Here is a teaching on part 1 of chapter 13 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer.... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person listening to this right now. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words, that you open up our ears, our mind, and our heart to you Lord. I pray that through every aspect of our lives that you guide us, show us truth, and help us to discern that truth. Lord please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and wisdom to be able to implement it in our daily lives and be able to make an impact in other people's lives. I love you with my whole heart Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 13 Part 1:
1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
So in verses 1-3, in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. In verse 1 it tells who the prophets and teachers were. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to them and said for them to set Barnabas and Saul apart for the work to which the Holy Spirit called them to do. This just goes to show that whenever we're praying, we're dedicating our lives to Christ, we're fasting, we're sitting in the presence of Christ, and we are letting the holy spirit guide us, then we will hear the voice of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit. And we will be led to places that we may not understand or know why we're led there, but we just have to be obedient, listen to the words of God, stay faithful to the calling that God has placed in our hearts, and go wherever the Holy Spirit guides us. Just like we saw in our Bible study from chapter 12 of the book of Acts last week, God will always protect us. We just have to stay obedient and follow him wherever he leads us
In verses 4-12 Barnabas and Saul were sent on their way by the Holy Spirit and they spread the word of God in the Jewish synagogues at Salamis. We also see that John was there helping them. In verse 6 they had traveled the whole island until they came to Paphos and there they had met a Jewish sorcerer and a false prophet. In verse 7 we see that this Jewish sorcerer and false prophet was an attendant of the proconsul. For anyone that doesn't know, a proconsul is "a governor of the province of ancient Rome." So the proconsul had sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. We see that it says in verse 7 that the proconsul was an intelligent man. So he wanted to hear from Saul and Barnabas about the word of God, but in verse 8 Elymas the sorcerer was against them and tried to turn the proconsul from faith. So he was arguing with them and opposing what they were saying and trying to tell the proconsul that what they were saying wasn't true. Then in verses 9-10, Saul (also called Paul), looked at Elymas and said that he was a child of the devil and the enemy of everything that is right. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and he could see straight through the lies, deception, and trickery of this sorcerer. Whenever we're filled with the Holy Spirit and we let the Holy Spirit guide us, then we will be able to discern the truth, we will be able to stand up under temptation, and we will be able to know and test evil spirits, know what is right and what is good, and also things that are trying to deceive us and things of the enemy.
In verse 11 Paul tells Elymas that the hand of the Lord is against him and he's going to be blind and for a time he's not going to be able to see the light of the sun. I just wanted to point out the irony here. Because we saw in our Bible study from chapter 9 of the book of Acts where Saul was going to Damascus to give a letter to the chief priest to be able to put anyone that called on the name of Jesus in prison, and on his way to Damascus Jesus came to him in a vision and asked him why he persecuted him. And then Saul fell on the ground, he became blind for three days, and then once he received his sight back he was filled with the Holy Spirit. So I just wanted to point that out because it was just so ironic that now that Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit, he can clearly see the lies, deception, and trickery of the enemy. Now Saul walks in the ways of the Lord, and before he was blind physically and spiritually, and now he's filled with the Holy Spirit and his eyes and his heart are open. Then we also see in verse 11 that immediately mist and darkness came over the sorcerer and he was groping about seeking to find someone to lead him by the hand, because he didn't know where to go.
Then in verse 12 the proconsul had believed once he saw what had happened and he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. So because of what had happened with the sorcerer, the proconsul had believed. This again just goes to show that everything happens for a reason and you may be led to places that you're not sure why you're led there and things may happen that you're not sure why they happen, but there's always a reason for it. When we're being led by the Holy Spirit we're never going to be led astray.
13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."
16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers: he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.
"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
23 "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'
Alright, so in verse 13 Paul and his companions had sailed to Perga in Pamphylia and at that point John had left them to return to Jerusalem. Then in verses 14-15, they went on from Perga to Pisidian Antioch and on Sabbath they entered the synagogue. They sat down and the synagogue rulers told them that if they had a message for the people to speak up, so in verses 16-41 Paul spoke to these people in the synagogue and he told them all about what God had done for the people of Israel and for their fathers. How he made them prosper in Egypt, he led them out in the country for 40 years in the desert, he overthrew seven nations, gave their land to his people as inheritance, and all of these things that happened throughout 450 years. And we see all of these things in the old Testament. Then at the time of Samuel the prophet the people asked for a king so God had given them Saul (which was the son of Kish.) Saul ruled for 40 years and then after Saul was removed God made David their king.
In verse 22, we see that God had testified about David saying that he was a man after his own heart and that he would do everything that God wanted him to do. We see in verses 23-25 that from the descendants of David our Savior Jesus Christ was brought to the people of Israel to forgive us of our sins. And before Jesus had come John the Baptist was preaching repentance and baptism to all the people in Israel. A lot of people were thinking that John the Baptist was the Christ or they were asking who he was. We saw in our Bible study from chapter 1 of the book of John that John the Baptist denied being the Christ. John said that the one that was going to come after him had sandals that he was unworthy to untie and he was talking about Jesus Christ.
Acts Ch 13 Part 1 Study Guide
Why did the prophets and teachers send off Saul and Barnabas?
What happens when we let the Holy Spirit guide us?
Why did the proconsul send for Barnabas and Saul?
In verse 11, why did Elymas become blind?
Who did the people think that John the Baptist was?
In verse 25, who was John talking about?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on part 1 of chapter 13 of the book of Acts. Next week we're going to go into part 2 of chapter 13 so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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