Changes the world (Commitment Sunday 2013)

Gracious Father, we thank you for your word.

Thank you for your church.

I pray that as we look into your word this morning

that we might see something of our heritage

and that as we look to the future

that we might be committed to the name Christ

and seeing that name declared and glorified

throughout this area of Chatswood.

We pray for your sake. Amen.

St. Paul's first ministry in the Chatswood area

began almost or just over 112 years ago

with a Sunday school on the 1st of September 1901.

It wasn't a great start because no one turned up.

The weather wasn't so great.

Three children turned up the next week

and the first official church service

was a couple of months later

on the 8th of December 1901.

The official opening of St. Paul's

was conducted on the 15th of December 1901

by the Archdeacon of Cumberland,

the Venerable John Langley,

to whom my wife Natalie is a direct descendant.

So I am married into St. Paul's history

more than most.

A new church doesn't just pop up.

It doesn't just arrive one Sunday.

Many things happen over a period of time

before any church,

and a church like St. Paul's comes to be.

And as always, with anything,

there are different motives and agendas at play

in order to see something like a church pop up.

And some of those agendas and motives

lack any sort of vision.

There are those who are dissatisfied

with the ministry of another church

and figure it's much better to start our own thing.

There are those who felt that the church

was a good place for social activities.

For others, it was a place for mutual support

and friendships and family interactions

and cultural pursuits.

For others, the church is a healthy place

for young people of marriageable age.

That is St. Paul's the dating service

before RSVP and all those other things

came into being.

On the other hand,

there are those with a real gospel vision.

There are those who are doing evangelism

on steam trains.

A boy riding the district on horseback

to break the news of a Sunday school

and a church coming into being.

There were the four young men

who in the summer of 1901-02

met weekly for prayer before dawn

out in the bush

and spent time walking around

looking for potential church sites

to plant a church.

And so here we are,

112 years later,

on the site that was chosen.

It's Commitment Sunday.

We're thinking about commitment

to the mission and vision of St. Paul's

here in Chatswood

as we look ahead to 2014 and beyond.

And my question for us today

is what is it about our beginning

that will most define our present

and our future as a church?

Is it St. Paul's the dating service?

Or is it a gospel-driven vision?

And so in thinking about that question,

what is it about our beginnings

that will so define our present,

our future,

I want us to take us back to the beginning?

Back past 112 years

on the lower north shore of Sydney,

back past the Anglican Church

starting with chaplain arriving

with the first fleet,

back past the act of supremacy

in November 1534,

that brought the Church of England

into existence,

back to the first century

and the church in Antioch.

The church in Antioch

is our mother church.

It is our ancestry.

It is our bloodline.

In the first half of chapter 11,

Peter is up in front of the leaders

in Jerusalem explaining

why he, as a Jew,

had gone to the house of a Gentile

and eaten with them.

He went to explain

how Cornelius

and his family

had received the Holy Spirit

and came

to put their trust

in the Lord Jesus.

It's the first instance

of Christian faith

breaching Jewish circles.

And so,

in chapter 11,

verse 18,

we have the response

of the leaders

of the church in Jerusalem.

When they heard this,

they had no further objections

and praised God,

saying,

so then,

God has granted

even the Gentiles

repentance unto life.

And so,

this means that

unless you are a Jew,

Antioch,

in the very next verse,

is your mother church.

As the first Gentile church,

my hope is that

something of its heartbeat

might define

something of our heartbeat.

And there are a number of things

you could pull out of here

in this,

but I just want to pick on a few.

A number of the characteristics

of our mother church

that we must commit to

emulating

as we look to the future

at St. Paul's.

Notice,

first of all,

our mother church's commitment

to representing Jesus

where God had placed them.

Verse 19,

Acts 11.

If you haven't got your Bibles,

you need to have your Bibles open.

Or your iPads

or whatever it is you've got.

Acts 11.

Verse 19.

Now,

those who had been scattered

by the persecution

in connection with Stephen

traveled as far as Phoenicia,

Cyprus and Antioch,

telling the message

only to Jews.

Some of them,

however,

men from Cyprus and Cyrene

went to Antioch

and began to speak

to Greeks also,

telling them the good news

about the Lord Jesus.

The Lord's hand was with them

and a great number of people

believed and turned to the Lord.

So chapter 11,

verse 19,

takes us back

to chapter 8,

verse 1,

and the scattering

of the believers

as a result

of the persecution

relating to the martyrdom

of Stephen.

And some of these

persecuted believers

went as far

as Antioch,

the capital

of the Roman province

of Syria

and the third largest city

in the empire.

And as they went,

as they were scattered,

they simply

talked about Jesus.

What was in their hearts

came out of their mouth.

These unnamed Jews

from the island of Cyprus

and Cyrene

with no official direction,

no human instruction,

no precedent to follow,

nothing but a burning

love for Christ

took the good news

of the Lord Jesus

to Antioch.

They were probably

not even aware

that they were doing

something radical,

no clue about their,

the revolutionary

greatness of their act.

They were the first believers

to bring the explosive

light of the gospel

into the pitch black

darkness

of paganism

in Antioch.

Antioch was evangelized

not by apostles,

but by average

members

of the body

of Christ

who just simply

represent Jesus

because Jesus

had pushed them there.

Wherever

these refugees

landed,

Jesus was on display.

Sharing Christ

to them

appears to be

as natural

as tears

to sorrow

and as smiles

to happiness.

Everyday believers

empowered

by the Holy Spirit

blew away

the hold of paganism

on needy souls

and the result

was a great harvest

in Antioch.

Verse 21,

the Lord's hand

was with them

and a great number

of people believed

and turned to the Lord.

We see it again

in verse 24,

a great number

of people

were brought

to the Lord.

Luke is very

careful here

to stress

the sovereign

providence of God

behind the growth

of this church.

It was the Lord's hand,

did you see that?

It was the Lord's hand

that was responsible

for the success.

No apostles,

no parish council,

no ecclesiastical structure,

just the Lord's hand

and a tremendous

number of new believers.

But it doesn't negate

the personal witness

of the disciples

who chose

to accomplish

his sovereign purpose.

This is his appointed means.

Christians

representing Jesus

where he has put them,

wherever that might be.

Now let me say,

there would be

few churches

that would confess

that they have

no interest

in mission.

Many operate

like they have

no interest

in mission,

but there'd be

few who would

confess they have

no interest

in mission.

Most want to be

a light

in a dark place.

Too many,

however,

I fear

operate

like a lighthouse

in a dark place.

Our focus

is illuminating

the far off distances,

but leaving

the area

around our base

plunged in darkness.

no church

will ever

become a missionary

church

unless it

possesses

a vigorous

grassroots

concern

for mission

to the non-Christian

world

where they

are.

This is

our mission

field

right here.

if we are

not concerned

for the good

news of the

Lord Jesus

increasing

and spreading

where God

has put us,

there is no

genuine concern

for gospel

impact

thousands of

kilometers away.

the commitment

to local

mission

for this

church

at Antioch

did in fact

flow over

to the rest

of the world.

Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

we see

Barnabas

and Paul

are sent

from Antioch

to the rest

of the world.

Antioch

became the

launching pad

for global

mission.

it was the

base for

Paul's

missionary

journeys

and it

started with

disciples

representing

Jesus

right there

in Antioch.

To represent

Jesus

where he's

put us

in Chatswood

is to keep

in step

with our

mother church.

It is our

heritage,

our bloodline.

Representing

Jesus

as written

into our

mission statement

is one of

the reasons

that we exist

local and

global impact

is one of

our core

values and

mobilizing

members for

local mission

is one of

the five

strategies

that we

are working

on in order

to accomplish

vision 2020.

Our stated

ministry

objective

out there

on the

door

on the

way out

is that

by the

end of

next year

is to

see 500

people

attending

church

each week

here at

St. Paul's.

That's our

mission,

that's our

focus,

that's our

objective.

we are

praying and

laboring to

see people

come to

a saving

faith in

the Lord

Jesus,

not transferring

from another

church,

not interested

in that.

That doesn't

mean I'm not

interested in

you,

if that's

what you've

done,

I'm just

saying our

focus is

to see people

come to

know Christ.

Christ.

praise God

for the

person in

five o'clock

congregation

who responded

to back to

church Sunday

invitation,

went immediately

into Christianity,

explored and gave

their life to

Christ two

Sundays ago,

I think it

was.

Make a

commitment to

pursue this

goal in

2014,

here today on

Commitment

Sunday.

Notice also

our mother

church's

commitment to

establishing

believers in

the faith.

Again,

this is

something of

our heritage

and our

bloodline that

we want to

emulate today.

In verse

22 we see

the church in

Jerusalem gets

a wind of

all that's

happening in

Antioch and

so they send

one of its

main men to

check it out.

And Barnabas

likes what he

sees,

verse 23,

when he

arrived and

saw the

evidence of

the grace

of God,

he was glad

and encouraged

them all to

remain true to

the Lord with

all of

their hearts.

You see,

he liked what

he saw,

but his

concern was

to nurture

this young

multicultural

church in

Antioch.

And in

verse 25 we

see he brings

in extra help

to make sure

it happens

effectively.

It says,

then Barnabas

went to

Tarsus to

look for

Saul.

That's about

a 160

kilometer

journey.

And when

he found

him, he

brought him

to Antioch.

And so for

the whole

year, Barnabas

and Saul

met with

the church

and taught

great numbers

of people.

Great numbers

of people were

taught.

And what were

they taught?

Acts 20

Acts 20:27

verse 27

leads me to

believe that

they were

taught the

whole will

of God.

The emphasis

on establishment

is again seen

in chapter 14

verses 21 to

23 where the

missionaries are

returning from

the first

missionary journey

and it says

they were

strengthening the

disciples and

encouraging them

and appointing

elders.

I want to

suggest to you

that everything

that this church

is and does

here at

Antioch comes

back to God's

grace and the

fact that they

were well

established in

the truth and

they were

growing in

maturity in

Christ.

People coming

to know

Jesus is not

the only reason

we exist.

We want to

see people grow

into maturity

in Christ and

becoming more

like him.

We want to

see people

standing firm

and secure

in Christ.

Barnabas'

desire for the

church at

Antioch is

for them to

remain true to

the Lord with

all of their

hearts and that

ought to be our

desire as well.

And that's why

our missionary

objective is not

just to have

500 people

sitting in

church but to

see growth in

core membership

to 150.

As I've said

a number of

times,

core membership

is really

simple and

practical.

It's just a

visible expression

that I as an

individual are

living out what

we value here as

a church.

That's all it

is.

Devotion to

prayer,

Christ-centered

Bible saturation,

humble authenticity,

treasuring Jesus

together,

servant leadership,

radical generosity,

local and global

impact.

commitment.

And so here on

Commitment Sunday

2013, make a

commitment to

grow in those

core values next

year.

And especially to

grow deeper in

knowing and

treasuring Jesus by

saturating yourself

in the scriptures.

notice too that

there is an

attitude expressed

here in the

Barnabas-Saw

relationship at our

mother church that

would have impacted

the way that this

whole church served

and I believe we

need to follow in

their footsteps here

something of our

bloodline that we

need to emulate.

Barnabas is not an

apostle but he is

one of the main men

in the Jerusalem

church.

Barnabas' goodness

was expressed in

his generosity of

the church in

chapter 4 and

also in him

sticking out his

neck to commend

Paul to the

apostles in

chapter 9.

But here we find

something I think

even more beautiful

than chapter 4 and

chapter 9 because

Barnabas would soon

yield his

preeminence to

Paul.

Barnabas was

older.

Barnabas was

more respected,

more widely known

and in many ways

he was way more

experienced than

Paul.

But when he

asked Paul to

come and help

him in Antioch

in verse 25

and when they

later commenced

their missionary

journey together in

chapter 13,

Paul began to

play a greater

role than

Barnabas.

It begins with

Barnabas and

Saul and

soon it

becomes Paul

and Barnabas

and it

stayed that way

to the end.

Barnabas to

Paul was like

John the

Baptist to

Christ.

He must

become greater,

I must become

less.

And it

wasn't because

Barnabas is like

I'm a little

old now,

it's retirement

time,

need someone to

come and fill the

shoes that I've

been running,

ministries I've

been doing.

What I see

here is an

attitude of

humility and

an attitude of

strategy.

In Acts

Acts 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9 we

read of the

miraculous conversion

of Saul.

God then says

this about

Saul in

verse 15 of

Acts 9,

this man is

my chosen

instrument to

carry my name

before the

Gentiles and

their kings.

And at the

end of

chapter 9,

Barnabas is

the one who

takes Saul to

the apostles and

commends him

for all that

he's been

doing.

And so

Barnabas must

have known that

it was Paul's

calling to be

apostle to the

Gentiles.

And here is

Barnabas now in

Antioch seven,

eight years

later with all

these Gentile

conversions

surrounding him

and he must

have thought

Paul's the

man.

This is

Paul's domain.

This is what

Paul has been

set apart to

do.

And so

Barnabas

puts his

ego to one

side and

allows Paul

to rise up

over him.

all for the

sake of the

word of God

increasing and

spreading.

It is a

glimpse of

genuine

humility and

it's a glimpse

of gospel

strategy and

it's a glimpse

of sacrificial

leadership.

You see

when Paul

and

traveled with

Barnabas to

heathen Antioch

they were the

original dynamic

duo before

Batman and

Robin came into

being.

They

complemented one

another beautifully.

Barnabas

soft,

gentle,

pastoral,

heart,

son of

encouragement,

known for

that.

Paul,

sharp,

legal mind,

argue with

anyone.

They

complemented

one another

beautifully

thanks to

the expert

orchestration

of the

Spirit of

God.

Barnabas

sensitive,

empathetic,

gracious,

Paul had a

brilliant hone,

razor sharp,

lawyer's

intellect and

together the

Spirit of

God worked

together

powerfully

and together

humbly

appreciating one

another,

they were

almost

inconquerable.

And so I

want to

encourage you

as

Commitment

Sunday

2013,

make a

commitment

to use

your gifts

to serve

the body

of Christ

and to

serve with

this kind

of heart

and this

kind of

strategic

thinking,

a heart

that says

whatever

serves the

advancement of

the gospel

through this

place,

I will do

it even if

it means I

step down.

Notice also

our mother

church's

commitment to

generosity,

again this

is something

of our

heritage and

our bloodline

that we

must emulate

today.

Verse 27,

during this

time some

prophets came

down from

Jerusalem to

Antioch,

one of them

named Agabus

stood up and

through the

Spirit predicted

that a severe

famine would

spread over the

entire Roman

world.

this happened

during the

reign of

Claudius,

the disciples

each according

to his

ability decided

to provide

help for the

brothers living

in Judea and

this they did

sending their

gifts to the

elders by

Barnabas and

Saul.

Luke's main

concern here in

letting us know

this is not so

much the

fulfillment of

Agabus'

prophecy as

with the

generous response

of the church

in Antioch.

There was a

need and they

responded.

They gave to

the need each

according to

his ability is

what it says

there.

I want to

suggest to

you that

generosity is

a plain

biblical principle

and generosity

should characterize

the family of

God as it did

right in our

very beginning

as a church in

Acts 2 in the

way they shared

with one

another.

I was really

encouraged and

significantly

challenged by a

pastor who

said recently

that he and

his wife made

a commitment to

grow in

generosity every

year of their

marriage.

Every year of

their marriage.

And under God

they made a plan

to increase the

percentage of

what God gave,

what they gave

away year by

year to

ministry, to

all sorts of

other needs.

And after many,

many years of

marriage, they

are now giving

away 94% of

all income that

comes in.

Friends, we

need to see the

opportunity that God

has given us in the

wealthy West to

meet needs and

demonstrate the

character of our

generous God.

And what we

are doing here

today in

pledging off a

tree and making

gifts to see the

word of God

increase and

spread is in

our heritage.

Way back,

way back to our

origin in Antioch

in first century.

Also happens to be

in our heritage.

It supports

Chatswood.

It says here

that voluntary

subscriptions,

payable any

time during the

year to the

stipend and

building funds,

are earnestly

solicited from

all those

desirous of

assisting in

the movement.

That is, the

movement of

seeing the

gospel go to

Chatswood.

It is

decided on

here that no

bazaars, sales

of works or

morning teas

be resorted

to obtain

funds.

It is

hoped that

every member

of the

congregation

will at

once notify

their promise

of subscriptions.

Generosity

is in our

heritage.

And so make

a commitment

to see the

word of God

increase and

spread and be

generous in

2014.

Let me just

take you to

I think one of

the most

wonderful and

heartwarming and

almost throwaway

statements in

this passage and

I think it

serves as an

overarching statement

to describe our

mother church.

It's found, it's

almost, it is a

throwaway line

almost but

nothing's ever

really thrown

away in the

word of God.

It is found at

the end of

verse 26.

The disciples

were called

Christians first

at Antioch.

In the first

century Antioch,

back first

century, Antioch

was a melting

pot of at

least five

different cultures.

People came

far, to live in

Antioch, people

came as far away

as China to

live in the

Las Vegas of

the Roman Empire.

It was known

for two things,

its chariot

races and its

deliberate pursuit

of pleasure.

Antioch was

most famous

in terms of its

pursuit of

pleasure for

its worship

of the

goddess Daphne.

Apollo's

famous pursuit

of Daphne

was reenacted

each night

by the men

of Antioch

pursuing

the Daphne

temple

prostitutes.

Every night.

And throughout

the world,

the morals

of Daphne

was a

euphemism

for depravity.

A depravity

that has its

centre at

Antioch, a

city of

sensuality and

depravity.

And if you've

been reading the

local papers

recently, you'll

notice that we've

got a whole lot

of brothels

in Chatswood

and Crowsnest

and it is

becoming the

red light

district of

Sydney.

It's astounding.

And the

church at

Antioch

was like a

flower growing

in a putrid

bog, a

patch of

lush grass

in a desert,

a gospel

vitality now

burned in

the sensual,

depraved,

materialistic,

spiritual darkness

of Antioch.

Antioch.

And this

new church

which had

formed in

Antioch,

this flower

in the bog

was so

completely

foreign to

the bleak

environment

that it

altered the

vocabulary of

the city

and from

there the

world.

When God's

people live

for Christ

in such

depth and

power that

those who

round them

have to

strive for

a new

term to

describe what

they see,

that's

astounding.

Now perhaps

there's a

jesting and a

mocking edge

to the

nickname,

perhaps there's

even a little

bit of rage

because these

people were

such a

contradiction to

the ethos of

Antioch.

The new

term which is

part Greek

and part

Latin was a

mongrel name

but it

said it

all,

Christian,

followers

of Christ.

Christ was

so much on

these believers

lips,

they lived

so like

Christ that

no other

name would

do.

Followers

of Christ.

Alexander

the Great

once learned

that in

his army

was another

Alexander

who was a

notorious

coward and

Alexander the

Great,

as you would

hopefully know,

conquered the

then known

world at the

age of 23.

He called

this young

coward before

him and he

said,

is your name

Alexander and

are you named

after me?

And the

trembling coward

said,

yes sir,

my name is

Alexander and

yes I was

named after

you.

And the

Great

General looked

at him and

said,

then either

be brave or

change your

name.

Fortunately

Christ

doesn't say

that to us

but he does

call us to

be who we

are.

In two

Sundays,

it will be

112 years

since our

first services

here in

the mission

field of

Chatswood.

St. Paul's

was once upon

a time a

young,

newly founded

North Shore

Antioch.

And praise

God that in

its 112 years

there has

been generosity

and mission

orientation and

servant

hardness and

it's been

disciple making

church.

church.

But we

also know

something of

those things

have been

lost or

not as

sharply

focused as

it could

have been.

There were

more people

in church

112 years

ago than

what there

are here

today.

And as

we launch

into the

future,

my deep

commitment

is for us

to emulate

our mother

church's

vision and

passion and

commitment to

display Christ

where he has

placed us.

Imagine if

there was

such a

Christ-centered

spiritual dynamic

operating amongst

us that it

caused for

people to

reach for

a new

name.

And that

is what we

are committing

to today.

We are

simply committing

to live out

who we say

we are.

We are

committing to

be worthy of

the name

Christian in

2014.

So let's

commit together

to know

Jesus and

treasure Jesus

and represent

Jesus for

God's glory

and the

joy of

all people.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Our

gracious

Father,

help us

to be

loyal,

brave,

committed

followers of

Christ who

refuse to

turn back,

who dare to

stand firm

and to

make Christ's

name known

to all

around us,

who desire

to shine

the light of

the glory

of Christ

in the

dark world

of Chatswood.

Enable us

with your

spirit,

by your

spirit that

we might

have such

confidence and

joy in

Christ that

it might

overflow into

a growing

commitment to

live out our

purpose as

your children.

and we

ask that you

would open

us to new

horizons of

your expansive

purposes in

this world.

Save people

and build your

church for

your glory.

Amen.