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Have you ever wondered if your ordinary life—as a regular person, not a famous preacher or missionary—could ripple out to change history, much like the unsung heroes who followed Jesus' call in the early church? In this captivating sermon from Acts 11, Pastor Mark Hudson explores the surprising story of scattered believers in a notoriously immoral city, where cultural barriers crumbled and the gospel began to transform unlikely lives, leading to a movement that redefined faith communities. What made these everyday Christians so effective in the face of persecution, and how did figures like Barnabas ignite a fire that still burns today? Dive into the video to uncover the timeless secrets of faithful obedience and discover how God might be calling you to set your own ripples in motion.
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LearningTranscript
00:00You know, we think about Peter and James and John and the apostles,
00:04and we think, wow, these guys were just great.
00:06You know, they preached the gospel and set ripples in motion of the gospel,
00:12and they had an effect on so many people.
00:14And you think, yeah, you know, but my life, my life would never be like their life.
00:20I mean, they were apostles.
00:23Dr. David Jeremiah, in one of his writings, said,
00:27but what were these people before they were apostles?
00:31Oh, they were like you and me, commoners of the most ordinary sort.
00:35They were people whose names would never have garnered a footnote in history
00:39had they not responded to Christ's call.
00:43I mean, how would the world be different?
00:45How would history be different if a plain man named Andrew
00:48had not gone to find his brother Simon Peter and said,
00:52we have found the Messiah?
00:53What if another plain man named Philip had not sought out Nathaniel
00:56and told him, we have found whom of him who Moses and the law
01:00and also the prophets wrote?
01:01Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
01:03What if a fisherman named Peter had not responded to the request
01:06of a Gentile named Cornelius and gone to his house to share the gospel?
01:12Somehow we think that my life can have such an effect
01:16as these big apostles of the gospel, these well-known people.
01:22He goes on to say,
01:24what if martyrs and reformers like Polycarp, Ignatius, Huss,
01:28Sanavarola, Latimer, Ridley, and Kramer had recanted the faith
01:33in the face of the flames that were going to be burned alive for their faith?
01:39What if an unknown Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball
01:42had not pursued a lad named Dwight L. Moody,
01:45ultimately winning him to Christ in the Chicago shoe store?
01:48You and I have been, have salvation today because of the ripple effects
01:53set in motion by faithful people in other ages.
01:58But what if those who have not yet heard the gospel,
02:02who will speak the words and do the works that will set in motion
02:05the events resulting in their salvation?
02:08By God's grace and through our obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
02:11you and I will set those ripples in motion.
02:14And you say, who, me, an ordinary Christian?
02:18I'm not a paid professional.
02:19I'm not a pastor.
02:20I'm not a missionary, not even an elder.
02:23Who, me?
02:23I could have that effect in this world?
02:27I think in the text, what we're going to see very clearly
02:30as we finish out chapter 11 is this.
02:32God uses ordinary faithful Christians to advance the gospel message
02:37and leads his church through his word.
02:40Just normal people, not apostles necessarily, not even ordained people,
02:47not even deacons or elders in a church, but just ordinary faithful Christians.
02:54Have we forgotten, have Christians forgotten that all of us are ministers?
02:59I mean, we kind of think, well, you know, pastor, he's a minister,
03:03or those elders, they're ministers, or the Sunday school teacher, they're ministers.
03:06But have we forgotten that all of us are ministers?
03:11Luke continues his discussion.
03:13Luke likes to put themes together in themes.
03:16If you go to the gospel of Luke, it's not chronological often.
03:20He'll lump together themes.
03:21He's doing it right here too as well.
03:24He's lumping together the theme of the ministry to the Gentiles
03:27that Peter started with Cornelius.
03:29So now he's expanding on other ministries to the Gentiles.
03:32Remember the Gentiles in the Jewish eyes were unclean?
03:36You would never go to eat with a Gentile because you actually, God forbid,
03:40may become a friend to them, and then intermarry with them.
03:44Of course, that would be a problem.
03:45But to become a friend with a Gentile?
03:47They were viewed as unclean people to stay away from.
03:52Some people in Antioch didn't get that message.
03:56So he's continuing the storyline, lumping together,
03:59how do the Gentiles come to faith?
04:00Look with me in verse number 19.
04:02So open up your Bible, turn on your biblical device,
04:04whichever the case may be.
04:06This is God's word.
04:07We want to look at it together.
04:09So you'll notice he's going back at the very beginning
04:12to what we saw in chapter 8,
04:14and we'll read a couple of verses here in just a second.
04:16But look at verse 19.
04:19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution
04:22that arose over Stephen,
04:24and again, you kind of remember that.
04:25That was a long time ago, chapter 8.
04:26So Stephen was martyred.
04:30The Jerusalem Christians were being persecuted,
04:32so they spread out.
04:35They traveled as far as Phenotia and Cyprus and Antioch,
04:40speaking the word to no one except Jews.
04:43So they're out preaching to the Jewish people.
04:46But there were some of them,
04:47so there's a contrast here,
04:48but there were some of the men of Cyprus and Cyrene
04:51who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists,
04:54or some of your translations will say the Greeks,
04:57the Greeks, a Greek-speaking non-Jews,
05:01spoke to the Hellenists also,
05:03preaching the Lord Jesus.
05:06And the hand of the Lord was with them.
05:08These men who came to preach to the Gentiles there in Antioch,
05:12and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
05:16So we're introduced now to this church in Antioch
05:19and how it got established.
05:20The church in Jerusalem plays a role we're going to see later on,
05:22but we have two churches,
05:24Jerusalem church and the Antioch church,
05:25that play a role here in this section.
05:28You notice in 19, it goes all the way back to chapter 8.
05:31Let me read a couple of verses in chapter 8.
05:34Acts 8, 1 and 4.
05:36And Saul approved of his execution.
05:38That's Stephen.
05:39So Stephen was killed.
05:41Remember a long speech in chapter 7,
05:42and then he's killed.
05:44He looks up to heaven.
05:45He sees Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.
05:49And he dies.
05:52And there arose on that day,
05:55the day he was martyred,
05:56a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem,
05:59and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria,
06:03except the apostles.
06:05Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
06:08So that kind of gives us a background.
06:09So this is all the way going back to there.
06:11So when Stephen was martyred,
06:13these people spread out and spread out all over this particular area,
06:16and some landed in this area of Antioch,
06:19Antioch and Syria.
06:22Antioch was the third largest city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria.
06:27It had about 500,000 people,
06:29a lot of Jews,
06:30a really,
06:31really big city laid right on the Orontus River.
06:35It's modern day Turkey today.
06:37You can see it,
06:37and you can follow the Orontus River.
06:39It goes right out,
06:39and it's a little inland from the port area.
06:43But not far from the city was a major cult center for some Greek goddesses and gods,
06:49small g's,
06:50Daphne and her companion Apollo.
06:52You've probably heard Apollo before.
06:54And the worship of the ancient Assyrian goddess Astarte.
06:58So what's wrapped up with these type of worships in this particular cult
07:01was what's known as temple prostitution.
07:04You say,
07:04what's that?
07:05Well,
07:06basically they had the idea,
07:08the people who followed this pantheon of gods,
07:11they had this idea that sexual intercourse was the highest form of spirituality.
07:16So they would come into the temple and they would hire a prostitute.
07:20They would have,
07:21okay,
07:21we're all adults here.
07:22They would have a sexual union,
07:23and that was a spiritual experience.
07:27Sacred temple prostitutes.
07:29It was well known.
07:30It was a very,
07:31very wicked city.
07:33In fact,
07:33it was so wicked,
07:34the Roman satirist,
07:35Juvenal,
07:36complained,
07:37the sewage of the Syrian Orontus,
07:39that's the river that runs past Antioch,
07:42has for long discharged into the Tiber,
07:45the Tiber,
07:45that's in Rome.
07:46In other words,
07:471,300 miles away,
07:49Antioch of Syria was infecting Rome with their immorality.
07:53And you say,
07:53what?
07:54I thought Rome already was immoral.
07:55It is,
07:56but they're worse.
07:57That's the idea.
07:58That's how bad this city of Antioch was.
08:02It had an evil influence on Rome some 1,300 miles away.
08:06So even though Antioch was a wicked city,
08:09very immoral city,
08:11the believers were able to be in the world,
08:13but not of the world.
08:16So they're in the midst of this extremely immoral city,
08:19followers of Jesus Christ,
08:21wanting to do the right thing,
08:22wanting to walk in holiness and righteousness,
08:25yet all around them were people trying to convince them to walk a different direction,
08:29or think a different way,
08:31or behave a different way.
08:32And we talked about last week,
08:35you and I have to come to a place where we can be out in the world,
08:40influencing them with the gospel,
08:42but not be influenced by the world's beliefs or behaviors or attitudes.
08:47That's not always easy,
08:48because we would rather,
08:49technically it's easier just to stay away from the world,
08:52so you don't have to worry about them polluting you.
08:54I get that.
08:54But how can we influence them with the gospel if we stay away from them?
08:58We have to be out among them.
09:00We've got to be able to learn to be in the world,
09:03but not let the beliefs or the behaviors or the attitudes be part of us.
09:08They did it.
09:08They got it.
09:09They're in the midst of this,
09:10but they're still preaching Jesus.
09:11They want everyone to know.
09:14I know.
09:14I understand.
09:15It's easier to isolate ourselves.
09:16I get it.
09:17I get it.
09:18It's easier to isolate ourselves.
09:19It's harder to go out and be among unbelievers.
09:22And I'll confess,
09:23it's hard for me because I spend so much time studying or working in my office.
09:28I have to purpose to get out of my office to be around unbelievers.
09:33I have to,
09:33and you may be the same way.
09:35You find yourself always isolated around believers or hardly spending any time
09:38with unbelievers.
09:39We've got to figure out a way to get around unbelievers to influence them
09:42without being influenced by them.
09:46How can we ever advance the gospel if we're unwilling to go into all the world?
09:50Notice this is interesting.
09:52They were being persecuted,
09:53yet they were still ministering.
09:56Now think about that for a second.
09:58Persecution is like an attack on a personal attack on you.
10:00So what do we do?
10:01We begin focusing inward on ourselves.
10:03That's what I started doing this week.
10:05It was an attack on me and I started focusing inward on myself.
10:07I didn't think about God at first.
10:09That was my problem.
10:11But I started focusing inward.
10:13Oh,
10:13this is,
10:13this is affecting me.
10:17Yes.
10:18They weren't these,
10:19they weren't like these people in Jesus' parable in Matthew 13.
10:23They were,
10:24these people were persecuted yet still ministering.
10:26In Matthew 13,
10:27we read this.
10:28Jesus is speaking about the parable.
10:30Yet he has no root in himself,
10:31but endures for a while.
10:33And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word,
10:36immediately he falls away.
10:38That's not them.
10:40They're faithful,
10:41even in the midst of persecution.
10:43Whereas sometimes,
10:44you know,
10:44we get,
10:44we just focus in on ourselves.
10:46Sometimes the hand of the Lord was on the one group was preaching to the Jews.
10:51And then another group saw the need of going to the Gentiles.
10:53Think about that.
10:55I wonder if these Christians sat around,
10:57these Jewish Christians sat around going,
10:59I wonder if we should go preach to the Gentiles.
11:00Another one goes,
11:01no,
11:01man,
11:01they're unclean.
11:02You don't want them to change your lives.
11:04Another one goes,
11:04yeah,
11:04but Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
11:08Shouldn't we go to the Gentiles?
11:09No,
11:09but they're on,
11:10can you imagine the discussion one?
11:11And they decide,
11:12no,
11:12we need to go to the Gentiles.
11:14We need to go to them.
11:15They need to hear this message as much as the Jews need to hear this message.
11:18The Gentiles need to hear it as well.
11:22Hellenists typically are normally designated as Greek speaking Jews.
11:26We've seen that throughout Luke,
11:28but in this context,
11:29the implications is that they were Gentiles.
11:31In fact,
11:31there's a variation in the manuscripts.
11:33One says Greeks and one says Hellenists.
11:36Is it their variation?
11:37In the context,
11:38it appears they are definitely Gentiles.
11:41They're not Greek speaking Jews.
11:42to take the gospel to the Gentiles as a Jew.
11:49That was a revolutionary idea.
11:51They're saying,
11:52well,
11:52I'm not sure we saw it.
11:53Yeah,
11:53they need to know too.
11:54Yeah,
11:54but I'm not.
11:55Yeah,
11:55but they need to know.
11:56You can probably see the internal discussion they had before these guys go.
11:59No,
12:00they need to hear.
12:01Let's go.
12:03Despite what any Jews say about it,
12:05let's take the gospel to the Gentiles as well.
12:09We must guard ourselves from ever thinking.
12:12That this people group or this segment of society or this ethnicity is not worthy to hear the gospel message.
12:21They said,
12:22no,
12:22they're Gentiles.
12:22I got it,
12:23but they need to hear the message.
12:25We have to be very careful to guard ourselves from ever thinking that a people group,
12:30that ethnicity is not worthy to hear the gospel message.
12:34I ask us today,
12:37ought Muslim jihadists be excluded from hearing the gospel?
12:42Ought transgender,
12:43gender confused people be excluded from hearing the gospel?
12:47Ought white skin,
12:48brown skin,
12:49black skin,
12:50red skin,
12:50yellow skin,
12:51et cetera,
12:52people be excluded from hearing the gospel?
12:54I say,
12:55no,
12:55no,
12:56and no.
12:57We have to be so very careful to guard against all of that people.
13:00Those people.
13:02No,
13:02we can't go to those people.
13:03We can't go to this ethnicity.
13:06We must guard ourselves to say,
13:08everyone needs to hear the gospel message.
13:11And we have that message.
13:13It's a message of hope.
13:16Soren,
13:16a surgeon in Sterns wrote,
13:18don't wait for a special revelation to get involved in missions.
13:23Now,
13:23when he uses the word missions,
13:24he's not talking about going as a missionary in the foreign field.
13:27He's talking about just ministering in your local area.
13:29So think of it along those lines.
13:32Don't wait for a special revelation to get involved in missions.
13:35God can call people in dramatic waves,
13:37but nowhere in the Bible do we find that a dramatic call into ministry is a
13:42doctrine or a requirement to move out in ministry.
13:46It's important to do missions.
13:47Again,
13:47that's just spreading the gospel around whether you sense a specific call or
13:51not.
13:53The late Keith Green said,
13:54the call is already there.
13:56The problem is that our phones have been off the hook.
14:00Oh,
14:02he's really,
14:02I mean,
14:03God took him early.
14:05I mean,
14:05great.
14:05He could have stayed longer,
14:07but God took him early.
14:08It's a great,
14:09in other words,
14:09the call has already been there,
14:10but our phones have been off the hook.
14:12We're not listening.
14:15We must guard ourselves from thinking that,
14:17anyone ought to be excluded from hearing the gospel.
14:19No one.
14:21That means the person you work with,
14:23you know,
14:23that arrogant,
14:24loud mouth person you work with should not be excluded from hearing the gospel
14:28message.
14:29You know,
14:30that neighbor that shot your cat.
14:33Well,
14:33that's kind of extreme.
14:34I don't know if anyone neighbor shot their cat,
14:35but you know,
14:36I'm kind of get to an extreme point.
14:37How about that neighbor that shot your cat?
14:39Should they be excluded from hearing the gospel message?
14:41No.
14:43What about the prostitute in the red light district?
14:46Should she,
14:47or he be excluded from hearing the gospel message?
14:49No.
14:51We must guard ourselves to think that there are some people or ethnicities that
14:54just,
14:54you know,
14:55we don't,
14:55we don't need to take it to them.
14:58I like these men.
15:00They said they're Gentiles,
15:01but they needn't hear the gospel.
15:03We got to take it to them.
15:06There's just some things that are so good.
15:08You can't hold them for yourself.
15:11Jim Whitman wrote about a Mercedes Benz TV commercial that shows one of their
15:15cars colliding with a concrete wall during a safety test.
15:19Someone asked the Mercedes engineer,
15:22he said,
15:22you know,
15:22your company does not enforce the patent that you have on this safety,
15:28this car's energy absorbing body.
15:31The Mercedes design has been copied by almost all other cars.
15:34even though they have an exclusive patent on this body.
15:39The engineer after asked the question is,
15:42why don't you enforce the patent?
15:43The engineer replies in a chipped German accent,
15:46because in life,
15:47some things are just too important not to share.
15:52Some things are just too important not to share.
15:55We must guard ourselves to think,
15:57oh,
15:57that person or that group of people or that guy or that woman or that.
16:01Everyone needs to hear the gospel message.
16:05No one must be excluded.
16:09They were willing to take the gospel to their neighbors,
16:12the people that they lived around.
16:13These were ordinary Christian men.
16:16These aren't paid professionals.
16:17These are just believers in Jesus who said,
16:20we got to take this message to my neighbor.
16:22I got,
16:22they got to hear it.
16:24They weren't,
16:24they took the command of Jesus seriously.
16:26F.B.
16:28Meyer said,
16:29Antioch will ever be famous in Christian annals because of a number of
16:34unordained and unnamed disciples fleeing from Jerusalem in the face of
16:38Saul's persecution,
16:40dared to preach the gospel to Greeks and to gather the conference into a
16:44church in entire disregard of the initial right of Judaism.
16:48In other words,
16:48that's circumcision,
16:49not demanding them to be circumcised before they can come in.
16:52No,
16:52they preach the gospel to them.
16:54It takes humility to continue ministering in the face of persecution takes
17:01humility.
17:01And the reason why I say that is when we're persecuted,
17:04we start thinking about ourselves.
17:05We start focusing on ourselves.
17:06We turn inward.
17:09We take it personally.
17:11I mean,
17:12when they reject the message,
17:13they,
17:14we feel like they're rejecting us and we take it personally.
17:17And so we have to be humble while we're ministering and say,
17:20no,
17:20listen,
17:21if you give them the gospel message and they reject that,
17:24they are not rejecting you,
17:25not necessarily,
17:26but God who gave the message.
17:29We have to separate that.
17:31We have to continue with humility and say,
17:33yes,
17:33I understand.
17:34I'm going to preach the gospel.
17:34Not all are going to believe,
17:36but some will.
17:37Some will believe.
17:39No one likes to be rejected.
17:41No one likes to be dismissed or have bodily harm happen to them.
17:44None of us like that.
17:46Our responsibility is to proclaim the gospel message.
17:49When they reject it,
17:50they're rejecting God and not us.
17:53You know,
17:53we could ask our brothers and sisters around the world.
17:55How do you do it?
17:56How do you keep ministering in the face of persecution?
17:59You see your buddy executed for the faith and you're still ministering the next day.
18:03How do you do that?
18:05Maybe they would have some good advice for us.
18:07And we'd say,
18:07how could we're not even being persecuted necessarily here in America yet.
18:11And when it arises,
18:12can we remain faithful?
18:16They have probably some good advice for us.
18:18So the preaching that they're preaching centered on the truth that Jesus is Lord,
18:23not on that he's a Messiah.
18:24That's why it leads us to believe that he's speaking to Gentiles.
18:27Jesus is Lord.
18:29Messiah would be more along the lines that the Jews wanted to hear that.
18:32He is Lord.
18:33Yes,
18:33he's Lord to the Jews as well.
18:36So the Jerusalem church,
18:38some 500 miles away,
18:41hears that there's something happening in Antioch.
18:44And so they send someone to verify kind of like they sent Peter and John to the Samaritans
18:49to verify what God was doing.
18:50They send someone to verify what's happening in Antioch.
18:53Okay.
18:54That's verses 22 and following.
18:57The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
19:03So not James and not Peter and John,
19:06not the apostles.
19:07They sent Barnabas.
19:08And when he came and saw the grace of God,
19:12he was glad.
19:14But they're Gentiles.
19:15Yeah,
19:15but he was glad.
19:17And he exhorted them,
19:18all of these Gentile believers to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.
19:24For he was a good man,
19:25this Barnabas,
19:26full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
19:29And a great many people were added to the Lord.
19:33So a lot of people were getting saved.
19:35So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul.
19:38That's where Saul's been.
19:40He's been there for about 10 years.
19:41We think the silent years of,
19:43of Paul or Saul.
19:44And we had found him.
19:46He brought him to Antioch.
19:48That's where Barnabas had been ministering in Antioch.
19:50But he,
19:51he goes and gets Saul,
19:53brings him to Antioch for a whole year.
19:56They met with the church and taught a great many people.
19:59And in Antioch,
20:00the disciples were first called Christians.
20:04That's great.
20:06So the church sends Barnabas to say,
20:08Hey,
20:08what's going on here?
20:08We need some information.
20:10Is this really a revival?
20:11Is God really being preached here?
20:12What's happening here?
20:13I think some information about,
20:15excuse me,
20:15I said 500.
20:16It's about 300 miles.
20:17My mistake.
20:18About 15 day journey,
20:20no cars,
20:20no trains,
20:21no airplanes,
20:22by foot or by horse,
20:24by donkey.
20:25A long time,
20:26about 15 days to travel there.
20:27So the church in Jerusalem chose this man,
20:31Barnabas,
20:31who was a Greek speaker himself to,
20:33to go and speak to Greek speaking Jews and Gentiles.
20:37Well,
20:37that makes good sense.
20:39So Barnabas is here worshiping with the Gentiles.
20:41Worshiping with the Gentiles was a new experience for Barnabas.
20:45He'd never done that before.
20:46That was brand new,
20:47but he did it gladly without criticizing.
20:51It's just saying,
20:51Oh,
20:51you guys really don't know what you're doing.
20:53Oh,
20:53that is the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
20:55And why would you do it like that?
20:56We've always done it like this.
20:57He's not criticizing.
20:59It says that he was excited.
21:01He was glad at what he saw.
21:02He's worshiping with Gentiles for the first time in his life.
21:06As far as we know,
21:07it's amazing.
21:09How could he do that?
21:11And not to criticize them,
21:12but to be excited about what God is doing.
21:15That is amazing.
21:16This man,
21:17Luke describes him as a good man.
21:19It's moral qualities,
21:20full of the Holy spirit and full of faith.
21:22It was called a good man.
21:24Only,
21:24only two people are called good.
21:26Actually in,
21:27in,
21:27in,
21:27in Luke,
21:28in the gospel,
21:29he called Joseph of Arimathea good.
21:31And here he calls Barnabas good.
21:34If you remember,
21:35Barnabas,
21:35his real name is Joseph.
21:39Two Josephs,
21:40he calls were good men.
21:41Those are the only two that Luke lists as good men.
21:44So the truce in Jerusalem,
21:46three miles away,
21:47here's sins.
21:48Barnabas.
21:49Barnabas encourages the new believers because he sees that God's grace is being
21:53poured out on the Gentiles.
21:54Doesn't criticize him.
21:55He's happy.
21:57Hey,
21:57this is good thing.
21:58He encouraged him to remain faithful to the Lord.
22:02He was an encouraged.
22:03Remember what his name means?
22:04Son of encouragement.
22:06He was doing exactly what he was characters all about.
22:08He was encouraging.
22:12You ever seen yourself as an encourager?
22:14We all like to be encouraged.
22:18I needed it this week.
22:19You probably needed encouragement this week too.
22:22We like to be encouraged,
22:23but have you ever seen yourself as an encourager?
22:26You say,
22:26well,
22:26I don't really know how to do it.
22:27You know,
22:28sometimes just talking with people encourages them and you don't really even
22:31know that you're doing it.
22:32You're just there for them and you're listening and give them some,
22:36some words out of the scripture.
22:37And that is an encouragement.
22:40Everyone likes to be encouraged,
22:41but we don't ever see ourselves as encouragers as much.
22:46Churches need encouragers.
22:48We know what it's like to be encouraged.
22:51So I say,
22:51let's become encouragers today.
22:53Let's encourage each other.
22:56Courage Dave and Deb and their loss.
22:58Courage them.
22:59Encourage Harry and Dawn.
23:01Help them pray for them.
23:02And as they're working through these health issues,
23:05be an encourager.
23:07We need it.
23:08Barnabas was a great encourager.
23:10He spoke words of encouragement and Thessalonians and Proverbs.
23:14There's two things on encouraging.
23:16Therefore,
23:16encourage one another and build one another up just as you were doing.
23:20So they were doing a good job at that.
23:21And then Proverbs 25 says,
23:23a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and a setting of silver.
23:28So let's become encouragers like Barnabas.
23:30He was an encourager.
23:31He helped them.
23:32He didn't criticize them.
23:34And Barnabas soon realized that the ministry was too big for one person.
23:38It was way too big.
23:40He needed help.
23:41So we thought about Saul.
23:43I remember Saul.
23:44He's remember Barnabas introduced him to the apostles.
23:47Barnabas was there to help him be accepted by the apostles.
23:49He was an encouragement there.
23:51So we thought,
23:52I'll go get Saul.
23:53I mean,
23:53he's a trained rabbi.
23:54He's a Pharisee and he knows the word and God has worked with him and revealed
23:59things to him.
24:00Let's go get him.
24:00I need help in the ministry.
24:04The work is too much.
24:07You say,
24:08you know,
24:09I'll be honest with you.
24:11We elders need help in the work of this ministry.
24:16We can't do it ourselves.
24:19There's just five of us.
24:20We can't possibly minister to everyone in this church.
24:23That's why we all minister to each other in this church.
24:26We need help.
24:27We need more people that say I'm in this.
24:31I'm there.
24:33DL Moody said this.
24:35I'd rather get 10 men to do the job than to do the job of 10 men.
24:40Yeah.
24:41Let's get other people involved instead of one person doing everything in the
24:45church.
24:47So he goes and he looks for Saul and that word,
24:51that verb look for implies that Barnabas had a hard time finding him.
24:54It implies that he just didn't go to one location.
24:57Oh,
24:57there,
24:57look there,
24:58Saul.
24:58No,
24:58he went to this location.
24:59He went to that location.
25:00He went to that location.
25:01He went to that location.
25:02He went over here.
25:03Hey,
25:03do you know where Saul is?
25:05No one knew where he was at.
25:06And he finally found him.
25:07It was a hard time,
25:08but he didn't give up.
25:09Why?
25:10He needed help in the church in Antioch.
25:13He needed help.
25:14So Barnabas and Saul now were teachers in the church in Antioch.
25:17They were busy ministering.
25:19They were actively ministering.
25:20A whole year,
25:21the text says actively ministering and soon the Holy spirit will commission
25:26Saul and Barnabas to take the gospel to the Gentiles here in chapter 13.
25:31He's going to send them off to go to the Gentiles.
25:33I find it interesting that sometimes the Holy spirit picks those people and
25:37commissions them.
25:38Those people who are already busy doing the work of the ministry.
25:42You never noticed that.
25:43It's not like he hit someone on the sidelines.
25:45Those people are already engaged in the ministry.
25:47He just gives them further direction to go do something else in the ministry.
25:49He picks busy people that are busy doing ministry just like Saul and Barnabas.
25:55So this term Christian only used three times in the Bible and always from the
25:59mouth of people who were not Christians.
26:01So the idea is some say it's a derogatory term.
26:04It's actually an identification term.
26:07The term Christian means those belonging or identified by Christ.
26:12What we have to understand is that Christianity at first was seen to be part of
26:16Judaism.
26:16And now we're seeing that they're beginning to separate out and they're
26:20beginning to be viewed as two separate entities.
26:23We have Judaism and we have then the church.
26:25We have Christians.
26:26And so we're seeing two separate entities.
26:28Now the Jewish people,
26:29according to Roman law had a lot of liberty.
26:32They didn't have to bow down to any of the idols.
26:34They didn't have to offer incense to any of the idols.
26:37They were given a special dispensation as Jews,
26:39but now the Christians who are no longer under Judaism.
26:42Now they're going to be affected by all of these things.
26:45They're a separate identity.
26:47So these are people that are identified as followers of Jesus,
26:50a distinct group.
26:52The Gentile mission was so successful in Antioch that they made up a derogatory
26:57term for the Christians.
27:00Wouldn't that be great?
27:01That our ministry was so effective in medical lake that they're making up names
27:04about us.
27:05That would be great.
27:06Yeah.
27:07They're just making up names about us.
27:08Oh,
27:08you little Christians.
27:09Yeah.
27:09We're followers of Jesus.
27:11That's good.
27:12Isn't it?
27:12I'd like to be so effective that people are making up names about us.
27:17So God's leading his church.
27:18There's an issue and he wants to make sure that his church gets his word.
27:22So he sends a prophet or actually prophets go down and one of them speaks in
27:27verse number 27.
27:29Now,
27:30in these days,
27:31days that we're talking about here,
27:33prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
27:36So they came from the church,
27:37the mother church in Jerusalem.
27:39These prophets came down to Antioch and one of them named Agabus stood up and
27:44foretold by the spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world.
27:47This took place in the days of Claudius,
27:50the emperor Claudius.
27:51So the disciples determined everyone,
27:53according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea,
27:57the Jewish Christians in Judea.
27:59And they did so sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
28:05So we see here in this Agabus,
28:08this Agabus,
28:08one of these prophets,
28:09there's more than one.
28:10They came down from the Jerusalem church to Antioch and he stands up and he gives
28:15this prophecy.
28:16So Agabus had the gift of foretelling as a prophet.
28:19He foretold an event that was yet to come.
28:23Also in chapter 21,
28:24he does the same thing.
28:25We meet him again in chapter 21.
28:28While we were staying for many days,
28:29a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea again,
28:33wherever they're at.
28:35The text,
28:36I'm not sure the context word,
28:37but they comes down from Judea.
28:39So the prophet wasn't there.
28:40He came in and coming to us,
28:42he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said,
28:45thus says the Holy Spirit.
28:47This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver
28:52him into the hands of the Gentiles.
28:55So the prophet came down,
28:56prophets came down from Jerusalem to the church in Antioch.
28:59And in this case,
29:00he's somewhere else from Judea and he comes and he gives another prophecy.
29:05You know,
29:06you know,
29:06maybe,
29:06maybe we've been,
29:08maybe we've been reading first Corinthians chapter 12 and chapter 14 wrongly
29:13over the years.
29:15Somehow we get the impression when we read first Corinthians 12 and first
29:18Corinthians 14,
29:19that there's a prophet in every church.
29:23That's the impression we get when we read the Corinthians.
29:25We say,
29:26well,
29:26there must be prophets in every church.
29:28Well,
29:28there,
29:28there wasn't a prophet in Antioch.
29:30They had to come down from Jerusalem.
29:33So maybe this idea of the gift of prophecy,
29:35the understanding,
29:36well,
29:36John,
29:37John Pohlheil writes exactly what it is.
29:39In the new Testament,
29:40prophecy is primarily viewed as a word spoken under the inspiration of the Holy
29:44Spirit intended for the direction or edification of the Christian
29:49community.
29:50Inspiration was normative to the experience,
29:53but not necessarily the ability to predict future events.
29:57In this sense,
29:57Agabus gift was unusual.
30:01So maybe we've got a misunderstanding that,
30:03that,
30:04that,
30:04that the prophets were not as common as we think they were in the new
30:08Testament.
30:09When you think of the old Testament,
30:10there weren't very many prophets and there were sometimes hundreds of years
30:13before a prophet would arise on the scene.
30:16So maybe the thinking that was,
30:18Oh yeah,
30:18there was a prophet in every church,
30:19but that's not true because there wasn't one in Antioch.
30:22And here in 21,
30:23he came down from Judea.
30:24So maybe this idea of prophets at every church is not what we thought.
30:29Maybe they weren't as common as we thought they were.
30:31We kind of get the idea that they were in every church,
30:34but in this case,
30:35we know that they were,
30:36they're not.
30:36And the prophets were necessary because the new Testament,
30:40as we know is in the process of being written.
30:42All they have is the old Testament.
30:43So God is inspiring the prophets to speak his word.
30:46Why?
30:46To give direction to the church.
30:49And as the canon of scripture is,
30:50is completed,
30:52the prophecy that we have the canon of scripture,
30:54we have directions given to the church right now.
30:57So maybe they weren't as common as we thought they were in the new
31:00Testament.
31:01So the Gentile Christians in Antioch wanted to show the same grace they have
31:05been showed by and sending relief to the Jewish Christian.
31:08God showed them favor and grace.
31:10Now they're going to show the,
31:11the mother church in Jerusalem from which the gospel came.
31:15It's going to minister to them as well.
31:18Romans 15,
31:19for they were pleased to do it.
31:21And indeed they owe it to them.
31:23For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings,
31:26they ought also to be of service to them and material blessings.
31:29So they're taking this attitude.
31:30Hey,
31:31they helped us spiritually.
31:32We're going to help them materially.
31:33Let's round some money up and let's take it to them.
31:35Let's give it to them.
31:36Notice that they didn't place the gift at the apostles feet.
31:39The text says what?
31:40The financial gift was not laid at the apostles feet,
31:43but at the feet of the elders.
31:45We're already starting to see a transition.
31:48Now at first,
31:48all the gifts were brought to the apostles.
31:50They distributed to anyone who had need.
31:52Now we're seeing it.
31:53This delivered to the elders and not the apostles.
31:56There seems to be a transition in the leadership of the church,
31:59especially the one in Jerusalem.
32:00The church in Antioch started by Greek speaking Jewish believers among the Gentiles
32:09was to become the center of the Gentile activity or missions to the Gentile.
32:15This church set an example for us.
32:18There's lots of things we can learn from this text.
32:20There's at least five.
32:21I mean,
32:21you could probably pull out more than that,
32:23but there's five things that we can learn from this text today.
32:25Number one,
32:26we are to be in the world,
32:28influencing it with the gospel message,
32:30but not tainted by the world.
32:32We have to take the same attitude.
32:34Oh,
32:34they're Gentiles.
32:35Yes,
32:35I understand they're Gentiles.
32:37Oh,
32:37they'll,
32:37they'll take me.
32:38No,
32:39take the gospel to them.
32:40They need it.
32:41Oh,
32:41they're prostitute.
32:42I can't take a gospel to a prostitute.
32:44They'll taint me.
32:45Take the gospel to the prostitute.
32:47I have to be in the world,
32:49but not of it.
32:50Secondly,
32:51no one ought to be excluded from hearing the gospel message.
32:54No one.
32:55All creation needs to hear the gospel message.
32:58Three,
32:59it does not require a paid professional to advance the gospel message in the world.
33:04Everyday unordained Christians are needed.
33:08Everyone participates.
33:11Four,
33:11be an encourager.
33:13Be an encourager.
33:15Barnabas was a great encourager.
33:17Be an encourager.
33:18And five,
33:19remember God will guide his church through his word.
33:23He gave them apostles,
33:24gave them prophets,
33:26the foundation of the church,
33:27pastors and teachers to teach what the apostles and prophets gave to us.
33:32What a church that God established in Antioch.
33:36Truly an example for us to follow.
33:39Let's pray.
33:39Father,
33:40thank you.
33:41Thank you that these men,
33:43despite cultural differences,
33:45were willing to go to the Gentiles and preach the message.
33:49They believed your son when he told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
33:54They believed him and they did it despite what other Jews would say to them.
33:59They did not care because they wanted to honor you and be loyal to you and your word over what any other person would say.
34:06So thank you for these men and thank you for Barnabas.
34:09What an encourager and what a person to say,
34:12Hey,
34:13come on,
34:14let's follow the Lord.
34:15Let's serve them together.
34:16Both Jews and Gentiles in one body.
34:18We're going to do this.
34:19Thank you,
34:20Father,
34:20for Barnabas.
34:21And I thank you mostly for giving us your word,
34:24giving us your word so we can know what the churches are supposed to do,
34:28how we're supposed to live our lives,
34:30how we interact in this world,
34:32and what you've promised us all contained here in your word.
34:36We thank you.
34:36We pray in Jesus' name.
34:38Amen.
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