The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): 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 14 verses 23 through 28.

Tony Clark: All right, let's dive into the word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 14. We're going to be looking at verses 23 to 28, where we're going to finish up this chapter. And Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit will come and enlighten us, open up our eyes to behold wondrous things from your word. And Lord, we pray that your Spirit will lead us and teach us and guide us into all truth in Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts chapter 14, looking at verses 23 to 28. The title of this message is "The Importance of Leadership." The importance of leadership. Now, it has been rightfully said: everything stands and falls on leadership. And that goes for a company, it goes for a church, it goes for a family. Everything stands and falls—not some things, everything stands and falls on leadership.

And here in these verses, Paul and Barnabas are wrapping up a year-long missionary journey. Now they are going back through the areas that they led people to the Lord to see how they were doing. They also went back to exhort these new believers to continue in the faith and to tell them, according to verse 22, that we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.

What else did they do? They knew that they had to establish leaders to guide these new believers into a deeper understanding of God. Look what it says there in verse 23: "So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed."

Now, here Paul and Barnabas knew that their time with these new believers would be brief. So they appointed elders in every church. In order for these new believers to continue to grow in their faith, they had to have elders put in place to lead and to teach them.

I know that 1 Timothy 3 verse 6 teaches that a new believer should not be put as elders in a church or in a leadership position because they would be puffed up with pride and fall into the same condemnation as the devil. However, the church of Ephesus that Timothy was pastoring was a very seasoned church. The apostle Paul taught there. Aquila and Priscilla taught there. The great Apollos taught there.

So to put a new believer in a leadership position at a church as seasoned as Ephesus would be disastrous. However, when Paul established elders in the church on the island of Crete, he doesn't say, "Don't let a new believer be put in the leadership position." You know why he doesn't say that? Because they all were new believers.

So to put a few of them in a leadership position wouldn't be a big deal if they fulfill the qualifications of an elder in Titus chapter 1 in verses 5 through 9. So if you have a church of new believers, how would Paul and Barnabas know who to appoint to be elders? The end of verse 23 says they fasted and prayed.

This shows us the seriousness of the selection process. Jesus tells us how serious it is by selecting leaders in a church because in Luke chapter 6 and verse 12, it said that Jesus spent all night in prayer before he selected the disciples. Now what did they do? They only turned the world around, changed the world for Jesus Christ. And we're still reading their writings in our Bibles.

This teaches us a valuable lesson about decision-making. Don't make any decisions without first praying, and if it is a major decision, you better fast and pray. Fasting denies the physical so we can focus on the spiritual. Fasting starves our physical appetites and desires and those things that will keep us from hearing the voice of God. This is why this is so critical and so very important.

And Paul and Barnabas are about to leave and they are placing them in the hands of these newly appointed elders. Oh yes, they fasted and prayed and selected or appointed them as elders, but I believe that they stood out from the rest. See, the word elder in Greek is *presbyteros*, which is where we get the English word Presbyterian from, but it means an older person.

However, not necessarily by age, but older in the Lord. And even though they had only been saved a short time, they exhibited some maturity in godly things and in the things that Paul and Barnabas taught them the first time around. See, all of us have 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. And what we do with that time is up to us.

I love what A.W. Tozer, that great preacher of yesteryear, had to say on this subject. He said, "You are right now as intimate with God as you choose to be." Look at where you are right now in your relationship with God, in your walk with him, in whatever it is that you call yourself doing for God. Look at where you are right now, right now. And guess what? You chose to be there.

Good, bad, or indifferent, you chose it. You chose to be there. "Well, Pastor Tony, I could just be closer with the Lord." Well, wherever you are right now, you chose that. You chose to be there. See, doesn't it seem like that there are some people who are closer than the Lord than you are? You know why it seems that way? Because they chose that.

It is a daily choice we make. Jesus said, "If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Now, Luke is the only Gospel writer who adds one little word to that command. All the other Gospel writers quote it just like I just said: "If any man desires to come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me."

Luke is the only one who adds one word: "daily." Take up his cross daily and follow me. It is a day-by-day choice. You woke up today and you made some choices. You came here. You made a choice to do that. You could have stayed home, you could have gone over a friend's house, you could have been getting ready to just goof off for the day.

Or you could have just said, "I'm just going to stay in my pajamas and just fool around all day today." But you chose to come here. You made a choice. I love what Jesus told the religious leaders in John chapter 5 verse 40. He says, "You're not willing to come to me that you may have life." Meaning that they had a choice to come to Jesus and they didn't take advantage of it.

Maybe this describes you. God has given all of us a free will and what we do with it will tell how intimate we will be with God. Some stay at home, some come to church. Some spend time in prayer and Bible reading every day, while others grab a cup of coffee and look at social media before they go to work. It's a choice. It's a daily choice.

It's the choices that we make, and I believe that there were those here who showed a level of maturity when Paul and Barnabas came back through these cities. And when they fasted and prayed, God pointed them out and they were appointed as elders throughout these cities. I believe the things that Paul and Barnabas taught them when they left to go to other cities, there were those who chose to take advantage of that.

They thought, "I need to be praying. I need to be looking to the Lord. I need to stop doing this." And there were those who began to follow the teachings that Paul and Barnabas taught them. And when they fasted and prayed as they came back through those areas, God said, "There, him, him right there and him right there." And I believe that they stood out from the rest.

Now, here it is, the end of verse 23 says that they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Now, please don't miss this very important point: ultimately, the people belong to the Lord, not to the elders, not to Paul and Barnabas, but to the Lord. You belong to the Lord. You are his people and his sheep. He died for you and we didn't.

Yes, we will give an account of how we fed you, led you, and took care of your souls, but you ultimately belong to him. Never forget this point. You're God's people. In other words, don't take your eyes off of the shepherd Jesus Christ that you belong to. You look to him. I told many of you, you've gotten yourselves into some stuff that only the Lord God Almighty above, the creator of the heavens of the earth can get you out of. We can't.

In my younger years in ministry, I remember thinking, "Oh yes, bring your problems and I'll show you in the word of God how to get out of your situation." And now I look at some of the stuff and sometimes I'm looking like—you don't see me doing this, but on the inside I'm looking at you like, "What in the world did you get yourself into this?"

My job is to point you to the Lord. And I believe that there's too much—as the world would say—too much codependency that goes on in the church, and leaders who have this need to be needed. They want the people looking to them. Let me tell you something: I want you to look to the Lord. You're his people. You belong to him. He died for you. None of us did.

And some of the problems you're involved in, sometimes I'm just like, "What do you want me do with that? What do you want me do with this?" "Well, Pastor, I want some help." Only God can help you. Whoa! And that's my job is to point you to the Lord. Look at verses 24 and 25. He says, "And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia."

In these verses we see Paul and Barnabas retracing their steps and risking their lives to go back and establishing leadership in all of these cities. Oh, they risked their lives in going back to these cities because Paul was stoned in Lystra. As I was going over my notes this morning, I just had to pause and I just couldn't leave that sentence the way it was, because Paul was stoned in Lystra.

And I said, "I know these people." He was stoned with stones. He wasn't stoned drug-wise, but he was hit with rocks. Maybe I should have put it that way. He was stoned with rocks in Lystra. They escaped a violent mob in Iconium. Jealousy and envy stirred up another mob against them in the city of Antioch of Pisidia.

They didn't care about their own lives. They knew what they were risking by going back through these areas, but it didn't matter. They were servants of God. They wanted to see healthy churches established in these cities and elders appointed so they could continue to grow in their relationship with the Lord.

Verse 25 says that they preached the word in the city of Perga, implying that they didn't get a chance to do it the first time there. They had already been through this city, but something prevented them from preaching the Gospel because remember, the whole reason they were going back through this area was so that they can establish elders, not necessarily to preach the Gospel, but to see how those new believers were doing.

So why is it that verse 25 says that they preached the Gospel in Perga? It lets us know they didn't get a chance to do it the first time. We know why. According to Acts 13:13, this is when John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, left and went back home. And this is also what many scholars believe: that Paul became sick with malaria and had to go to a higher altitude and ended up in the city of Antioch of Pisidia.

So because of Paul's sickness and John Mark going back home—maybe he got sick as well—they didn't preach the Gospel in Perga until they came back through this region on their way back home. I love it how God so often will give us another chance to share the Gospel with people that maybe we didn't get a chance to do it because of circumstances. And God will give us another chance, and I'm so thankful for that.

Look at verses 26 to 28. He says, "From there they sailed to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed. Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. So they stayed there a long time with the disciples."

In these verses we see the first of three missionary journeys came to an end. They sailed from the city of Attalia and headed home to Antioch of Syria, where they were commended to the grace of God for the work they had completed, according to verse 26. We know that the work of God is never done, but this task God had them do was complete.

I just have to pause and just say: have you completed the task that God has given you to do? For some, have you even started? God has given every person who calls themselves a believer at least one gift and to use that gift for the glory of God. They completed the task. This was the first of three missionary journeys that God would send them on.

The first one was done now. They completed that task. Have you even started doing what God has called you to do? Because see, here's the thing: we're going to give an account to God for how we steward over the gift that God has given us, how we took care of the gift.

Many of you are using that gift and you're making a company, a store, the military, the government a whole lot of money, but God has ultimately given you that gift to use for the glory of God. Have you completed the gift? So often people get started, but they don't complete it. And a lot of people get started because of what is called church hurt, because the people that you're serving are once again God's people.

When you serve them, sometimes they're not always thankful for watching their little bad rugrat. They're not always thankful for you putting up with their mouthy teenager. They're not always thankful when you open up a door or when you help them park a car. And so therefore, you get hurt and you started the work but you haven't completed it yet.

God has given you a gift to use for his glory, use for his kingdom. And some people haven't even gotten started yet. And it's always another chance every time you open your eyes to get going again. Did you know when we go to heaven—it's an old saying, but it's true: only what we do for Christ will last.

We're not going to get in heaven and say, "How many hours you work when you're down there? 70? Oh, I worked 80 hours a week." And we all going to be looking at you like, "Whoop-de-doo. Who cares?" Nobody's going to be talking about that. But what you're going to be doing for the next billion, trillion years is based upon the gift you used down here.

And the question is that they finished the task. Have you finished yours? The task of being a mother, a task of being a father—that's all another sermon. But have you got done or have you even started the task? They completed theirs and you got to search your heart and just ask yourself: have you completed yours?

No doubt the church in Antioch of Syria was so happy to see them and hear the stories from Paul and Barnabas. Notice how they told this church in verse 27 all that God had done with them. They gave all the glory to God. They didn't take the credit.

Maybe the reason why many of you have not completed the task that God has given you is because as you were working on the task, you began to take the credit for it. And God said, "Ah." And then God has to put you on a shelf. You remember what that was like? Putting books on and off the shelf. Today we're always using this finger and we're flipping.

But there was a time that we used to take books off a shelf and then when you get done, you put the book back on the shelf. Sometimes when we begin to take the glory and the credit for the gift God has given us—because the gift he's given us comes from him, and it comes for the purpose of blessing his people.

And then all of a sudden when the people are blessed by the gift that you got from God, they can't see God, they see you and they begin to pat you on the back a little too much. There's nothing wrong with an "Attaboy, appreciate you, amen, God bless you." But when they start to appreciate you a little too much, then you begin to think, "Whoo, yes, I am all that."

And God says, "Oh, let me put you back up on the shelf." And what you need to do is humble yourself and give the glory back to him, give the glory back to God, the one who gave you the gift, the one who has empowered you to use the gift. Not for you to take the credit for yourself.

That's why many of you don't get too far, because God knew if he blessed you with possessions, position, or prestige, you couldn't handle it. You start walking around like a peacock. Your wings couldn't even get through the door. I know these type of people. I see them all the time. I know when they come in strutting, throwing around their titles and their positions. I just want to yell, "Peacock alert! Peacock alert!" God put you right up on the shelf.

The second thing that they told them was how God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Now, God is the one who opens doors and closes them as well. We know this from Revelation 3 and verse 7. It says God opens doors that no man can close and close doors no man can open.

However, all because God has opened a door for you doesn't mean that there wouldn't be any hard times. 1 Corinthians 16:9 says—Paul speaking—"A great and effective door has opened to me, and here it is: but there are many adversaries." I bring this up because we think, "I am experiencing hard times and hardships, it must not have been the Lord's will that I walk through this door."

That's not necessarily true. God opening up a door of ministry for us doesn't mean that it will be free from hard times. Look at Paul and Barnabas. They went through some difficult times, but when they got back, they told the church about the great doors God had opened up for them in preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles who were the non-Jews.

No doubt they took some time to rest and stay a long time with the disciples, verse 28 tells us. Now here's the thing: you have to understand that there are times it is just as spiritual to rest as it is to also serve the Lord. Yes, we get tired in the work, but never of the work.

And this is why we want to move you in the area where you're gifted. When you're serving in the area you're gifted, there's no such thing as burnout because you're just doing what you're called to do. Burnout comes when you're doing something because there is a need.

You're not gifted there, but you heard that there is a need and maybe you have the gift of service and you just want to serve. That's great, God bless you for those who are like that. But we want to move you in the area you're gifted. There's never burnout in gift. I don't get burned out in doing what I'm doing. I get tired, but I don't get burned out. Because this is what God has gifted me to do.

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