Commendation — Acts 11-15

0:07 One. Hi, everybody. Timothy and Joel have some handouts for you, just a single page of the basic subject matter today. Ray was wondering how I would get through this subject matter today, and he has quite the gall to ask that question after what he covered two weeks ago. But I even think I might finish early, so we'll see what how things go.

1:01 But this subject matter is one of a couple of things that I can think of kind of tongue in cheek cheek that other denominations are envious of us. And if you want to know what the other one is, simulator. It's kind of a joke type answer, but don't want to offend anybody. So simulator if you want to find out the other thing. And we'll maybe we'll explain later understand later as we get farther into the subject matter commendation.

1:51 So let's let's pray and then we'll get started. Father again before we open your word we want to come to you for acknowledge our dependence on you. We thank you for your word which gives us instructions for for how to live our lives and how to conduct ourselves as a local body of of Christ. And we pray that you help us here to understand increasingly more accurately your words so that we can live more pleasing to you and and be diligent and and efficient in in service to you. And we just ask for your help now during this hour in our Lord Jesus' name.

3:15 So we we view it a little bit differently. So I want to start out right at the beginning with some definitions. And then we're going to trace through some of the biblical history of the two workers that were first commended. Paul and Barnabas were the first Christian workers that were commended in scripture. I want to trace through some of the things we know about those two men before they were commended that might give us some information that's, I think, very relevant.

3:45 So, the definitions I'm going to share, I think, are embedded in this sheet that I've shared with you. But the first one is, what is a commended worker? Or commended workers. Workers who are commended to God directly from local assemblies for missionary work without the aid of any missions organizations or agency. So they're workers who are commended to God, directly from a local church, an independent church, not from among a association of of churches, say, whether it's, you fill in the blank, any denomination that comes to mind.

4:31 And we all know of, I'm sure most of us have friends that are involved in works that do wonderful works, but they have a different structure. You don't just show up with with, on their doorstep and say, hey. I want to be involved in your work. There's a whole protocol that has to be followed for for a worker if they're going to associate themselves with with certain organizations. But that's, not so among the assemblies.

5:16 Many of you, I I hope, get Missions Magazine. And this is a publication of of of... Among the assemblies of workers around the world. This primarily covers North American workers, and, it gives information of what's going on in their lives. And that's how we keep in touch with them and how we can see other people's work and be involved in their lives through prayer or or through or through sharing.

5:47 Now on the bottom of this sheet, I put a web address for c m m l dot u s. That's... If you've never been to that website, I I I ask you to go there and check it out. It's very interesting. And on that from that website, you can get a link to the Canadian equivalent to CMML, which can get you into a whole another group of workers as as we have here in The States and also gives you a link to the to the service organization in in, Great Britain, echoes of service, and also to one in Australia and, I think, New Zealand and India.

6:28 So you can, through through this website, get links to what congregations similar similar to ours are doing throughout the world. And you can get pictures. You can get script for reading about what's going on. It's fascinating, and I'd encourage you to do that. So it's it's a whole different approach to missionary work than than is typical among Christendom today.

7:01 So in another sense, accommodation then could be defined as that act of an assembly whereby called and qualified persons are handed over to the grace of God for the purpose of accomplishing the goals of evangelism, discipleship, and church planning in another locality. Now, I didn't put those definitions together. I think they're pretty much taken right from the sheet. But I, in principle, agree with them. I think they're they convey my understanding of accommodation.

7:40 However, I also would like to add that accommodation to me seems to have more to do with overseas work. And it comes into play when the part of the Great Commission that talks about going to the uttermost parts of the earth comes into play, not merely the Jerusalem or Judea or Samaria. Now when Christ had given his followers that instruction, that responsibility, Jerusalem is where they were at the time. Judea was like the state of where they were. It was the surrounding area.

8:22 Samaria was also somewhat adjacent to Jerusalem, but the uttermost parts of the world is the whole world. And as we look through the biblical history of those first two men, Barnabas and Saul, or Paul as he became known later, we discovered that they were very active in the Lord's work in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and in that local region. But when they were called by God to go to a distant part of the world, that's when commendation came into play. Maybe I'm looking at it too closely, but maybe not. So I want to do a little bit of a biographical profile on Barnabas and prepare some of the background for some of the conclusions or observations that I'll make later.

9:54 Joseph apparently was his birth name. And he was a Levite, which means he was familiar with the ways of the Israelites. He was by nationality an Israelite. He was a Levite, which I read during the preparation of which means he was generally not supposed to be a landowner. Why he was?

10:18 I don't know. We just have to speculate on that. But he was born in Cyprus apparently and I don't know if that was a nickname that he gained from the apostles Barnabas, the son of encouragement or not but but he he certainly exhibited it through his involvement in the lord's work And he was he the land he did have he sold and gave the money to the church which I don't know how relevant that is or not but he he was committed enough to to give up his own wealth to to invest in this work of God that was that was about to take the world by force. So, in Acts chapter five, there's some persecution that starts to come in. And Acts six, there was some needs or problems in the churches and and the seven men were chosen to to step in and follow that need and then Steven was one of those seven that was chosen and then Steven in Acts, the latter part of chapter six and in chapter seven, we see that he, even though he was a deacon of sorts in the church, was very active in in evangelism and proclaiming the gospel and he did so enough and to in with enough conviction and and in the right audience that they killed him for it.

12:01 They didn't like what he said. So all this time, Barnabas is part the church. And beginning at chapter eight, right at the end of... Right after Stephen is martyred. In Acts chapter eight verse one it says, And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

12:28 And on that day, a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem. And there were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, and they were all scattered about except the apostles. And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women and putting them, and he would put them in prison. Now if you're holding a King James translation in verse three you have the word commit.

13:53 And all of us, I think most of us know that in Acts chapter nine, Saul has a letter with him to give him authority to travel up into Samaria and even to the city of Damascus to to keep persecuting the Christians and to put him in jail. And that's when he gets saved. God miraculously intervenes in his life and he gets saved and changes his whole course of direction. So, skip on over if you've got your Bible open to chapter 11 verse 19. Oh, one thought before before I start again there.

14:40 Now Barnabas... Saul had quite the reputation of being a persecutor that after he got saved and after he tried to get in touch with the apostles and the leaders there in Jerusalem, they were a little bit timid about that as you can imagine. So, Barnabas intervened to introduce Saul to the Christian church there in Jerusalem assuring them that it was okay. This man is now part of the church and he's a preacher of the cross. You don't have to fear him.

15:55 And Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman world, about 300 miles north of Jerusalem, and a center of commerce. It was often it's been referred to as the Paris of the Old World. So, it was not just a hitching post of camel traders. It was a bustling city. So, the persecution had driven the Christians out and they had gone there strategically share Christ.

16:26 And I'm not sure why the Jews that were pushed out of Israel, Jerusalem had gone there and were just speaking to the Jews. And I confess I didn't do any research to figure that out. But there were some men of Cyprus in Cyrene who came to Antioch in verse 20 and began to share Christ with the Greeks that were living there. Now, I'm I'm thinking, we don't have the testimony of scripture, that Barnabas was really good at keeping in touch with people in the region. Now Barnabas, we know, was was born in Cyprus, so maybe he had his ear to the ground, so to speak, of what was going on in the different men's lives and the different trends.

17:17 But some of his peers, whether he knew them or whether they were just peers by nationality, were involved in the work there in Antioch. And, we see that the Lord was blessing them. And, the good news of this activity reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, where Barnabas was apparently, and they sent him up to Antioch to be involved with that work, which is interesting and not in a bad way, just I find it interesting. Why did they send Barnabas? Why didn't they send somebody else?

17:56 I'm thinking maybe it's because of a common interest or a common heritage or something they shared in common that made him the man for the job. Or maybe he was just whoever we read about Barnabas in scripture, with the exception of maybe one spot, he has a glowing testimony. We'll get to that later in Acts 15 where he has a sharp disagreement with Saul or Paul at the time. But one lesson I want to suggest from this is we all have our individual characteristics, whether it's nationality or whether it's gifts of ability or training that might equip us for a certain work in a certain place. And maybe that was true of Barnabas there because of his nationality or just because of the nature of the work.

18:55 I don't know. But I think that's something that's not irrelevant. That there might be something about us that equips us for our work. I know that among us as a body, we've identified Christian as somebody might be effective in prison ministry. And I think that might be true.

19:12 I don't know if you would view me that way, but I think we need to look at our whole concept of outreach and missions in ways that fit our personalities, not trying to plug different people into the wrong spot. I think you know what I'm trying to say. So but then a remarkable thing happened while Barnabas was there in in Antioch. Well, not so not some, maybe not remarkable but again, we receive a testimony for Barnabas in verse 24 of chapter 11. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

20:46 He Paul had been after he had been converted, they tried to kill him in Damascus. After he went to Jerusalem, they tried to hunt him down as well. So, he was maybe feeling a little bit down because he wanted to serve the Lord but couldn't. So, we see the efforts of Barnabas to bring him into the works. So, Barnabas leaves the thriving work, goes and gets Saul to bring him back to Antioch to help in the work.

21:15 And maybe they could do things a little bit more incognito, I don't know. But he found him, brought him back to Antioch, and it says in verse 26, And it came about for an entire year. They met with the church and taught considerable numbers, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. So, Paul, and Barnabas made an effective team and they had a fruitful ministry there in Antioch. And then one of the prophets of that day was speaking prophetically of something that would yet to occur that there was going to be a great need in Judea that there'd be a famine and that that they should make provision for that for the the Christians living in Judea.

22:02 So, the church essentially took up an offering and they chose Saul and Barnabas to take it to Jerusalem to share with the saints there. And then we have the remarkable story in Acts 12, which we're going to skip, of Paul being put... Of Peter being put in prison in that whole remarkable deliverance. It's a great story. If you haven't read it for a while, just go through and read it.

22:29 It's really a neat story. Okay. Then, the end of chapter, the end of chapter 12, Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark. So this fellow John or John Mark, we put the names together. We we see later in scripture, he was a cousin to Barnabas.

23:49 And while they were ministering to 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, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. In those three verses, we have a lot of a lot going on. And I just want to share some observations that I made. Obviously, two of those five men were called by god for a different work.

24:20 Now, I'm not saying we don't know if those five men were the only men that were leaders in the church but if they were, the Holy Spirit just took 40% of leadership away to go to a different place to do his work, which which is something to think about. Usually, don't see leadership in the local church as the group that is sent out, but I found that curious. And we'll just leave it at that for now. Or maybe there was a lot more and it's just that those five were mentioned. Verse two, those five, at least those five because they're mentioned, we know we're looking to the Lord for something to happen.

25:07 And I think that's a vital component too. I think when we're just sitting comfy in our chairs just maintaining, we're we're not a New Testament church. I think we need to be seeking the lord praying honestly, fasting is something most of us don't like to talk about, but it But it involves self denial, which is really the obstacle to the Lord's work, because we'd rather be about our own business than the Lord's business often. So, fasting is such a tangible element of self denial that if you can't get to that place where you're willing to deny self, how is the Lord going to work? So, that was a a component here that's relevant.

26:04 They were fasting. They were seeking the lord. They wanted to know what the lord would do with them. And but also in that whole scene was that they were diligent in the lord's work. They were active in the lord's work.

26:18 They weren't just waiting for the lord to send him an Email to say, do this. They were faithful where they were engaged in the lord's work and then, he gave them information that he wanted them to do. And that information was that Barnabas and Saul were to to be sent out to to as the Lord led. And it doesn't tell us where they went. It doesn't in this in these three verses of text, it doesn't tell us specific instructions.

26:52 But if we were to follow through chapters thirteen and fourteen of Acts, we would see how the spirit led them. So, after after the church was notified, after they were set apart in verse three, it says, then they, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So, as a church apparently, they fasted and prayed. They laid their hands on them and then released them to the call of the spirit. I've talked briefly already about fasting, laying their hands on them.

28:08 And maybe half of the eldership would love to go, I don't know. But I hadn't really thought about going there. I've often considered that this is my work here in Westlake, but I have to confess, I'm not thinking that centralized anymore. Maybe I'm not a lifer here at Westlake Bio Fellowship. Maybe God has something else in mind for me.

28:35 So, verse four is a good reminder that it's the Holy Spirit who guides. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. So, we won't follow it through, because we don't have time. But what happens in these, the rest of this chapter, in chapter 14, are just remarkable things that the spirit did through them. So, what happened?

29:10 In two years, they saw many saved, churches established, elders appointed. I've never heard of such quick success where you can they traveled to a number of different cities. They got chased out of a number of different cities, but they saw lots of people saved. They had time to double back through some of those cities to appoint the leadership and to encourage them and to see viable churches started. Now, I know that in God's sovereign plan, that was a very fertile time upon the earth in that region of the world.

29:56 It certainly has changed in the centuries since then. But still, I think there are areas in the world today that still are as fertile as that area was in that day that we need to be alert to the spirits leading to be involved in. So let's turn to the end of chapter 14 to see some of the summary matters that happened following this missionary this missionary trip. What's known as Paul's first missionary trip. So, as I just mentioned, verse 22, they had strengthened the souls of the disciples.

30:38 They encouraged them to continue in the faith and gave them gave them this great encouragement. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of heaven. And that's true. We can't we can't there is a certain amount of rest and peace that comes from knowing the lord but there's also a lot of stress and effort involved in the Christian life as well. Just the daily spiritual battles.

31:10 So, Barnabas and Saul had encouraged the people that they had the disciples they had made on that trip, and then they came back and reported to the church in Antioch all these things that had gone on. And we see that in verse 26. And from there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had accomplished. So, they were coming back to the church that had sent them out and they were reporting to them what they had done. And verse 26 here in chapter 14 refers back to chapter 13 verse three, where the spirit had called those two to go out on that assignment.

32:36 We were in not so much a measure of desperation, but just practicality. We were entrusting them to God. We were basically saying, Lord, you take care of them. We understand you called them, and we are trusting you to care for them. And he did.

32:54 And then when Paul and Barnabas came back, they spent a long time with the disciples. Well, I don't know how long that would was. A year or two? Okay. We only have a few minutes left, we're going have to fast forward to well, let me cover some definitions briefly.

33:22 This this won't take long and then we'll wrap it up with the end of chapter 15. The words that are translated commendation in in our Bibles whether it's the King James or the New American Standard or New King James or whatever, either you're going to have the word commendation there. And in the King James version, it's used 20 times in the whole Bible. A couple times in the Old Testament, 17 times in the New Testament. And a lot of it just refers to how we would take the word commendation as we approve.

34:00 If I commend somebody for doing a good job, it means I approve or I'm endorsing them. And that's how it's used often, probably in most of the times. But in the sense where we use it in the idea of commendation, it has a little bit different meaning. It certainly means people that certainly means we're commending people that are qualified and experienced and have already been doing the work. But as I've already referred to by the phrase commending to the grace of God, it's not bearing the burden ourselves, but putting it in the Lord's hands to bear.

34:41 So, let me give you some of the grammatical definition of those words. One of the main words translated here in the text that we're talking about, it means to place alongside, to present, to deposit as a trust or for protection, to commit, to put forth, to set before. And it's used in Luke twenty-three 46, a verse that Todd read this morning when Jesus said, Into, He said, Into your hands I commit my spirit. When He was speaking that to the Father, that was the word that's translated commend. He was entrusting His spirit to the Father, and that's what we do when we commend.

35:27 We're entrusting the workers to God. And also, the word translated commend is used similar in some of these verses in Acts that we just read. To surrender, to yield up, to entrust, to transmit, to bring forth, to commit, deliver, to give up or to give over, to recommend. Now the New King James or the King James Version at the end of chapter 15 where where Paul and Silas are sent out uses the word recommend or recommend depending how you look at it. So, it but it goes back to the same root word for commend.

36:12 So, okay. Acts Acts, end of Acts chapter 15, that's a pretty full chapter of of stuff, but we don't have time to look at it, of course. But, verse 36, after they had been back there in Antioch in happy fellowship with the church, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaim the word of God and see how they are. So here we see the pastoral heart of Paul. He wanted to go back and see how the Christians were doing that they had reached on that first trip.

36:52 And to make a long story short, Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement over John Mark taking him with or not, so Paul and Barnabas split up. But I think what the main point I have... I wanted to make about this was the first time the Holy Spirit clearly instructed the church to send these two for a work. But now a worker seems to be initiating the commendation. So there has to be some kind of a compatibility or balance there and and I think there is.

37:36 That once the lord has called someone for a work, they're going to have a heart for it and And they're going to want to see that work sustained or nourished. And maybe that's part of the Eikinar's return to The Philippines, that their appetite's been wet, they've been engaged in the work for a couple years, and now, not so much in the same sense as Paul and Barnabas, because it's not like, I can now or saw 12 churches started and appointed elders, but the work of the Lord takes on different forms and different times. But we see that in the first instance, the first commendation, the Spirit intervenes directly and sent these two out. But here, at the end of Chapter 15, what we might call the second commendation, it's initiated by man. Paul says, Hey, let's go back and and and check on things and we read that Paul chose Silas and departed and they were committed by the brethren to the grace of the lord.

38:53 I have New American Standard uses the word committed. New King James uses recommended by the brethren to the grace of the lord. So there's, I think, a couple of different elements of commendation. Let me just close by reading a few of these remarks on the right side of the sheet to kind of fill out some of my remarks. Several things concerning commendation.

39:24 It is practiced by the assembly where the missionary worker is in regular fellowship. I think that makes sense. I think you understand that. It requires that both the worker and the assembly sense God's clear leading. And I think that when you don't have that clear leading, you need to wait till you have that clear leading because how can you proceed if you're not on the same page?

39:53 It concerns workers who are both qualified and proven before going. And we see that. Barnabas and Saul had, it's estimated, about eight years of active service before they were commended that first time. Now some of it might have just been circumstances of the time of the early church. The assembly publicly identifies with the worker and his future ministry.

40:19 There's not an independence that's implied. The worker is responsible to the commending assembly, as we see Barnabas and Saul came back and reported to the church there in Antioch. Commendation does not confer any ecclesiastical authority or position. It doesn't make anybody more special. It doesn't guarantee a salary.

40:45 At least not in our denomination. The assembly I missed one. The assembly commends or hands over the care of the worker to God because of physical separation from the church. Commendation neither guarantees nor establishes eligibility for financial support, though the assembly should support their commended missionaries God enables. In commendation to God's grace, commendation is to God's grace for the work that contributes either directly or indirectly to evangelism, discipleship, and church planning.

41:24 There's much more that could be said. I guess Ray was right. So, feel free to discuss with me and we can always pick up the discussion later if necessary. So, let's let's pray. Father, again, we bow we bow before you thanking you that you do give us your word to give us instruction.

41:42 We pray that you help us as a as individuals and also as bodies to continue to be students of your word and to understand and to apply and to see your blessing in our lives and in our local church here. And we do just pray that you would do a great work among us. Help us to be looking forward and desiring it and to be seeking it together so that we can bring glory to you and that we can see souls saved. And we just pray these things in our Lord Jesus name. Amen.