Acts 13:1-12 "Sent, Opposed, and Victorious"
Have you ever tried to do what God wants you to do—only to run into problem after problem?
The first day you commit to reading your Bible—suddenly, the morning’s a circus. Your alarm doesn’t go off, your coffee machine overflows, and your dog decides today’s the day he forgets that he is house-trained. It’s almost like someone doesn’t want you to grow in your faith… imagine that. You think, ‘Maybe I misheard God… maybe He actually said, “Sit on the couch and binge-watch Netflix.” Because that always seems to go a lot smoother.
Now, take that feeling—that sense that something is actively working against you—and crank it up to eleven. Because that’s definitely been the story of NewChurch.
We started this thing with a very specific vision: to be a church that worships like churches do (Gather for prayer, praise, God’s word, sacraments) all the church things but without feeling phony. But also, not just a church for people who already know the Gospel. A place where people who wouldn’t normally set foot in a church building might show up and get connected to Jesus in a real and meaningful way.
And not just on Sunday mornings. We had a specific vision—to be a restaurant, cafe, pub, coffee shop, a place where people would want to gather the rest of the week. Somewhere to have real conversations, build real relationships, and—when the time was right—invite the regulars to join us for worship on Sunday where they could find out about the love and grace of God that’s only found in Jesus.
Sounds like a great idea, right?
Yeah, except apparently, someone doesn’t want it to happen.
We’ve been through flooding, financial struggles, key leaders moving away, even an entire trailer full of equipment being stolen overnight—setback after setback.
At some point, it stops feeling like bad luck and starts feeling like a personal attack.
And I think that’s exactly what it is. There’s an enemy who doesn’t want the gospel to spread.
But here’s the good news: he’s going to lose.
Because God is going to finish what He started—and nothing can stop the mission of Jesus.
That’s exactly what we’re going to see in our reading today.
If you’ve ever tried to follow Jesus, you know what I’m talking about.
You decide to get serious about your faith, and suddenly—everything gets harder.
You start a Bible reading plan, but everything gets in the way.
You want to pray more, but you’re always too busy or too tired.
You start to share your faith with someone, but as soon as you open your mouth, something disrails the conversation.
Why? Why is everything so hard? Because we’re all in a spiritual battle.
The enemy doesn’t just sit back and let the gospel change people’s lives. He fights it. He gets in the way.
Speaking of finishing what’s been started, we started going through the Book of Acts line by line last May—took a little break at the beginning of Advent, and this morning we're picking up where we left off. We jump back in with the early church continuing on its mission to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. So, before we dive into today’s passage, let’s take a moment to recap where we’ve been in Acts so far:
Acts 1 – The resurrected Jesus ascends to heaven, and He tells His followers to wait for the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2 – Pentecost happens, the Holy Spirit is poured out, and the church is born as thousands come to faith in Jesus.
Acts 3-5 – The apostles boldly proclaim the gospel, miracles happen, but opposition starts rising from the religious leaders.
Acts 6-7 – Stephen, one of the first deacons, is martyred for his faith.
Acts 8 – The church is scattered due to persecution, and the gospel spreads beyond Jerusalem.
Acts 9 – Saul encounters Jesus, is converted, and begins preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.
Acts 10-11 – Peter receives a vision that the gospel is for Gentiles too, and the first non-Jews come to faith.
Acts 12 – James is martyred, Peter is miraculously freed from prison, and Herod dies.
That brings us to where we left off.
Acts 12 verse 25…
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
Barnabas and Saul finish their mission to Jerusalem and return to the church in Antioch, setting the stage for the first missionary journey. They bring a young man named John Mark with them. Antioch was going to become the central hub of missionary work to the rest of the world.
The Holy Spirit Calls and Sends, Acts 13…
“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” Acts 13:1
This is an incredibly diverse church.
Barnabas – A Jewish believer from Cyprus.
Simeon (called Niger) – Likely a black African Christian.
Lucius of Cyrene – Also an African.
Manaen – A guy who grew up in the household of Herod the tetrarch. (the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded.)
Our ol’ buddy Saul – The former Pharisee who once persecuted Christians.
What a team. The gospel brings all kinds of people together. This was the first truly multi-ethnic congregation. It was still primarily Jewish but it was starting to look more and more like a picture of the future global church.
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:2-3
The church didn’t just randomly decide to send them. The Holy Spirit led them.
They were worshiping.
They were fasting.
Then God made it clear what He wanted.
We have a strange relationship with fasting. The New Testament doesn’t give us any direction on when or why to fast but it does assume that we will—that we understand it’s a good thing to do. Every year at NewChurch we encourage those who can to fast during the season of Lent. The 40 days leading up to Easter. It kicks off on Ash Wednesday, which is this coming week on March 5th. The idea is to give up something you typically enjoy most days as a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made for you. We’re not saying it’s like what Christ did for us—No Diet Coke and being nailed to a cross—same! But it is a good daily reminder to stop for a moment and be thankful. Also, Sunday is always considered a feast day, so whatever you give up, you should enjoy it on Sunday.
Be thinking about what you might want to fast for Lent—it’s a good spiritual discipline.
I will have a drive-by imposition of Ashes station on Wednesday morning in the parking lot in front of Planet Fitness and Starbucks on Ash Wednesday. Swing by on your way to work or school to get a cross smeared on your forehead. I like to do it first thing in the morning so we all have the chance to talk about our faith in Jesus all day. People will be like, “You have something on your forehead.” And it’s a great opportunity to say something like, “Today’s Ash Wednesday, 40 days before we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead to save us from our sin.” I can’t stress how much I love walking around all day with a Jesus conversation starter on my face. Who knows what God might do with that. Please swing by—N Fry Rd, Planet Fitness parking lot, between 6:30 and 8:30 am.
So, they were worshiping, probably on a Sunday. They were fasting, seeking God’s direction. How do you seek God’s direction in your life? Do you actually pray before making decisions—or do you just do what seems logical? The people of the church laid hands on them, set them apart for the work, and sent them off. The laying of hands wasn’t to ordain them with some kind of authority—they already had that—it was the church affirming the call God had given them. When we put our hands on people in prayer, it’s a symbolic act of blessing them and acknowledging God’s power.
The Mission Begins: Cyprus
“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.” Acts 13:4-5
They go to Cyprus first, which is where Barnabas was from.
This is a good reminder that Mission starts where you are.
You don’t have to go to another country to be on mission. Start with your friends, your family, your coworkers. God has already placed people in your life who need your ministry.
It was also a strategic place because it had a large Jewish population but was also a Roman province governed by a proconsul. A mix of people who knew God’s word but needed to hear the Gospel, and the influencers who could help them go into the Roman world. Wise as serpents, gentle as doves—like Jesus said. God wants us to use our minds and strategy as we do His work.
Kind of like our vision of creating a cafe’/pub/restaurant—a strategic place to engage the culture.
So, notice their first stops were in the synagogues. They were Jews and they started with their own people. This would continue to be the pattern of their ministry as they went to new places with the Gospel. The Jewish people were the ones who had been trusted with God’s word and the promise of the Messiah—they not only needed to believe and be saved themselves, they needed to be recruited for the mission.
Opposition from Elymas the Sorcerer (Acts 13:6-8)
“When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.”
The Roman ruler of the area, Sergius Paulus, an intellectual who was curious about Jesus invited Barnabus and Saul over for a conversation about the Gospel. But his advisor—a sorcerer named Elymas—tries to shut it down. He’s also known as “Bar-Jesus” which sounds like it might be a good name for our NewChurch pub—Ha. No, it means “son of Jesus.” But he’s clearly not related to, or a follower of Jesus Christ. He’s a Jewish sorcerer. Which means he’s completely compromised, because magic and sorcery are condemned in the Bible. He was using magic to try and gain power.
This guy is basically Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings—whispering deception, trying to keep the proconsul under his influence. Sergius Paulus wasn’t quite as under the sorcerer’s spell as King Theoden of Rohan—instead of Gandalf, it’s Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit who breaks the influence.
If you’re reading the Bible in One Year with me, this might remind you of Moses going before Pharaoh and the magicians who tried to shut him down. We face the same kind of things today with all the false teachers and influencers in our culture.
Paul Confronts the Darkness (Acts 13:9-11)
“But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” “Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.” Poor little Bar-Jesus. He had been trying to blind others from the truth—now, he’s the one who can’t see.
Paul knows exactly what this is like. Jesus blinded him on the road to Damascus.
Basically Paul’s like, “This should get your attention—it certainly got mine.” Nothing like a little God-induced blindness to help you start to see the truth.
By the way, this is the moment when Saul stops going by his Jewish name and starts going by his Roman name, Paul. Sometimes people think Jesus changed Saul’s name to Paul, like God changed Jacob’s name to Israel but that’s not it. Paul was a Jew with dual citizenship—Jewish and Roman. Paul is his Roman name.
Well, the sorcerer just kind of limped away being led by the hand, but the clear-minded Sergius Paulus saw the light.
The Gospel Triumphs (Acts 13:12)
“Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”
I’m sure the miracle of blinding a guy for trying to get in the way of preaching the Gospel made an impact on the proconsul. But it was the teaching that truly astonished him. It’s the word of the LORD that does the heavy lifting. Not miracles, not clever arguments. Just telling people what the LORD has told us—the Gospel.
Where We Fall Short
Are we seeing things like this happen? Not necessarily the blinding of our enemies but are we seeing people’s hearts and minds opened when we tell them about Jesus? When was the last time you talked about what Jesus has done for you and it seemed to make a difference in someone’s life? I mean, we don’t always get to see the fruit of the seeds we plant—but if we plant enough, we ought to see some.
Is there anyone like Serius Paulus in your life? Someone who seems like they might be open to the Gospel but they’re surrounded by people like Elymus the sorcerer whispering lies in their ears all the time? We need to be aware that all of our spiritual conversations are going to be challenged by some kind of demonic Wormtongue—distracting, deceiving, and discouraging our efforts. We have to be strong. We have to be prepared.
When NewChurch finally does get a place where we can hangout with whoever God brings to eat and drink with us—are we going to be ready to step up and have those conversations?
We can’t be hesitant to go where God sends us. We can’t be too shy to tell people about what a difference Jesus has made in our life—about grace and forgiveness. We have to be ready to share the Gospel—the teaching of the Lord. We have to be ready to stand up to the bullies the devil is going to use to try and shut us down. We can’t let deception and distraction and fear keep us from doing what God has sent us to do.
This is true with the mission of NewChurch but it’s also true at home—with the ministry God has given you. Don’t let school and sports and all the other distractions of our American culture keep you from doing what God has called you to do. Loving your family the way God has told you to love them. With patience and kindness. Being single-minded and focused on sharing the teaching of the LORD with your children and your spouse—and friends, and co-workers. That’s your primary mission field. Don’t fail there. Love them the way Jesus loves you. And talk about it.
What God Has Done for Us
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son—Jesus was sent by the Father to rescue you. God has shown you incredible patience and kindness, forgiving you of all your sin and foolishness. Jesus had to overcome the greatest opposition to save you. The cross, the resurrection—2,000 years of boneheaded church people barely carrying the torch of the Gospel to the next generation. They were just people like us. God made sure the saving light of the Gospel made it all the way to you. Have you considered how much of a miracle it is that you believe? How many situations had to be guided by the Holy Spirit just so you could sit here and be thankful for God’s mercy today? That same Spirit is in you and is giving you the power to carry that torch into the future.
This story in Acts is a little picture of what Jesus did for us. Paul was sent by the Holy Spirit to overcome a little devil-man in Cyprus so the Gospel could go forward. Jesus was sent by the Father to overcome the actual devil and be the Gospel through His life, death, and resurrection.
The cross looked like the ultimate opposition and setback, but instead of stopping the mission, it was actually the greatest victory. We should keep that in mind when things go wrong.
There was an American missionary named Jim Elliot who felt called to bring the Gospel to the Waorani people of Ecuador—a remote and violent tribe known for welcoming outsiders by stabbing them with spears. Not a friendly bunch.
In 1956, Jim and four other missionaries made contact with the tribe by dropping gifts from an airplane. They hoped that would soften the welcome party, maybe keep the spears out of their hands. They eventually landed near the tribe, hoping to get to know them and share the Gospel.
And it seemed to work—at first, a few of the tribe members seemed friendly, but not too long after they arrived, a group of warriors attacked and killed all five of them.
If you were one of the missionary’s wives, how do you think you would react to this?
This might sound crazy, but Jim’s wife, Elisabeth Elliot, along with one of the other men’s sister, they returned to live among the tribe. Over time, many of the Waorani—including some of the very warriors who had killed Jim and his missionary friends—they heard the Gospel and believed and became Christians.
Jim Elliot’s famous quote sums up his faith: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
God finishes what He starts. He started something in you, He will finish it. He started something in NewChurch and nothing is going to stop it—not demons, not persecution, not stolen trailers, or tight resources, not key people leaving, or anything else—nothing is going to stop the gospel from going forward. As long as we are the church and doing what we can to carry that torch to the next generation—Jesus said He will build His church and the very gates of hell won’t be able to stand against it. That’s a promise.
So we move forward—not with fear, not with hesitation, but with the absolute confidence that we are part of something unstoppable. Because if God is for us, nothing—not even the gates of hell—can stand against us.