A Christian Community

If you claim to be a Christian, and you analyze your life and it doesn’t revolve around Christ - then you’re out of God’s Will. Furthermore - whatever your life does revolve around, it is a god unto you - and you better be careful, for God just might take that little god out of your life altogether. (Career, Comfort, Family, etc)

So we’re talking about building a Christian Community. And we’ll be looking at this passage from two different aspects - the individual and the collective.

The principles that we see being attributed to the Collective (group) here in building up this church at Antioch is also true for principles in building up the individual.

That being said we’re going to look first at Christ Sent

I. Christ Sent

v19-20

They were Sent Forth (v20a)

In order for someone to be born again & before a Community can be established as a Christian Community, there first must be souls that are willing to be sent forth.

In our text, we see in v20 that some were men from Cyprus & Cyrene that went to Antioch. If you were to look on a map, you would see that Cyprus was an island off the coast in the Mediterranian, while Cyrene is over in the paw in Egypt. Antioch is north of the land of Israel.

My point is, they left what was comfortable, to a land far away.

They were sent forth

They Shared the Gospel (v20b)

Not only did they leave their homeland, but they shared the Gospel.

(Ill.) This past Wednesday on our prayer sheets I had this as one of the things to thank God for: ‘Thank God for sending souls to share the Gospel with us’.

I’ll say this: Sharing the Gospel isn’t easy - not in today’s society anyway. But I am so glad that God sent some who had the courage to tell me about Jesus! Think back for a moment. Who was it that shared the Gospel with you? Many of you probably heard it through your family, which is good. I wonder how many heard it from someone outside their family? Outside the walls of the church that their family brought them up in?

I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful that there’s some who are willing to step outside their comfort zone & tell others about Jesus!

They were sent forth & shared the Gospel

How is a Christian & Christian Community established? First because Christ Sent Witnesses for Him

II. Christ Submission

v20b-21

Now that the witnesses for Christ are sent forth, now we’re focusing on who they are sent to. We’re speaking of Submitting themselves unto Christ, so we’re talking about the lost souls that Christ is sending others to.

What does it take to become a Christian?

Reject False Beliefs

These men that they spoke with are Grecians. The Grecians believed a number of things.

Man today believes many things concerning God (or the lack thereof)

Some believe in Allah

Some believe in Buddha

Some believe in Reincarnation

Some believe that works is the way

Some believe that keeping the law is the way

Some believe that there is no God

In that day men believed in a bunch of greek gods such as Zeus, Athena, Ares & Apollo.

But in order to Submit unto Christ, you must first Reject False beliefs - whether that’s faith in a particular false god or a plurality of gods or the hope that there is no god.

Jesus told Philip: Joh. 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

To Submit unto Christ means that you first must reject False beliefs.

Respond to the Holy Ghost

Jesus said: Joh. 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

God’s Holy Ghost speaks unto the hearts of men - affirming & confirming that Jesus Christ is LORD to the Glory of the Father. Yet it’s up to us whether we heed the moving of the Spirit upon our hearts, or reject it.

(Ill.) Shortly after the LORD’s ascension, there was a deacon - one of the first ever by the name of Stephen. The Bible says that he was a man ‘full of the Holy Ghost & wisdom’. Well, he was apprehended & accused by some Jews there and after he’d preached unto them he said: Act. 7:51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” These were men who resisted the Holy Ghost

(Ill.) As a pastor, I have both experienced & seen men & women both submit unto the moving of the Holy Ghost & those that have resisted the Holy Ghost.

If one is to be born again - and once they are, if they’re to be in the Will of God - they must Respond unto the Holy Ghost

Receive the Gospel

The Bible Says: Rom. 3:22b “...the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:...”

Then in Rom. 10:9-11 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

Paul & Silas told the Philippian Jailor: Act. 16:31b “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus - His Death for our sins, His burial & His Resurrection for our Justification! We receive this free gift by placing our faith in Jesus.

If you want to go to Heaven, believe in Jesus. If you want to go to Hell, then believe on anything else. It’s that simple.

We see Christ was Sent. Then we see that Christ was Submitted Unto. Next, we see the Christ is Sought

III. Christ Sought

v26

The Bible says: Ps. 105:4 “Seek the Lord, and his strength: Seek his face evermore.” Also: Ps. 27:8 “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”

Once we’ve been born again, it’s imperative that we Seek the LORD.

They Gathered

Faithfulness to the House of God is important!

It’s where we:

Edify one another (build, improve)

Exhort one another (embolden, cheer)

Provoke one another unto love & good works

Gain a reprieve from the outside world

Worship together in one accord

Gain instruction, understanding & wisdom in the Word & Ways of God

Gain encouragement to keep going

You see how they assembled. This is important. Assembling is the most basic thing that you can do as a Christian.

(Ill.) I talk to people all the time that say they’re Christians but they don’t attend church. Let me just say this: Can you be a Christian and not attend church? Yes - you can. But there’s two things I’ll say to that: First, many who profess are not in truth. Secondly, you cannot be able to go and choose not to go and still be in the Will of God.

The Bible tells us: Heb. 10:22-25 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

So if you are skipping church for some reason and you have ability to go, just know that you need to do some self-evaluating as to where you are at in your relationship with the LORD - because you’re not in His Will.

Lastly, attending church is the most basic thing you can do as a Christian - and if you’re failing at that, I have little confidence on how you’re carrying out your other duties as a Christian.

They Grew

Saul & Barnabas taught much people - do you know why? Because they needed learning.

You and I - we all have room to grow. 1Pet. 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

We need to grow in: Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding. His Ways His Word & His Work. We need to grow!

But growth comes by seeking. If you don’t have any desire to grow, then Satan will make sure that you stay complacent and stagnant in your Christian life.

So we see that Christ was Sought. They Gathered & Grew

We see Christ was Sent. Then we see that Christ was Submitted Unto. Next, we see the Christ is Sought

IV. Christ Shown

v22-23; 27-30

In the Tidings

This is what people had heard about them

Antioch was around 300 miles away from Jerusalem… But the church at Jerusalem heard about what God was doing in Antioch.

I wonder what reputation this church has in the world?

Undoubtedly there are some who hear that we’re a Bible-believing church. They hear that we preach the Gospel of Christ and stand on the Word of God. That’s what I pray our reputation is.

I’m sure in the eyes of some, they hear that we’re an intolerant church that preaches about Hell & Judgment. That’s not the reputation that I desire, but if so, so be it. I’d rather be known as intolerant to sin than tolerating it.

But church let me ask you this: What is the word about you? What is your reputation?

(Ill.) There was a woman who babysat me when I was little. She was a wonderful, nice woman. But if I had to guess, if you were to ask anyone who knew her, what she was like they’d answer ‘She loved Jesus’. - That’s what I hope my tidings would be! I pray some would say ‘Yeah, I don’t always agree with him, but he was zealous about the things of God!’

Christ should be shown in the tidings about you

In their Testimony

This is what people had seen in them

We notice that when Barnabas came he saw (v23).

Now I want to make the distinction that what you may hear may not be what is true. You can’t necessarily help what is said about you - but you can certainly help what is SEEN IN you.

Christians, we should have a testimony that we are like Christ. As Christians, we should make sure that we are disparaging the name of Christ by our testimonies.

1Pet. 1:15-16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Christ was Shown in their Testimony

With their Treasures

In the final 4 verses of Ch. 11, we see that trouble was coming & that the church - the NEW church in Antioch decided to take up a collection. Not one that was going to help them directly, but a collection for the church in Jerusalem.

Much could be said about this, but just know that Christ should be shown in what is heard about you, what is seen about you - and in what you determine to do for others.

Christ is Shown in this Church

We see Christ was Sent. Christ was Submitted Unto. Christ is Sought. Christ is Shown - and lastly, Christ is Shared

V. Christ Shared

Act. 13:1-4.

They were Spirit Led

We see in v2-3 a few things:

They fasted - and AS THEY FASTED the Holy Ghost spoke. Then they prayed, fasted some more and did as the Spirit led them to do.

Church understand something: You’ll never go wrong submitting unto the Spirit of God for your life. It won’t always be easy - but it will ALWAYS BE WORTH IT!

They were Spirit Led

They were Sent Forth

They were sent forth. And the cycle is complete. Because they would go forth and then others would Submit to Christ, then they would Seek Christ - Gather & Grown, they’d Show Christ which would attract others to Christ - then they’d Send Forth others to Share Christ.

Conclusion

If we’re to build up our Church - our Christian Community here, then we need to:

Submit to Christ

If you want to go to Heaven when you die, you must repent. Turn to Jesus for Salvation.

Seek Christ

We must make Christ a priority in our lives. We must stop being so wishy-washy about the basic things of Christian life. We must purpose to Gather & Grow

Show Christ

We must live out our faith. People must see Jesus in us - AND THEY SHOULD HAVE TO LOOK WITH A MAGNIFIER TO FIND HIM!

Share Christ

People need the LORD. It’s our job to make disciples.

(My notes only)

That being said, as we examine these points concerning building a Christian Community, there’s a few things that I wish to note. The points of the message that we’ll discuss today have several different applications to them.

The Community aspect

The Common aspect

The Cycle aspect

The Completion aspect

The Community aspect: These principles are how Christian communities formed over the years. From Jerusalem to Antioch, to Thessalonica, to Corinth, to Philippi, from Plymouth Rock to Jamestown to Charlestown to Belmont.

The Common aspect: These principles take place within individuals as well as they come to Christ and grow therein.

The Cycle aspect: That as we examine these principles, we’ll note that it’s a process that happens over and over within the lives of individuals & communities

The Completion aspect: Several of these principles are things that take place in the Christian’s life that are perpetual.

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