The Essential Question (Part 6): The First Mission TripSample

A Mission from God

Prepare: What do you like and dislike about traveling? What's the longest or most difficult journey you've ever taken? Have you ever taken a mission trip? What was that like for you?

Read: Acts 13:1-12

Reflect: The Blues Brothers was a 1980 movie about two incorrigible young men who went on a concert tour to save a struggling orphanage. Along the way, the boys got into trouble and ended up being chased by just about everyone in Chicago. The movie's poster captured the most famous line from the script, "They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God."

As it turns out, that's the theme of this passage too-Barnabas and Saul set out on a mission from God. Only this is no comedy; it's the first of three daring missionary journeys that resulted in the unprecedented growth of the church. But how do we know the difference between a genuine mission from God and a self-deluded claim of divine guidance? Our passage offers several principles that can help us with that question today.

First, Barnabas and Paul (Luke no longer uses the Jewish name Saul; 13:9) prepared themselves by waiting, worshiping, and fasting (13:2). This would boil off any impure motivations. How do you prepare for a time of ministry? Second, the worshiping community, not just one person, sensed the direction of the Holy Spirit (13:1). We should be skeptical of those who claim a mission from God without spiritual accountability. Finally, Barnabas and Paul were commissioned by the church (13:3). That would make ongoing support possible. Prayer, fasting, and a worshiping community were the ingredients that enabled them to discern this genuine mission from God.

I wonder how Barnabas and Paul felt as they walked into Salamis, the first city on their missionary tour. Perhaps they took a deep breath, looked each other in the eyes, and said, "Let's roll." What happened next must have been a surprise: they encountered resistance that threatened to derail the mission from the very start (13:6-12). In an odd way, it was another proof of a genuine mission from God. We must be careful not to attribute every problem to spiritual opposition, especially problems of our own making, but anyone truly on a mission from God can expect pushback in some way.

Paul saw the situation for what it was. Elymas was not just being a pain in the neck; he was forwarding the agenda of the devil (13:10). The punishment for Elymas–temporary blindness–must have given Paul a flashback to his own conversion experience. Behind Paul's stern words may have been a restorative motive. Sometimes the most loving thing God can do is stop us in our tracks. Paul would have known from experience how difficult it is to see the light until you understand how blind you really are.

Apply: Is there a mission, whether great or small, God has been nudging you to attempt? Write it down and pray about it each time you read the Bible for the next few weeks.