Acts 11

I was speaking at some meetings yesterday and what happened is what always happens when I go to speak at a meeting.

! I finished speaking, singing the final hymn, I go and stand somewhere, people come and talk to me.

And one of the first questions I'm asked is, Levy, it's a Jewish name, are you Jewish? Are you Jewish?

And the answer to that question is I don't really know, yes and no. The Levy family tree is a bit of a mystery.

We don't really know where the kind of Jewishness comes from but it's certainly there at some point.

And I wonder if you've ever done any work on your family tree.

And lots of us are interested in our ancestors, aren't we?

We like to know the stories of our family.

We like to know where does our name come from.

And Acts chapter 11 verse 26 tells us that it was in the city of Antioch in the middle of the first century AD that the name Christian was first used.

Acts 11:26

So Acts chapter 11, here is a piece of our heritage.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

That word is used, isn't it, all over the world today.

And it's used for those who follow Jesus Christ.

We are Christians and we meet with Christians all across the globe today.

And that name is traceable back to a certain time and a certain place in Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

And so this is a chapter, Acts 11, that should have some historical significance for us.

But I want to suggest to you it has far more significance than that.

Because this chapter not only tells us where our name comes from, but it tells us where our faith comes from.

And where our life comes from as Christians.

And it gives us vocabulary to talk about.

Vocabulary is so important, isn't it?

How you speak about something.

What you describe something as.

And we're going to think about what vocabulary this chapter leaves us with this morning.

The chapter is in two halves.

And then I want us to look at the major theme and then trace out the implications.

So verses 1 to 18 of Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

Is the work of God in Peter.

Chapter 10, do you remember that?

It tells us the story of Cornelius coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

And receiving the spirit of God along with his whole household.

And this was significant precisely because Cornelius was a Gentile, a non-Jew.

He wasn't a Jew.

And so chapter 10 is like a Gentile Pentecost.

It's like a rerun of Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Because the receiving of God's spirit in Acts chapter 10 marks the beginning of the next stage of Jesus' mission.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

The gospel is not only going to be for Jerusalem and Judea.

But through Samaria.

And as we get to the ends of the Acts, we'll see it goes out to the ends of the earth.

And chapter 10 though is not the story just of one conversion, is it?

But it is two conversions.

It is the story of how Peter, the apostle, his mind was changed.

It was changed in terms of how a Jew like him was meant to relate to a Gentile like Cornelius.

Previously, Peter wouldn't associate with Gentiles.

Wouldn't go into their homes.

Wouldn't eat with them.

But chapter 10 tells us that God persuaded Peter.

And he started to live and think differently.

Because the gospel, the good news of the Lord Jesus, was being received by the Gentiles.

And since they were receiving the spirit of God as well, the Jews needed to receive the Gentiles.

And so, the first half of chapter 11, Peter retells the story.

And he does so for a specific reason.

Because his actions were now being criticized by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

Do you remember when Peter first saw that vision of a sheet coming down from heaven?

And all sorts of animals on it.

He's told, get up, eat the unclean animals.

And his response was, surely not, Lord.

Well, that is exactly how the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem are reacting to him.

You're eating with uncircumcised Gentiles in their homes.

Surely not, Peter.

Listen again to chapter 11, verse 1.

Now, the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea

heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God.

So, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him.

saying, you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.

Circumcision party is a group of people.

It's not an event.

Alright?

It's a far better joke than I was giving credit for.

It's a terrible party to go to.

Right.

At this point, Peter sympathizes, doesn't he, with his critics.

Completely.

And when they articulate their criticism of him,

it's exactly where he was a short time before.

His mindset has changed.

They're still there.

Their mindset was his mindset until very recently.

So, he knows that he needs to explain to them how his mindset's changed.

That's exactly what he does.

Look at verse 4.

Peter began and he explained to them in order.

He told them about the threefold vision that he had.

And then the three men from Caesarea.

And then he told them about the meeting he had with Cornelius.

And the coming of the Spirit to the Gentile household.

And all that text that we have from verses 5 to 15

is really a repetition of what chapter 10 is.

Except this time it's from Peter's perspective.

But when we get to verse 16, there's a little bit of new information.

He says,

I remembered the word of the Lord, the Lord Jesus.

How he said,

John the Baptist baptized with water,

but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

And so, Peter is saying,

what happened in chapter 10

was in fulfillment of what Jesus had predicted.

He's come to see that the baptism that matters most

is not the baptism with water,

but the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Which God performs.

And water baptism is a sign

of that Holy Spirit baptism

that God brings to every believer.

It was the coming of the Spirit

to these Gentiles that really clinched it for Peter.

And now he's hoping that

that will clinch it for his critics too.

So in verse 17,

he says this,

if then God gave the same gift to them

as he gave to us

when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,

who am I to stand in God's way?

Do you get Peter's logic?

Right, he's saying,

if the Spirit of God

has come upon these people,

then the whole thing

is from God

and who am I to object to it?

And when Peter says that,

it's actually pretty pointed,

isn't it?

Because he's not just saying,

is he,

who am I to stand in God's way?

He's speaking to his fellow leaders in Jerusalem

and he's saying,

who are you to stand in God's way?

That's his explanation

to those who just couldn't fathom

that he started eating with Gentiles.

He says,

God has showed him

that he needed to stop

keeping his distance from the Gentiles

and so does every other Jewish believer.

And of course,

Peter's explanation

has exactly the effect

that he desired.

Verse 18,

and when they heard this,

they had no further objections.

They praised God,

saying,

so then,

even Gentiles,

God has granted repentance

that leads to life.

This is the fruit

of Peter's explanation.

The other Jewish leaders,

they are persuaded

that God has granted life

to the Gentiles through repentance

and there's no room

for any Jewish person

to prevent them

from being welcomed

as part of the family of God.

And not only did they accept

this new conviction,

they praised God

for what he had done.

As one writer puts it,

their criticism ceased

and their worship began.

That's the first half of the chapter

where we see the work of God in Peter

and it becomes the work of God

right the way through

the Jerusalem elders.

But then in the second half

of the chapter,

the focus shifts

to the work of God

in Antioch.

The work of God

in Antioch.

It's a largely Gentile city

and in order to set the scene

for what happens in Antioch,

Luke first has to go back

to tell us how the gospel

got there in the first place.

Do you remember

the martyrdom of Stephen?

It's recorded in chapter 7

and what followed

in chapter 8 verse 1

is we're told that

as a result of Stephen's death,

the believers are scattered.

They're terrified.

They run.

They're scattered all over

Judea and Samaria.

They fled

and they escaped from Jerusalem

and they ended up

in other places

and what did they do

when they got there?

They shared the gospel of Jesus

with people who hadn't heard yet.

Once again,

can you see

the sovereign wisdom of God

that he even uses

the persecution

of his people

to spread the news

of the Lord Jesus?

What Luke tells us here

is that these scattered believers

turned up in cities

as far away as Antioch

and these scattered believers

told other Jews

about the Lord Jesus

and some of them

even started telling

Greek people

about the Lord Jesus.

So verse 19,

can you look there?

Now,

those who were scattered

because of the persecution

that arose over Stephen

travelled as far as Phoenicia

and Cyprus

and Antioch

speaking the word

to no one except Jews

but there were some of them.

Men of Cyprus

and Cyrene

who weren't coming to Antioch

spoke to the Hellenists,

the Greeks,

also preaching

the Lord Jesus.

Well,

when the Jewish leaders,

when the Christian leaders

in Jerusalem

got wind of this

back in headquarters,

they are not

particularly happy.

and so they send

a delegation.

They send one of their own.

They send,

verse 22,

a man called Barnabas

down to Antioch

to investigate.

And Barnabas

is an interesting choice.

I'm not sure

if you've heard

the language

that people use

to respond

to innovators

in technology.

And so a new piece

of technology

comes out

and how do people respond?

There's different responses,

aren't there?

So some people,

when it comes to

new technology,

a new iPhone

or new iPad

or something comes out,

some people are said

to be early adopters.

And they love,

don't they,

trying out new gadgets.

There's people like that here.

And they love

trying out new ways

of doing things.

And then there's

another group

and people talk about

the early majority.

They get on board

with some

technical advance

once that technology

has gained

a little bit of traction.

And then there's

another group

that are called

the later majority.

They don't embrace

technology

until pretty much

everyone else has.

And then at the other end

there are

those who are

the phobics.

And they are the people

who are generally

allergic to any

kind of technological

change.

There's

the early adopters,

there's the early majority,

there's the late majority,

and then there's

the phobics.

And the reason

I'm telling you that

is because

when it comes to

what God is doing

in this period

of history,

the new thing

that God is doing,

Barnabas is an

early adopter.

Remember,

do you remember

he was the first one

to put his arm

around Saul?

When he came to

Jerusalem and all

the other Jewish leaders

are terrified of Saul,

Barnabas accepts him.

And now he goes

down to Antioch

to see what's happening

with the Gentiles there.

And instead of being

sceptical

or phobic,

he is

delighted.

He embraces

their newfound faith.

And verse 23,

it says,

when he came

and saw the grace

of God,

he was glad.

And he exhorted them,

encouraged them

all to remain faithful

to the Lord

with steadfast purpose.

And then Lucas

tells us

why he was

an early adopter.

It was because

he was in tune

with God's purposes.

Verse 24,

he was a good man,

full of the Holy Spirit

and of faith,

and a great

many people

were added

to the Lord.

And as that ministry

amongst the people

of Antioch

grew,

soon people realised

he couldn't do it

all on his own.

So he heads off

to Tarsus

and he brings Saul

along.

He brings him

back to Antioch.

Verse 26 tells us

they spent a year

together

teaching the church

in Antioch.

And as the church

grew,

people came up

with a new nickname.

These believers

are Christians.

The people of Christ

in Christ ones.

And then Luke

tells us

there's a third

arrival in Antioch

after Barnabas

and after Saul

comes.

There's a prophet

from Jerusalem

called Agabus

and he predicts

a worldwide famine.

A famine

that Luke tells us

did take place

in the years

that followed.

But the significant

thing is

how do the believers

in Antioch

respond to this?

To the prophecy

that Agabus brings?

And we read about it

don't we

in the last two verses.

Verse 29

the disciples determined

everyone according

to his ability

to send relief

to the brothers

living in Judea.

And they did so.

Sending it to the elders

by the hand of

Barnabas and Saul.

They give generously.

The church in Antioch

gives to

the church in Judea.

They want to help

their brothers and sisters.

They are connected.

There is a formal

connection there.

And so they pull together

and they send money

with Paul and Barnabas.

And as they head

back to Judea

it's a wonderful moment

in the story isn't it?

The Gentiles

whom the Jews

at the start of the chapter

wouldn't even spend

a meal with

are now caring

for the very people

who wanted to exclude them.

It's a stunning

reversal isn't it?

And it's another example

of the pattern

we've seen a few times

in Acts

of God's people

caring for one another

in need.

Except now

it includes the Gentiles

as well.

Gentiles loving

and serving Jews.

It's an evocative picture

of what the mission

of Jesus has accomplished.

The unity of Jewish

and Gentiles

in fellowship

and love

all together.

At the end

of the first half

of the chapter

the Gentiles

are receiving a gift

the gift of the Holy Spirit.

At the end

of the second half

of the chapter

the Gentiles

are the ones

giving a gift.

And the two

are inextricably linked.

Because what happened

in Antioch

was the work of God.

Just like what happened

to Peter

was the work of God.

And what happened

to Cornelius

and what happened

to those Jewish leaders

in Jerusalem

who did a complete

180 degree turn

it was the work of God.

And that I think

is the big theme

that ties together

Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

The work of God.

We hear about it

in the first half

of the chapter

with Peter.

The work of God

and then in the second half

of the chapter

we hear about it

in Antioch.

The word of God

that people are speaking.

People speaking to

seeking to persuade others.

People praying.

People going.

But what is accomplished here

is accomplished

under the Lord's hand.

And I want to remind you

of how Luke

underlines that.

So track with me

through this chapter.

What is it

that Peter explains

the 180 degree

that he has done

with respect

to the Gentiles?

He talks about

the vision

that he received

from God.

And then he talks

to us

about the messengers

that were sent

to him

by God.

And then he talks

about the spirit

of God

who told him

to go with these men

and the voice

that he heard

was the voice of God.

And he tells

the circumstances

in which God

was revealing himself

to Peter

while at the same time

working in another city

to reveal himself

to Cornelius

before bringing

the two together.

God's divine purpose.

And then he tells

about the spirit

falling on Cornelius.

The spirit

who unmistakably

came from God.

He makes the point

very explicitly

in verse 17.

He says that God

gave them the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

All the events

that Peter describes

are the work of God.

And then when

the Jerusalem leaders

reflect back to Peter

what they've just learned,

listen to the language

they choose.

Look at verse 18.

They say even

the Gentiles

God has granted

repentance to.

And when they heard

these things

they fell silent

and they glorified God.

Saying then

to the Gentiles

God

has also granted

repentance

that leads to life.

It's a pretty

interesting way

to speak about repentance.

Repentance means

when you turn away

from your own sins

and you turn back

to God.

You turn away

from going

your own way

to God.

It's what

every Christian

must do

to be a Christian.

The command

is to repent.

It's an action

isn't it?

It's a choice

to make.

And yet

the Jewish leaders

in the way

that they describe it here

they describe it

as a gift

of God.

The repentance

of the Gentiles

they say

has been

gifted to them

granted to them

by God.

Their repentance

their turning

was a gift

of divine

grace and favour.

And the language

is very deliberate.

Vocabulary

matters.

And then listen

to how Luke

describes what

happened in Antioch

when Jewish Christians

first turned up

there with the gospel.

There were believers

teaching in Antioch

and responding

of course

but once again

Luke chooses

his language

really carefully

and he focuses

on the way

that God's power

was at work.

The vocabulary

matters.

Look at verse 21

and the

hand of the Lord

was with them.

And a great number

of people who believed

turned to the Lord.

By the hand

of the Lord

the people

turned

to the Lord.

It was God

who changed

their hearts

and their lives.

And then finally

look how Luke

describes the reaction

of Barnabas

when he turns up

in Antioch

and he finds

all these Christians

there.

He came

and he saw

verse 23

the grace

of God

and he was glad.

It doesn't say

Barnabas arrived

and he saw

the scattered Christians

what they'd managed

to achieve

through their ministry.

He doesn't say

Barnabas arrived

and he saw

what the people

of Antioch

had done

by turning

to Jesus.

He says

Barnabas

arrived

and he saw

the grace

of God.

What God

had done.

He chooses

his language

very carefully.

Vocabulary

matters.

And we find

this language

being used

over and over

and over again

and it's carefully

chosen at every point

because Luke

the author of Acts

wants you and I

to understand

what this story

is about.

this book

is known

isn't it

as the Acts

of the Apostles

but we know

that it should

be known

as the Acts

of God

because the mission

of the Apostles

is the mission

of Jesus

and the birth

of the early church

is the work

of Jesus

and the spread

of the gospel

throughout the known

world at this time

is the plan

of God

fulfilled by God

in the power

of the Holy Spirit

and in the name

of his son

Jesus Christ.

What Acts 11

tells us

and what in fact

the whole book

of Acts tells us

is that God

is at work

in people's lives

and this chapter

is at pains

to point that out.

This chapter

chooses its vocabulary

really carefully

it's a chapter

about the work

of God

and the work

of God

continues to this day

and it continues

here

and all over

the world.

It continues

in our lives

in the lives

of people around us

so how do we

respond to it?

I want to finish

with four applications

alright

they're on your sheet

actually

I wrote them

under the sermon

because you won't

remember them.

Four suggestions

on the significance

of this chapter

for you

and for me.

First of all

believing and repenting

that is

the fundamental

work of God

in someone's life

and Acts 11

reminds us of that

look again

at verse 18

when they heard

these things

they fell silent

they glorified God

saying then

to the Gentiles

also God

has granted

repentance

that leads to life.

Verse 21

and the hand

of the Lord

was with them

and a great number

who believed

turned to the Lord.

If you are

trusting in the Lord

Jesus Christ

this morning

if you would

call yourself

a Christian

if you are

a believer

in the Lord

Jesus Christ

then this

work of God

must have

taken place

in your life

and given

it is a work

of God

you should

thank him

for it.

God

granted

you

repentance

and you

must resist

that temptation

to think

that your

relationship

with God

is something

that you've

initiated

you've

created

you deserve

and of course

the other

implication

is a sobering

one

that if you've

never believed

the gospel

if you've

never turned

from your sins

then you

cannot

rightly

call yourself

a Christian

because this

is at the

heart

of what

a Christian

is

someone

who turns

away

from living

from themselves

in order

to live

for God

somebody

who realises

that they

need the

Lord Jesus

that God

sent to

save us

and so

if you're

here this

morning

and you're

still

considering

what it

will mean

if and

when

you are

ready to

become a

Christian

what it

will mean

is it

will mean

believing

and repenting

it will

mean trusting

and following

the Lord

Jesus

and turning

away from

living for

yourself

and given

that this

is the

work of

God

the best

thing that

you can do

this morning

the best

way that

you can

move in

that

direction

is praying

this morning

God

please

give me

repentance

and faith

secondly

through trusting

and praying

because if

Acts 11

suggests that

people becoming

Christians

is a work

of God

then those

of us

who want

to see

people

become

Christians

need to

make sure

that we

don't get

too big

for our

boots

and we

need to

remember

that we

may well

try and

explain

the gospel

to others

and we

may try

and live

in a way

that shows

people the

love of

the Lord

Jesus

and we

may really

want people

to love

to share

our faith

I hope

that's true

but it

is God

alone

it is God

alone who

can ultimately

make that

happen

and so

we need

to trust

him

for his

work

and it

makes a lot

of sense

for us

to pray

about it

because

prayer

what is

prayer

prayer is

articulating

that we

depend on

God to

change

people

prayer is

our

admission

that we

can't

change a

person's

heart

prayer is

our plea

that God

would do

that

and God

alone

would do

that

and so

if you

want people

in your

life

and I

hope you

do

to repent

and believe

in the

Lord

Jesus

pray for

them

ask God

to work

in their

hearts

and if

as a

church

we want

our

church

to grow

for more

people to

come and

join us

for more

people to

grow in

their faith

to trust

the Lord

Jesus

we need

to pray

you may

or may

not be

aware of

this but

there are

thousands

and thousands

of books

written about

what they

call church

growth

strategies

every

Christian

wants to

see churches

grow

and in

the UK

at the

moment

there is

lots of

ink being

spilled

on

the way

you grow

churches

is actually

by being

better

organised

and lots

of structure

in place

and lots

of things

like that

but I

want to

remind you

that here

at IPC

and we

have one

primary

strategy

for growth

and

everything

else

is

secondary

to that

that is

we pray

we pray

because

we are

convinced

that people

becoming

Christians

is the

work of

God

and we

trust

him to

do it

thirdly

seeing

and

praising

I hope

you notice

that's what

Barnabas did

in this

chapter

he saw

and he

praised

and he

took time

to observe

the work

of God

and when

he looked

at the

lives

of the

people

that he

met

he was

filled

with joy

and he

worshipped

God

do you

remember

that when

he arrived

in verse

23

he saw

what the

grace of

God

had done

and he

was glad

and he

encouraged

them all

and so

surely

part of

what

the work

of God

in our

church

means

is that

we'll

do

likewise

it

means

I think

that we'll

actually

slow down

enough

to see

what God

is doing

by his

grace

and I

suspect

when we

do that

we won't

be able

to stop

being glad

because

one of the

privileges

of being

part of

a church

like this

is that

there are

examples

of the

work

of God

all around

you this

morning

and that

should

thrill

your

heart

one of

the

thrills

of being

part of

a church

family

is seeing

the signs

of God's

grace

and I

certainly

find that

thrilling

so for

example

we have a

couple in

our church

who in the

midst of

great

great

heartache

and sadness

have kept

loving the

Lord

God

do you see

what the

grace of

God

has done

we have

people sitting

here in

front of

me who've

come from

a background

that saying

it would be

dysfunctional

would be

putting a

very positive

spin on

it

but with

God's

grace

and help

they've put

their lives

back together

and they're

living for

God

do you see

what the

grace of

God

has done

there are

people here

who've

managed

to forgive

with

God's

strength

there are

people here

whose marriage

is hard

and it's

often hard

but they've

continued

over many

years to

faithfully

serve Jesus

and keep

trusting him

and stay

together

do you see

what the

grace of

God

has done

we have a

man in

our church

who a

number of

years ago

was completely

ignoring

God

and he

needed a

hand over

control of

his life

to Jesus

and he

did

he repented

he believed

and he

continues to

believe

and God

continues to

give him

victory over

his temptations

and addictions

do you see

what the

grace of

God has

done

we have

women in

our church

who would

love to

be married

but God

hasn't

opened that

door

and they

feel lonely

at times

but they

haven't

become

bitter

they've

devoted

themselves

to serving

and loving

God's

people

do you

see what

the grace

of God

has done

we have

people in

our church

who struggle

with chronic

anxiety

it's a very

heavy burden

to bear at

times and at

times it's

been overwhelming

but they've

surrendered their

life to the

lordship of

Jesus

and they

trust in him

to get them

through every

day

to keep

persevering

in all the

ups and

downs

to keep

growing

to keep

looking to

serve others

in whatever

way they

can

do you see

what the

grace of

God has

done

we have

teenagers

who are in

school and

have been

unashamed of

the lord

Jesus but

they are

outsiders

and they

don't fit

in and

they're given

a hard

time but

they bravely

stand for

him

do you see

what the

grace of

God has

done

we have

those for

whom grief

is a

daily

painful

companion

and yet

they keep

reading their

bibles and

praying and

trusting in the

lord Jesus who

is the

resurrection and

the life

they are

just

examples

there are

plenty more

stories sitting

around you

there are as

many stories as

there are people

sitting next to

you

and what I'm

trying to

what I'm

trying to

communicate is

this to you

sometimes we

just need to

open our

eyes to

see like

Barnabas did

and I'm

trying to

teach you that

language matters

vocabulary matters

because if we

get the

vocabulary right

seeing who has

really done

these things

amongst us

it will lead

us to respond

rightly with

praise

see what the

graces of

God has done

fourthly and

briefly and

finally remaining

true

remaining true

I look at

verse 23

this was

Barnabas's

message for

them keep

going stand

firm

having seen the

grace of God

in that city

he urged them

to never

depart from

that grace

instead he

pleaded with

them be loyal

to Jesus

with all of

your hearts

I think it's

when we see

how gracious

God has been

to us

that our

desire to

stick with

his grace

grows

and so the

risen and

exalted Lord

Jesus urges

you this

morning in

the same way

that Barnabas

urged them in

Antioch where

they were first

called Christians

our spiritual

forebears

saw the work

of God

and they

responded as

they should

and you and

I bear the

same name

we have the

same responsibility

and the same

joy

and having

seen God

work in our

lives

having seen

that our

repenting

and our

believing

is actually

God's gift

to us

having seen

his initiative

the fruit of

his power

having seen

his grace

and tasted

just how sweet

it is

he calls

on us

to stay

close to

him

to stay

true to

his grace

as verse

23 says

when he

came

and saw

the grace

of God

he was

glad

and he

exhorted

them all

to remain

faithful to

the Lord

with

steadfast

purpose

let me

pray for

us