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October 5 - Acts 13 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, my name is Sean Conry and I am so delighted that
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  you have tucked on play and have invited me into your day so that
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  you and I can take this moment in this chapter, a day Bible
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  reading podcast to read another chapter of the Bible together.
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  As you know, we are reading through the book of Acts at the
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  moment and we have reached one of those days where things shift
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  a little in a new direction and this is a direction which will
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  last well frankly for most of the New Testament.
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  Today we see the commissioning of Barnabas and Saul.
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  And now the story starts to really focus in on the mission
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  work of this man Saul, who becomes Paul.
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  And he will, as you know, become a hulking figure in the New
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  Testament as he writes so many letters of encouragement and
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  instruction to the churches in that time and place.
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  So as we begin to hear about His work, let us take ourselves back
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  these 2000 odd years and open our hearts to what the Spirit
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  has to share with us as we read together Acts Chapter 13.
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  Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of
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  Syria were Barnabas Simon, called the black man Lucius from
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  Sirene Manayan, the childhood companion of King Herod, Antipas
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  and Saul. One day, as these men were
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  worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
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  appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have
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  called them. So after more fasting and prayer
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  the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.
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  So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit.
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  They went down to the seaport of Solucia and then sailed for the
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  island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis,
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  they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word
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  of God. John Mark went with them as
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  their assistant. Afterward, they traveled from
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  town to town across the entire island until finally they
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  reached Pathos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet
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  named Bar Jesus. He had attached himself to the
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  governor, Sergius Paulus, who is an intelligent man.
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  The governor invited Barnabas and soul to visit him, for he
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  wanted to hear the word of God. But Elemis the sorcerer, as his
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  name means in Greek, interfered and urged the governor to pay no
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  attention to what Barnabas and soul said.
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  He was trying to keep the governor from believing soul,
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  also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he
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  looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, You son of the
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  devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of
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  all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of
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  the Lord? Watch now, for the Lord has laid
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  his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind.
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  You will not see the sunlight for some time.
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  Instantly mist and darkness came over the man's eyes, and he
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  began groping around, begging for someone to take his hand and
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  lead him. When the governor saw what had
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  happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the
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  teaching about the Lord. Paul and his companions then
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  left pathos by ship for Pamphilia, landing at the port
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  town of Perga. There John Mark left them and
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  returned to Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas traveled
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  inland to Antioch of Persidia. On the Sabbath they went to the
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  synagogue for the service. After the usual readings from
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  the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the
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  service sent them this message. Brothers, if you have any word
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  of encouragement for the people, come and give it.
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  So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started
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  speaking. Men of Israel, he said.
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  And you, God fearing Gentiles, listen to me.
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  The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made
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  them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt.
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  Then, with a powerful arm, he led them out of their slavery.
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  He put up with them through 40 years of wandering in the
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  wilderness. Then he destroyed seven nations
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  in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.
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  All this took about 450 years. After that, God gave them judges
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  to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet.
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  Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul,
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  son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for 40
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  years. But God removed Saul and
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  replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, I have
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  found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.
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  He will do everything I want him to do, and it is one of King
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  David's descendants, Jesus, who is God's promised savior of
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  Israel. Before he came, John the Baptist
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  preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their
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  sins and turn to God and be baptized.
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  As John was finishing his ministry, he asked, do you think
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  I am the Messiah? No, I am not.
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  But he is coming soon, and I'm not even worthy to be his slave
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  and untie the sandals on his feet.
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  Brothers, you sons of Abraham, and also you, God fearing
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  Gentiles, this message of salvation has been sent to us.
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  The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize
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  Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about.
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  Instead they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the
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  prophet's words that are read every Sabbath.
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  They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked
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  Pilot to have him killed anyway. When they had done all that the
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  prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and
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  placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the
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  dead, and over a period of many days he appeared to those who
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  had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
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  They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.
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  And now we are here to bring you this good news.
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  The promise was made to our ancestors and God has now
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  fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus.
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  This is what the 2nd Psalm says about Jesus.
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  You are my son. Today I have become your father,
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  for God has promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving
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  him to rot in the grave. He said I will give you the
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  sacred blessing I promised to David.
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  Another Psalm explains it more fully.
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  You will not allow your holy 1 to rot in the grave.
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  This is not a reference to David.
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  For after David had done the will of God in his own
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  generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and
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  his body decayed. No, it was a reference to
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  someone else, someone whom God raised and whose body did not
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  decay. Brothers, listen.
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  We are here to proclaim that through this man, Jesus, there
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  is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is
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  made right in God's sight, something the Law of Moses could
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  never do. Be careful.
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  Don't let the prophet's words apply to you, For they said,
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  look you mockers, be amazed and die.
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  For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't
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  believe even if someone told you about it.
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  As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people
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  begged them to speak about these things again the next week.
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  Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and
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  Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the
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  grace of God. The following week, almost the
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  entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the
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  Lord. But when some of the Jews saw
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  the crowds, they were jealous, so they slandered Paul and
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  argued against whatever he said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out
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  boldly and declared it was necessary that we first preached
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  the word of God to you, Jews. But since you have rejected it
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  and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer
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  it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us this
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  command when he said, I have made you a light to the Gentiles
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  to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.
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  When the Gentiles heard this, I have a very glad and thank the
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  Lord for His message. And all who were chosen for
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  eternal life became believers. So the Lord's message spread
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  throughout that region. Then the Jews stirred up the
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  influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and
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  they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of
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  town. So they shook the dust from
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  their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town
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  of Iconium. And the believers were filled
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  with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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  How good are you, God? So, so incredibly good, beyond
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  anything that our human minds can imagine.
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  And what I love about this reading is that when people get
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  faith in you, they respond with joy.
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  Ignite in us that joy of you and our lives with you, with your
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  spirit dwelling in us, saved, showered by your grace.
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  Oh what a joyous thing that is. Help that not to grow stale in
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  us, but to be fanned into a flame that would burn.
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  Burn with joy, burn with love. And our hearts can be bubbling
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  over knowing that you have saved us, that we are secure, dearly
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  loved children of a Heavenly Father, and that as this joy
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  fills our hearts, that we can shine this joy to the world
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  around us that so desperately needs it.
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  You are awesome and we love you, and we experience this joy, and
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  we pray that you would just magnify it in us so that we can
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  be a force for good for your Kingdom in this world.
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  And we pray all of this in the name of Jesus.
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  Amen.