Set Apart and Sent: Paul's Journey of Grace

Acts gives the church the bridge between Jesus’ ascension and the letters Paul later writes to churches he planted and loved. The Holy Spirit keeps the ministry of Jesus moving through ordinary people who have been surrendered and sent. The church at Antioch becomes the launching place because a strong, multicultural body worships, fasts, hears the Spirit, and sets apart Barnabas and Saul for the work God has already called them to do.

The call of God requires more than putting a yes on the table. The call of God also requires some no’s, because nobody can really say yes to God’s work while holding tightly to the things that keep them from it. The church’s laying on of hands shows that missionaries, church planters, elders, and leaders are not just sent out as individuals. The church sees God’s work in them, prays over them, and commissions them to go.

Paul’s first journey shows that the Holy Spirit may send people into dark places. Elymas the sorcerer stands against the gospel and tries to keep Sergius Paulus from faith, but God turns the distraction into the very thing that brings the proconsul to belief. The hand of the Lord blinds the man who is trying to blind others, and the proconsul becomes amazed at the teaching about the Lord. The gospel still belongs in places where evil feels real, distractions are heavy, and the enemy tries to shut down the work.

Paul’s synagogue preaching carries Israel’s whole story to its fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is the promised Son, the risen King, and the Holy One who did not see decay. The law of Moses could never justify sinners, but Jesus proclaims forgiveness and justifies everyone who believes. Grace does not mean that sin has become less serious to God. Grace means that Jesus has covered sin so completely that believers can finally see sin as seriously as God sees it, repent of it, and stop trying to earn what Christ has already given.

The warning against jealousy shows how easily people can miss the Messiah while insisting that God should work their way. Envy, pride, and competition can create distance from Jesus when God’s work in somebody else becomes hard to celebrate. The worth of a sinner does not come from personal goodness, effort, or anybody else’s price tag. Jesus Christ dying in that sinner’s place makes relationship with the King of kings available.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s yes requires faithful no’s The call of God does not fit around every other desire, habit, and distraction. Surrender means allowing the Father to show what has to be laid down so that obedience can become real. A yes that never costs anything often remains only an idea. [42:14]
• 2. Dark places still need gospel light The Holy Spirit does not only send people where the work feels easy and safe. Elymas shows that spiritual opposition can be real, ugly, and determined to distract from Christ. God can even use the very disruption that seems to ruin the plan to open somebody’s heart to faith. [49:59]
• 3. Jesus justifies what law cannot The law exposes sin, but it cannot make a guilty person right before God. Jesus brings forgiveness and justification because His death and resurrection accomplish what religious effort never could. Grace moves believers from striving for acceptance into living in response to acceptance already given. [61:19]
• 4. Grace never makes sin insignificant Grace does not lower God’s view of sin or give permission to carry sin around and enjoy it. Grace gives believers freedom to face sin honestly, repent deeply, and walk in truth without trying to earn God’s love. Jesus holds grace and truth together perfectly. [64:11]
• 5. Jesus alone gives lasting worth Personal worth does not rise or fall with another person’s approval, rejection, or price tag. Christ died for sinners while they were still sinners, and His love makes fellowship with God available. Every blessing comes from His mercy, not from anything a person has managed to deserve.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:38] - Why Paul’s Missionary Journeys Matter
• [38:49] - Antioch Sets Apart Barnabas and Saul
• [41:19] - Putting Yes and No on the Table
• [43:31] - The Church Commissions Those It Sends
• [45:04] - Paul’s First Missionary Journey
• [47:07] - The Gospel Goes First to the Synagogue
• [49:05] - Elymas Opposes the Gospel in Paphos
• [51:41] - Distractions on the Mission Field
• [53:57] - God Uses the Distraction
• [56:40] - John Mark Leaves the Journey
• [57:13] - Paul Preaches Jesus in Pisidian Antioch
• [61:19] - Forgiveness and Justification Through Jesus
• [64:11] - Grace and Truth in the Fight Against Sin
• [66:55] - Continue in the Grace of God
• [70:28] - Jealousy Can Miss the Messiah
• [73:53] - Jesus Makes Sinners Worthy

Bible Reading

Acts 13:1-3
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 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.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
[38:49]

Acts 13:6-12
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
[49:05]

Acts 13:38-39
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.
[01:01:19]

Acts 13:43
When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
[01:06:55]

Acts 13:44-46
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.”
[01:10:28]

Observation questions

1. What was the Antioch church doing when the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul, and what did the church do before sending them out? [43:31]
2. What did Elymas try to do to Sergius Paulus, and what did Sergius Paulus see and hear that led him to believe?
3. In Acts 13:38-39, what does Paul say Jesus gives to those who believe that the law of Moses could not give?
4. What changed in the response of some of the Jews when almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord? [01:10:28]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does the Holy Spirit’s instruction to “set apart” Barnabas and Saul come in the middle of worship and fasting, rather than simply as a private decision between God and the two men? [41:19]
2. What does Paul’s response to Elymas show about the difference between confronting spiritual opposition and merely becoming frustrated by a distraction? [53:19]
3. Paul says believers are justified through Jesus, not through the law. How does this change the reason a believer reads Scripture, prays, serves, or obeys God? [01:02:30]
4. Why might jealousy over God’s work in other people or churches make someone less able to recognize and celebrate what God is doing? [01:12:34]

Application questions

1. God’s yes often requires faithful no’s. What is one desire, habit, schedule commitment, or distraction that may be making it hard for you to fully say yes to what God is calling you to do? What would a faithful no look like this week? [42:23]
2. Barnabas and Saul were sent by a praying church, not sent out alone. Where do you need the church’s prayer, encouragement, accountability, or support as you follow God’s call?
3. The Holy Spirit may lead believers into places where darkness, opposition, or distraction feels real. What “dark place” are you facing right now—at home, work, school, or in a relationship? How can you keep returning to Jesus instead of assuming the difficulty means you should quit? [52:53]
4. God used the very disruption Elymas created as part of what brought Sergius Paulus to faith. Can you identify a disappointment, delay, or interruption in your life that God may be able to use in a different way than you expected? [53:36]
5. Are you more likely to try to earn God’s love through religious effort, or to treat grace like sin does not matter? What would it look like for you to receive grace deeply while also dealing honestly with a specific sin? [01:05:25]
6. Paul urged new believers to continue in the grace of God. What simple daily or weekly practice would help you keep walking with Jesus instead of treating a past decision as the whole of your relationship with Him? [01:09:36]
7. When someone else receives blessing, attention, opportunity, or visible fruit from God, what thoughts rise up in you first? How can you turn envy into prayer, gratitude, and genuine celebration? [01:12:41]