Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

46 - Eternal Perspectives

We’re in a section of the Book of Acts where we’re watching Paul and Barnabas move from city to city. They only stay for a matter of weeks or months before they are forced to move on. Yet in each place they leave new believers who’ve been joined together into a spiritual family, who are very aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit among them and who, in the midst of great hostility, possess an almost inexplicable joy. You would think that after the apostles departed these new “babes in Christ” would quickly be overwhelmed by all the pressures against them, and abandon their faith. You would think that it would be impossible to establish something lasting in such a short period of time, with so little teaching, and in such a hostile environment. Yet as we continue watching these missionary journeys we see just the opposite. We see churches taking root and growing. Paul’s letters, that fill up so much of our New Testament, are written to churches that began just this way, and though they are clearly not without their struggles, collapsing and ceasing to exist is not one of them. Instead, Paul’s letters are full of the normal pastoral issues that arise in a body of believers.

So, how do we explain the fact that people who’d had so little time invested in them were able to endure, and even flourish in their faith? What did Paul and Barnabas do to them that left them with such tenacious faith? Of course, we already know the most important reason, which is that they had been presented with an accurate gospel, and as a result were fully born again, including receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit. So there was no doubt in their minds that God had come into their lives. The gospel had come to them with power. This was not simply a new doctrine. God was with them. They felt His love, they saw the sick healed and the tormented delivered, and He answered their prayers. This was more than religion. This was reality.

But Paul and Barnabas also taught them well. They laid a foundation of understanding so these new believers would have an accurate perspective on what was happening to them. There are so many things we need to know about God, so many principles and truths that guide our lives. But if you only had a few weeks with someone, and there was no such thing as Christian literature to leave with them, only the Old Testament, and maybe only parts of that, what would you teach them? What truths would they need, above everything else, so they could face the trials ahead? The answer is surprising, and very basic. Paul and Barnabas (and Jesus) taught things many of us today might think of as negative or overly controversial. We might mention these things in passing, but not really “hammer it home” as truths vital to their survival. But they did, and maybe that’s why their disciples, young in their faith though they were, stood firm in the midst of a storm of affliction. Maybe it’s because they faced a hostile world armed with eternal perspectives.

45 - Spiritual Jealousy

Have you ever watched God work powerfully through someone else, and instead of being happy for that person, you felt frustrated? You wished it could have been you. As those feelings rushed over you, you probably tried to explain to yourself why such things could never happen to you. You may have blamed it on your appearance or intelligence or sinful past or bad decisions made when you were younger. The result was that you convinced yourself to lower your expectations. God would never work that powerfully through someone like you.

If you have thought such thoughts, you may have noticed that another emotion came along with them: anger…at the person God was blessing, but also, if you are able to admit it, at God Himself. It all seems so unfair. It appears that God must be just like everybody else, He has His favorites, and you’re not one of them. As the emotions surge, you wish you could punish somebody, but you can’t punish God. Yes, you can withdraw from Him and claim to be an atheist, but that doesn’t heal the wound of feeling like a failure. So you turn your anger on the person. In whatever way you can you try to hurt them. Now, let’s watch this spiritual jealousy in action.

44 - Seeing Jesus Alive

Paul had good news to preach. He announced to this synagogue full of Jews and Gentiles that God had fulfilled His promise to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) that He would end the power of death. Their greatest longing, and ours, was that they would not remain in the grave, but would come back to life, not just spiritually, but physically. And Paul’s message on that Sabbath morning in Pisidian Antioch was that this wonderful promise was no longer just a hope. For the first time a man had escaped from the grip of death, and as He did He carried with Him the entire human race. A man who had died was literally alive, and would never die again. And He had been seen by many witnesses.

What if you could have been one of those men and women who actually saw Him standing in front of you? What if you, like Thomas, had been able to touch His scars? Or like the disciples who sat on the beach in Galilee, you ate the fish and bread he handed you? How would that change the way you think about Him? To be absolutely sure He is alive would change everything. We would not become religious, we would become His witnesses, joyfully announcing an historical fact. We’d tell people, “This is the Savior. He isn’t just one more of those teachers who say wise things and then die. After a brutal execution and three days in a tomb God raised Him up in complete health, with a glorious new body!” You wouldn’t spend a lot of time arguing or debating, you’d be telling everyone you could, “Jesus is the Savior. I know He is, I’ve seen Him!”

43 - The Mercies of David

The Law of Moses makes no provision for deliberate, intentional rebellion. Sins done out of weakness or by accident can be forgiven, but not sins of presumption, sins done in defiance of God’s laws. There was no sacrifice provided for this. A person who sinned with “a high hand” was left to helplessly wait for God’s judgment. Listen: 
“But the person who does anything defiantly…that one is blaspheming the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off, his guilt shall be on him” (Nu 15:30). 

If that were the extent of God’s mercy, many of us…no, most of us, would be left with no place to turn. It’s no wonder people fled into the safety of rigid legalism. They were driven there by the fear that they might cross the line between intentional and unintentional sin and be left condemned. They concluded it would be better to live enslaved to rules, than to do something that might be unforgivable.

And then along came David who committed terrible sins, and did them deliberately. There was no atonement for adultery and murder, only justice. So what hope could there be for him? Yet God gave David a level of mercy deeper than anything the Law of Moses could offer. Instead of running away from God because of his shame, David ran to Him. He openly confessed his sins, he fully acknowledged the wicked motives in his heart, and he boldly asked that mercy be given to him because he trusted in God’s “loving kindness” (hesed: the mercy God promised to give His people). He stood before God and reminded Him that He had promised to love His people and be merciful to them (Dt 7:6-10). And God gave him mercy. He forgave him and created a clean heart in him, and did not take the Holy Spirit from him (Ps 51:10, 11).

42 - Young Mark

As Paul and Barnabas set out from Antioch on their mission, Luke briefly mentions they “also had John (Mark) as their helper.” He didn’t last long. No sooner did they leave the island of Cyprus and head toward the interior of Asia Minor than “…John left them and returned to Jerusalem.” The reason for this isn’t stated, but it’s some sort of failure because Paul’s confidence in him was shaken, and he wouldn’t allow him to accompany them on the next trip (Ac 15:36-40). Yet, this certainly wasn’t the end of Mark’s development into a minister of God. He kept on learning and growing. Barnabas, of course, didn’t give up on him. When Paul refused, Barnabas changed his own plans and took Mark with him to Cyprus where they probably revisited the believers they had led to Christ on the first mission (Ac 15:39). 

The point is, all young disciples make mistakes, as do older disciples. But the danger is greater for the young that they will be categorized as failures and cast aside. Someone, someone older, needs to believe in them, to pick them up, dust them off, and encourage them to keep growing. And most will, if they are cared for. The father-hand of God and the passing of time will do the rest. And then they will rise to a level beyond what anyone thought possible. Take Mark for example. Here in Acts he looks like such a failure, but that’s not the end of his story. Of all people, Paul, as he sits in Nero’s prison in Rome, awaiting his trial that would bring a death sentence, writes to Timothy, another young disciple who struggled with courage issues (2Ti 1:7, 8), and he said this, “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you for he is very helpful to me for ministry” (2Ti 4:11). Clearly, Mark had regained Paul’s respect and earned his trust. Oh, and there’s one more thing we should mention: Mark wrote the first gospel, which provided a foundation for Luke and Matthew to write theirs. In other words, the kid who lost his nerve at Perga went on to strengthen for all time the entire church of Jesus Christ. Thanks Mark!

41 - Prophetic Guidance

The call to send missionaries came during a small gathering of church leaders. Five men, all of whom functioned as prophets and teachers, had set aside time to fast and worship. It appears the purpose for the meeting was to listen to the Lord. It also appears, from the casual way Luke describes it, that this sort of gathering was a normal part of life. He names the men: “Now among the church in Antioch there were both prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian (Ac 11:20), and also Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch (Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, 4BC-AD39) and Saul.” Then Luke tells us what happened: “And while ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart to me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” And finally, he tells us how they responded: “Then, having fasted and prayed to prepare themselves, and having laid hands on them, they released them.”

Once again, these early believers are teaching us how to live out our faith. In this case, they show us how to wait on the Lord and receive guidance. Luke lists who gathered, describes how they listened, and he even reports how they responded. No subject is more important to a true believer. Our softened hearts long to do His will, but at times we still struggle to know His will. That’s why Luke’s picture of what took place in Antioch is such a gift to us. He’s given us a model of how the early church listened to God.

40 - Flattery and Complements

Every human being needs encouragement. Many of us are our own worst critic, so a sincere compliment or word of thanks can be like a “cup of cold water” to someone who’s thirsty. Of course, there are people who are proud, but in most cases, I think, much of that is bluff, or if nothing else the passing of time tends to humble even the best of us. Discouragement, self-hatred and shame become the enemies we wrestle with. So when someone speaks positively to us it can have a powerful impact…so powerful that if wielded by the wrong person such words can be used to control us. They can lure us into a strange state of self-deception in which we actually begin to believe what we’re being told. And if someone doesn’t rescue us by confronting us with the truth, it can ruin our personality and take away our effectiveness in serving God.

Luke’s account of Herod’s strange death allows us to watch a man fall prey to flattery. For years this man had pretended to be a devout Jew, yet when a crowd of people tell him he is a god, for a few seconds he believes it, for a few seconds he basks in their worship and in that few seconds God’s patience runs out. An angel strikes him and exposes the lie. Admittedly, Herod Agrippa’s death is bizarre, but the forces at play in that amphitheater aren’t. They are all too familiar. We’ve all felt the temptation to believe too much about ourselves, to receive flattery, because we are all in need of encouragement. How we speak to one another is of great concern to God. The Bible has much to say about this topic. So let’s learn from Herod’s example what to avoid, and then let’s learn how God wants us to compliment and honor one another.

39 - Choosing To Pray

Bad things happen over which we have no control, but we do have control over how we react to those events. We can plummet into despair or turn our hearts to prayer…real, passionate, focused prayer. There’s a disarming realism in this passage. Luke allows us to watch our forefathers and mothers face a tragic, confusing situation. Yet, in spite of their pain, they gathered to pray. They didn’t pull away from each other to lament though, of course, private prayer was a foundational part of every one of their lives. They responded to the horrible news that their dynamic leader had been shamefully beheaded by crowding into a house and then together “stretching out toward God” in prayer. They gathered, they focused, and they persevered, and because they responded this way they averted another tragedy and released a miracle that restored everyone’s confidence in God.

38 - Honoring Flawed People

Honoring people who deserve honor is easy. Most of us know people we deeply respect, and showing honor to them flows effortlessly from our hearts. The real challenge comes when we’re asked to honor flawed people, people who don’t live up to our expectations, people who’ve failed to do what they should have done. We ask ourselves, “How can I respect someone who hasn’t earned my respect? How can I love someone who doesn’t love me? How can I admire someone who looks down on me? How can I joyfully give to someone who only takes from me?” Indignation rises up inside us. We rebel at the mere suggestion that we should honor such people. Yet God loves it when we give honor, especially when we honor those who, from our human perspective, no longer deserve it. 

In this brief passage we observe a remarkable example of honor. A group of Gentile believers is taking up an offering for their poor brothers and sisters in Judea, yet some of those who were going to receive this gift hadn’t rejoiced at the news that Gentiles were being saved in Antioch. They were troubled by the thought that people who didn’t observe the Law of Moses were being welcomed into the church. The new believers in Antioch may not have been aware that these cultural barriers existed, but Barnabas and Saul certainly were. Yet they said nothing to discourage this generous act of love and happily carried their offering to the elders in Jerusalem. In spite of the presence of some very wrong attitudes, these men and women still deserved to be honored. And on behalf of this growing Gentile church, Barnabas and Saul gladly gave such honor to them. In doing so, they left a profound example for us to follow. Like the church in Antioch, we too are to give honor to whom honor is due (Ro 13:7)…even when it appears they don’t deserve it. 

37 - The Barnabus Model

This passage describes the missionary challenge in most of the world today: too many converts, too few pastors and teachers. The good news is people are coming to Christ in record numbers, but the bad news is there aren’t nearly enough trained people to take care of them. It’s as though someone went out into a wheat field and cut the ripe wheat, but then left it lying on the ground to spoil. Wheat needs to be bundled together and put into a barn. Cutting it is just the first step in the harvest.

It’s not enough to lead someone to Christ. They need to be established in their faith, and that takes a long-term investment. They need to be taught the Bible, prayed for, coached on how to live a godly life. To change metaphors, no one asks a newborn baby to go out and find food and feed itself. Babies need a loving family, and in the same way new believers (and old believers) need a loving spiritual family so they’re not facing the world, their flesh, and the devil alone. It’s not fair! It’s downright cruel to bring someone to Jesus and then abandon them. But that’s what’s happening because many don’t take responsibility for those they bring to Christ and because there aren’t enough pastors and teachers to care for God’s flock. 

The situation in Antioch is happening all over the earth today: huge numbers who have and will come to Christ, but no one to lead or teach them. To meet this need we’ll all need the heart of Barnabas, who, when he saw the “grace of God” at work, “rolled up his sleeves and began to teach them...” But who also went out and searched for Saul ‘til he found him.