Acts 13-14
In the first verses of chapter 13 the Holy Ghost, while the prophets and teachers were ministering, called the leaders to separate Paul and Barnabas from the church at Antioch and send them off on a mission for His work. Can you imagine the excitement? The anticipated adventure of a missionary starting to serve the Lord? I can imagine that was how Paul must have felt starting his very first missionary journey with Barnabas. Prayer, fasting, and laying on of hands helped to prepare the two men for their mission. This is the first time we see a planned overseas mission by a specific church and while we are not given a definition for exactly what the “work” Paul and Barnabas were to do, it’s clear that it was a mission to the Gentiles. From the very beginning of this chapter we see that there are different kinds of people, instruments for the Lord’s work, all at different phases and places in their life but all with the same purpose of furthering the Gospel. In this passage, Paul, a former persecutor of Christians now is starting a mission to save souls for the Lord with Barnabas, a teacher at Antioch. What a testimony! What an encouragement for us!
The journey does not start out easy, as Elymas Bar-Jesus, a false prophet and sorcerer, sought to keep a lost soul from hearing Paul and Barnabas. But because of the leadership Paul displayed in confronting Elymas and with the filling of the Holy Spirit, Sergius Paulus was amazed at the doctrine of the Lord and was converted to Christ! How overjoyed Paul and Barnabas must have been!
As their journey continued, Paul spoke in the synagogue at Antioch, which begins the first Sabbath. His sermon was focused to the men of Israel and those that fear God. It was a great reminder of all that the Lord had done and as Paul ends his sermon he gives a warning against unbelief. After Paul’s sermon the Gentiles begged to