The Word Made Plain

Guest (Female): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 13, verses 13 through 15. All right, let's dive into the word of God together.

Tony Clark: Acts 13, turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 13. We're going to be looking at verses 13 through 15. Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit would teach us the truths of your word today. Minister this word to our hearts that we might not sin against you. Lord, may we be attentive to your word, to the Spirit of God speaking through the word of God into our hearts today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Acts 13, looking at verses 13 through 15, the title of this message is "Are You Ready?" part one. Now, I'm sure that many of you are saying, "Well, am I ready for what?" Well, are you ready for God to exalt you? See, we talked about how in Acts 13 and verse 9 was a very important verse because it is the first time Luke, the author, tells us that Saul's name, which means "requested one," is changed to Paul, which means "little."

We talked about how Saul saw himself in light of Jesus Christ and it humbled him. No longer did he want to be identified with Saul, the man in demand, the requested one, but he wanted to be identified with Paul, which means little. And now that he is humbled, Proverbs 15:33 says before honor is humility. Paul is now in a position where God can use him and allow honor to be bestowed upon him.

Look what it says there in verse 13. It says, "Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem." Now, believe it or not, there's a whole lot in that one verse alone. Let's pick it apart a little at a time. I want to draw your attention to verse 13 and to the phrase "Paul and his party."

Wait a minute. In Acts 12:25, it says, "And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem." In Acts 13:1, Barnabas is listed first in describing the leaders in the church. In Acts 13:2, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Now, in this verse, it is "Paul and his party." Paul is now being thrust into the forefront, being exalted to a place of honor.

If this were to happen to you, will you be ready? "Oh yes, I would be ready," some of you would quickly say. "I've been waiting on this for years. It is about time." You are not ready with that attitude. Remember Psalm 75 verses 6 and 7 says exaltation or promotion neither comes from the east nor from the west nor from the south, but God is judge. He puts one down and exalts another.

The Lord was exalting Paul at this point and at this particular time. I believe the test for Paul was how he handled Bar-Jesus and Sergius Paulus in verses 4 through 12. Once God saw how Paul handled being filled with the Holy Spirit, it is as if God said, "He is ready now." Question is, are you ready? A lot of you on social media when I put this title on, many of you said, "I'm ready, I'm ready."

When you think you are, you are not. And when you think you're not ready, then that's when you're close to being ready. See, when you see yourself as not being ready is when you will lean and depend upon the Lord and his power. When you think that you're ready is when you will be tempted to go out in your own power and your own strength. So, whenever you think, "I'm ready for the next whatever," you're not ready.

You're not ready. Some of you thought you were ready. I'm looking at you now. You thought the boss was going to be calling you in and say you're ready. You're not ready. You're not ready yet. And we're going to see how to get ready. Now, on the other hand, what about Barnabas? It shows that he was a humble man as well because it looked like he handled the exaltation of Paul very well.

What about you? What if you trained someone on the job and after a period of time the boss exalted them and made them your boss? Would you become bitter, angry, or less productive because you're all in your feelings, ready to leave? Not Barnabas. He was well aware of Psalm 75 verses 6 and 7, how God exalts one and puts another down. This kind of thing hits our pride hard, which is what it's designed to do.

It's designed to humble us. If you had this situation happen to you, it just shows God is trying to humble you. There is still some pride and some self-exaltation that God still has to rid your life of. So as Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, which was on the southwest part of Cyprus, they came to Perga, which was a major city in Pamphylia, which is in Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey.

The last part of verse 13 I find was amazing. It says John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. Wait a minute, John Mark goes back home? I say that he went back home because Acts 12:12 tells us that he was from Jerusalem. We're not told why he went back home, but what we do know is that Paul didn't think it was a legitimate or good enough reason to go back home.

Maybe he was homesick. Maybe he resented Paul being in charge now instead of Barnabas. Who knows the reason? We don't know the reason. What we do know is that Paul didn't think it was legitimate enough. I say this because in Acts 15 verses 36 to 41, Paul wanted to go back out to visit the churches they established and Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them.

Paul said, "No. Don't you remember he left us and went back home?" Barnabas was like, "Yeah Paul, but he has changed." "Barney, you're only saying this because he's your nephew." "No Paul, no, I've been encouraging him and he's ready to go." "No! He may not go with us. He may run back home again." Acts 15:39 says that the contention between them became so sharp that they departed from one another.

Barnabas took John Mark and Paul chose a man named Silas, according to Acts 15 in verse 40. And so, this gives us some insights on why John Mark went back home. My wife told me not to say he was a mama's boy and wanted to go back home. Many of you raised mama's boys. You know who you are. Maybe John Mark was, I don't know. She told me not to say that, but I did anyway.

So, he goes back home. And so, we have to understand at this particular time, preaching the gospel was not like the glory it is today. The glamour, the glitz, and the spotlight and your name all over the social media and you're the man, you're on TV. It was nothing like that. It was a very dangerous thing to preach the gospel. Your life was at stake at all times.

You could be beaten, whipped, stoned with rocks, put into prison, or even put to death. All of these things Paul and Silas experienced according to Second Corinthians 11 verses 22 to 27. And John Mark said, "I'm out of here." Now, we don't know really the real reason, but many scholars speculate he went back home because of how dangerous it was.

However, this shows us that sometimes even believers have disagreements and breakups. We will talk more about this when we get to chapter 15. And you always want to seek peace and reconciliation or a resolution. Now, the question is, did it happen with Paul and John Mark? Or is it that they had beef and it was just a beef they had forever? Oh no, they had reconciliation.

Second Timothy 4:11, which is the letter Paul wrote just before he was beheaded. The reason why Paul was not crucified was because Paul was a Roman citizen. And so, they beheaded Roman citizens whereas anyone else who was not a Roman citizen, they were crucified. But he said in Second Timothy 4:11, he said, "Get Mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for the ministry."

And we also have a book that bears his name, the Gospel of Mark. And I believe that both of them matured over time. I believe that later on Paul thought, "Maybe I was a little too hard on the kid." And with his uncle Barnabas constantly encouraging him in the faith, he matured as well and became a help to Paul in the ministry.

He also became a help to Peter according to First Peter 5:13 and many scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark was really the Gospel of Peter, that Peter dictated to Mark those particular things and Mark wrote this Gospel. Yes, it bears his name, but many scholars believe it was really the Gospel of Peter. So, he became a help not only to Paul, but to Peter as well.

But I was thinking about this, maybe you're here and you are like John Mark and you started serving in some ministry and you quit because it became difficult like John Mark, or it required more time than you thought, which is something that is very applicable today. You quit because you had beef with someone. Let me be a Barnabas to you.

Let me encourage you to humble yourself and get back to serving God. There's no greater joy than serving our Creator. There's no greater joy than having a gift and sitting on it. There's no greater sin either, to be gifted in a certain way and just sit on it. I was telling the church in California, I said a church this size, it was a church of over 10,000, I said a church this size there should never be an announcement that says we have a need in children's ministry, the youth, usher or greeter, or parking lot.

This should never be a need. I said with a church this size there should never be a need. Oh, I echo those words for a church our size. There should never be a need. We should never have an announcement that says, "If you're gifted in serving, can you come and serve?" That should never be a need. Never. There's no greater joy than serving our Lord. I like to call it this, you've heard me say many times, you're prostituting your gift.

You use your gift to make you money, which is what a prostitute does, use his or her body to make them money. You use your gift to make you money outside the world and you come into church and sit. No, I told that to a church in New Jersey. Yeah. I've told it to you many times too. You should not just, you have a gift by God. If you're born again, if you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, God has given everyone at least one gift to use.

Maybe you just like to smile. You say, "Well, how can I be used?" Well, you can be right at the front door smiling at people coming in. You just smile, shake their hand and give them a hug. "God bless you." That's a gift because I'm looking at some of you. Some of you ain't smiled in 40 years. So, if you like to smile, if you like to smile, then get at the door and smile.

God bless you. The way the world is, they love to see a smiling face when they come in the door. Amen. They will look for that face every Sunday. They would, and you'd be a blessing to somebody. You'd be a blessing. So, humble yourself, get back to serving. We saw that even believers have beef, and it doesn't have to be a permanent thing. That's the thing. It doesn't have to be a permanent thing.

You know, John Mark could have easily been labeled a quitter, but he got it together and was useful in the ministry. Please keep in mind, please, before there can be reconciliation, there must first be a death. Before we were reconciled back to God, Jesus had to die. And maybe you have to humble yourself and die, die to self, die to your pride, die to your right to be right so that there can be reconciliation.

Somebody needs to hear that today because you have beef with somebody and you just trying to go through life and continue day to day without getting that beef right. Need to get it right. And you've heard me say many times because I can read your minds and you, "Well, why does it have to be me?" Because you're the one here hearing this message. That's why. They're not here.

So, it needs to be you. How can you continue to go through life every day knowing you got beef? Seek to get it right. Oh, but our pride though. That's why there must be a death, that ex, that parent, that coworker that y'all keep turning your head every time you pass each other, you play like you're talking to somebody else or that you pass. You got beef. Grill it up and eat it. Summer time.

Everybody got the grills out anyway. So grill it up and eat it. Get it right. Because God will eat at you. He will eat at your conscience and let you know something isn't right. You see, you can ignore it and fill your day with all kind of noise and busyness, but when you lay on the pillow, God is going to be all over you saying, "Get it right." Now, you're trying to go to bed with headphones on, buds, trying to fall asleep.

You can try to drown out whatever, but pretty soon that Pandora, whatever you listening to, is going to end. And then God's going to be right there to point to that thing again. Somebody needs to hear that. You got beef. Get that beef right. Just get it right. See, now, if you go to get it right with them and they still fool around, you're free. You're free. At least you're free.

Then it's on them. Then God will begin to eat at them. See, and then there can be a reconciliation that takes place. So, but at this particular time, John Mark goes back to the house, gets some of his mama's good cooking and all that good stuff. So he went back home. All right, verse 14. "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down."

So, as the team left the homeland of Barnabas in Cyprus, they sailed 200 miles across the Mediterranean Sea and landed at Attalia, the port of Perga. Paul and Barnabas did not preach in Perga at this particular time because many scholars believe that Paul was sick with malaria and he hints at this in Galatians 4 and verse 13. He needed to leave the coastal lowlands where it was hot and humid for the cooler mountain regions because of his sickness.

See, Antioch in Pisidia is different from Antioch in Syria where Barnabas and Paul came from. Antioch of Pisidia was founded in 281 BC by Seleucus the First and he named it after his father whose name was Antiochus or Antiochus, depending upon how you pronounce it. Now, this Antioch of Pisidia was 3,600 feet above sea level. He made it a part of his ministry because after he recovered, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

See, the synagogues had a ready-made audience interested in religious truth. And being a former rabbi, it was customary to grant visiting rabbis the right to address the synagogue. Look what it says there in verse 15. "And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them saying, 'Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.'"

Now, see, the services of the synagogue opened with the reciting of the Shema, which is Deuteronomy 6:4, which says "Hear O Israel." The Hebrew word for hear is Shema. So they just called it by the Hebrew word Shema. "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." Now, this was the Jewish profession of faith. After this would be the reading of the law, the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

And after that the prophets, and just like it says in this particular verse. Then came the teaching, usually based upon the week's scripture reading. And they would usually have a prominent visiting rabbi to deliver the teaching. And seeing that Paul was a student of the great Rabbi Gamaliel, the ruler of the synagogue said to them in the last part of this verse, "Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on."

What an incredible door for the gospel to be given. He wanted them to give a word of exhortation. I have to bring out that word exhortation. The Greek word is *parakaleo*, and it means to come alongside of, to provide exhortation or consolation. It is the same word used for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the *parakletos*, which he comes alongside of us and exhorts us or consoles us.

That's what the Holy Spirit does. He comes alongside of us and exhorts us to continue in the faith when we want to quit. He consoles us when life has blown storms into it that we just want to quit and hurt our hearts. And so he comes alongside to exhort us. He comes alongside of us to comfort us. So they're saying, "Hey, men, if you have any words of exhortation for these people, say on."

Now, what an incredible door, like I said, of the gospel to be given. Now going back to the title, "Are You Ready?" What if this happened to you on the job as you're in a team meeting? What if they called you up and said, "We heard you talking about what you learned in church. Would you like to share what you've learned with all of us?" Now after you faint and they wake you back up for such a thing to be said in today's time, what would you say?

Pick somebody else. What if at your next family reunion, the matriarch or patriarch of the family were to come up to you and say, "You know, there's been a big difference in you since you have been going to Calvary Chapel. Can you tell us about what you're learning there?" What would you say? Are you ready if God were to thrust you into the spotlight like he did the Apostle Paul here?

My prayer, my desire is to equip you with the word of God so if this great opportunity opens up for you, you will be ready. This is what we're doing on Wednesday nights with our apologetics series, teaching you how to answer, teaching you not only what we believe, but why we believe it. To equip you so if this door opened up to you, you'd be ready to walk through it.

So, the question is, what did Paul say to them? Well, you've got to wait until next time. I didn't have time to get into what he said because, you know, Paul can be a little long-winded and so he was, I was trying to find a break in him catching a breath, but I was several verses down and I couldn't. I said, "No, I've just got to wait until next time." You've got to wait until next time.

You've just got to pray that God will build out the new sanctuary so we don't have to have four services all on top of each other so we can just teach. Some of y'all ain't praying hard enough. Pray harder. Pray harder. So let me conclude with this. Going back to the question, are you ready? If you said, "I'm ready, I've been waiting for years for this opportunity," you're not ready.

You're not ready. We become ready when we see ourselves as Paul, as someone little in our own eyes. When God sees this, then this is when he will open up some mighty doors for you. If Paul still carried himself like "I'm the man in demand. Yes, the requested one! Of course you called upon me. Now let me stand up and give y'all some word." God would never have opened up the door for him.

And finally, we saw how John Mark was an illustration of someone who quit the ministry, but later got it together and made up with Paul and served in ministry with him again. If this is you, it shows that you can get back up again and start serving our Lord. The Bible says the righteous man falls seven times and rises again. We fall, but we can get back up again. If this is you, it shows that you can get back up. Start serving once again.

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