“On arriving there, they gathered and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door to the Gentiles.”
~ Acts 12:27
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know what a missionary does? Do you know what your grandmaa and grandpaa do as missionaries? What would you do if you were missionaries? Do you know what Paul did as a missionary? Do you know what a missionary is? A Christ-follower missionary unit is a guy and/or gal who has been sent out as an ambassador to tell guys, gals and kids about Jesus. Do you know who sends out a missionary unit? A guy and/or gal is/are sometimes sent out as an ambassador or ambassadors – as a missionary or missionaries, by the Christ-follower fellowship that a missionary unit calls his, her or their Christ-follower fellowship. Paul was sent as an ambassador – as a missionary, by the Antioch Christ-follower fellowship. Paul’s first missionary trip took place about 1950 years ago. Paul would make four missionary trips during his lifetime. Paul’s first missionary trip lasted a couple of years. Paul when he left Antioch on his first missionary trip was not the leader; Barnabas was the assigned leader. Sometime during his first missionary trip, Paul took on the responsibilities of being the trip’s leader. Luke recounts in Luke 14 some of the things that Paul and Barnabas did together and some of the incidents that these two guys were involved in during their missionary travels. When Paul and Barnabas got back to the Antioch Christ-follower fellowship, what do you think that these two guys told the guys and gals who were members of the Antioch Christ-follower fellowship? Your grandmaa and grandpaa – before they left the United Sates to join the South America Mission field missionary team in Bolivia, spent nine months in Edinburg, Texas at the Rio Grande Bible Institute and Language School studying Spanish. Your grandmaa and grandpaa would then spend four years as missionaries on the South America Mission field missionary team in Bolivia. Your grandpaa remembers the first time that he had the opportunity to talk in a Christ-follower fellowship after spending nine months studying Spanish and four years as a missionary in Bolivia. The Christ-follower fellowship was a United Methodist Church that is located closeto Albany, New York. Good friends of your grandmaa and grandpaa were active members of this United Methodist Church. Jonny and Susan had lived in the same apartment building where your grandmaa and grandpaa were living when your dad was born. Susan would at times take care of your dad while your grandmaa was working. Because of Jonny and Susan, the United Methodist Church where Jonny and Susan were active members asked your grandpaa to speak on a Sunday morning. Your grandpaa was still in Bolivia when your grandpaa received from the Christ-follower fellowship that Jonny and Susan were members the invitation to speak. Your grandpaa spent a lot of time thinking about what he would talk about on that Sunday morning at the United Methodist Church. What would you have talked about that Sunday morning if you had been your grandpaa if you had just spent four years as a missionary in another country speaking another language and being involved in a variety of ministries?
Paul and Barnabas when they got back to the Antioch Christ-follower fellowship had a lot that they could talk about. Paul and Barnabas for over two years had traveled together. They had stopped on the Island of Cyprus where they visited the towns of Salamis and Paphos before taking a ship over to the areas of Lycia, Pisidia, Pamphylia and Cilicia – which are all now part of the country known as Turkey. While Paul and Barnabas were in the country that is now Turkey, Paul and Barnabas passed through or spent time in the towns of Attalia, Perga, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Paul and Barnabas probably spent most of their time in Iconium where they preached and/or taught in the Jewish synagogue that was in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas when they arrived in a place would head for the local Jewish synagogue to preach and/or teach. Paul and Barnabas witnessed a good number of the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Iconium become born again followers of Jesus Christ through their accepting of the message of hope that they were preaching and/or teaching about Jesus Christ. In spite of some Jews refusing to accept the preaching and/or teaching messages of hope that Paul and Barnabas were preaching and/or teaching about what Jesus Christ did for them leading these Jews to want to kill Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas were able to stay in Iconium for a period of time. Paul and Barnabas performed a number of miraculous signs and wonders while they were in Iconium. When Paul and Barnabas finally had to leave Iconium – after they were told that there were some guys who were about ready to kill them with stones, they went to Lystra – where they healed lame man. The guys and gals who were living in Lystra thought Paul and Barnabas were gods but . . . some Iconium and Antioch Jews who did not like what Paul was preaching and/or teaching showed up in Lystra. These Jews got the guys and gals who were living in Lystra really upset with Paul. Paul got himself almost stoned to death by these Jews who really did not like Paul and by the guys and gals who these Antioch and Iconium Jews had gotten really angry at Paul.
When Paul and Barnabas got back to the Antioch Christ-follower fellowship, verse 27 says, “On arriving there, they gathered and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door to the Gentiles.” Your grandpaa does not remember what he said when he spoke for the first time after your grandpaa had been away from the United States for four years in Bolivia. Your grandpaa does remember having Susan say to him after he had spoken that what your grandpaa had said was probably something that her Christ-follower fellowship needed to hear but . . . do you think that guys and gals today are really all that interested in what a missionary unit does and/or says?
Acts 14 (323)