You can be turning with me to Acts chapter 14. At Christian Fellowship Church, we have been studying the book of Acts, and we have finished studying the first journey of the Apostle Paul as a missionary, and we'll be looking at the end of his first journey today. But before we get into the text, I want to speak a little bit about a man named David Brainerd. David Brainerd was born in 1718 in Connecticut, which was just a colony at that time. David Brainerd was saved at the age of 21. Two months later, after being saved, he entered Yale in order to prepare for pastoral ministry. He believed that the Lord was calling him to pastor Yet, after he began his seminary training, he had to go home because he was so sick. He was spitting blood. He already had the tuberculosis that he would die of seven years later. The Lord strengthened him. He was able to return to Yale. But he ended up being expelled from Yale. At that time, the Spirit was working greatly. There had been many people who simply made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, called themselves Christians, but were not truly Christians, even in Christian universities, even in seminaries. But the Spirit was doing a work, he was saving some who were there at Yale, and David Brainerd and others who knew the Lord were concerned about the spiritual well-being of faculty members. students there in the seminary who called themselves Christians but gave no evidence of regeneration. And David Brainerd was overheard making critical remarks about the rector of the school and one of the tutors in the school questioning their salvation. And for that, David Brainerd was expelled. That cut him off from the pastorate, because at that time, you had to go to a certain list of universities before you could become a pastor. If he didn't finish his training at Yale, the pastorate was not open to him. But this was all in God's providence. The Lord Jesus had something different in store for David Brenner, something other than being a pastor. He was appointed after this by a mission board to be a missionary to the American Indians. His first assignment was to the Housatonic Indians in Massachusetts. He preached for one year through an interpreter to these Indians in Massachusetts. He worked on learning the language, and he even started a school for the Indian children. He translated some of the psalms into the Housatonic language. After a year, he was reassigned to serve the Indians along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, northeast of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He preached there for one year. And then, He began evangelizing the Indians at Cross Weeksong, New Jersey. And God moved an amazing power amongst the Cross Weeksong Indians. He saved many of those Indians. Within one year, there were 130 people in this growing Indian church that was planted by David Brainerd. This whole group of Christian Indians then moved to Cranbury, New Jersey to have their own land and village. Brainerd ministered among this group until he was too sick to continue. He died of tuberculosis in the home of Jonathan Edwards at the age of 29, younger than most of us in this room. Now, David Brainerd is remembered by the church for his diary. He wrote a diary throughout this time of ministering to the Indians. A diary that has encouraged countless Christians to become missionaries. A diary that has encouraged countless missionaries on the field to not give up, but to persevere in the ministry of missions. In that diary, David Brainerd speaks of terrible suffering that he endured. And he also speaks of pressing on. Listen to what he wrote. When I really enjoy God, I feel my desires of Him the more insatiable, and my thirstings after holiness the more unquenchable. Oh, for holiness! Oh, for more of God in my soul! Oh, this pleasing pain." He referred to his trials as pleasing pain because they directed him to God. Oh, this pleasing pain, it makes my soul press after God. Oh, that I might not loiter on my heavenly journey. And then in an entry dated April 17, 1747, he wrote, oh, I long to fill the remaining moments all for God. Though my body was so feeble and wearied with preaching and much private conversation, yet I wanted to sit up all night to do something for God. To God, the giver of these refreshments, be glory forever and ever. Amen. And he wrote on February 21st, 1746, my soul was refreshed and comforted and I could not but bless God who had enabled me in some good measure to be faithful in the day past. Oh, how sweet it is to be spent and worn out for God. How sweet it is to be spent and worn out for God. David Brainerd is just one of countless Christian missionaries who have followed in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul. Paul was not only an evangelist, a preacher, and a teacher, he was a missionary. All the gifts that Christ gave to Paul came together on the mission field. And our text this morning records the end of Paul's first missionary journey. We're going to pick up where when Paul was in the city of Lystra, a largely heathen city that had people who probably before had never heard the gospel, probably didn't even hear the name of Jesus Christ. And our text that we will study shows more than any other single passage, I believe, what missions is about. Missions is something that every church must understand, every church must value, every church must encourage, and every church must support. In fact, missions is something that every individual Christian must understand, value, encourage, and support. Please look with me at our text, which is Acts 14, verses 19 through the end of the chapter. Verse 19. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city. And on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe, When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attaliah. And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And there remained no little time with the disciples." This is God's holy word. The book of Acts is about missions. What is missions? Missions is the faithful carrying out of the great commission that Jesus gave shortly before he ascended back up into heaven. When he said in Matthew 28, verses 18-20, Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you to the end of the age. The heart of missions is making disciples of all nations. After we have gone to the nations, we are to make disciples of the nations. How are we to do so? Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded, knowing that Christ is with us to the end of the age. The heart of missions is making disciples. And Acts is a history of the early days of Christ building His church. The very first verse in the book says, In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. This is volume 2. Volume 1 was the Gospel of Luke. That is what Christ began to do and teach. Now, volume two is what Christ continued to do and teach after He ascended into heaven. What Christ has been doing from His heavenly throne through His apostles in building His church. So, why is this history book a book about missions? It is because missions is Christ's plan for building His church. He has no other plan for building his church. This is the plan. Now, it is very easy for us who live in New Jersey and New York to become consumed with our lives here and to lose sight of the bigger picture, the mission that Christ has given to his church. The book of Acts is meant to keep us focused on that mission. What is missions about? Our text answers that question. Now, the Bible is not written like a typical textbook or manual. If you go to a Bible school, you might have a textbook or a manual on missions or on some other subject, but the Bible does not read like a typical textbook or manual. Jesus taught his disciples largely through example, and Acts teaches us in the same way, by example. Today's text gives us an example of missions being done by the Apostle Paul and his associate Barnabas. And as we watch them do missions, we see what missions is about. Pay close attention as we study this text, because it should shape your life as Bread of Life Fellowship. It should shape your goals as Bread of Life Fellowship. It should affect what we value as individual Christians, as individual members of the church. It should affect what we invest in and how we pray for our church's missionaries. I'm so happy that you have begun to support Jim and Carolyn. We love Jim and Carolyn serving in Mexico City and other parts of Central America. Our church financially supports them, prays for them. I know you do as well. How you pray for Jim and Carolyn should be affected by this passage that we're looking at. How you pray for Justin and Rebecca, how you pray for the other missionaries that you support should be affected by this passage. Our text puts forward three things that missions is about. And that is what we'll be devoting ourselves to this morning, these three things that missions is about. First of all, missions is about willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel. It's about willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Look closely at verse 19. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. Now right here, Paul is in Lystra. He's there with his associate Barnabas. And Jews come there from Antioch and Iconium. two very large cities in Galatia that Paul and Barnabas previously have planted churches in on this journey. Jews who are unbelieving, who are hostile to the gospel, now come to Lystra. Now what happened before they came? When Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch, the first place that they went with the gospel was the Jewish synagogue. And they went into the synagogue, and they were given an opportunity to preach. And they preached Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. And some Jews believed. And many Gentiles in that city of Pisidian Antioch believed. But the unbelieving Jews grew jealous of the following that Paul and Barnabas were receiving. And they stirred up the governing officials in Pisidian Antioch to drive Paul and Barnabas out of that district. They were forcibly pushed out. They had left Pisidian Antioch and gone on to Iconium. In Iconium, once again, they went into the Jewish synagogue, they preached Christ as the Messiah, and some Jews were saved, Gentiles were saved. Much persecution developed against this brand new church, and Paul and Barnabas stayed with there to strengthen the believers, to teach them the Word of God. But finally, Paul and Barnabas were driven out, this time with threats. There was a group again of unbelieving Jews who stirred up Gentiles and joined them in a plot. They were plotting to stone Barnabas and Paul. They were plotting mob violence. And when Paul and Barnabas caught word of that, they fled for their lives from Iconium and they came here to this city of Lystra where they've been preaching the gospel. But we're told in verse 19 that unbelieving Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium. And the second half of verse 19 says, having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. That's what they wanted to do to him in the previous city. That's what they plotted to do to him in the previous city. And now they actually do it. They stone him and they leave him, supposing he is dead. Why do they stone Paul? Because according to verse 12, he was the chief speaker. It's amazing how hostile this group of unbelieving Jews was. They were not content in simply driving Paul and Barnabas away from their cities. No, in their hatred and their hostility, they had to follow Paul and Barnabas on to the next city and put him to death there. Paul was not surprised to be stoned. because that attempt had been made to stone him in the previous city. He knew that that could be a consequence of serving Christ, a consequence of being a missionary, is that he could be put to death. But the Lord preserved his life. And Paul is an example for us of courage, steadfastness, and willingness to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. He came to Lystra doing the very thing that angered people in Iconium. Look back in the same chapter at verses 6 and 7. Back in Iconium. When Paul and Barnabas learned of it, they learned of that plot, it says they fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lyconia and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the Gospel. They didn't say, well, this didn't go so well for us in Iconium. We're going to now modify our approach. We're going to water down the message. We're going to soften the sharp edges. No. They continued doing. in Lystra what had almost gotten them killed in Iconium. They continued to preach the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ and His grace. And observe what Paul does after being stoned. Go down to verse 20. Verse 20, But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city. And on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe, when they had preached the gospel to that city. And it goes on. So he preached the Gospel in Iconium. He preached the Gospel here in Lystra. He gets stoned. The Lord enables him to recover from that. And he goes on a derby and continues to do that very thing again. He preaches the Gospel. That's endurance. That's perseverance. That's willingness to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. This stoning was not a judicial execution. There was no trial. There was no witnesses brought forward. There was no examining the evidence. There was no comparing what Paul had done to the law. This was lawless mob violence. Now, the Jewish Mishnah wrote about stoning a person by pushing them off a cliff and then dropping very heavy stones on them. Whether that is how Paul was stoned here or he was stoned in some other way, we do not know. But what is clear is that it was mob violence, stirred up by this hostility towards Christ and the Gospel. It's the same thing that happened to Stephen. A mob formed as Stephen was preaching the Gospel and confronting the unbelief of the Jews around him. And he was stoned, but the difference is Stephen died and Paul lived. Paul's the only one I know of in history who's lived after being stoned. By God's grace and mercy, he survived. By God's grace and mercy, he recovered almost immediately. By God's grace and mercy, he did not have to be carried into the city. Did you notice that in verse Verse 20, it says, when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city. We might expect him to be carried into the city on a stretcher. But no, he rose up on his own two feet and walked on his own two feet back into the city. And what did he do the next day? He began the 60-mile walk to Derby. Talk about God's grace and mercy. Missions is about willingness to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. This must be settled in the missionary's mind before he or she heads for the field. The missionary path is a path of suffering for the gospel. Paul wrote a letter to the churches of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, those cities in Galatia. He wrote a letter to them shortly after he returned from this first journey. It's the book of Galatians in our New Testament. In chapter 6, verse 17 of that epistle, he wrote, From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. Paul viewed the scars that he received from being stoned, the scars he received from being persecuted in other violent ways, as marks that showed who he belonged to. Marks that showed that he belonged to Jesus. Forever Jesus will have the scars. in his wrists, in his feet, his side, from the crucifixion, and then from the spear that went into his side after he died. Forever he will have those scars in heaven. And the missionary cannot expect the world to treat him any better than they treated Jesus. Paul will refer later on to this event in which he was stoned in the book of 2 Timothy. Turn with me to 2 Timothy, chapter 3. 2 Timothy is the last epistle that Paul wrote. He wrote it from a Roman jail, expecting to be executed. This is his second Roman imprisonment. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, these are some of the last words that he writes to his son in the faith, Timothy. Look at verse 10. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra." What would he have in mind when he mentions Lystra? He'd have in mind being stoned. My persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." In these verses, Paul reminds his son Timothy of how Timothy has followed Paul's example. He's followed the example of Paul's teaching. He's taught what Paul has taught in the manner that Paul has taught. He has imitated Paul's conduct. He has had the same aim in life that Paul has had. He has imitated Paul's faith, Paul's patience, Paul's love, Paul's steadfastness, and he has followed in Paul's persecutions and sufferings. He has been persecuted. He has suffered, as Paul did, for the sake of the Gospel. Because as Paul says in verse 20, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, whether you're Paul, or you're Timothy, or you're Joe LoSarlo, or Sal, another member of Bread of Life Fellowship, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And come back to our text. We are seeing in our text that missions is about willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel. What does that mean for us today right here? Let me give you four answers to that question of what does this mean for us. First of all, understand that some missionaries that we support are face to face with the possibility of severe suffering for the sake of the gospel. Our church supports a family serving in a country that currently has at least one American pastor in prison. And he's there not for any lawless deed he's done. He's there because he's faithful to Christ. It's a dangerous country to be a missionary in, especially if you're an American. We have another family that we support who's serving in a country that severely tortures Christian leaders. They know at any time they can get in trouble with the government. At any time their visa could be cancelled, they could be sent home. There are other missionaries that both of our churches support that face danger on a regular basis. They're taking a risk by being over there as missionaries. So the first application is understand that some of the missionaries we support face real danger for the sake of the gospel. Number two, pray that your missionaries would be strengthened to be steadfast in the face of danger as Paul and Barnabas were. How do you pray for your missionaries? What do you pray for when you pray for them? Amongst other things, pray that the Lord would strengthen them to be steadfast under trial, faithful when persecuted, willing to suffer the cost. I hope that in your corporate prayer meetings you pray for your missionaries. When you do so, keep this passage in mind and pray accordingly. Number three, encourage your missionaries to persevere. Paul had a personal source of encouragement with him named Barnabas. Barnabas was not his name he was born with. His given name was Joseph. But the apostles nicknamed Joseph Barnabas, which means literally, son of encouragement. And that's what we see throughout the book of Acts, that Barnabas was gifted in. He was gifted by the Holy Spirit as an encourager. We see him encouraging the church, encouraging the church, encouraging the church. And the Lord gave an encourager to the Apostle Paul. As Paul suffered, even was stoned, he had a personal source of encouragement next to him, Barnabas. Your missionaries need encouragement. Find a way to be in communication personally with some of the missionaries that your church supports for the sake of encouraging them. Knowing they are going through difficulty, they're facing risks of danger, encourage them personally. And fourthly, consider if Christ is calling you. to suffer for the gospel on the front lines of global missions. Maybe the Lord is calling someone in this room to serve the Lord in Saudi Arabia. You may say, how could I ever get into Saudi Arabia as a missionary? The Lord opens doors. If you go to Saudi Arabia and you announce yourself as a missionary, you will not get in. But the Lord opens doors for Christians to go into Saudi Arabia to serve as missionaries. The Lord may call you to go to North Korea. Again, not impossible. The Lord is able to do anything. He may call you to go to Indonesia. These different countries that are very hostile to the Gospel. Consider if Christ is calling you to suffer for the Gospel on the front lines of global missions. Missions is about willingness to suffer, but not willingness to suffer in an aimless way. Because missions is also about a second thing. It's about planting indigenous elder-led churches. Paul and Barnabas were very purposeful as missionaries. They didn't just show up to these cities without a plan. Let's see what happens while we're here. No. They were purposeful. Missions is about planting indigenous elder-led churches. Look at verse 21. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples. What is that city? It's Derby, the city that they went to after leaving Lystra. What did they do in Derby? They preached the gospel. They made disciples. They did exactly what Christ commissioned the church to do. Remember, we saw that in Matthew 28, 19 and 20. The commissioners make disciples. That's what they did. They made disciples of whom? Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word disciple literally means a learner, a student of another person. If you are a boy or girl here today, and you go to school, you are a disciple. You're a disciple of your teacher. You are a pupil. Disciple can be translated as student. Now, what is a disciple of Christ? A disciple of Christ is someone who, by grace, is learning to observe all that Christ has commanded. is about this. It's about making disciples. It's not about humanitarian efforts. Now Christ has called us to love our neighbors, and there's a place for humanitarian efforts, but that's not what missions is about. Missions is about making disciples of all the nations. Now where is a disciple to learn to observe all that Christ has commanded? It's in Christ's body, organized into local churches. This is so essential that we understand this. I want you to observe what Paul and Barnabas did after they made disciples in Derbe. Look at verse 21. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. Now, think about the geography. If Paul and Barnabas had completed the mission here with their ministry in Derbe, they would have continued eastward, making the relatively easy trek straight back to their sending church in Syrian Antioch. But instead of making that easy trek back home, they make the far longer, far more difficult journey back through the Galatian cities where they had previously evangelized. They return to the cities that had persecuted them. They return to the cities that had driven them out. And after returning to these cities, they would have to then pass through the Taurus Mountains, a dangerous mountain range to pass through. And then they have to make a perilous sea voyage home. That's a lot more difficult, a lot longer than simply trekking back on land to Syrian Antioch. So the question must be raised in our minds. What was so important that they decided to go back through the previous cities where they had planted churches? It's not the easy way. What was so important that they went backtracked, went back to all these places? Look at verse 22. What did they do in those cities? They were strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed." Paul and Barnabas understood their missionary work was not complete yet in Iconium, Antioch, Lystra. They had to go back to those cities to finish the planting of those churches. You see, missions is not making disciples just to leave them by themselves. Missions is planting churches, is making disciples in a locality and forming those disciples into a church where they will be taught to observe all that Christ has commanded. Observe in verse 23 the words, in every church. It says, when they had appointed elders for them in every church. That's what they had done. They had planted churches. They didn't just bring people to Christ and just leave them as isolated Christians. No. Churches were planted. Churches were established. And what did the missionaries do in these new church plants as they returned? We're told they strengthened the souls of the disciples. How did the missionary strengthen the souls of the disciples? How can you strengthen the soul of somebody else? Hebrews 13, 9 tells us, it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace. The believer's heart is strengthened by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is the means by which God's grace strengthens the disciple's soul? He strengthens the soul by means of his word. The Word of God is a means of God's grace in the lives of His people. And so the missionaries strengthened the church members' souls by ministering the Word of God to the churches. Not only that, we're told in the text that they encouraged these new churches to continue in the faith. What is the faith? The faith is the body of truth that God has revealed to us. It's called the faith because a disciple is to learn this body of truth and to believe this body of truth. The faith is also called other terms. 1 Timothy 3.15 calls it the truth. 1 Timothy 6.1 calls it the teaching. 1 Timothy 6.3 calls it the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 1.13 calls it the sound words that you have heard from me. 2 Timothy 1.14 calls it the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Peter 3.16 calls it the scriptures. This is the faith. And Paul and Barnabas return to these new churches, encouraging them to continue in the faith. Where did these new churches receive the faith? It was from the teaching of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, and also from the Old Testament scriptures, understood according to the teaching of the apostles. As time would go on, these churches would collect the apostolic writings, and they would place them alongside the Old Testament writings, and that is the faith. Now, to continue in the faith means to continue to learn and obey the truth that God has revealed. For us, to continue in the faith is to continue to learn all 66 books of the Bible, and to continue to believe them, and observe them, obey them, follow them. Now, why do the new churches need to be encouraged to do this? Wouldn't they naturally persevere in the faith? Well, the churches were facing and would continue to face tribulation. The missionaries told them in verse 22 of our text that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Note that word must in our text. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. This means that the road into the kingdom in eternity is a road that contains persecution, that contains tribulation. And there is no detour to get around tribulation. No detour. No, this is the road. It's a road that has spots of persecution and trouble. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. Now, how were the disciples to continue in the faith after Paul and Barnabas would leave? They were privileged to have an apostle there in their midst, teaching them new covenant truth. What would they do? after the Apostle left. They don't have all the writings of the New Testament yet. How would they continue in the faith? It's a very important question. Look at verse 23 for the answer. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Paul and Barnabas understood that a church must have elders. And so they appointed elders for each church. What are the responsibilities of an elder? First of all, an elder is responsible to set an example. The word elder speaks of the mature example that the man sets, an example of godliness, an example of repentance, an example of faith in Christ, an example of growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. 1 Timothy 3, verse 2 says, therefore an overseer, that's another title for an elder, therefore an overseer must be above reproach. In other words, he must be an example for the flock. We learn about other responsibilities of elders. when we compare elders with the responsibilities that the apostles had in Jerusalem. In Acts 6, the apostles said, but we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. But we do not have apostles today. These devotions of the apostles continue on as the devotions of the elder. The elders are to devote themselves to praying for the congregation. They're to devote themselves to the ministry of the Word, which is why the qualifications for an elder include the ability to teach the Word of God and to defend the Word of God against those who attack it. The office of elder is also titled the office of overseer, is also titled the office of pastor, or literally shepherd. As a shepherd and elder is to guard the sheep from false teaching. As a shepherd he is to feed the sheep, a nourishing diet of God's Word. As a shepherd he is to lead the sheep in obeying everything that Christ has commanded. How were the disciples to continue in the faith? By receiving the ministry of the elders together as a church. Receiving the ministry of men who were gifted as teachers of the Word of God, who absorbed the teaching of the apostles, who understood the Old Testament scriptures, and who understood the interpretation of the Old Testament as given by the apostles. and were able and gifted by the Spirit to teach that faith that had been deposited to them. So missions is not about planting any kind of churches, but missions is about planting the kind of churches that were planted in our text. Churches with three characteristics. Churches that were led by a plurality of elders. It's significant in verse 23 that the word elder is in the plural. That Paul and Barnabas appointed elders, plural, in each church. The second characteristic of these churches is they are led by qualified elders. Elders are not self-appointed. In our text, the first elders were appointed by Paul and Barnabas. Elders are to be appointed by others in the church who recognize the qualifications of these men. Because the New Testament lays out for us the qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and also Titus chapter 1. So a biblical church is led by qualified elders. And the third characteristic of the type of church that is to be planted in missions is it is to be an indigenous church. What does that word indigenous mean? It means that the church is to be led by men who are natives of that locality. Paul and Barnabas did not make themselves the elders of these churches. And they did not send to these churches men from their home church, back in Syrian Antioch, who they thought would be fit to be elders in these churches. No. Who do Paul and Barnabas appoint to be elders? They are men who are already within the congregation. People who are native to that locality. Churches are to be indigenous. In Acts 14.23, we're told that with fasting and prayer, Paul and Barnabas committed these churches to the Lord in whom they had believed. And then what did they do? They left the churches. They didn't think that these churches were dependent upon them remaining there indefinitely. No, they appointed men in the congregation as elders. They commended the church to the Lord. And then they left. They left knowing that the churches belonged to the Lord, trusting the Lord to watch over and to build up His own, and praying wholeheartedly that the Lord would do this. A ministry that calls itself missions, but falls short of incorporating new believers into local, biblical churches is not truly missions. What we see here must be the goal of all missions. Planting indigenous, elder-led churches. Now, what does this have to do with us? Let me give you three answers to that question. First of all, when we consider supporting someone as a missionary, we must consider if their goals match the design laid out for us in our text. Is this individual's goal to see disciples made and incorporated into indigenous elder-led churches? They may be a Bible translator, A Bible translator is not a church planter. But if they are going to be translating the Bible, are they translating the Bible with the goal, with the purpose, that the translated scriptures will be used by the Holy Spirit to save people and form them into a local church led by elders that this must be the goal of the Bible translator. I'm not just translating the Bible so that some souls can be saved. I'm translating the Bible so souls can be saved and incorporated into local churches, biblical churches. If the person may be going on to the field to be a church planner, they may be going to the field to be an evangelist. If they are going as an evangelist, it is their goal that those who are saved through their evangelism would be incorporated into local churches. They may be going as a seminary professor. Is their goal to train men in that locality to plant elder-led indigenous churches? They may be going to the mission field to serve the needs of other missionaries who are planting churches. The question is, what is their vision for missions? Do they have a biblical vision? Number two, Pray for the planting of indigenous elder-led churches. We should pray for this. And three, consider if Christ is calling individuals in our midst to such a ministry. One of a local church's goals as a church should be to train and equip men in the congregation to go to places overseas that do not have any biblical churches. and plant indigenous elder-led churches. Is that one of your goals as Bread of Life Church? To raise up men to do this? It should be. Well, so far we've seen that missions is about willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel. It's about planting biblical churches. But if we somehow conceive of all of this as our work, or the work of other men, we'd be terribly misunderstanding missions. The third thing we see in our text, the final thing we see in our text about what Missions is about, is that Missions is about God's work through His church. It's about God's work through His church. Look in our text at verse 24. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Ataliah. And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. When the missionaries finish their journey, note where they go. In verse 22, we see they return to the church, the church who sent them. There's two Antiochs, don't be confused. There was a church at Antioch in Pisidia, where Paul and Barnabas went on their first journey. There's also a church in Antioch in Syria that sent them. They return to the one in Syria. One or two years prior, that church had commended them to the grace of God for missionary service, and now the missionaries report to their sending church, quote, all that God had done with them. Missionaries must be accountable to a local church. As Paul and Barnabas were to the church in Antioch, missions is not for lone rangers. Missions is a ministry of local churches. As Paul and Barnabas make clear in their report, the work that they fulfilled was ultimately God's work with them. Missionaries are instruments in God's hand, and that's how Paul and Barnabas viewed themselves. God's instruments. They report about what God did with them, or what God did through them. Paul and Barnabas reported to the church how God had, quote, opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. In other words, they told of how God drew many individuals, especially Gentile individuals, to Jesus Christ. They told of how God had gathered Jewish and Gentile believers alike into unified churches, which were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. They told how God had raised up godly men within those multi-ethnic churches to shepherd God's people. They didn't come back to their ascending church and saying, we did this, and we did this, and these people did this. No, this is what God did with us. What God did through us. This was God's work. They told how God had planted churches, how God had saved people. Now, back in chapter 13, verse 2, while the Antioch church was worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit had said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit was very clear when Paul and Barnabas were sent out on this first journey that He was calling them, that God was calling them to this missionary service. And he who called them showed himself faithful to protect them. He who called them showed himself faithful to empower them and to work through them. The missionary work was fulfilled by the grace of God to the glory of God. And the missionaries, as they come back, they rightly give God that glory. Well, the text concludes in verse 28. It says, And they remained no little time with the disciples. Now, what would have you done if you were in Paul and Barnabas' sandals? You've just planted these churches, you've appointed elders, and then you left. You come back to your ascending church, you report on what the Lord has done with you. Now, you might think, I need to get back there. You might be anxious. How are those elders doing? Are those elders being faithful? Is the church being attacked? Is it being persecuted? Is false teaching coming in? How are they handling it? How are they faring? But Paul and Barnabas did not immediately turn around and head back. No, we're told that they spent some time in their ascending church resuming their pastoral responsibilities. They had pastoral responsibilities in this church before they were sent on the missionary journey. They were some of the most gifted teachers in the church. And they resumed that teaching ministry, the ministry of the Word, in this great church at Antioch. Because they trusted that the God who started the new churches would continue building those churches. They believed what Paul would later write to the Philippians in Philippians 1.6. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. If Paul and Barnabas had a man-centered view of ministry, I'm sure they would have been running back to those cities, feeling like they need to control what's happening there. The Lord Jesus is building his church, and he will continue to do so when Paul and Barnabas are not there. The Lord is in control. He can be trusted. The churches can be entrusted to the Lord in his grace. And let me ask you, in closing, how concerned are you about God's work on the mission field? Are you just concerned about your life, what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, how you will celebrate Christmas, who you will celebrate it with? Are you just concerned about the brethren here at Bird of Life Fellowship? There are great needs within the congregation. We have a ministry to one another. It's important. But is that all you are concerned about? Is it just our bubble here? Are you also concerned about the mission that Christ has given to us of making disciples of all the nations? How concerned are you about it? How much do you value the work on the mission field? How involved are you in supporting it? How much do you pray that God will send people from your congregation? Jesus told his disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send out laborers into the field. Pray that God will send people from your congregation. Do you include that in your prayers? Envision right now, bread of life, sending out one family to the foreign mission field in the coming decade. and then two families in the next decade, three families in a decade after that. Envision that. Dream about that. Think of how greatly God would be glorified as these families who were brought up in the faith here at Bread of Life, who were trained here, who were equipped here at Bread of Life envision how greatly God would be glorified as these families go to the mission field willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel. as these families plant indigenous, elder-led churches, and as God's gracious hand is seen in the conversion of the lost, as God's gracious hand is seen in the gathering of the converted into churches, and as God's gracious hand is seen in the appointment of qualified elders. May the Holy Spirit use our text of Scripture this morning to inform our understanding of missions. May he use this text to move us to have a heart after God's own heart, a heart after Christ's own heart, a heart for the nations.