN
WE'RE PREACHING AND TEACHING THE WORD, THE MESSAGE OF THE
WORD AND THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL IS SINGLE-FOLD. ONE MESSAGE IN ACTS CHAPTER 4,
Verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other for there is no
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Salvation is only in the Lord
Jesus Christ. When we preach the word, we're
teaching that salvation is of the Lord and that salvation is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and we are complete in Him. The Lord
says, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the
Father but by and through me. Teaching and preaching the word
of the Lord is the ordained means that God has given to His people
to call out His sheep. Now, I want to show you this.
very plainly, Romans 10. Romans 10. Remember, we studied
in 1 Corinthians 1, it pleased God through preaching to save
them that believe. In Romans 10, NOTICE VERSE 11,
FOR THE SCRIPTURE SAITH, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM SHALL NOT BE
ASHAMED. ROMANS 10 VERSE 12, FOR THERE
IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JEW AND THE GREEK, FOR THE SAME
LORD OVER ALL IS UPON ALL, UNTO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM. HE'S
THE SAME LORD OVER ALL, IS RICH UNTO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM.
VERSE 13, WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL
BE SAVED. HOW THEN SHALL THEY CALL ON HIM
IN WHOM THEY HAVE NOT BELIEVED? AND HOW SHALL THEY BELIEVE IN
HIM OF WHOM THEY HAVE NOT HEARD? SO WHAT MUST YOU HEAR? THE GOSPEL
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HOW SHALL THEY PREACH AND SHALL
Excuse me, how shall they believe in him of whom they've not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach except they be sent as it is written? How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring
glad tidings of good things, that declare the Lord our God
does reign. THE LORD HAS ORDAINED THE PREACHING
AND TEACHING OF THE GOSPEL TO CALL OUT HIS SHEEP, AND HIS SHEEP
WILL HEAR THAT WORD TAUGHT BY GOD. NOW LET ME SHOW YOU A COUPLE
MORE SCRIPTURES IN THE BOOK OF ACTS HERE. ACTS CHAPTER 4, VERSE
20. TURN BACK TO ACTS CHAPTER 4 AGAIN,
VERSE 20. Remember they were commanded
not to speak any more, verse 18, Acts chapter 4, verse 18. And they called them and commanded
them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of our Lord
Jesus. Peter and John answered and said
unto them, Whither it be right in the sight of God, to hearken
unto you more than God judge you, but we cannot but speak
the things which we have seen and we have heard." Now turn
one page, two pages, Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 5. You remember
they went on preaching the gospel. In Acts chapter 5 verse 40, they
agreed and called the apostles and beaten them and commanded
them that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let
them go. And they departed from the presence
of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer
shame for his name and daily in the temple and in every house
they ceased not to teach and to preach, what? THE GOSPEL. JESUS CHRIST. JESUS CHRIST. TO TEACH AND PREACH THE WORD. NOW I TURN BACK TO THE TEXT. ACTS 15-35. THEY CONTINUE THEIR
TEACHING AND PREACHING THE WORD OF THE LORD. NOW WHAT IS MEANT
BY THE WORD OF THE LORD? OKAY, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND
OUT. TURN TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS, THE BOOK OF HEBREWS, CHAPTER
FOUR. HEBREWS, CHAPTER FOUR. VERSE 12. HEBREWS 4, 12. THEY
WERE TEACHING AND PREACHING THE WORD, NOT OF MEN, BUT THE WORD
THAT'S OF THE LORD. AND HERE'S THE REASON WHY. IT'S
ORDAINED OF GOD FOR THIS PURPOSE. HEBREWS 4, VERSE 12. FOR THE
WORD OF GOD IS QUICK AND POWERFUL. SO WE PREACH THE WORD OF GOD
BECAUSE IT'S THE LIVING SWORD OF GOD. IT'S QUICK AND IT'S POWERFUL
AND IT'S SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD. THE WORD OF THE LORD. THE WRITTEN WORD OF THE LORD.
Now this scripture is not only talking about the written word
of the Lord, but it seems as you read that verse that it's
talking about a person. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF
IS CALLED WHAT? THE WORD OF THE LORD, RIGHT? TURN TO JOHN, CHAPTER 1. SEE
IF I CAN MAKE GOOD ON THAT. JOHN, CHAPTER 1. SO WHEN WE TALK
ABOUT THE WORD OF THE LORD, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WRITTEN WORD
OF THE LORD, BUT WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE INCARNATE WORD OF THE
LORD, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. JOHN, CHAPTER 1. VERSE 14, BUT
JOHN CHAPTER 1, VERSE 1, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE BEGINNING WAS
THE WORD, NOTICE THAT'S CAPITAL, TALKING ABOUT A PERSON, AND THE
WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. NOW, DOWN TO VERSE 14,
JOHN CHAPTER 1, VERSE 14, AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH and dwelt
among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth, look at verse 16,
John 1 verse 16, and of his fullness Have we all received grace for
grace? For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at
any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. So we're
talking about the written word. All scripture is God-breathed.
All scripture is given of God. The written word tells us about
the incarnate word, the living word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. So when we see in our text that
they were teachers and preachers of the word of the Lord, he's
talking about the written word. How many times have we seen in
our study in the book of Acts when those men, Stephen and others,
Paul and Peter, when they preached the gospel, they referred to
what was written, didn't they? And they took that written word
and preached Christ, the incarnate word. Without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. So when we preach the word, we
preach the written word that tells us of the living word.
And it tells us about his person, who he is. THE WORD OF THE LORD,
THE ETERNAL, ONLY, WELL-BELOVED, ETERNAL, HOLY, BEGOTTEN SON OF
GOD WHO ACCOMPLISHED ALL SALVATION FOR US. IT TELLS US OF HIS PERSON. IT TELLS US OF HIS REDEEMING
WORK. how he came, the word that was
written of him, wounded for our transgression, bruised for our
iniquity, and in the fullness of time, he came and accomplished
all that was written of him, putting away our sin by the sacrifice
of himself. He is redeeming work. He obtained
for us eternal redemption with his own blood. Peter writes about
being redeemed with what? Not silver and gold. but with
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we teach
and preach the word, we're preaching his person. and what he did,
how God bought us with his own blood. And we declare that salvation
is all of grace. As Peter says in verse 11 of
Acts 15, we believe through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we shall be saved even as they. In other words, they preach THEY
PREACHED IN THAT DAY, AND THEY TAUGHT IN THAT DAY WHO HE IS
AND WHAT HE DID, AND WE DO THE SAME IN OUR DAY. WE TAKE THE
WRITTEN WORD AND TELL YOU OF THE LIVING WORD, THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST, AND ALL THAT HE HAS DONE FOR US, AND HOW HE ACCOMPLISHED
SALVATION FOR US. IT'S NOT WHAT YOU MUST DO. THAT'S
NOT SALVATION. SALVATION IS WHAT HE HAS DONE
FOR US. WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US. I want
to read two scriptures to you. I want you to find 1 Corinthians
chapter two, and this will help us to understand what teaching
and preaching the word of the Lord is and how the Lord has
promised to bless his word. 1 Corinthians chapter two, 1
Corinthians chapter two, verse one, and I brethren, when I came
to you, I came not with excellency of speech or wisdom, but declaring
unto you the testimony of God, teaching and preaching the testimony
of God, the word of God, the will of God. For I determined
not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness,
and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. THAT IS PREACHING AND DECLARING
CLEARLY AND PLAINLY THE WORD OF THE LORD THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD
NOT STAND IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD. FAITH
COMES BY HEARING. HEARING WHAT? THE TRADITIONS
OF MEN? FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING
BY THE WORD OF THE LORD. THE WORD OF THE LORD TWO-FOLD,
HIS WRITTEN WORD AND THE INCARNATE WORD. IT COMES BY THE WORD, BY
THE WILL OF THE LORD. NOW, ONE OTHER SCRIPTURE ON PREACHING,
FIND SECOND CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER FOUR. SECOND CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER
FOUR. TEACHING AND PREACHING THE WORD
OF THE LORD. THAT'S WHAT I INSPIRE TO DO. THAT'S WHAT I ATTEMPT TO DO EVERY
TIME WE TAKE THE WORD OF GOD AND OPEN IT, READ HIS WORD, AND
AS MY PASTOR USED TO SAY, READ THE WORD AND SKEDADDLE TO CHRIST,
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. GET TO HIM, BECAUSE IT'S ALL
ABOUT HIM. NOW, SECOND CORINTHIANS 4, VERSE
1, THEREFORE, SEEING WE HAVE THIS MINISTRY, As we have received
mercy, we do not faint, we do not quit, but we have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor
handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth,
commanding ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. But if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are
lost. And whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds
of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Verse 5, for we preach not ourselves. Now if you look on the front
of the bulletin, don't do it now, but if you look on the front
of the bulletin, that statement, this scripture's been on the
front of the bulletin for 26 years. 26 years for we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servant
for his sake We're not preaching ourselves We are pointing sinners
to the Lord Jesus Christ Well God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness Has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
verse 7 we have this treasure and IN EARTHEN VESSELS. NOW, WE DON'T GLORY IN THE PREACHER.
HE'S JUST A MAN. THAT'S ALL I AM, A SINNER SAVED
BY GRACE. WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN
VESSELS THAT THE EXCELLENCY OF THE POWER MAY BE OF GOD AND NOT
OF US. SO, WE TAKE THE WORD OF GOD AND
TEACH THE WORD OF GOD AND POINT SINNERS TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
ALONE. In closing, I want to look at
verse 36, 37, 38, 39. And after some days Paul said
to Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every
city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how
they do. Now there it is again. They preach
the word of the Lord in every city. Paul was zealous to go
back to these cities where he'd been beaten and stoned and run
out of town, and he went right back to the same places, Lystra,
Iconium, those places where he was persecuted. He went right
back there again. And let's see how the brethren
are doing WE PREACHED THE WORD OF THE LORD TO THEM, AND LET'S
PREACH THE WORD TO THEM AGAIN. VERSE 37, BARNABAS DETERMINED
TO TAKE WITH THEM THIS YOUNG MAN NAMED JOHN, WHOSE SURNAME
WAS MARK, JOHN MARK. NOW, HE ACCOMPANIED PAUL AND
BARNABAS ON THAT FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY, AND AFTER THEY HAD BEEN
TOGETHER FOR SOME TIME, HE LEFT THE MINISTRY AND WENT BACK HOME
TO JERUSALEM. Now you think that the Lord is
just done with that man. The Lord's not going to use that
man anymore. And Paul seemed to think, well,
you know, I can't trust him. He quit. He quit us first. He
went back home. I'm not going to trust him again.
But you know, the Lord didn't throw this man away. John Mark,
we have the gospel of Matthew. MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN, THAT'S
THE SAME MAN. THE LORD USED THIS MAN IN A MANY,
IN A MIGHTY WAY, IN MANY WAYS HE BLESSED THE MINISTRY OF JOHN
MARK. EVEN THOUGH HE QUIT, HE DIDN'T
QUIT FINALLY BECAUSE GOD WASN'T DONE WITH HIM. GOD BLESSED HIM
AND USED HIM. VERSE 38, PAUL THOUGHT IT NOT
GOOD TO TAKE HIM WITH THEM, WHO DEPARTED FROM THEM, FROM PANTHELIA,
and went not with them to the work." Paul said, I'm done with
him. But thank God, God wasn't done
with him. And oftentimes we view things in a short-sighted way
where God sees things at a long distance, doesn't he? Verse 39,
and the contention was so sharp. Now, why didn't the Lord just
leave this part out? Why do we need to know that there
was a sharp contention between these two beloved brothers, Paul
and Barnabas, so much so that they departed asunder from one
another? The best of men are only men
at best. THEY HAD A SEPARATION FOR A WHILE. AND THE DIVISION HERE, WE MUST
UNDERSTAND THIS, THE CONTENTION AND THE DIVISION WAS NOT OVER
THE GOSPEL. IT WAS NOT OVER HOW GOD SAVED
SINNERS. IT WAS OVER THE ISSUE OF THE
CONDUCT OF ANOTHER MAN. AND PAUL AND BARNABAS HAD AN
HONEST DISAGREEMENT ABOUT HIM. BUT EVEN IN THIS, where it says
that Paul chose Silas. Let's read the last part of verse
39. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. There's another missionary
team with Barnabas and John Mark and they sailed to Cyprus and
Paul chose Silas. GOD WAS PREPARING THIS YOUNG
MAN FOR THIS MISSIONARY ENDEAVOR. WE'RE GOING TO SEE MUCH ABOUT
HIM AS WE READ THE REST OF THE BOOK OF ACTS. PAUL CHOSE SILAS
AND DEPARTED BEING RECOMMENDED BY THE BRETHREN UNTO THE GRACE
OF GOD. THE GRACE OF GOD. BEING RECOMMENDED
BY THE GRACE OF GOD. NOW THAT'S THE REASON WE ENJOY
SALVATION. THE GRACE OF GOD HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED
TO US. by the grace of God. Of His own
fullness have we all received grace for grace. The reason we
have grace and enjoy grace is because of His grace, because
of His mercy, not our merit, being recommended by the brethren
unto the grace of God. I just love to read that statement,
the grace of God. What would be, what would we
be, where would we be WITHOUT THE GRACE OF GOD, GOD REACHING
INTO OUR HEART, OUR LIVES BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND MAKING US
NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST. CAN WE SAY WITH THE APOSTLE,
BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I AM WHAT I AM BY THE GRACE OF GOD. AND HE WENT THROUGH SYRIA AND
SILESIA CONFIRMING THE CHURCHES. JUST WHAT DO YOU RECKON HE CONFIRMED
THEM WITH? Teaching and preaching the Word
of the Lord. The Word of the Lord. We sing often that song, O to
grace, how great a debtor, daily I am constrained to be. God saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
work, but according to his own purpose and grace, given us in
Christ before the foundation of the world. You think about
that. God has given us grace in Christ before we were even
born. GOD PURPOSED AND DETERMINED TO
SAVE YOU FROM ALL ETERNITY. THAT'S GRACE. SOVEREIGN GRACE,
ETERNAL GRACE, FETCHING GRACE, REDEEMING GRACE, ELECTING GRACE. THERE'S A REMNANT ACCORDING TO
THE ELECTION OF GRACE. LET ME READ THIS TO YOU AND I'LL
LET YOU GO. TALKING ABOUT THE GRACE OF GOD.
Moreover, he said, the law entered that the offense might abound,
Romans 5 20, but where sin abounded, grace. Grace did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace reigns. It reigns supreme,
sovereignly. God will be merciful and gracious
to whom he will. Where sin abounded, grace does
much more abound, abound forever.