The Rise of the Christians

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Dear Father,

we thank you for calling us into your family,

rescuing us from sin and death,

giving us eternal life,

this joyful fellowship we share with you

and with one another, your people.

We humble ourselves once again before your Word.

We have come to worship you.

We pray for you.

To pledge our allegiance once again to you

and to your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

We want to hear from you

in the reading and preaching of God's Word

that we might know how,

as one church,

we might build up one another.

We pray for conviction

that you lay on each and every member's heart

a specific way you are calling him or her

to build up this body

and use their gifts.

And we pray that you'd impress deeply upon us

our sense of dependence on you

and our interdependence

with each other

as members of the body of Christ.

Speak to us.

We are listening to you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Acts chapter 11, verses 19 to 30.

Acts 11:19–30

Now those who were scattered

because of the persecution

that arose over Stephen

traveled 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 on coming to Antioch

spoke to the Hellenists also,

preaching the Lord Jesus.

And the hand of the Lord was with them,

and a great number who believed

turned to the Lord.

The report of this came to the ears

of the church in Jerusalem,

and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

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.

For he was a good man,

full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

And a great many people

were added to the Lord.

So Barnabas went to Tarsus

to look for Saul,

and when he had found him,

he brought him to Antioch.

For a whole year,

they met with the church

and taught a great many people.

And in Antioch,

the disciples were first called Christians.

Now in these days,

prophets came down

from Jerusalem to Antioch,

and one of them named Agabus

stood up and foretold by the Spirit

that there would be a great famine

over all the world.

This took place in the days of Claudius.

So 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.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

When I was a student

at the Sovereign Grace Pastors College,

there was a class on church planting,

and we were learning about

how best,

some of the best practices

for planting a church,

starting a new church

in an area where there's no church.

And we had several instructors,

and one of them was someone

who leads a denomination

and that has been,

by all appearances,

very successful in planting churches.

And he said something

that was surprising

and has stuck with me.

He said,

quote,

it's easy to plant a church service,

but it's hard to plant a church.

What he meant by that was this,

that it's easy to find

a gifted speaker

or someone with a charismatic personality,

team them up with a team

of gifted musicians

and graphic artists,

and put together

an impressive service.

And when you do that,

when you have an attractive product,

an appealing product,

it's not hard to get consumers.

People come.

It's not hard to get a crowd.

But if you want more than consumers,

if you want a congregation

of people who have deep relationships

with one another,

if you want people who love

and serve one another,

in other words,

if you want to plant a church,

not just a church service,

that takes the hand of God.

That's why it says in verse 21

that the hand of the Lord

was with them.

That's why it says

in chapter 11, verse 23,

that the grace of God

was evident among the Christians

there in Antioch.

It takes,

on top of that,

all the various members

of the body of Christ

pitching in

and using their gifts

to build up the church.

That's what the church

is meant to be.

And that's what we see here

in Acts 11,

Acts 11:19–30

verses 19 to 30.

Some of you might have wondered

at times,

you know,

what can I possibly do

to serve Christ and His church?

There are so many other gifted people,

so many other mature people.

What can I possibly do

for this church?

Well, if you are a member

of this body of Christ,

then you do have a role to play.

God has given you,

in particular,

gifts that this specific body needs.

In this passage,

we see believers

serving in many different ways.

We see evangelists speak.

We see apostles established.

We see shepherds exhort.

We see teachers teach.

We see prophets prophesy.

And we see disciples give.

And the main point

of all of this is

that Luke is trying

to convey to us

is that the church grows

as its interdependent members

partner and serve together

in the grace of God.

The church grows

as its interdependent members

partner and serve together

in the grace of God.

First, we see the evangelists

speak in verses 19 to 21.

We already saw in chapter 8

how believers were scattered

by the persecution

that broke out against the church

after martyrdom of Stephen

had the effect of actually

spreading the gospel abroad,

pushing the believers

out of Jerusalem and Judea

to Samaria,

where the Samaritans,

kind of a half-Jews,

were living.

The great scattering

of the church by persecution

led to the great spread

of the gospel

by those very same believers.

And we see the same phenomenon

happening here

in verses 19 to 20.

It says,

Now those who were scattered

because of the persecution

that arose over Stephen

traveled 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 on coming to Antioch

spoke to the Hellenists also,

preaching the Lord Jesus.

The word Hellenists

is the same word

that we saw in chapter 6

where the Hellenized

Gratian Jews

were in conflict with

and had a complaint

against the Jews,

the Hebraic Jews,

about the distribution

of food to the widows.

And in that case,

in that context,

the Hellenists

referred not to Gentiles,

for which we have

a separate word,

but to Jewish believers

who had been Hellenized,

Greek-speaking Jews,

Jews who were culturally

Greek,

Hellenist.

We know that

that was the case there

because the Hellenist Jews

are not contrasted

with the Greeks

and the Gentiles,

but they are instead

contrasted with

Hebraic Jews.

So it's Hellenized Jews

versus Hebraic Jews.

But here in chapter 11,

the Hellenists

are not contrasted

with other

Hebraic Jews,

other Jews,

but he's contrasted

in general with Jews.

It's the Hellenists

versus the Jews,

not the Hebrews

versus the Grecian Jews.

So this here

is an ethnic division.

It's referring to

the actual Greeks,

the Gentiles.

So some of the believers

who had been scattered

by the persecution

that broke out

against the church

went about spreading

the gospel

to no one except Jews.

That was what

most of them were doing.

However,

some of them

who on coming to Antioch

spoke not only

to fellow Jews,

not only to Hellenist Jews,

but also to the Greeks,

the Gentiles.

The Gentile mission

of the church

didn't begin in earnest

until chapter 10

when Peter preached

the gospel to Cornelius.

And so then

these believers

who were preaching

Jesus among the Greeks,

they were doing so

after that

has already happened.

So then,

not only did the persecution

led by Saul

lead to the gospel

spreading to Samaritans,

it's now going

to the end of the earth,

to among the Gentiles also.

And this is a wonderful reminder

of God's sovereignty

to all of us.

And it's a great comfort

to me personally

because when there are

setbacks and disappointments

in ministry,

just like the persecuted church

in Jerusalem experienced,

we need not

to hang our heads

in despair

because of God's

sovereign work

in and through

all of that.

What we might see

as regression,

as a disappointment,

we must remember

that God might not

see that way

because we don't see

personally all that

God himself is doing.

We have seen

similar patterns

throughout church history.

One notable one

is when Constantinople

fell to the Muslim Turks

in 1453.

It looked like

the end of Christendom.

The Byzantine Empire,

Constantinople,

was the heart,

the capital

of the Byzantine Empire

which was the cultural

and political center

of Christendom.

And however,

what happened

with that

was the church

which was back then

an empty shell

in a lot of ways

was exposed

and the conquest,

the Islamic conquest

of Constantinople

pushed a lot

of the Eastern

Greek-speaking

biblical scholars

to the West,

to the Latin-speaking West.

And when that happened

they brought their

original Greek manuscripts

of the New Testament

with them.

And at the time

there was

kind of a

scholarly revival

happening

called Back to the Sources.

They were trying

to go back

to the sources

of the teachings

and the things

that they were learning

and the Christians

likewise

were trying to go

back to the sources.

Let's go back

to the scriptures,

to the original scriptures

and see

what is taught.

See what we're

supposed to believe.

See how we're

supposed to live.

And because

of this new influx

of the original manuscripts

of the Greek New Testament

people were seeing

things that they were

never taught before.

They were seeing

things again

recovering these doctrines

that were lost.

And that led

to the Renaissance

and more particularly

to the Protestant Reformation

which led to

an unprecedented

period of

restoration

restoration

and recovery

and renewal

in the church

and sparked

some much needed reforms.

Similarly,

when our hard work

appears to come

to nothing,

we have to remember

that God is still

sovereignly at work.

Maybe some of you

have been sharing

the gospel

with an unbelieving

friend of yours.

She seemed

really open to it

until they suddenly

turned

and seemed to have

closed the door

on the gospel.

Maybe

some of you

have experienced

setbacks within

your respective

ministries that you

serve in the church.

You thought the team

was growing and thriving

but then

you lost some people,

there were some

disagreements on how

to go about things

and now you feel like

there's been a setback.

Maybe you were discipling

or personally ministering

to someone,

to another believer

in the church

and you thought you

had taken two steps

forward

but now you feel like

you've taken three steps

backward.

Whatever the case

might be,

don't be discouraged.

Remember that God

is at work in ways

that you do not see.

We can keep

on plowing,

keep on sowing,

keep on praying,

keep on speaking

the word

knowing that God

is at work in ways

we can't discern.

Note also the emphasis

on speaking the word

in verses 19 to 20.

Some of the scattered

believers traveled

as far as Phoenicia

and Cyprus

and Antioch

speaking the word

to no one except Jews.

But there were some

of the men of Cyprus

and Cyrene

who on coming to Antioch

spoke to the Hellenists

also preaching

the Lord Jesus.

Gospel ministry

involves speaking.

If you want to see

your family,

friends,

and neighbors

saved by Jesus,

you must speak

the word of Jesus.

There's a famous saying

that is often attributed

to Francis of Assisi

goes something like this,

preach the gospel

at all times,

when necessary,

use words.

It's an appealing sentiment

because we all

squirm a little bit

at the thought

of having to break out

of our comfort zones

to share the gospel

and actually speak it

to somebody.

The reality is

Francis of Assisi

never said such a thing.

The quote is actually

a misleading paraphrase

of what Francis

actually said.

And this is the actual quote,

No brother should preach

contrary to the form

and regulation

of the Holy Church,

nor unless he has been

permitted by his minister.

The minister should take care

not to grant this permission

to anyone indiscriminately.

All the friars,

however,

should preach

by their deeds.

Far from saying

that the preaching

the gospel with words

is usually unnecessary,

he was so concerned

with ensuring

that the preaching

of the gospel

is done faithfully,

he was trying

to stop friars

who were doing it poorly

while still encouraging

them to live

in a manner

worthy of the gospel

until they can be

properly trained

and authorized

to do so.

He believed

that preaching the gospel

with words

was of utmost importance.

If news can be spread

without words,

there would be no need

for newspapers

and news anchors.

The good news

that Jesus

is the messianic king

sent by God

to save us,

that he died on the cross

for our sins

and was raised

from the dead

for our justification,

that if we repent

of our sins

and believe in Jesus,

we can be saved,

that we can receive

the Holy Spirit

and have eternal life.

This good news

cannot be conveyed

by deeds alone.

The good news

of Jesus Christ

must be spoken.

And the people

we must speak

the word of Christ

to are all the nations,

all peoples.

Though some of the

Jewish Christians

spoke the word

to no one except Jews,

others of them

spoke to the Hellenists

also.

They crossed ethnic lines

and preached the gospel

to the Greeks,

the Gentiles also.

And this latter group

of Christians

who spoke to the Hellenists

are commended

in verse 21.

It says,

And the hand of the Lord

was with them,

and a great number

of who believed

turned to the Lord.

God blessed their ministry

so that a great number

of Greeks believed

and turned to the Lord.

For decades now,

what missiologists call,

scholars of missions theology,

called the homogeneous unit principle,

has dominated Christian thinking

about missions

for decades.

A proponent of that principle

famously encapsulated

the principle

when he said,

quote,

men like to become Christians

without crossing racial,

linguistic,

or class barriers.

For this reason,

he argued that Christians

should evangelize

within existing cultural lines

and social networks

because that's when

the church grows the fastest.

However,

there's a big difference

between saying that

this is the way

things often are

and saying that

that is the way

things should be.

The fact that

that's the easiest

and fastest way

to do things

or to grow a church

does not mean

that that is the best

way to do things.

When applied,

the homogeneous unit principle

has meant

evangelizing along

racial lines

in America,

along tribal lines

in Africa,

along economic lines

in South America

and along caste lines

in India,

and so on.

In contrast,

however,

throughout the book

of Acts,

we see believers

proclaiming the gospel

to all people,

Jews and Gentiles,

men and women,

slave and free,

rich and poor,

without partiality,

without distinction.

In fact,

the very breaking down

of the dividing wall

of hostility

between Jews and Gentiles

that Paul speaks of

in Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

is a distinguishing mark

of the church.

This is why

theologian Edmund Clowney

has gone so far

as to say

that the point

at which human barriers

are surmounted

is the point

at which a believer

is joined to Christ

and his people.

Here in verses 19 to 20,

we see that

while the scattered

Jewish Christians

spoke the word

to no one except Jews,

some of them

spoke to the Hellenists

also.

Unless someone

crosses racial

and ethnic

and cultural

and socioeconomic

boundaries

to speak the word

of Christ,

the gospel will never

reach all the nations.

And that's

our explicit commission

from our Lord.

Make disciples

of all nations.

Be witnesses

of Jesus Christ

not only in Jerusalem

to the Jews

but also to

all Judea and Samaria

among the Samaritans

and also to the end

of the earth

among the Gentiles.

We are called

to bear witness

not only to people

who are of our own

culture only,

of our own language

only,

of our own race

only,

of our own

socioeconomic class

only,

but to all

peoples.

Evangelists

speak the gospel

to all.

And note that

these evangelists

are everyday Christians.

They were not

one of the twelve

commissioned in Acts 1.

They were not

even one of the seven

commissioned in Acts 6.

In fact,

these evangelists

are not even named.

We don't even know

who they were.

But nonetheless,

they spoke

the gospel

to these Greeks

and the hand

of the Lord

was with them

and a great number

who believed

turned to the Lord.

There are evangelists

among us

in our church

as well.

I know that

some of you

are doing

one-on-one

Bible studies

or book readings

with other friends

who are unbelievers,

sharing the gospel

with them

in that context.

I know that

some of you

are considering

going into

cross-cultural missions

as witnesses

for Jesus Christ.

May you do so

more and more.

May God raise up

more evangelists

from our midst

and let us

remember that

evangelism is not

something that's

received for only

gifted evangelists

but something

that every Christian

is called to do.

And it says

in verse 22

that when,

the report of this

came to the years

of the church

in Jerusalem,

they sent Barnabas

to Antioch.

That's my second point.

The apostles

established.

It seems that

the twelve apostles

based in Jerusalem

were responsible

for authorizing

and incorporating

new congregations

to the larger church.

So in the same way

that they sent

Peter and John

as delegates

to Samaria

in Acts 8,

14 to 17,

this time

they delegate

the task

to Barnabas

who travels

to Antioch.

And then as we see

in the following verses,

Antioch in turn

recruits Saul

for his ministry

in Antioch

and it says

in verse 26

that for a whole year

they met with the church

and taught

a great many people.

In our context,

modern day,

this looks a lot

like the extra-local

denominational leaders

who play this kind

of role sometimes

for churches.

For example,

our regional

denominational leaders

ensure that the pastors

that we are ordaining

as a local church

uphold the Sovereign Grace Church's

statement of faith.

And they help us

by administering

some of the ordination exams.

When we plant

the new church

in partnership

with our denomination,

Sovereign Grace Churches,

they offer not only

financial assistance,

they also help

in assessing

and training leaders.

Sometimes they send

members of their church

to be a part

of our church plants.

This kind of partnership

that extends

beyond the local church

provides accountability

and protection

for local churches.

We just had the privilege

of having

a leader in our denomination,

a pastor from

a sister church

in this past weekend,

Andy Farmer,

to equip us

and encourage us

this past weekend.

And as a pastor,

I personally derive

a lot of encouragement

through these kinds

of inter-church relationships.

So in this way,

evangelists speak the word

and apostles establish

the church.

Third,

shepherds exhort.

Look at verses 22 to 24

with me.

It says that

when the report of this

came to the ears

of the church in Jerusalem,

they sent Barnabas

to Antioch.

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.

For he was a good man,

full of the Holy Spirit

and of faith.

And a great many people

were added to the Lord.

Barnabas was the perfect choice

really for sending to Antioch

for several reasons.

First,

we know from Acts 4.36

that Barnabas

was a native

of Cyprus himself.

Since the Jewish believers

who preached Jesus

to the Greeks

in Antioch

were men of Cyprus

and Cyrene,

it is possible

that Barnabas

already knew

some of these believers

and had a relationship

with them.

Secondly,

we also know

from Acts 4.36

that Barnabas' actual name

was Joseph,

but that he was nicknamed

Barnabas,

which means

son of encouragement.

He was a man

known for encouraging

and exhorting

those around him.

Remember when Paul

returned to Jerusalem

after his conversion

because of his history

of persecuting the church,

rounding up Christians

and putting them into jail

and getting them killed?

The apostles

were understandably

wary of them

and at that time

when they were not

willing to take the risk

and bring Paul

into their midst,

it was Barnabas

who went and grabbed Saul

and brought him in

and introduced him

to the apostles.

And later,

in Acts 15,

we'll also see

that when Saul

or Paul,

his Roman name,

when Paul insists

on not taking

John and Mark

along with them

on their missionary journey

because formerly

John and Mark

had deserted them,

it's Barnabas

who insists

on giving John and Mark

a second chance.

Barnabas was a man

who always

thought the best

of people.

He always saw

the good

in people.

He encouraged

people in it.

And that's precisely

what Barnabas does

in verse 23.

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.

the word

translated

exhorted

is the verb

form of the word

encouragement

in Barnabas,

son of encouragement.

I'm sure

this new church

in Antioch

was not perfect

just like

every other church

that's ever existed.

Particularly

considering the fact

that this included

Greek converts

who were really new

to this whole

faith,

Jewish faith

or the Christianity.

they were probably

doing a lot

of things wrong.

They probably

were clueless

about a lot

of things.

But nevertheless

it says that

when Barnabas

came and saw

the grace

of God

he was glad.

However imperfect

this church

may have been,

Barnabas acknowledged

the grace

of God

at work

among them.

He saw

that they were

genuine believers

and he was

gladdened in his

heart because

of it.

and he exhorted

them to be

faithful to the

Lord with

steadfast purpose.

Though uncertainties

and doubts

can creep

into the minds

and hearts

of young believers

especially new

believers,

Barnabas exhorted

them to be

unwavering in

their faith

in the Lord.

I thank God

that we have

many such

encouragers

in our church.

I've personally

been built up

by and encouraged

by some of you

when I've been

discouraged at times.

And I've heard

of many instances

of you all

counseling one

another,

comforting one

another,

exhorting one

another.

I pray that you'll

do so more

and more.

And that God

would raise up

more and more

people like

Barnabas in

our church,

sons and

daughters of

encouragement.

Let's be a

people who

even in the

midst of

difficulties,

even in the

midst of

disagreements

and conflicts,

a people who

can see the

grace of God

at work in

each other,

who can celebrate

that and thank

God for that,

encourage one

another in that.

But how can we

become more like

Barnabas?

Verse 24 tells us

why Barnabas was

the way he was.

It says,

for he was a

good man,

full of the

Holy Spirit

and of faith.

good.

The word good

is an adjective

that is particularly

associated with

God throughout

the scriptures.

That's what Jesus

says in Mark

10, 18,

no one is good

except God

alone.

Barnabas was a

good man,

meaning he was

a godly man.

He exemplified

the goodness of

God in his own

dealings with

others.

He was a man

of integrity.

He was also full

of the Holy Spirit

and of faith.

He was not

controlled by his

own impulses

and selfish

desires.

He was controlled

by the Spirit

who indwelled him.

And the power

of the Spirit

of God was

evidenced in his

ministry in

whatever he did.

He was also

full of faith.

Barnabas was not

a man who did

things merely

by what he

could see,

how he felt.

He's someone

who acted

and made decisions

according to

what he believed,

what he knew

to be true

through his

faith in the

Word of God.

Barnabas was

an effective

encourager and

bridge builder

in this church,

not because he

had mastered

some strategy

of making

friends and

influencing people,

but because he

was a good

man,

because he

was a godly

man.

There is no

shortcut or

silver bullet

to spiritual

power.

If you want

to empower

people,

you must be

empowered by

the Holy Spirit.

If you want

to produce

praying disciples,

you must be

a man and

woman of

prayer yourself.

Let's pray

that we might

be filled

with the Spirit

more and

more,

as Barnabas

was,

to come under

his influence

and power

more and

more,

to come under

the influence

of God's

Word more

and more,

so that we

too might be

good man and

woman who

can encourage

and build

up others.

And as Barnabas

is serving this

way in verse

24,

he says,

a great

many people,

more people

are added

to the Lord.

My fourth

point is this,

teachers teach.

The addition

of great

many people

produced some

new needs

in this new

church in

Antioch,

and others

needed to

step up

to fill

the void.

He says

in verses

25 to 26,

so Barnabas

went to

Tarsus

to look

for Saul,

and when

he had

found him,

he brought

him to

Antioch.

For a

whole year

they met

with the

church and

taught a

great many

people,

and in

Antioch the

disciples were

first called

Christians.

Barnabas

traveled to

Tarsus to

recruit Saul

for his

ministry in

Antioch,

and Saul,

it appears,

was a

particularly

effective

teacher.

Later in

Acts 14,

12,

we learn

that when

Barnabas

and Saul

are traveling

together on

their missionary

journeys,

Saul came

to be known

as the

chief speaker,

likely because

he was

maybe more

knowledgeable

about the

word or

theology or

because he

was a

more effective

teacher.

this is an

important aspect

of being a

part of the

church.

When Jesus

commissioned his

apostles in

Matthew 28,

18 to 20,

he didn't

merely command

them to

baptize people.

He told

them to

teach them

to observe

everything I

have commanded

you.

Discipling

others does

not end with

conversion.

It doesn't

end with

baptism.

It continues

with teaching

everything that

Jesus has

commanded us.

So it's

reductionistic and

simplistic to

say, well, I

believe the

gospel and

that's all

that matters.

There's

something wrong

with the

baby that

doesn't grow

after being

born.

Likewise,

there's

something wrong

with the

Christian who

is born

again through

faith in

Jesus Christ

by the

Spirit of

God and

yet does

not grow

in faith

and obedience

to his

or her

Lord Jesus

Christ.

teachers are

a gift to

the church

given by

God to

instruct us

in the

will of

God.

Once again,

I'm grateful

for the

teachers that

God has

placed in

our midst.

There are

many people

among us

who are

gifted to

study the

Bible deeply

and then to

communicate the

findings clearly.

I pray that

God will

bless all of

you to do

so more and

more for

his glory as

well.

Fifth,

prophets

prophesied.

It says in

verses 27

to 28,

Now in

these days

prophets came

down from

Jerusalem to

Antioch and

one of them

named Agabus

stood up and

foretold by the

Spirit that

there would be a

great famine over

all the world.

This took place

in the days of

Claudius.

A group of

prophets came

down from

Jerusalem to

Antioch and

they used

their gifts to

minister to

the church

there, the

new growing

church in

Antioch.

Agabus was

one of those

prophets.

He was a

highly gifted

and a

prominent prophet

in the early

church.

We'll encounter

him again later

in Acts chapter

Acts 21 · chapter mention

21.

And it says

that he

foretold by

the Spirit

that there

would be a

famine, great

famine over

all the world.

The phrase

over all the

world doesn't

literally refer

to the entire

globe, but is

a phrase that

is often used

in ancient

literature to

refer to the

entire inhabited

world known at

the time or

to the Roman

Empire more

narrowly.

And Luke

adds an

editorial note

here to

confirm that

the famine

did indeed

occur in

the days of

Claudius,

which was

between 41

and 54

AD.

Other

historians

corroborate that

this famine

did take

place.

It was a

widespread

famine that

encompassed

Egypt, Syria,

Judea, and

Greece during

45 to 47

AD, which

would have

been about a

year after

Agabus'

prophecy.

And this

prophecy enabled

the church in

Antioch, which

was wealthier

than the church

in Judea, to

collect and

send relief to

the saints

there, the

brothers living

in Judea.

Prophecy is a

gift of the

Holy Spirit by

which a

believer receives

and then

communicates

divine revelation.

And the

purpose of it is

to build up the

church, as it

says in 1

Corinthians 14.

Prophecy is not

something that

adds to the

salvific content

of Scripture.

Scriptures, as it

says in 2

Timothy 3.15, are

able to make us

wise for salvation

through faith in

Christ Jesus.

Prophecy doesn't

add anything to

that.

It's not something

that is normative

and authoritative for

all Christians at

all times in all

places.

Rather, prophecy

has a more

specific circumstantial

content.

For example,

Agabus'

prophecy applied to

people in that

particular place

at that particular

time.

It does not

apply to us.

Similarly, when

people prophesy in

our church, it's a

prophecy that's given

in that particular

time to this

particular people

to build them up.

Prophecy was not

something that our

church was

historically strong

in.

But 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14:1

chapter 14,

verse 1,

teaches us to

pursue love,

and earnestly

desire the

spiritual gifts,

especially that

you may prophesy.

So that's what we

did.

We invited a team

of prophets from

a sister church in

our denomination to

visit us a couple

years ago.

They preached for

us and did a

prophecy seminar for

us, which was a

powerful time of

ministry for many

of you who were

able to participate.

We prayed

earnestly that God

would impart and

distribute the

gifts of prophecy

more liberally among

us.

And he has

answered that

prayer to a

large degree.

not only has

God brought in

new people who

have the gifts

of prophecy,

he has also

raised up from

our own midst

people with

gifts of

prophecy.

I'm so thankful

for many of you

who use your

gifts to build up

our church in

this way.

You have been

hearing regularly

from these

prophets, people

with gifts of

prophecy during our

church services.

many of you have

not heard from

other prophets in

our church who

also have strong

gifts of prophecy,

some of whom have

not been able to

come during COVID

during extenuating

circumstances.

But I look forward

to, I can't wait to

have you all hear from

them also, Lord

willing, in the

near future.

Sixth, disciples

give.

It says in

verses 29 to 30,

so 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.

The disciples of

Jesus Christ in

Antioch determined

everyone according

to his ability to

send relief to the

brothers living in

Judea.

From the very

beginnings of the

church here in

Acts, we see that

the early church,

there was inter-church

partnership among

them.

Christians in the

early church didn't

have the attitude of,

well, I care about

my own local church

and nothing else.

They were partnered

with each other

and served each

other.

We see this in the

repeated mentions of

other believers'

travels and the

act of sending out

believers to other

churches throughout

this passage.

Verse 22, they

sent Barnabas to

Antioch.

Verse 27, now in

these days prophets

came down from

Jerusalem to

Antioch.

Verse 29, the

disciples determined

to send relief to

the brothers living in

Judea.

And finally, verse 30,

they did so, sending

it to the elders by

the hand of Barnabas

and Saul.

The more theologically

mature and spiritually

gifted congregation in

Jerusalem sent others

who were gifted from

their church to minister

to the burgeoning church

in Antioch.

And likewise, the new

church in Antioch,

which was more

financially wealthy,

better off, then sent

financial gifts to the

church in Judea in order

to help them in

anticipation of the

famine in a time of

need.

I've seen you guys do

this also time and

time again.

I've seen many of you

give generously to the

needs of this church.

I remember last year

when in a span of two

weeks, each of you gave

according to your own

ability and we

collected $20,000 toward

the COVID emergency

fund.

which we have now

designated as part of

our benevolence fund to

help the needy saints

among us.

Over the last four years,

we have given a

cumulative sum of

around $40,000 to

Sovereign Grace

Churches, our

denomination, much of

which has been used to

help needy sister

churches and to plant

new churches throughout

the U.S. and abroad.

In partnerships like

this, we can accomplish

more toward Christ's

mission than we can on

our own.

And I pray that God

will help us to do so

and lean into these

partnerships more and

more in the future.

Notice that the word

church is used twice in

this passage.

First in verse 22,

where it refers to the

church in Jerusalem.

Second in verse 26,

where it refers to the

church in Antioch.

This shows that the

church in Antioch,

made up of new Greek

believers, is just as

much a church as the

original church in

Jerusalem, made up

primarily of Jews,

Jewish converts.

There may be multiple

congregations, multiple

local churches, but there

is one universal church.

Though many of the

believers in the church

in Antioch likely have

never met the believers

in the church in

Jerusalem, they still

call them brothers in

verse 29, out of their

recognition that they are

members of the same

family of God.

Christians all over the

world look different and

they talk differently.

We have many differences

among us.

Christians in the south are

very different from the

Christians in the north.

Christians in Africa and

Asia are very different

from the Christians in

Europe.

But we must remember that

Christ binds us all

together by one spirit.

He says at the end of

verse 26 that in Antioch

the disciples were first

called Christians.

I love that little

insertion by Luke, the

historian here.

The form of the word

Christian suggests that it

was a word that had Latin

origins, which means it's

not a term that the

Christians adopted for

themselves.

rather it's a term that

others label them with,

probably the Romans.

It may well have been a

derogatory term, which

started as the church was

starting to establish

itself among the Greeks.

Now that there were Greek

converts joining the church,

they can no longer just

call Christianity a Jewish

sect.

They were like, what do we

call these guys?

Oh, let's call them

Christians, since they

follow that guy that they

call the Christ.

But the Christians

embraced that label.

Because they were proud

to follow a man named

Jesus, who is the Christ,

the Messiah, the King,

the Son of God, who died

to save them and was raised

from the dead victoriously.

A couple years ago, I met

a Christian chaplain at a

prominent university.

It was like a gathering

for ministers.

And he was supposed to be

a Christian chaplain for

this university, but he

not only denied the death

and resurrection of Jesus

Christ, he expressly

refused to call himself

a Christian.