When God works a town becomes divided, those who are in and those who don’t want anything to change. Many Jews and Gentiles come to Christ. Notice that Paul and Barnabas stayed through opposition and continued to preach. But they were led to run when physical harm came upon them. The Scripture does not say why they stayed at times and faced death and why they left at other times. I personally believe it would be how the Holy Spirit leads them in that specific situation. Nowhere in scripture are Christians called to seek out deathly situations. Later in the chapter we see Paul getting stoned in Lystra.
In Lystra Paul and Barnabas have trouble and it is not one from persecution but of idol worship. They both were very disturbed that the people worshipped them as gods. Nothing like the so called faith healers today who seek fame and worship, Paul and Barnabas did not want anything to do with it. Paul preached the creator God, not the God of Abraham because these people knew nothing of God’s Word. Beware of worshiping anything or anyone besides the God of Scripture.
The last part of the chapter gives us a missionary plan.
First, Antioch is the sending church: vs 26. I pray God will have us send missionaries and church planters around the world.
Second, the missionaries went with the purpose of making disciples, vs 21.
Third, they were to establish churches and appoint elders, vs 23.
Forth, they came back and reported to the sending church.
This has been the pattern of missions and needs to be our desire in sending missionaries. Each missionary in our Cooperative Program is sent by a local church. They are approved by the CP and then the CP reports back to the churches on the behalf of our missionaries.
This is our goal as a church to make disciples, plant churches, send missionaries and help win our world to Christ. Any humanitarian effort must include the gospel.
Have a great day and go make disciples.
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