The First Missionary Journey - The Return Trip Back to Antioch

Alright, let's take our Bibles. Please turn to Acts chapter 14. Tonight we'll be in verse 20 on down to verse 28. Really, we will pick up in the middle of verse 20, which is where we left off two weeks ago, and we'll go on down to verse 28. Now we are moving along to the end of what we know as the first missionary journey. I know that sometimes we can refer to this journey as Paul's first missionary journey, but we do know that Barnabas was there ministering as well, so we don't want to leave Barnabas out. And we have seen the places in the cities that Paul and Barnabas stopped along the way.

We saw their first stop, which was on the island of Cyprus. Luke tells us they went across the island and they ministered in Salamis and on Papis, and on to Papis where they encountered the Jewish false prophet named Barjesus and the Roman governor of the island named Sergius. And we saw that they had great gospel success and that Sergius the governor came to saving faith. Then we saw their second stop, which was to the north and inland at Antioch, and they had gospel successes there as well.

Luke tells us that Jews and Gentiles came to saving faith, and those new believers even helped impact the region with the gospel in spite of the persecution that Barnabas and Paul faced. And Luke tells us of their third stop, which was in the region of Galatia. First, they ministered in the city of Iconium, and we saw that their success was similar to that. We saw in Antioch, Jews and Gentiles came to saving faith, and just like in Antioch, they experienced rejection and persecution in Iconium. And two weeks ago, we saw their fourth stop, which was in the region of Galatia as well, and then in the city specifically of Lystra.

Luke shows us that Paul healed a man who was lame since birth, which prompted the people of the city to try and worship Paul and Barnabas as gods. And in the end, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came to the city of Lystra and persuaded those same people to stone Paul, and they dragged him out of the city for dead. But they had gospel success there as well because those who had savingly believed stood beside Paul even when they believed he was stoned and left for dead.

But notice, if we pay attention to chapters 13 and 14, and those maps that I keep referring to, we can see that Paul and Barnabas stopped in eight different cities in their missionary travels in this first missionary journey. Of course, Luke did not record them ministering in all of those eight cities, but we could assume that they did minister in some of those other cities that he does not explain too much about. Their first stop was Seleucia. They set sail from Seleucia in chapter 13, verse 4. Their second stop was Salmas, where they preached in the synagogues, chapter 13, verse 5.

And their third stop was Papthys, where they encountered Bar Jesus and Sergius, who believed, chapter 13, verse 6 to 13. Their fourth stop was Pergia, which is where John Mark left them or abandoned them, chapter 13, verse 13. And their fifth stop was Antioch, where Paul preached in the synagogues, chapter 13, verse 14 to 52. And that portion of scripture is long because Luke gives us Paul's sermon. And their sixth stop was Anikonia. And many believed in Anikonia, but persecution arose, chapter 14, verses 1 to 6. And their seventh stop was Lystra, which is where Paul healed a lame man.

He was stoned and left for dead, chapter 14, verse 8 to 20. And their eighth stop was Derby. And many disciples were made there, according to chapter 14, verse 20 and 21, especially verse 21. Now that leads us to where we left off two weeks ago. Their last stop, which was in the region of Galatia, in the city of Derby. And then they made their long trek back home to Antioch. But as we will see, their mission, their gospel, their church work did not end in Derby. Paul and Barnabas did not put their Bibles in their backpacks and just take the church bus back home.

As they made their way back to Antioch, they stopped at many of those cities that they had evangelized before. So as to strengthen them, so as to encourage the believers, so as to teach in those churches to those believers, and also to help organize those churches. So tonight we will study their last evangelistic stop on their first missionary journey, then their ministry as they return to Antioch to give a report to the church and the believers that sent them off about a year, maybe two years before. So let's look at the verses. We will start with the middle of verse 20 to 28, but I'll back up and read verse 19.

"But the 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." We know this is in Lystra. "He rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derby. And when they had preached the gospel in that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and 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 Poseida and Pamphelia. And when they had spoken the word in Pergia, they went down to Italia. And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been committed 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 a door of faith to the Gentiles, and they remained no little time with the disciples." Now, out of these verses, I want to make three broad observations. First, I want to see their ministry in Derby. We see that in verse 21 of the beginning of verse 21. Second, their ministry on their return trip home to Antioch. That's in verse 21 to verse 23. And then third, their ministry report back in Antioch, verse 24 to 28. It will be easy for you to follow my teaching outline. So number one, their ministry in Derby.

Now, as we can see, Luke does not tell us much about the ministry that they had in Derby, nor how long they stayed. But as we will see, that does not mean that the church that was born out of their gospel work was unimportant. But the only information Luke gives right here about the work in Derby is seen in verse 21, which says, "They preached the good news in that city and made many disciples." Real brief. That's the amplified that I read from. But notice one detail that Luke does and does not give. Whereas before Paul and Barnabas faced rejection and persecution, it appears that in Derby they did not.

He seems to say that they may not have faced rejection and persecution, and they only experienced success. It seems they only were received. But two observations about this church. First of all, there is no church in Derby today. Like many of these ancient cities, the city of Derby is nothing but ruins, an archaeological site. The city came and went, the people came and went, and because the people came and went, the church came and went. It's no more. But then second and more relevant.

Just because Luke does not give us much information about the birth of this church and what went on at that time, it does not mean that the church was insignificant. If we look ahead in the book of Acts, we can see that the church in Derby was an important church for a long time. In chapter 20, we see that a group from Derby went with Paul with the offering from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem. So the church, this church was large enough and strong enough to take up a sizable collection for this need and to send a representation with Paul to Jerusalem.

So here in this one verse, we see what I see as the last of their evangelistic stops in the city of Derby. And there in Derby, they had great gospel success just as before. So much so that a church was born that became a church that God could use and he did. Now there is a lesson here, a good lesson. Size doesn't matter now. Size doesn't matter. Usability is determined by God and usability comes from spiritual strength, not necessarily size. Now let's continue. And I want us to look back at verses 21 to 23 and notice how their journey changes. It changes obviously. Well, they had preached the gospel in that city and it made many disciples.

That's Derby. They returned to Lystra in Iconium and Antioch. Notice their backtracking, you see? 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 believed. Here we see that although their pioneer missions and pioneer evangelistic work was done for now, that did not mean that their ministry was over.

Again, Paul and Barnabas did not put their Bibles in their backpacks and just take the church bus back to Antioch from Derby. As we can see, they backtracked to Antioch and get this. Luke tells us that they revisited the cities where they faced terrible persecution. You notice that? They even went back to Lystra where the Jews from Antioch and Iconium had come and fired up all of the people of Lystra to stone Paul to death. So God, through Luke, makes sure to tell us that Paul and Barnabas revisited the three most dangerous cities that they had been in before. You notice that? And you know, most of us have an aversion to danger.

If we were to say we're getting on an airplane to go maybe to England or Scotland, we probably would say we'll have a good trip. But if we were getting on an airplane to go to maybe in the Middle East, we would probably say, "Wait a minute, Pastor, that's dangerous." You know, folks, we have to shake all that off because the Lord could call our son or our daughter to go to one of the most dangerous places in the world. Would you allow your son and daughter? Would you send them off with your blessing? If the Lord called them to go to one of the most dangerous places on the face of the earth, would you? We should. We should.

So let's look at their return trip. And Luke tells us that they ministered in three cities engaging in lots of very important ministry. So next, number two, ministry in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. Ministry in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. Here we see all the ministry, all the work of ministry, all the ministry time that Paul and Barnabas engaged in in all three of these cities. And to me, Luke tells us they did six things. First, they strengthened the believers. The English standard, the New American, the legacy standard say strengthen the souls of the believers.

And this strengthening here, it means to establish, to make more firm, to strengthen, to give additional strength. So they strengthen the hearts, the minds, the souls of these fairly new believers. They help them to gain strength upon strength, you see. Second, they encourage the believers. The English standard and legacy standard uses the word encouraging. The King James uses the word exhorting. And this encouraging, it means to call to one side and to speak to for the purpose of encouraging, consoling, comforting, exhorting, and admonishing.

So they encourage these believers, notice, in the faith, encouraging them and exhorting them to remain firm in their faith. And look at this in contrast to their environment. They were living in pagan cities with pagan people. And these pagan people were openly, sometimes violently, hostile towards Christ, Christianity, and the church. And they all saw and knew how the Jews and others treated Paul and Barnabas. I like the insight that Jim Boyce gives here. I'm really paraphrasing him. He says they lived in hostile pagan communities and they were called to live for Christ and they did not even know much about Jesus.

So Paul and Barnabas went back to strengthen and encouraged them. And there's a lesson here, folks. One we need. When God brings new converts to us, when God brings immature believers into our church, and if they do not know much about Jesus and the Scriptures and the ways of God, then we are obligated to be like Paul and Barnabas. We are obligated to strengthen them, to encourage them. We are obligated to strengthen and encourage immature believers, new converts, who just don't know a lot about Jesus, about the Scriptures, and the ways of God. You see? Third, they taught the believers.

Now, all the translations we read basically say the same thing, but notice it does not specifically say they were teaching, but we can see that they were. Let me explain. Look back at verse 22. "Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue into faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Now, this is simple, but it can be overlooked. A major part of strengthening and encouraging them and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God was teaching them from God's Word, was teaching them about God's ways. You see? So notice what we see here.

In all three of these churches listed, Paul and Barnabas strengthened these believers in their faith, and they encouraged them to continue in their faith, and they did so by teaching them God's Word and by teaching them God's ways, specifically that through many trials and tribulations they enter the kingdom. You see? Look at what we must do here, and look at what we must apply to our lives in our church. For us in our church, with the believers in our church, we strengthen believers and we encourage them in the faith. Well, how do we do that? By teaching them the Word of God and by preaching the Word. You see? It's the same thing.

We do the very same thing. We do the very, very same thing. And sadly, so many churches move away from preaching and teaching. They deem--de-emphasize preaching. They deemphasize the teaching of the Word. But for us, we must remain true. We must remain true to the teaching and the preaching of God's Word because that is the only way we are strengthened in the Lord, encouraged in the Lord, and we are taught God's ways. Next, we see a little bit of a shift. Obviously all of this is personal, but he seems to get a little more corporate-minded. Let me explain. Fourth, they organize the churches.

Notice that verse 23 says they appointed elders in every church. Now, we may not realize it, but this was one of the most pressing things for Paul and Barnabas in their backtrack return ministry in these churches. Simply Paul and Barnabas knew that they could not stay and lead these churches. So they had to appoint elders for long-term leadership in these churches. And get this. This is the first time in the book of Acts we see the appointment of elders in the churches. The very first time. But as we continue, we will see that this was a pattern. I like some comments John MacArthur makes here, and I'm quoting him.

"That some had reached the level of spiritual maturity required of elders in so short a time shows the intensity of Paul and Barnabas' teaching and exhortation. That the elders were chosen only after they had prayed with fasting shows the seriousness with which the selection process should be approached." Now, in case you're interested, there are some additional passages on elder leadership. We see elders spoken of and described in their ministries explained in 1 Thessalonians 5, 12, 1 Timothy 5, 17, Hebrews 13, 17, 1 Peter 5, 1 to 3. Now, why do I mention that?

Elder ministry is seen from the book of Acts all the way through the New Testament. Then 5, they prayed and fasted for or with the churches. Here we see that prayer and fasting was a part of selecting elders in the churches. And we will see that prayer and fasting was a part of committing these churches to the Lord. But what needs to be seen here can be overlooked. Prayer and even prayer and fasting should be the first and the last thing done in the church and right there in the middle. What I'm driving out is this. Paul and Barnabas did all of these things that we see here in and through prayer, in and through prayer and even fasting.

6, they committed them, that's the churches, these believers, to their Lord. Look back at verse 23. "And when they had appointed elders to them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed." Here it seems that Luke is saying that as they departed each church with and in prayer, they committed or commended each church, all the believers, to the Lord. And this is similar to what took place for us and me when I was at Grace Live Church or prior this past weekend. Let me give you an example.

I was there to help preach and lead in the conference and some other anchored in truth pastors and some missionaries were there. And one of the nice things that Brother Derek did was he had us come down front before the church and they just prayed over us, prayed for us. They prayed for you and our churches. And it's similar, it's almost the same thing. And what I'm showing us is this. Paul and Barnabas prayed over these churches, commending them to the Lord and we do things like that all the time.

So here as Paul and Barnabas departed each church, they committed each church and all of these believers to the care and the protection of the Lord. And speaking of this commending to the Lord, Albert Barnes says, "They were feeble, inexperienced, and exposed to dangers. But in his hands," that's God's, "they were safe." And I think about one anchored in truth missionary who is in a very, very dangerous place. We should commend him to the Lord, commend his family to the Lord each day that we think about him often because he is exposed to many dangers. Because his family is exposed to many dangers, but in his hands they are safe.

So here we see how God called Paul and Barnabas to minister on the return trip back to Antioch. Simply reading from the Amplified, after they were done in Derby, then they returned to Lystra and Iconium into Antioch. Strengthening and establishing the hearts of the disciples, encouraging them to remain firm in the faith, saying, "It is through many tribulations and hardships that we must enter the kingdom." And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they believed and joyfully accepted as the Messiah.

And look folks, this reminds me of the ministry of anchor and truth. This reminds me of the true church conference that many of us got to experience. Anchoring and truth is all about planting pastors in churches and then working year in and year out to strengthen them, to encourage them, and to teach them, and to help organize those churches to be what we see in the scripture. And when we come together at the true church conference, in many ways it's nothing more than a big family reunion, but it's more.

We gather together for a family reunion, but for the purpose of encouraging the churches, strengthening and helping and encouraging one another, the churches, the believers, the pastors, the elders, all of those anchored in true churches, pastors, and ministry points. And that's what I got to do this week at Grace Life Prior. I was there with brothers who were on foreign fields, and I was there to encourage them and to strengthen them.

One of the young pastors that I'll mention here in a few moments, he asked me many questions about my ministry experience and what I did in certain circumstances, and I was able to encourage and strengthen that brother, even his wife. Even his wife. Then last, the ministry report in Antioch. The ministry report in Antioch, verse 24 to 28. Then they passed through Masaidea and Pamphylia, and when they had spoken the word in Pergia, they went down to Atalia. And from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work 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. And they remained no little time with the disciples. Here we see that Paul and Barnabas ended where they started, by returning to what I call their home church, the Church of Antioch. Paul and Barnabas were commissioned and consigned to this first missionary journey by the Church of Antioch. We know that. We studied it in chapter 13, verses 1 to 4. And here in verses 24 to 28, Paul and Barnabas went back to give a report and to recount all that God did through them.

I know I'm getting ahead a little bit, but look back at verse 27. When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them and how God, he, had opened a door of faith to and for the Gentiles. Notice that Paul and Barnabas recounted how God had opened a door of ministry and salvation to the Gentiles through them. And notice that the church at Antioch was a part of that ministry and the open door of ministry to the Gentiles. You see, it's all tied together.

Paul and Barnabas were the human agents, the human instruments that God used to personally go through that open door and to personally engage the Gentiles. But the church in Antioch was the sending, supporting church that God used to support them in that difficult, risky, frontline gospel pioneer work. You see how it's all tied together? And that is what I see within our Anchored in Truth network. Just like the church at Antioch, we as a family of churches send out pastors to plant churches in areas, in towns, in cities where there is no or very little gospel witness. God has opened up a door of ministry for them and they go.

They are called of God to go. But as the sending churches, the sending agency, all of the Anchored in Truth churches participate in and go through that open door of ministry with them. I'll give you an example. I got to spend some time with a young pastor named Nate Weyer and his wife Selina. They have been sent out from Anchored in Truth and sent out from Grace Life Church of the Shoals to South New Hampshire to plant a church. And one of the most gospel deprived area of our country. Just he and his wife. That's it. And God called him to that work. God called him to that place. And notice, he has an open door of ministry.

He's going through that open door along with his wife. And we all go through that open door of ministry with him. And I got to encourage him this week. I got to bless him this week, minister to him this week. Hopefully I strengthen him in his faith and in his call this week. You see how it all works? It's almost like the Bible is relevant to what we do today. And it's almost like we should do what the Bible says we should do and exemplifies that we should do. Now let's pick up on this last leg of their return trip to Antioch. And we see more and more of the same. They continue to minister to the churches and the people.

They had evangelized before. They passed through Poseidon and then on to Pamphylia. They went on to Pergia and they spoke the word of God to them. And then they went on to Atalia. It's easy to see there. But here we see they finally made it home to Antioch. And I want to point out three details that Luke gives us. First, they were commended for the work. That's in verse 26. Now the English Standard says they were commended. The King James says they were recommended. The Legacy Standard Bible says they were committed. Commended, recommended, committed. And this word commended or recommended, it means to give into the hands of another.

It means to give into the power and the use of another. And we know that this pertains to God. Paul and Barnabas were commended or committed or recommended to the hands of God, to the power of God and to be used by God. But notice how this commending is seen here. All the way back in chapter 13 verses 1-3, the church commended, they committed, they recommended Paul and Barnabas to the hands of God, to the power of God, to be used of God for the work. And here in chapter 14 verse 26, it seems that upon their return they were commended and committed to God for the work they've already done.

MacArthur combines the two by saying, "Their work commended at the outset to the grace of God had been very successful as the missionaries began to make their report." Again, we see this in anchored in truth. We recommend, we commend, and we commit pastors in their work, in their call, and we send them out. And then we continue to commend and recommend them as we see the success of their work. But second, they declared all that God had done. Now notice what Luke says in verse 27. "When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Antioch, they gathered the church together and they declared all that they had done." Look at the verse.

"When they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that they had done and how they had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." Is that what the verse says? Y'all do know sometimes I'll alter it to make a point. This is my point. Paul and Barnabas did not recount all that they had done or even all that they had done with God's help. You notice that? "They recounted and declared and explained all that God had done with them and how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." And this is simple. "They saw themselves rightly.

They understood themselves to be nothing more than tools, instruments in the hands of God that God could use to do His works through them." You see? William McDonald explains this by saying, "With becoming Christian modesty," I like that. "With becoming Christian modesty, they reported all that God had done with them and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. It was not what they had done for God, but what He had been pleased to accomplish through them." At church there is a lesson here, actually a brutal and vital truth and lesson. We cannot do anything for God. Our only hope is that God does something through us.

Children's classes, I'm thankful. We have a rotation of men and women couples who teach our children on Sunday nights. And we have adults who volunteer and teach our children on Wednesday nights. Well, they're hopeless to do that. They can't teach those children. Only God through them can. We have folks who teach our teenagers, Keith on Wednesday night, Evan and Devon on Sunday night, different ones at different times. They are hopeless to teach our teenagers. We have adults who teach small groups. They are hopeless to teach. We have all kinds, an army that work and teach in vacation Bible school. We have music ministry.

We have elder ministry. We have those who preach and teach. We're going to establish deacon ministry. We can do none of those things. Only God can do those things through us. And the very second we begin to believe that we can do something for God, that is when we get into self-sufficiency and pride. You see? The very second we begin to believe that we can do something for God, that with God's help we do something for God, well, that is when self-sufficiency creeps in and then that is when pride can set in. You see? You see? Now, the question, have we committed this sin, this error, even in the smallest way?

It is God and God alone who works through us, in spite of us, not because of us. In spite of us, not because of us. Third, they remain with the church, verse 28. Now, we do not need to overlook what we see in the verse. The Amplified says, "And they stayed there a long time with the disciples." This is simple. They stayed in Antioch for years, it seems. Estimates can vary. But some say that Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch between one to two years. Barnes estimates they were there for an interval of something from five to eight years because there is no account of them doing ministry in that time period.

He points out the time difference between the end of chapter 14 and chapter 15. Now, this is my point. It is not about how long they stayed. We know they stayed a great deal of time. These men were tired, physically and spiritually, from their work. They needed physical rest. They needed spiritual rest. They needed spiritual rejuvenation. And that is what they found in their stay in Antioch. And there are some lessons here I want us to see. There are two facts that I want us to see, and the lessons will come from these two facts. First, we all need adequate physical rest. We're not robots. We need adequate physical rest.

Every week you should be getting adequate physical rest. Sometimes, after long stretches of work and labor, you just need adequate spiritual rest. Maybe things are hectic in your home for a long period of time. Maybe things are hectic at work for a long period of time. And you just need to unplug, do get physical rest. At times, once or twice a year, you may need to get away. We call it vacation. Rest is scriptural, folks. Rest is scriptural. You show me someone who is not resting as they should, and I will show you someone who has kind of a God complex, and they are abusing their body. Rest is good. Rest is biblical. We need it.

That's why when you tell me you're going on vacation, I say, "Folks, go have a good time. We're going to miss you." But go. Second, we all need times of spiritual rejuvenation. No doubt Paul and Barnabas were spiritually down. No doubt their spiritual batteries were low, and they were charged spiritually speaking by staying in Antioch for a time. Think about it. Yes, Paul was an apostle, and Barnabas traveling with Paul, but these were men, and they got spiritually tired. And we need times like this as well. The True Church Conference was and is that for us.

I was blessed by some of the calls and conversations I had after the True Church Conference, and I was just hearing spiritual rejuvenation. When I went to Grace Life prior this week, it was tiresome. Lots of energy expended, lots of conversation, meeting with people, pouring into people, studying to preach, preaching, driving there, driving back, but it was spiritual rejuvenation for me. We have times like that in the life of our church. That's what we want with our revival and renewal services. We want the Word of God to be taught. We want those things to be spiritually rejuvenating for us.

And there are other things that can be spiritually rejuvenating. Every time we meet together and have vacation by Humboldt School, I realize how important our children's ministry is. So we see that Paul and Barnabas backtracked. They made their way back home to Antioch, and the church commended them to the Lord for their work. And they explained and described and told all that God did through them and how God had opened a door of saving faith for the Gentiles, and they were just the instruments, the tools, and the hands of God to be used by Him for the work.

Now, let's take a step back and take note of what we have here from verse 20 on down to verse 28. Luke shows us the last stop on that long pioneer mission's work, the great gospel success that they had in Derby. And Luke shows us that Paul and Barnabas were led of God to backtrack to go back to those cities and churches and those new disciples for a different purpose. They went back to those infertile churches to strengthen and encourage those believers and to teach them the Word of God and the ways of God and to help organize those churches for the future. And last Luke shows us that Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch to give a report.

It's almost like they had a missions conference. Can we say that? They gathered the church up to give a report. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they explained how God had opened a door of saving faith to the Gentiles and the church commended them to the Lord for their work. And they stayed there a long time, no doubt, because they needed physical rest, spiritual rest, and physical and spiritual rejuvenation. Now I want to close by making two observations. First off, I want to continue to point out how John MacArthur highlights or points out the seven qualities that make for an effective and spiritual ministry.

He does this by pointing out the seven qualities that he sees in these men. In Iconium, we see their spiritual giftedness. Paul and Barnabas were gifted spiritually by God according to the will and the plan that God had for their life. Also in Iconium, we see their boldness to preach the Word of God and the Gospel. Paul and Barnabas boldly preached the Gospel and the Word. In Lystra, we see their humility. When the crowds wanted to worship them as gods, Paul and Barnabas refused. They refused any veneration at all. So we see spiritual giftedness in the men, boldness, spiritual boldness, and humility.

And notice we have four more spiritual qualities to go. Here in Derby and in their return trip, we see their great persistence. Even though they had been hounded and hounded by the Jews, Paul and Barnabas evangelized in Derby, and they systematically went back to the places they had ministered to previously. They were persistent. And we see that they were caring. They cared about these new believers in these infant churches. They cared and even risked their own lives to care for these believers in churches. And we see their commitment. They were committed to these new disciples in these baby churches.

Simply they were committed to the entire work of the church, not just evangelism. And last we see their reverence. When they were being commended to God for this work by their home church, they refused to see that somehow they had done the work. They were reverent. They said, "No, we did not do a thing, but God did this work." You see, they were persistent. They were caring. They had a commitment, and they were reverent. Now the second observation. What we see in verse 20 to verse 23 is what we see, and we'll see all throughout the rest of the book of Acts. The apostolic pattern of gospel work was simple. It's seen all through Acts.

They preached the gospel, and God gave them gospel success. I call it great gospel success. Then they taught those new converts and established them in local churches, and then they worked to encourage and strengthen those churches. And if that plan was good enough for the apostle Paul, then it should be good enough for us. They were just a one-trick pony. They were a broken record. Go into a city, preach the gospel, depend on God for gospel success, then teach those new converts and establish them in the local churches, and then work hard to encourage and strengthen those churches. You see? I was blessed this week.

One of our Anchored in Truth pastors text me and was talking about the ministry that God was doing in their church, in our church, and he said, "Brother Meen, you need to talk. I've got some men who are ready to go out, and maybe in Anchored in Truth, maybe our churches can partner together to help a brother plan a church." Well, what will be our pattern? Exactly like we see here with Paul. So the title of the message, "The First Missionary Journey, The Returned Trip Back to Antioch." And as we can see, this was much more than taking the church bus back home. A lot more.