15th Sunday after Trinity 2024

We have been this summer in the third book of the Psalter.

Now we return to our series in Acts.

Now the last time we were in Acts was, I think in the spring.

It's been some time. We wrapped up in Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

We're going to continue on in Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

Going forward, we'll have a number of these for you.

If you remember them, or maybe you still have them at home,

these are the Acts Scripture Journals.

They're our gift to you. We'll have a big stack of them at the back.

But really, they're just simple ways to follow along.

Chapter and verse on the left, lines on the right.

So I'll be following along with this.

And next week, I encourage you to follow along as well.

Brotherly love is a mark of Christianity.

It has been from the very beginning.

It is, in fact, the very thing that has always marked God's people,

the community of God's people.

It's brotherly love, brotherly affection.

Care for one another.

We read in the summary of the law,

to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The second commandment, like it, to love your neighbor as yourself.

It is the hallmark of both testaments.

So to be a member in the Church of Christ is to belong to a family

where God is our Father, Christ is our big brother,

and then we have siblings, so to speak, in the faith with one another.

This is what it means to be a child of God,

all of which, of course, we are animated by the Holy Spirit.

Three gods, or three persons, one God.

Consider some of these verses.

I read already Leviticus 19, 18.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your people,

but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the Lord.

John 13, 34-35.

This is from Christ himself.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,

just as I have loved you.

You also are to love one another.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.

And then the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 12 says this in verse 9.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Let love be genuine.

Abhor what is evil.

Hold fast to what is good.

Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

This is the thing that knits us together more than hobbies,

more than certain affinities we may have.

It unites us more than our socioeconomic status,

even our ethnicity and culture.

By the way, it's fantastic to find connections through all of those things.

But to be a part of God's family is to be marked by the love of God

and the love of each other, regardless of those things.

As we go back into Acts chapter 11,

Acts 11 · chapter mention

we will return to Cornelius' house.

In fact, we'll return to the story of Cornelius.

And if you remember back, I think it was in February or March,

when we were last in Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

But if not, a bit of a reminder.

The Apostle Peter is in Joppa.

He is in some kind of dream state.

And he sees this sheet that is descending.

And upon it are all sorts of unclean animals.

And this voice from heaven says,

rise up, kill and eat.

Peter, the good, pious, law-keeping Jewish man says,

not a chance.

I've never touched any of this my whole life.

The vision happens three times.

And then he realizes this isn't so much about food,

but this is about unbelievers,

Gentiles, non-Jewish people.

And then the story goes,

messengers, as he woke up,

messengers met him.

And he went with them north some miles

to Cornelius' house.

Cornelius being a non-Jewish God-fearer

who comes to faith, him and his household.

And now Peter is back in Jerusalem.

And he is giving this report to the church.

And the church, you'd think,

are fist-pumping, they're excited.

But we see something quite different.

Brotherly affection needs to mark the church.

And it sounds great until you realize

how dang hard it is,

how difficult it is to love one another

in the way that Christ commands.

In fact, we are hardwired in many respects

to not show brotherly affection,

or at least not brotherly affection far and wide,

but very, like I said,

in those hobby groups or the affinity groups,

or with people of just our ethnicity,

or people of just our culture,

or people of just our means.

It doesn't come easy.

We are people that do not build bridges of connection.

We like to fortify our lives around the walls

where people can't really get in.

It's safety.

But to love like our big brother Christ

means to sacrifice like him.

Therefore, brotherly affection,

it requires the following.

It requires a sacrifice of status.

It requires a sacrifice of time,

and finally, a sacrifice of resources.

We could spend a few weeks in chapter 11.

There is a lot to glean from,

but in putting this together,

this theme of brotherly affection

and the obstacles to that came out.

So that's what we're going to jump into this morning.

So if you have a Bible,

follow with me,

chapter 11 of Acts,

starting in verse 1.

We'll read shortly.

But before we get into that,

we'll look into the sacrifice of status.

So what does it mean,

what do I mean when I say

the sacrifice of status

needs to be

a hallmark of brotherly affection?

The Jewish people,

they somehow endured,

if you know your Old Testament,

if you know your biblical history,

somehow endured through countless,

it seems,

falling away from God,

being given over to their enemies,

exiled,

being foreigners in a foreign land,

having huge,

huge portions of the population

killed or carted off.

And what ends up happening

by the time Jesus comes about

is that the Jewish people

have become

really cagey around Gentiles.

Israel,

at the time,

is ruled by Rome.

Before that,

they had some autonomy.

Before that,

they were,

they had the might of Greece

upon them.

They don't like foreign powers.

They're not big fans of Gentiles.

They're cagey,

to say the least.

And what ends up happening through that

is that

being God's people

becomes synonymous

with being a Jew.

This is in the first century.

This isn't what the Bible

is talking about.

So,

what ends up happening

is that

if you want to be

a worshiper

of the one true God,

you have to

convert

to become a Jew.

It's not the case

in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament,

there's

many instances

where

people outside

of the people of Israel

come

to worship

the God

of Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob

through faith.

It was always God's plan.

In fact,

the whole purpose

of having this chosen people

is to be a light

to the nations

so that they see

that there is one true God

so that they may come in.

If you,

if you remember

the prophecy of Isaiah,

Isaiah 56,

Jesus quotes it

that

that the temple of God,

the house of God,

is supposed to be

a house of prayer

for all nations.

Interestingly,

Gentile

is the word

for nations.

Not so in the first century.

So what ends up happening

is

Jesus dies,

he rises again,

he meets with the disciples,

he is with them

for weeks,

and before he ascends,

he says to them,

listen,

you're going to be my witnesses

to Judea,

to Jerusalem,

Judea,

Samaria,

and what does he say

at the end?

To the ends of the earth.

They hear him.

They have their marching orders,

except that they are,

they are people of their time.

They are first century Jews.

First century Jews

are cagey around Gentiles.

So,

we have a whole family

of Gentiles

that comes to faith.

And Peter is excited.

He has had visions,

he has seen the Holy Spirit

fall upon them,

and now he is going to

report back to the church.

And now we'll jump in

to verse 1

of Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

Now the apostles

and the brothers

who were throughout Judea

heard that the Gentiles,

that is Cornelius

and his family,

also had received

the word of God.

So when Peter

went up to Jerusalem,

the circumcision party,

that is just to say

that Jewish Christians,

the circumcision party,

criticized him,

criticized him,

saying,

you went to uncircumcised men

and ate with them.

You went to people

that were unclean

to the Gentiles.

I'll pause there quickly.

Like I said before,

it is not a bad thing

to find affinity

with people

that share the same culture

and language

and ethnicity

and likes

and hobbies,

even people

that have the same

kind of work situation

as you.

It's not a bad thing.

But it certainly

is a problem

when it's at the exclusion

of connecting

and loving

and being with people

that are different than you.

The exclusion of others

on purpose

is a problem

to keep people

at arm's length

who we do not aspire

to be like

or people who

we fear

would hamper

our ambitions.

It's a problem.

Like I said,

we're fantastic

at building

fortifications

around us

rather than bridges

towards others.

But just in case

we decide

that reverting

such a bad posture

of our heart

is easily done,

let's just pause

for a second

and take in

how the leaders

of the Church

of Christ reacted

when people came

to faith.

Verses 1 to 3.

They said,

what on earth

are you doing

associating with them?

You see,

to overcome

the tribalism,

to overcome

the prejudice,

to overcome

that those people

are ick,

it's not just

a behavior modification.

It's not just

a,

I'm going to take

some classes

and maybe work

through some

of my own prejudice

all fine.

Not saying it's bad.

Not saying it's bad

at all.

Fine things.

But you see,

that assumes

that the behavior

is only skin deep.

It's only just

beneath the surface

when the reality

is,

is that this

prejudice

runs really

all the way

to the core

of who we are.

Again,

remember,

the Church

has got

explicit

marching orders

from Jesus.

And not only that,

these are some

of the disciples

that walked with Him

so that

they would

remember

the parable

of the Good Samaritan.

They would

remember about

the Syrophoenician woman.

They would remember

instances where

non-Jewish people

came to faith

and how Jesus

welcomed them

into the kingdom

as a foretaste

of what was to come.

And yet,

they still

had this

very,

very

raw reaction,

this ungodly

reaction.

So how does

God respond?

How does He

respond

to their

heart?

They want to

maintain their

status as the

unclean,

circumcised

people of God

not connected

to those Gentiles.

How does God

deal with

this problem?

And simply put,

it's with kindness

and mercy

and love.

God

provides

not a chastisement

but proof

to the Jewish

Christian leadership

in Jerusalem

that the church,

it's not

something that

they can

take or leave

with Gentiles

coming in

but it is

a non-optional

reality

and in fact

it will be

something that

will mark

the church.

Every tribe,

language,

and tongue

will bow

a knee to

Christ.

In his

commentary

on Acts,

John Stott,

who was

an Anglican

in England,

a fantastic

commentator,

he described

four instances

of God's

merciful

provision

of proof

that

the Gentile

conversion

was legitimate.

Verses 4 to 10,

I'm just going to

totally just

take it for

myself here.

Verses 4 to 10,

he talks about,

John Stott is,

he talks about

the divine vision

of the sheep

given three times

as proof

to Peter.

Again,

not once,

three times,

thick skulls,

right?

It takes,

it takes,

you know,

maybe that's a

hallucination

the first time,

the second time,

man,

I must have been

dreaming,

the third time,

it seeps in.

Three times

he was given

this vision

in this dream-like

state

where God

spelled it out

to him.

Let no man

call unclean

what God

has,

is what God,

or what is it?

Let nobody

call unclean

what God

calls holy.

He's talking

about his people.

The second thing,

verses 11 to 12,

the divine command

to follow the messengers

who arrived

at the very moment

the vision

sunk in

with Peter.

The timing

was impeccable.

Again,

if you have time

afterwards

or remember

back in March

or whenever

we were reading

through it

in Acts 10,

Peter wakes up

from the vision

and this group

of people

have made

the hours

and hours

and hours

long journey

arriving at

the same time.

No coincidence.

Impeccable

divine timing.

The third,

verses 13 to 14,

the divine message

that Cornelius

received from the angel

was preparing him

to hear

the message

of salvation.

It's not just

that Peter

had a vision.

He went up

to Cornelius' house

proclaimed

what was happening

and Cornelius

considered it

fantastic

but no,

God was already

at work.

This is a part

of the story.

And then finally,

verses 15 and 16,

the divine action

of God himself

that confirmed

the entire thing

as Peter

was proclaiming

the gospel,

the Holy Spirit

fell upon Cornelius

and his whole household

and then all of a sudden

we see

with the Gentiles

what happened

with the Jews

in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

The exact same way.

The section even says

that

verse 17

and onward

it says this.

This is Peter

talking

at the end

of his recounting

of everything

that happened.

If then God

gave the same gift

to them

that is Cornelius

the Gentiles

as he gave to us

when we believed

in the Lord Jesus Christ

who was I

that I could stand

in God's way?

Verse 18

When they

that is the church

in Jerusalem

the leadership

when they heard

these things

they fell silent

and they glorified God

saying

then to the Gentiles

also God

has granted repentance

that leads

to life.

The Gentiles

came to faith.

No more

Jewish supremacy

or at least

Jewish caginess

towards the Gentiles.

And legitimate

repercussions

of this

almost certainly

if they were

to embrace

this is the

Jewish church

to embrace

the Gentiles

that would put them

at odds

with their own people.

They had to

suspend

their desire

to maintain

their status

within their community

in order to show

brotherly love

and affection

and to welcome

in these Gentiles

into the one

true church

of God.

So brotherly affection

does not put status

above love.

It must include

the breakdown

of prejudice

and suspicion

based on ethnicity

and language

and background

and all sorts

of other

socioeconomic

things

and

everything

that will

divide

it needs

to be

shelved.

It recognizes

that all flesh

needs redemption

and therefore

all earthly status.

However good

is only temporary

and not eternal.

So the Apostle Paul

when he's actually

addressing

the Apostle Peter's

relapse

into this thinking

if you

will see

farther down

and eventually

if we get into

Galatians

we'll see this

that Peter

who is this

championing

of Cornelius

and the Gentiles

coming into faith

he relapses

into this idea

of

they're unclean

I'm clean

and Paul

addressing it

in Galatians

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

says this

for as many

as you

were baptized

into Christ

have put on

Christ

there is

neither

Jew

or Greek

there is

neither

slave

or free

there is

neither

male

or female

for you

are all

one

in Christ

Jesus

and if

you are

Christ

then you

are

Abraham's

offspring

heirs

according

to the

promise

which

isn't

to say

that

there are

no

distinctions

amongst

us

is that

the

distinctions

do not

serve

any purpose

anymore

in terms

of

your

worth

image

bearers

saved

by

Christ

baptized

into

him

putting

him

on

therefore

it is

Christ

who

defines

us

from

here

on

out

but

that

can't

happen

we can't

show that

kind of

brotherly

love

and affection

to one

another

if we

are trying

to maintain

some kind

of status

as the

Lord

provided

divine

proof

for the

legitimacy

of Gentile

inclusion

the church

was now

positioned

and willing

to show

brotherly

affection

not just

to Cornelius

and his

household

but to

any

Gentile

that would

come to

faith

and that's

exactly what we

see in the

next section

this is the

section that

Margaret read

Acts 11

19 to

26

and this

leads us into

the second

portion

so we

looked at the

sacrifice of

status but

now the

sacrifice of

time

Acts chapter

Acts 8 · chapter mention

8 again

if you want

to kind

of go

back

and read

it

Stephen is

the first

martyr and

a part of

his martyrdom

part of that

martyrdom story

was that the

church

they fled

a bit of a

side note

but it

would seem

that it's

totally okay

at times

to not

stand and

be martyred

but there

is a place

for fleeing

martyrdom

in this

case it

led to

the

proclamation

of the

gospel

well well

well well

well past

the boundaries

of Judea

and Samaria

we'll

read in

actually I'll

skip over

that part

but basically

the gospel

then goes

because the

people scatter

the gospel

also scatters

to Lebanon

what is

modern day

Lebanon

that's

Phoenicia

Cyprus

and to

Antioch

Antioch being

the third

largest city

in the Roman

Empire

at the

time

the capital

of the

Syrian

state

so the

church

now knowing

that God's

will for

his church

is to include

the Gentiles

hear of

what has been

happening in

Antioch

and what

they do

is fantastic

for they

send their

best and

brightest

to nurture

and to

fan and to

flame that

faith

if you

look with

me

verses

21

to

24

we

read

about

Barnabas

and the

hand of

the Lord

was with

them

and the

great number

who believed

turned to

the Lord

the report

of this

came to

the ears

of the

church

in Jerusalem

remember

the same

ears

that heard

about

Cornelius

and called

him

unclean

and they

sent Barnabas

to Antioch

when he

came and

saw the

grace

that is

Barnabas

when he

came to

Antioch

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

the son

of encouragement

goes to

Antioch

not to

heap

upon

this young

church

demands

but to

encourage

them to

remain

faithful

to the

message

and call

of the

gospel

another

side

note

this

and other

instances

would suggest

that

the biblical

model

of the

church

of church

governance

is not

highly

independent

local

churches

but that

there is

one

church

connected

to

different

bodies

our

expression

is

with

a

bishop

that

is

an

overseer

over

a

number

of

different

churches

but the

point is

and it

works out

in other

polities

as well

but the

point is

there's no

individual

churches

left on

their own

to fend

for

themselves

in this

case the

church

in

Jerusalem

HQ

hears

about

it

they want

to help

and that's

exactly what

they do

they send

their best

and their

brightest

Barnabas

to do

just that

and Barnabas

doesn't show

up

give them

a manual

say hey

listen

10%

tithe

on the

first of

every month

at this

bank account

shekels

please

okay

figure it

out

no no no

he stays

there for

a full

year

in fact

it's even

longer

because he

was there

for a

certain

period of

time

he

leaves

because he

sees that

the need

is actually

greater than

that he

can meet

himself

he gets

Saul

who is

also

the

apostle

Paul

they travel

to Antioch

and they

stay there

for a

year

they teach

they guide

they encourage

the church

in

Jerusalem

is without

one of

their chief

encouragers

a pillar

in the

church

and it

kind of

it helps

us to see

that if

we are to

show brotherly

love and

affection

it's going

to cost

us time

it means

saying no

to things

that we

enjoy

for the

benefit

and the

sake of

others

our status

isn't just

the only

thing that

is sacrifice

but our

time

as well

and as

we get

older

time is

a precious

and finite

commodity

I just

browsed

through this

article

this week

the BBC

really long

might be

worth reading

it but

they asked

the question

why does

time seem

to go

slower

for children

and not

adults

there's like

a whole

series of

scientific

studies

that they

do a

survey

on

but as

we get

older

we see

that time

is finite

and it

zips by

way too

fast

ten weeks

of the

summer

gone

gone

this is

September

9th

September

8th

it's

gone

it's

going to

be

Christmas

around

the

corner

time

is

precious

and yet

we are

called

to sacrifice

it for

the love

and benefit

of those

around us

what more

precious

thing

can we

offer

than

time

it's

never a

waste

of time

to be

an

instrument

of God

to help

a brother

or sister

in need

here

Barnabas

he is

recognizing

the grace

of God

at work

in the

church

and that

the Lord

desires

him to

participate

in that

encouragement

I guess

the question

for us

is

where we

recognize

the grace

of God

at work

or at

least

God's

desire

to use

us

as his

chosen

instrument

in a

specific

situation

are we

willing

to say

yes

to it

here's

the tough

bit

the sacrifice

gets even

harder

when

you are

giving

of your

time

and it's

not

appreciated

or

when

the gains

that are

made

are lost

or at

least they

seem to

be lost

a progression

in terms of

people growing

in the faith

seldom is

like this

it's more

like this

and sometimes

it's like

way down

here

and sometimes

it continues

to go

sky high

and then

goes down

again

but the

point is

if you're

walking with

somebody

if you're

helping them

out

there's

times

where you

feel like

you are

wasting

your time

I'm tired

of this

Christine and

I have

very dear

friends

they're

lifelong

missionaries

in France

they've been

there for

some 40

years

they planted

three churches

and they're

godly people

I think the

biggest church

they've ever

had is

like 50

people

France is a

tough place

David

he has

gone through

bouts of

depression

being on

the mission

field

and he

tells a

story about

how he

was in a

low spot

ministry

fruit of

ministry

was not

happening

people were

coming to

faith but

then leaving

the church

he was super

discouraged

and he says

to one of

his daughters

he says

I'm sick

of wasting

my life

for French

people

and then

his daughter

says something

remarkable

she goes

dad you're

going to

waste your

life on

something

it might

as well

be for

the French

but like

not as a

joke

but like

it kind

of brings

tears to

your eyes

because

the economy

of God

is not

like our

economy

right

it's not

in productivity

minutes

it's seeing

the hand

of God

at work

which we

can't see

in its

totality

but he

can

from the

beginning

to the

end

and he

knows

which

direction

it's

going

in

and in

the end

he delights

in us

showing

brotherly

affection

and love

to those

when we

sacrifice

our time

it's not

a waste

love for

each other

animated by

our love

for the

Lord Jesus

Christ

and empowered

by the

Holy Spirit

it has to

fuel our

service

in the

times

especially

when we

give up

our

time

because

we will

become

hardened

and cynical

but I'm

telling you

that this

brotherly

affection

this time

spent

is what

the world

is desperate

for

what we

are desperate

for

if you

poke around

the internet

for not

very long

you'll see

there's this

whole

kind of

like niche

maybe not

so niche

anymore

but this

big

kind of

subsection

of the

internet

of young

men

especially

searching

for meaning

searching

for connection

searching

for purpose

and we

are commanded

not optional

we are

commanded

to love

in a

brotherly

way

to give

up of our

status

and of

our time

to waste

our lives

on people

we give

up our

status

we give

up our

time

the last

bit

we give

up our

resources

this is

the final

section

verses 27

to 30

let me

read it

here

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

we're not

going to do a deep

dive into this

section

we're not really

even going to

talk about

Agabus at

all apart

from me

just saying

we're not

going to

talk about

Agabus at

all

but with

time

brotherly love

requires our

riches and

our resources

it's an

improper

thing

to try

to buy

affection

through

gifts

but

authentic

love

will always

cost

something

it will

always cost

something

if you say

you love

somebody

but you

withhold

generosity

it communicates

that at

best your

love is

very weak

and shallow

at worst

you don't

love

when you

love

somebody

you are

generous

or you

attempt

generosity

it's the

same with

brotherly

affection

amongst

each other

so remember

the widow's

offering in

Luke 21

her affections

are turned

towards the

Lord

she loves

God

she gives

to coins

it's nothing

but to Christ

he says she

has given

much more

than everybody

else

because our

sacrificial

giving of

our resources

and riches

according to

our ability

this is what

it says here

according to

their ability

it's instructive

to where

our allegiances

and affections

lie

what's interesting

is that Christ

talks about

money

often

it is something

that seems

to be always

on his lips

in his teaching

and it's

connected

to the

things

that we

really love

we invest

in things

we want

to see

grow

and the

things

and people

that bring

us

enjoyment

we invest

in those

things

it's

no problem

for us

to spend

money

on things

that we

enjoy

the command

here

is to

spend

money

on people

because

they are

enjoyed

by God

to help

and receive

help

in monetary

ways

are essential

in the

exercise

of brotherly

love

if you

remember

last week's

gospel reading

it was a

it was a

story of the

good Samaritan

the parable

of the good

Samaritan

famous the

world over

why

because it's

radical

generosity

not out of

compulsion

but because

of love

we see where

the Samaritan's

heart is

in that story

this is what

brotherly love

ought to look

like

so

love one

another

give to one

another

give of your

time but also

give of your

resources

give to the

church

give to

missions

give to

mercy

ministries

give to

those

who you

know

need

aid

give

generously

according

to your

ability

but also

I would say

be ready

to receive

it is

it's far

better to

give

than to

receive

but it's

also far

easier to

give than

to receive

or maybe

not

I think

maybe for

the majority

of us

because to

receive

feels like

charity

and I

don't want

to be

the object

of charity

learn to

receive as

well

another point

and then we'll

move on to

the conclusion

is just

this

who is

giving

this

gift

to

of charity

to the