Please turn with me in your Bibles this morning to the book of Acts. I'd like to read this morning from the last verse of chapter 12 through the third verse of chapter 13. Acts chapter 12 and verse 25, hear God's word. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark. Now there were at Antioch in the church that was there prophets and teachers, Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manan, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. 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. And then when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. The title of my sermon this morning is The Few, The Many, and The Great Commission. The few in our text are those men who are called to ministerial labors after being fitted for those labors by the Holy Spirit of God. These men are sent out by the Church. The many in our text are those Christians who are left behind and who do not engage in ministerial labors. They support the ministerial labors by their prayers and by their giving, but they themselves instead obey the apostolic directive to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. And so in this text, we have the few who engage In gospel ministry, we have the many who support those who are in gospel ministry, and we also have obedience to the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here, too, we find in our text obedience to the Great Commission. For the very first time in world history, a single church for the first time sends men on a mission to the Gentiles. And they do so without consulting the original church, the church in Jerusalem. The Great Commission, of course, is not a commission given to the individual Christian. It was a commission given to the apostles and through them to the church as a whole. But you, as an individual, have no authority to baptize disciples or to teach those disciples all that Christ has commanded you. Those great responsibilities are limited to those who have been equipped spiritually and intellectually and have been called to that work and have had that call recognized by the local church. So as we come to the text then this morning, I want you to consider the few, to consider the many in their distinctiveness, in their distinctives, and also in their responsibilities. And so we observe then in the first place the few in their distinctives and responsibilities. Luke mentions five men by name herein. We have Barnabas, whom we have already met many times earlier in the book of Acts, in Acts 4 and Acts 11, and in Acts chapter 12, and now we find him again. And then we have, in addition, Simeon and Lucius of Cyrene, and we have Manaan. In addition to their names, we learn that they were prophets and teachers, as Luke tells us in verse one. And being designated as such, we see that they were gifts of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ to his church. And so we ought to look at their distinct offices and what we can learn about their offices. In Ephesians chapter four and verses seven through 11, we learn something about the whole subject of gifts and offices. And in Ephesians 4, 7 through 11, we read the following. Ephesians 4 and verse 7. But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression, he ascended. What does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fill all things and he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers. So here in Acts 13 we find two of those offices and gifts that are mentioned. There was in the church at Antioch prophets and there were teachers in the church in Antioch, and five of those prophets and teachers are mentioned. So it is important to note that in the New Testament, gifts and function go together. And when we understand that, that gifts and function go together, then we have to conclude that someone who does not have the gift does not have the function. Gifts and function go together. We see this very clearly in many of the passages in the New Testament that deal with the subject of spiritual gifts, but one passage that makes this abundantly plain is Romans 12, 3 through 6a, and therein we read this. Romans 12 and verse 3, for through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body, and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly. In other words, Paul, in dealing with the whole subject of gifts, is likening it to the different members of our body. And here in this passage, he puts gifts and function together. And we ought to think in terms of the human body, even, and understand that the liver being a liver doesn't have the function of a heart being a heart. And the heart doesn't have the function of being a liver, or all the rest of it. Gifts and function go hand in hand, teaching us that not every Christian has all of the gifts. We have to depend on one another. And if you are not gifted in a certain area, you don't have the function of somebody else who is gifted in that area, because gifts and function go together. And so the few in Antioch were prophets and teachers. The many were not. The few who were so gifted had the responsibility to exercise their gifts for the common good of the church, and the many did not have that responsibility because they did not have the same gifts. Gift and function goes together. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and another passage where Paul deals with the subject of gifts and function, in verse 30, he asks a number of rhetorical questions, seven questions, all implying a negative answer. And notice these seven questions implying a negative answer to all of these questions. He writes in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 29 and 30, all are not apostles, are they? And the answer is no. All are not prophets, are they? And the answer is no. All are not teachers, are they? And the answer is no. All are not workers of miracles, are they? And again, the answer is no. All do not have gifts of healings, do they? No. All do not speak with tongues, do they? No. All do not interpret, do they? The answer to this is also no. Now those questions were asked in the midst of a church that had extraordinary offices and extraordinary gifts. We live in an age when we are only in a church with ordinary officers and ordinary gifts. But you see Paul's point, that God has placed the members in the church as he wishes. And the ascended Christ has given gifts to men. And the people who don't have the gifts don't have the function that those who have the gifts do. They don't have the responsibility that those who are so gifted do. And so we come then to consider that here in this great church at Antioch that five men are mentioned who were prophets and they were teachers. Gifts and function go together. Now what were then the responsibilities of these few, and now we turn specifically to Barnabas and Saul, because the text tells us that the Holy Spirit said, undoubtedly by a revelation, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit, by working in these men, in regeneration, and in fitting and gifting them for ministerial service, has them set apart to a work that was theirs and not the function of the many. Now we're going to get to the many and see what their responsibility is. But what I want you to see that our text is talking about the few, it's talking about the many, And it's also talking about the Great Commission being obeyed. And so now we come to learn that these men are to be set apart for a special work that the many were not called to do. They were to be set apart Again and again in the New Testament, we see that some men are called and set apart for a distinct work that other Christians do not perform. We've already seen that in Acts chapter six, verses one through four. What did we see there? Well, when the church in Jerusalem was growing, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews because they thought their widows were being overlooked the daily serving of food, so what happened? The apostles gathered the church together and they said, select seven men from among you, brethren, whom we may put in charge of this task, the social functions of the church, whom we may put in charge of this task, that is making sure that the widows' needs are being met, but we will do what? We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. In other words, they were saying the deacon's responsibility is not the ministry of the word. Our responsibility is the ministry of the word. We're going to set apart these deacons for their specific ministry. We're going to divide the work that needs to be done and some are going to do this work and some are going to do that work. And that's exactly what we have here in Acts 13. We have the few. We have the many, and they each have a distinct responsibility to do. And so such is the case here. And Barnabas and Saul are set apart to a work that the many do not do, at least do not do in the way that Saul and Barnabas do the work. The church in Antioch was commanded to give up the services of two of their best men, and send them away to serve others in a way that the many left behind were not called to do. And what was the work that Barnabas and Saul were set apart to do? Well, they were set apart to take the gospel to the nations, and their main work in taking the gospel to the nations was preaching. And this is what they were called to do. We need to call the church back to the original purpose of foreign missions. The original purpose of missions is not to engage specifically in things like making sure people have pure water to drink or people learn their ABCs and all the rest of that. The focus of missions is to plant churches everywhere. to preach the gospel to people so that they're one to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that local churches are established, that are self-supporting, independent churches that can replicate themselves by sending out others. And this was the function of Saul and Barnabas in being sent out by the church there in Antioch. We see this clearly in Acts 13 four and five so being sent out by the Holy Spirit they went down to Seleucia and from there they sail to Cyprus and when they reach Salamis they began to to what they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. Acts 13, 13 through 16. Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga and Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And on the Sabbath day, they went down into the synagogue and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it. Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, And so here comes his preaching in the synagogue that takes up the whole rest of Chapter 13. Saul and Barnabas were set apart to do this work. Paul were right in 1st Corinthians, Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom but we do what? We preach Christ crucified. That is the function of missions. And missionaries ought to primarily be those who can preach the word of God to the end that churches be established and to the end that churches replicate themselves again and again. Now observe in the second and last place this morning the many who are not so gifted and who do not have the same function. We very often when we come to Acts chapter 13 focus on Saul and Barnabas as well we should. But many times we come to a text like this and we forget the many who were not set apart. And the many in the church at Antioch which didn't have the same function as Saul and Barnabas did. And so now we need to focus on the many who were left behind and their responsibilities with regard to the Great Commission. And this ought to be a practical message for all of us, because here you are, a congregation of God's people, a very normal congregation of God's people, coming from a diverse background of peoples with diverse vocations, and you're sitting there saying, what about me? What is my responsibility with regard to the Great Commission? I am not gifted to preach the word of God, so what about me? What am I to be doing with regard to the Great Commission? And so we rightly turn our text not just to Saul and Barnabas who were sent out by the church, but we ought to think about the many who were left behind that weren't sent out. They're just there living their lives in Antioch. What about them? The word of God is very practical. It teaches all of us about what our responsibilities are in this whole regard. Well, let's realize that there really were many in the church at Antioch. There really were many who were left behind. If you look with me at Acts 11, 19 through 26, we have the remote beginning of this church in Antioch, and what do we read? Acts 11, 19. So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, that is from the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean and from Cyrene in northern Africa, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord, for he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. You see the picture? Three times we read, A large number, considerable numbers, considerable numbers. We learn also from Acts 13, 1, that this is a diverse church, and it's an integrated church. You know, we need to be careful here. What's Simeon's name in Latin? It's Niger. That's a Latin word that means black. Simeon was undoubtedly a black man, and he's one of the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch. Who's Menaean? Menaean's an aristocrat. He had been brought up with Herod Antipas. If we can figure it out, Lenski says he was undoubtedly at least 69 years old, and he was one of the prophets and teachers in the church. And so it's an integrated church. It's a diverse church. It's got the aristocrats, and it's got the general people just from Antioch. It's a large church. What a picture of a healthy church. It's a church made up of Jews and also of Gentiles. It's diverse. It's integrated. It's made up of people of all the different social classes, the rich and the poor, slave, free, Jew, Gentile. All one in Christ and all in this church. What a model church it is, isn't it? So then, what was the responsibility of those who weren't sent out? Of all those many people where the Holy Spirit didn't say, set them apart. but they were left behind in the church. What is their function in the great cause of world missions? And let me suggest these important answers. What is your responsibility in world missions and in the spread of the gospel and in the planting of churches? Number one, You are to see to it that the Great Commission is obeyed in the churches of which you are a part. You are to see to it that the Great Commission is obeyed in the churches of which you are a part. Indeed the Great Commission is not a commission given to the individual but it is a commission given to the church. and therefore the individual church member is not to rest content unless the church of which they are a part is one that supports the work of missions. The Great Commission covers the whole of the inter-advent period, which is to say it is enforced during the whole period between Christ's first and second advent. You might say, well, what is this great commission that the Lord Jesus gave to his church? Well, most of you know where it's found. It's found in Matthew 28, 18 through 20. It was a commission given by Jesus Christ, not to all of his disciples, but it was a commission that he gave to his apostles and through his apostles to the church. You have no authority to baptize anybody. If you see somebody one to the Lord Jesus Christ through you you don't have the authority to say I'm going to baptize you. Let's do something you have no authority to do. But what did the Lord Jesus say to his apostles. He said this all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. See the context of the Great Commission. The context of the Great Commission is the enthronement of Jesus Christ as head over all things. All authority, he says, has been given to me in heaven and on earth. There's no authority but those authorities that are subject to my sovereignty. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Now, the main verb in this Great Commission is make disciples. That's the great responsibility of the church, to make disciples. Dependent on this main verb are three participles, namely going, baptizing, and teaching. The command is not a command to go. The command is a command to make disciples. The main task of the church is to make disciples of all the nations, and then the disciples are identified as those people who have been baptized and those people who are being taught to observe all that Christ commanded. And the church is to make sure every individual church member throughout our country, throughout the world is to have a concern that their local church is involved in obedience to the Great Commission. The church must see to it that this is being done. That somewhere in the ministry of the church there is support being given for those who are engaged in taking the gospel to the nations. The second responsibility that the many have is to pray that gospel laborers are raised up in the churches. You're not only to make sure that the Great Commission is being obeyed and to endeavor to influence the church in that way, that the Great Commission is being obeyed, but you're also, the many who are not sent, the many who are left behind are to pray that new gospel laborers will be raised up. Luke 10. 1 and 2 notice this the command of the Lord Jesus Christ Luke chapter 10 and verses 1 and 2. Now after this the Lord appointed 70 others. and sent them in pairs ahead of him to every city and place where he himself was going to come. And he was saying to them, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And that is our responsibility, to pray that the Lord would raise up gospel laborers from our churches. To preach the gospel to plant churches here and elsewhere in other countries. It's very interesting that in the last verse of. Verse. Chapter 12 and verse 25 that what did Barnabas and Saul do when they came back to Antioch from Jerusalem well they took a young man with them. And his name was John Mark. And how is he described as he described as a prophet. No. She described as a teacher. No. How is he described. He doesn't hold any office yet. He's just a helper. That's how he's described by the end of Chapter 13. Saul's going to have had enough of John Mark. because in the midst of the difficulties that they're experiencing on this first missionary journey, John Mark cuts and runs, and he runs back to Jerusalem. And later on in the second missionary journey, Barnabas is gonna wanna take John Mark again, and Paul's gonna say to him, no way are we taking him. He deserted us on the first missionary journey. He ran back to Jerusalem. He's not an office holder, he's just a helper. But what does it indicate about Paul and Barnabas? It indicates that they were looking for promising men, promising young men, and they were testing these men. They were giving these men responsibilities and they were testing them with a view to what? With a view to these men being matured and being able to take the gospel to other places. And so the responsibility of the many then is to make sure the Great Commission is being obeyed in some way. And secondly, to pray that the Lord would raise up gospel laborers to go into his harvest field. Third responsibility is this, to pray for those thus sent out. Now these are men who were not being tested, these are men who have been tested and now they've been sent out by the churches and we are to pray for those that have been sent out. How often we see this in the New Testament, I give you just two examples, Ephesians 6 and verses 19 and 20. Paul writing to the Ephesian church says this to them this was the responsibility of the whole church not just their officers but to the whole church. He writes and it says and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador and change that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. I hope that's how you pray about me for me. that I might speak boldly as I ought to speak, that when I'm tempted to give in to the fear of man or whatever else, that I won't succumb to that temptation, but I'll speak boldly as I ought to speak. We live in an age that cries out for bold speakers. Some of the most popular men now on the national scene, politically, are those men that are speaking boldly. There's a great need for boldness in speech. You see what Paul says to the church? Not to the gospel laborers in the church, but to the whole church. He says, you need to pray for me in my missionary labors. Romans 15, 30 through 33. Just a final example of the responsibility of the whole church, Romans 15 and verse 30. Paul writes, Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints, so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. Now the God of peace be with you all, amen. And so here's Paul. commanding the church, please pray for me and our responsibility as to, one, make sure the Great Commission is being obeyed in some way, the church is supporting the cause of gospel missions, secondly, to pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up new laborers to go into the harvest field, thirdly, to pray for those that have been sent out by the churches, and fourthly, Our responsibility is to financially support the cause of world missions through disciplined sacrificial giving by the people of God to support the cause of world missions. How often we find this from the Apostle Paul at the end of Romans. He reveals his plans and Paul was always looking out for new places to go and to plant churches. What does he reveal in Romans 15, 23 and 24? He says this, he says, but now with no further place for me in these regions. He had come to a conclusion, his ministry at a certain area was done. It was over. No more he could do there. It was over. Now with no further place for me in these regions, and since I've had for many years a longing to come to you, that is Rome, where you've never been, whenever I go to Spain, for I hope to see you in passing and to be helped on my way there by you when I first enjoyed your company for a while. What a picture. His goal was Spain. After Spain where would it have been? Well it was already a Roman colony in England and Scotland. After Spain the next step would have been to go to the British Isles. But Paul said I want to go to Spain and I want to be helped on my way to Spain by the church in Rome. Well how would he have been helped on his way to Spain by the church in Rome? By their money to provide for him all he needed by way of a mission to Spain. One of the great things about the Philippian church was their support of missions because the Apostle Paul could say this to them at the end of this great letter to the Philippian church He says in Philippians 4.15 and following, you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone. For even in Thessalonica, you sent a gift more than once for my needs, not that I seek the gift itself. but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. I'm amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent. And how does he describe this financial gift that the Philippian church sent to him in his gospel labors? He describes it this way, it's a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And what is the promise given to those who support gospel missions? And the promise given only to those who support gospel missions. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. That's not a promise that can just be yanked from the text. And a Christian saying that if I don't care about gospel missions, if I don't do anything to support gospel missions, I can claim this promise. My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Oh really? You've just yanked the promise out of its context. And that promise does not apply to you unless you do your part as part of the many to support the cause of Christ in the world. Well, I think I've made it plain this morning that our text does not present a church where all the people are engaged directly in the work of missions. Acts 13 cannot be pressed to show that. It presents to us instead a picture of the few, the many, and both who obey the Great Commission. We see here the picture of those who are and those who are sent and those who support those who are sent. And for most Christians you are to be content to glorify God in your ordinary callings. I want to recommend a book to you that was very helpful to me many many years ago it's probably not in print anymore but you can you can probably find it. It's a book entitled The Callings. The subtitle is The Gospel in the World by Paul Helm H.E.L.M. And in the introduction to that book, the author wrote this. It is sometimes forgotten that most Christians are not in full-time Christian service and are not intended to be. They're called to be faithful Christians in other ways. Among evangelical Christians in particular, there's grown up the idea that a Christian who's doing an ordinary job cannot be a Christian in the fullest sense. The assumption behind such a view is that the sum and substance of the Christian life is witness, and that those who are not constantly employed in witnessing are only shallow Christians. And so Christians are led to believe that the first question to be asked about their life and work is not whether it's worthwhile, satisfying, and useful, but whether it provides them with opportunities to witness. It is likely that such an attitude, though well-intentioned, in fact produces a great deal of harm. And he's right. A couple of years ago, Marvin Olasky decided to put in World Magazine a blog post by another man by the name of Anthony Bradley. I've made several copies of this if you want to have your own because I want to end today in quoting from this. It was put in World. And Olasky was smart to make sure it was put in World Magazine because it really met a need and it dealt with a real problem in the wider church today. And so let me quote. Bradley wrote this a few days ago on Facebook and Twitter. I made the following observation. Being a radical, missional Christian is slowly becoming the new legalism. We need more ordinary God and people lovers. That's all he put up on Twitter and Facebook. Being a radical missional Christian is slowly becoming the new legalism. And that's the title of the article, The New Legalism. We need more ordinary God and people lovers. And I go on to quote, He says, I continue to be amazed by the number of youth and young adults who are stressed and burn out from the regular shaming and feelings of inadequacy if they happen to not be doing something unique and special. Today's millennial generation is being fed the message that if they don't do something extraordinary in this life, they're wasting their gifts and potential. The sad result is that many young adults feel ashamed if they settle into ordinary jobs, get married early, and start families, live in small towns. Or as 1 Thessalonians 4.11 says, aspire to live quietly and to mind their affairs and to work with their hands. For too many millennials, their greatest fear in this life is being an ordinary person with a non-glamorous job living in the suburbs and having nothing spectacular to boast about. He continues, getting married and having children early, getting a job, saving and investing, being a good citizen, loving one's neighbor and the like, no longer qualify as virtuous to the call to be radical. He continues, the combination of anti-suburbanism with new categories like missional and radical has positioned a generation of youth and young adults to experience an intense amount of shame for simply being ordinary Christians who desire to love God and to love their neighbors. Why is Christ's command to love God and neighbor not enough for these leaders calling people to be radical and missional? Maybe Christians are simply to pursue living well and invite others to do so according to how God has ordered the universe. Being a Christian in a shame-driven, missional, radical church does not sound like rest for the weary. Perhaps the best antidote to these pendulum swings and fads is simply to recover a mature understanding of vocation. so that youth and young adults understand that they can make important contributions to human flourishing in any sphere of life because there are no little people or insignificant callings in the kingdom of God. Amen. I'm not calling on you to be radical. And not missional in the sense that many do today. That produces harm in the church. You should be content in the vocations that you have. You young adults, you should aspire to a vocation. And when you get that vocation, to work hard in it. And then for most people in the church, they're not the ones that are on the sharp end of the spear in the advance of the gospel in the world. But there are those behind supporting those who are at the sharp end of the spear. And so our text has the few, Barnabas and Saul sent out, has the many that support those who are sent out, And both are important because without both, the Great Commission can't be obeyed. Amen. Shall we pray? Father in heaven, how thankful we are for the balance of your holy word. How we pray that you would help us as a congregation and as individuals to Recognize that whatever you call us to do can be done to your honor and glory. Help us to revive, again, the biblical teaching about the importance of vocational callings. And help us to rest content in loving you and your commandments and loving one another. And not to despise the ordinary mundane life that you call your people to. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.