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The First Missionaries Paul and Barnabas

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[Acts 13:2-3]

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."
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

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The first church built after Jesus ascended into heaven is the Jerusalem Church.
And the first church to be established by non-Jewish Gentiles was the Antioch Church.

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Non-Jewish people from other countries who came to believe in Jesus gathered at the church in Antioch. The good news that a church was established in Antioch also reached the church in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem church decided to send workers to teach the Word to build up the church in Antioch.

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It was Barnabas who decided to send from the Jerusalem church to the Antioch church. Barnabas was a man full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and he was a good man. After Barnabas came to Antioch, more people flocked to the church.

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Barnabas decided that he could not handle so many people alone. So he went to a place called Tarsus to raise up people to help him and do the work of the gospel. There he brought Saul, who would later be called the apostle Paul, to Antioch.
(To avoid confusion among students, 'Saul' will be unified with 'Paul'.)

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Barnabas and Paul served the Antioch church diligently together. The Antioch church members who received their teaching practiced the word of God in their lives. Seeing their kindness, the people of the Antioch area began to call the Antioch church members “Christians” for the first time.

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Besides Barnabas and Paul, there were prophets and teachers who served God well in Antioch Church. As they gathered together to pray, the Holy Spirit commanded them to do one thing.
“Set aside Barnabas and Paul to do the work that I have entrusted to them.”

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Barnabas and Paul were people who were doing very important work in the church in Antioch.
But the message was to have them leave the Antioch church for a new job that God has entrusted to them.

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They fasted and prayed with one heart and then obeyed the Word of the Holy Spirit.
They laid their hands on Barnabas and Paul and laid their hands on them. The two men left the church in Antioch and were sent to do the work God had entrusted to them to accomplish His will. The Antioch church sent Barnabas and Paul as the first missionaries.

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From that day on, Barnabas and Paul, who became the first missionaries to spread Jesus to many countries, began their journey to preach the gospel following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Wherever they went, they preached the fact that Jesus, the Messiah, died on the cross for us and rose from the dead. They began to tell people in many countries that they must believe in Jesus, the Messiah, to be saved.

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God was with the two men who obeyed God's word and became missionaries.
When they went to the island of ‘Paphos’, there was a man named ‘Bar-Jesus’ who interrupted the preaching of the gospel. He said Paul to the man who was filled with the Holy Spirit and did evil. “Now the Lord will strike you, and your eyes will be blinded and for some time you will not even see sunlight.”

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After Paul said these words, Bar Jesus was really blind for some time. After seeing this miracle in front of his eyes, Governor Sergius Paulus came to believe in Jesus.
God punished those who obstructed the preaching of the gospel and exalted Barnabas and Paul, who preached the gospel.

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When they preached the gospel in a region called Lystra, a man who had never walked in his life was listening to the word. Paul saw that he had faith in him.
Paul commanded the man to get up and walk. A miracle occurred that the man got up from the spot and walked. God made it possible for the gospel preached by the two missionaries to spread widely.

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In some areas, they faced difficulties such as being stoned and nearly killed by people who hindered the gospel. However, the two missionaries overcame difficulties through faith and preached the gospel with devotion to the end. God also protected them to the end.

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Thousands of people came to believe in Jesus through the gospel preached by Barnabas and Paul. Many churches were established where they preached the gospel. Following the first missionaries, Barnabas and Paul, many missionaries preached the gospel to the whole world. Even now, many missionaries go to countries with different languages and cultures to preach the gospel.

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Preaching the gospel to all nations and peoples is the last command that Jesus gave to all of us when he went to heaven.
[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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."[Matthew 28:19-20]]
All of us who believe in Jesus and are saved must obey these words. I hope that there will be many friends who go to other countries to share the gospel with Barnabas and Paul, who were sent as the first missionaries. Even if you do not go out to other countries, I hope that you will become all friends who live the life of a missionary in sharing the gospel with the people you meet in your area.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)