" Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. 

But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, 'Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.' 

Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, " Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience... - ...Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. 

Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; 'Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.'" 

And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 

And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, "I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." 

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as ---were ordained to eternal life--- believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.

But the Jews stirred up the -devout and honourable women-, and the -chief men of the city- , and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. - Acts 13:13-52

----------------------------------------------------------

The Man with 2 Names - Episode 6 - Desertion at Perga

-----------------------------------------------------------

Last week we saw the missionary trio set sail from Paphos, leaving behind the island of Cyprus, and their single solitary (recorded) convert, Sergius Paulus, Deputy of Cyprus. This, after (probably) weeks of going through the island from synagogue to synagogue, preaching the gospel. 

This probably did not sit well with the "intern" John Mark. When the ship docks at Perga in Pamphylia, he lets the elders (Paul & Barnabas) know that he intends to go back to Jerusalem, and does so, probably over Barnabas' and Paul's arguments and pleadings. Paul may have deferred to Barnabas in this instance, but John's "desertion" is not something he is happy about(we will see later)... regardless, the mission must proceed, so saying goodbye to John Mark, and the city of Perga, they head out, and come to a different Antioch... this is a city north of Perga, and is called the Antioch of the West, in Pisidia.

As is usual, they look for the nearest synagogue, and go there on the sabbath... after the customary reading of the parashah (the Torah reading for the week), the guests from Jerusalem and Antioch - Barnabas and Paul - are invited to address the congregation, and here we are privileged to read Pauls 1st Sermon that is recorded for us! It is interesting to compare this proclamation of Paul to that preached later. We see only a glimpse of the Word homework done by Paul here, but we know the texts he is quoting - in particular - his last words to the Jewish congregation --- "I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." This quote from Isaiah 49 is one we looked at last week, and we encourage you to read that post if you have not already done so.... Paul has done his homework very well, and we will see this in the grand theological cathedrals he erects in the book of Romans - but here - he focuses on the bottom line. We have reproduced only the tail end of it in our excerpt this week, but like Peters homily on Pentecost, and Stephens polemic against the Sanhedrin, the sermon is almost laughably simple!

Paul in essence, rehearses the history of the nation of Israel, reminding them of the promise that God made to them, and through them to all nations (the Abrahamic & Davidic covenants). He ends as we have listed, by proclaiming the advent of Jesus, and the Gospel, and emphasizing the urgency of belief in light of all our impending mortal doom. He does not even presume to use his own words, but quotes Scripture to prove his point (a very important point!).

The Holy Spirit moves. The hearts of both Jews and Gentiles (the "God-fearers" Paul mentions in his opening remarks... who were drawn to attend that Sabbaths services) are powerfully shaken. After the service, Paul and Barnabas are thronged by people who want to know more!! 

It is interesting to note some dynamics that are revealed to us.... the gentiles attending the synagogue are emboldened to approach Paul and Barnabas... -only after- the Jews have LEFT!!! Obviously, they did not want to offend the people who had been so hospitable to them prior to the arrival of these two. It is a mixed group of people that stays behind to tug at the sleeves of the pair, and ask them about this or that.... and they are not satisfied... they want to hear more, and Paul and Barnabas are happy to oblige.

Next week, there is a parking problem at the synagogue. Everybody in the city has shown up! There is standing room only, and the place is filled to the rafters with people who want to hear what these two have to say! This is a surprise to the synagogue board of elders and governing committee. They NEVER had crowds this big! 

Satan stirs up envy in their hearts ( NOT - you will notice that they have a problem with the LOGIC or SCRIPTURE that is being cited by the missionaries) - and here is the motion of the enemy presented to us. He cannot fight against us with logic, science, intellect, reason - his work to stir up the base emotions of our soul (envy, covetousness, malice) and USE THOSE EMOTIONS to drive OPPOSITION to the messengers of God's WORD! 

It is his tactic to sow dissension and discord even in harmoniusly functioning churches. To whisper into your brain - to amplify slights and rejections, to make you brood on others successes,your failures, to driving jealousy that is purely motivated by personal agenda!

You can see the insidiousness of that approach when you read that it was the devout and honorable women of the city, and the chief men of the city that were persuaded by the Jews to resist Paul and Barnabas !  Even  good intentions can be leveraged by the enemy to resist the work of God!

This is Spiritual Warfare. 

The Words Christ speaks, they are Spirit and they are Life. 

Concepts and ideas are the weapons - the ideas in the Word of God penetrate to the very core of our moral fiber, the darkest recesses of our soul, and drag our sinful messes out for inspection in the Light of the Word.

All Paul and Barnabas have in their arsenal is the Word of God. This is why the Lord says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit." (Zec 4:6 - the Tabernacles mission verse!) Paul will later tell the church, our war is not with flesh and blood, and earthly weapons, but our war is a spiritual one, fought with SPIRITUAL WEAPONS that are mighty! 

An idea can resonate in your hearth, and in the White House Situation Room! A simple truth (God Loves You!) can deliver a person from a lifetime of bondage to depression and misery. His Words can lift up your Spirit, and refresh your soul, provide hidden manna that the World knows nothing about!! This is Spiritual Food, and what is out in the world is leaven.... YOLO, Party Hearty for tomorrow we die, your existence is meaningless... you are an accident, God can never accept a person like you.... Spiritual darts!!!!

This is the leaven that we must clean out of our houses in preparation for Passover week which is almost upon us (begins Wed Apr 8 goes through - Thur Apr 16). In Egypt, the Passover Lamb was bought, and the kids in the family were delighted to have a new toy to play with... if only for a while. The blood on the doorposts then, was to stay the entrance of the Angel of Death. Today, in 2020, a lot of people need that same assurance... if there was only a way to do that and prevent the plague from entering our houses!!! 

Dearly beloved, the game has changed! The Angel of Death is not a person to be feared. He is a messenger sent to escort us into the presence of God! Whether we live, or whether we die, let us resolve to do all for the glory of God! Stand your ground, be courageous, and do not be afraid, for He who created you, has planned every step of your life. Nothing can get to you without His permission!

There are still people in the world today who do not have this assurance. For them, the walls are closing fast - money, food, water - the basic necessities are going, but what is even more scary is the notion of a silent killer that can take anyone at anytime. How they must be struggling with fear.... you can help them. Call them. Talk to them. Tell them why you have hope. Tell them you are praying for them, and do it. Help them with whatever you can, regardless of their religious persuasion. Paul and Barnabas went to talk to people they were FORBIDDEN (in the Law) to associate with... you can overcome your biases to be the hand of God, the mouth of God to their needs and ears.

Reception is not guaranteed. In our text above, we see the statement - "as many as ---were ordained to eternal life--- believed"... the doctrine of election, and the complete sovereignty of God are preached everywhere throughout scripture, and the book of Acts is no exception. The human writer/& the Holy Spirit noting that the Gospel was presented to all, but only those -ordained- to eternal life, believed. You will be rejected, like the disciples, there are two things to keep in mind:

1. Shake off the dust -- This was a commandment from Christ. Do not answer evil with evil, but avoid it, and leave the judgment to God! 

2. Be filled with joy, and the Holy Ghost! -- Recognize that the foolishness of preaching will not save everyone, but rejoice everytime you see the Spirit giving birth to eternal life via your hands. Like midwives, we have nothing to do with how/hen a baby is conceived, have no work to do to bring it to term - we are just there to assist with the delivery!!! 

We leave you with the Words of our Passover Himself, be comforted and rejoice!

"Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, 'Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?'

 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.....

....For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." - John 16:19-28

Let us be comforted that our worldly existence is not the end, our journey and hope is eternal - these tribulations of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the joy that is to be revealed in us... Hallelujah!!! Let us rejoice with the apostles that God, through means if people, and situations, is still turning people to himself!  - Hallelujah