What is in the Soil of a Great Move of God?

INTRODUCTION

Recently I watched a show about people who eat the hottest possible peppers they can find on the earth.

These folks are not content to eat a Carolina Reaper and call it a day. They are pushing the limits and trying to create things that are hotter.

They are cross-breeding peppers and coming up with stuff that is even hotter.

The Orange Gusher

The JP Piranha

The Naga Viper

One of the premier pepper growers in the world is Troy Primeaux. He contends his 7 Pot Primo is actually THE hottest pepper on the earth.

Whether that is right or not is up for debate.

But what is not up for debate is that his pepper farm is considered one of the best in the world.

Why is it so good?

Well, a lot of it comes down to the soil.

The soil of Louisiana is a blend of sand, silt and clay.

It drains better than most soils and stays moist.

It is rich with nutrients and has a loose, crumbly texture.

When you combine it with Louisiana’s warm and humid climate, you have the perfect recipe for growing peppers so hot that when you eat them, your brain releases the same chemicals that it releases in near-death experiences.

So that is what is the soil of a premier pepper farm, but what is in the soil of a great move of God?

Peppers need nutrients and moisture and the perfect blend.

What about a landmark move of God’s power?

This morning we have the opportunity to consider this question.

We have the opportunity to bend down and examine the soil of a remarkable move of God’s saving arm.

We have the opportunity to bend down and see what is present in the soil out of which the home base for Gentile missions grows.

We can look at the Spirit’s work in Acts 11 and we can compare it to what we saw in Acts 2 and draw some parallels that clue us into the rich soil that a dramatic work of the Lord springs from.

And as we do, we will see three things that stand out:

Divinely-empowered witness (v. 19-21, 26)

Godly leadership (v. 22-28)

Christian love (v. 29-30)

Let’s PRAY together and then I will read our text.

Acts 11:19–30 ESV

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, every one 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 TWO PENTECOSTS (Acts 2 and Acts 10)

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit falls on the church, made up of Jewish believers, and they speak in tongues as evidence of the power they had received.

This is Pentecost.

As the narrative of Acts unfolds, you see the Gospel invading the Jewish world.

Just as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8, the church are witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea.

And there are these profound effects as the Spirit moves through the church’s proclamation of the Good News.

Peter preaches the Gospel and around 3,000 people are saved:

Acts 2:41 ESV

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

And then there is this amazing description of the infant church and their following of the Lord Jesus:

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

In Acts 8 and 9, we find out about a great persecution coming upon the church at the hands of Saul of Tarsus and as a result, the church is scattered.

But what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good.

The Lord used it to take the Gospel to all of Judea and Samaria.

Acts 9:31 ESV

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

But then, in Acts 10, we saw the Gospel move beyond Jewish boundaries as Peter took the witness of the Word to Caesarea and preached to Cornelius and his family.

They believe and the Holy Spirit falls on them, just as He did the Jewish church in Acts 2.

Cornelius and company speak in tongues, just like the Apostles did at Pentecost, making this a sort of Jewish Pentecost.

And Luke, wanting us to see that the same Spirit that invaded all of Judea and Samaria through the witness of His church, is now invading the Gentile world through the witness of His church.

David Peterson explains how Luke has arranged his narrative to prove this point:

The Acts of the Apostles D. The Word Goes to Antioch in Syria (11:19–30)

This next stage in the progress of the word is neither organized by the church in Jerusalem nor directly inspired by Peter’s preaching to Cornelius. Nevertheless, the flow of Luke’s narrative suggests that ‘the theological outcome of the Cornelius account is the formation of an ekklēsia outside of Jerusalem and among non-Jews’. In Antioch we meet the first church that is made up of Jewish and Gentile believers together.

So if you look in the soil of the great work that happens after the first Pentecost, you will see that it sprang up from a blend of good, praiseworthy things:

Divinely-empowered witness

Peter standing up in the power of the Spirit in Jerusalem and lifting his voice and preaching an expository sermon from Joel and the Psalms

The people being cut to the heart

Godly leadership

Peter and the Apostles teaching the church

Later, the men selected for deacon work, like Stephen and Philip

Christian love

Fellowship

Breaking Bread with glad and generous hearts

Praying together

Holding all things in common and meeting needs that arise

And the result is the Jerusalem church becoming a center for mission to the Jewish world

Now, in Acts 11, we have a similar blend in the soil as a new mission center is established and the church begins to penetrate the end of the earth.

Let’s walk through this passage and see what’s in the soil and consider its importance for our own ministry here in Seaford.

DIVINELY-EMPOWERED WITNESS (v. 19-21)

We begin with Gospel proclamation.

1. A great move of God grows from divinely-empowered witness (v. 19-21; 26).

Like Peter in Acts 2, we have Gospel proclamation happening here in Acts 11.

And unlike Acts 2, it is not coming from the mouth of one of the most recognized leaders in church history.

It is coming from anonymous, faithful brothers.

Luke mentions the scattering that took place in Acts 8:1 because of Saul’s persecution after the martyrdom of Stephen.

He says that some of the dispersed moved out as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews (v. 19).

Phoenicia is the sliver of coastal plain on the Mediterranean to the north of Samaria and Galilee.

Its most prominent cities were Tyre and Sidon.

Cyprus is a small island off the coast of Syria.

This is where Barnabas was from, someone we will talk about in just a few moments.

Antioch was in Syria, about 18 miles inland from the Mediterranean.

After Rome and Alexandria, it was the 3rd most prominent city in the Roman Empire.

Its population is disputed.

Some say it had a quarter of a million people living in it, like Richmond, VA.

Some say it had half a million people living in it, like Virginia Beach, VA.

Bottom line is that it was a heavily populated metropolis in the Roman Empire.

The Roman governor over the province of Syria usually lived there.

Initially, the Gospel is taken just to the Jews in these cities, but verse 20 tells us that some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch and started preaching to Greeks.

The word Hellenists can sometimes refer to Greek-speaking Jewish people, as it does in Acts 6, but Luke seems to have something else in mind here.

In verse 19 the Gospel is only going to Jewish people.

In verse 20, Luke is letting us know something ELSE is happening.

So then, we can conclude that we are not talking about Greek-speaking Jewish people here, but full-blown pagan Greek people. Gentiles.

And just as when Peter stood up in Acts 2 and preached in the power of the Spirit and three-thousand were cut to the heart and repented, we have a “great number” turning to the Lord in verse 21.

This is phenomenal. This is the Great Commission coming to pass.

These anonymous brothers are leading a multitude to Jesus through their witness.

But the question is WHY.

Why are they so effective in their ministry?

Because the hand of the Lord was with them (v. 21).

In fact, we could say that any great move of God that has ever come about was because of this.

Because the hand of the Lord was with His people.

Because just as Jesus promised, as His people fulfill His Commission, He is with them to the end of the age.

THE GREAT AWAKENING

One of the greatest movements of God that we have seen in our nation was the Great Awakening, which started in New England in the 1740’s.

It is mostly associated with the names of ministers like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, but like the movement of the Gospel in Acts, there are unheralded heroes that played their part.

In Joseph Tracy’s book, The Great Awakening, written in 1841, he painstakingly compiled a record of what occurred 100 years earlier in colonial America.

One of the unsung heroes is Reverend George Griswold.

He was the pastor of the church in Lyme, CT, but he would venture out to surrounding towns to use his gift of preaching.

Here is an account from his journal regarding an experience in New London, CT.

On Monday, I preached again at the meetinghouse; and there seemed to be a great pouring out of the Spirit of God; and many in distress, and one hopefully had a discovery of Jesus Christ, and received consolation. One Monday evening I preached again in the meetinghouse; and the distress of the people was so great, among them that tarried in the meetinghouse the space between the public exercises, that I was obliged to speak to the people, to compose and still them, or I could not have had opportunity to preach to them. Though there were outcries in the time of public exercise, yet not so much as to interrupt the public worship. Within the space of about two or three minutes after the blessing was given, there seemed to be a wonderful outpouring of the Spirit; many souls in great distress…and about three or four hours were spent in counselling the distressed and praying with them.

George Griswold

If the old colonial way of writing confused you, let me summarize:

He preached on a Monday afternoon at a church and God’s Spirit was poured out and someone was converted.

He preached again that night and the people listening were so convicted that they were verbally crying out.

He had to talk to them during an intermission in the service so that they would not keep the church from being able to continue in worship.

As soon as services concluded for the night, within minutes, the Spirit moved many people to cry out again and this brother spent hours sitting with them and giving them the Gospel and praying with them.

I doubt any of you knew Griswold’s name before today. That is a name you associate with a foolish character from a popular Christmas movie named Clark.

We will never know the name of these anonymous brothers in this passage in this life.

And yet—the hand of the Lord was with them.

APPLICATION

Most people will never know our names.

If the Lord doesn’t come back in the next 300 years, your own blood relatives won’t know your name unless they use the computer chip embedded in the base of their skull to pull up the database of some ancestry service so that they can learn where they came from.

I’m mostly joking about the computer chip...

But truthfully—how many of us know the names of our great, great, great grandparents.

Maybe a few of you who are really into family tree and heritage, but most do not.

We are living our lives in historical anonymity.

We are blips on a radar most will never look at.

And yet—God’s hand is upon those blips and He will use them to preach the Gospel and impact eternity.

Today, there are people in heaven because of unnamed brothers in Antioch and long-forgotten pastors from colonial Connecticut.

In fact, we would say that the remembered are few and far between.

Most often, the redemption of Jesus is proclaimed by the rarely remembered.

Let this encourage you and compel you to be anonymously faithful.

God uses no-names and forgotten proclaimers to bring about great movements of the Lord.

And He does this so that He will get the glory—for the star of the show in verses 19-21 is not the anonymous brothers, but hand of the Lord.

This is how it should be.

Go to the nations. Go to your neighbors.

His hand will be upon you as you carry the Gospel to the world.

GODLY LEADERSHIP (v. 22-28)

Let’s move on to the 2nd thing that we see in the soil:

2. A great move of God grows from godly leadership (v. 22-28).

BARNABAS

When the news of converts in Antioch reaches the ears of the Jerusalem church, they send one of their best men to investigate—none other than Barnabas of Cyprus (v. 22).

This is the third time we have seen his name in Acts.

As Luke is describing the state of the church in Acts 4, and he is explaining how the believers are selling property and giving the proceeds to the church, he says this:

Acts 4:36–37 ESV

Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

We also saw him encouraging those suspicious of Saul’s conversion to accept him as a brother.

Acts 9:27 ESV

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Clearly Barnabas has an impeccable reputation.

Verse 24 describes him as a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.”

Very similar to the way Stephen was described in Acts 6:5.

Throughout the rest of Acts, Luke depicts Barnabas as a masterful minister of the Gospel and as a leader who builds bridges.

When there is a debate regarding Gentiles coming into the church, Barnabas is one of the ones sent to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders there (15:2).

When Paul and Barnabas agree to go separate ways over a disagreement regarding John Mark—the same Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark.

Mark had apparently left mission work in Pamphylia and Paul did not want to give him a 2nd chance, but Barnabas was adamant that they would give him one.

And here in Acts 11, he is sent as an experienced missionary and teacher and leader to see what is happening in Antioch.

Upon arrival, he is glas because he sees God’s grace at work and he exhorts them all to stay faithful to the Lord with a steadfast purpose (v. 23)

Even in his exhorting work, Luke says that a great many people were added to the Lord (v. 24).

SAUL/PAUL

In verse 25, Luke says that Barnabas leaves to go get Saul.

This is another sign of Barnabas’ godly leadership.

He recognized a need for discipleship in the fledgling Christians in Antioch, so he goes to find Saul.

The last we saw of Saul was in Acts 9:28-30

Acts 9:28–30 ESV

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Even before his conversion, Saul was a trained theologian of the highest order under the Rabbi Gamaliel.

But now, he has continued to study, all the while doing ministry in Damascus, Arabia, Jerusalem and according to Galatians 1, in the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

We would say he has become a bit of a seasoned missionary at this point. ]

Barnabas wants his influence on this new group of believers.

Once he finds Saul, he brings him back to Antioch and they do ministry together for a year (v. 26)

Luke says they meet with church. The ekklesia.

This is important.

We have a church in Antioch now.

We have a church in the 3rd largest city in the entire Roman Empire.

We have an assembly of saints in the Gentile world—an assembly that will become the home base for the mission to the Gentiles, much like Jerusalem was in the mission to the Jews.

Antioch will send out Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13.

They will report back to the church in Acts 14.

They will send out Paul and Silas in Acts 15.

Paul returns there in Acts 18.

You can see how important this church becomes for sending and solidifying in the mission to the Gentile world.

The 12 use Jerusalem as their home base.

Paul uses Antioch.

Clearly this church, instructed and rooted by the teaching of Saul and Barnabas, had a major role to play in the early Christian movement.

So much so, that they are the first ones to be identified as Christians (v. 26).

The name literally means “belonging to Christ.”

Much like the political party of the Herodians were called that because they “belonged to Herod,” the believers in Antioch are called Christians because they belong to Christ.

And it doesn’t seem like this is a name that was come up with internally.

Luke’s wording implies that they are being called Christians from the outside world.

It may have even been intended as an insult.

And yet, it’s not an insult at all.

It is actually a testimony to the faithful work done by Barnabas and Saul to strengthen this church.

They become so closely identified with the teachings and ethics and Person of Jesus, that the outside world is left no choice but to say, “Those people belong to Christ.

AGABUS (v. 27-28)

And then we have one more godly leader that we can observe in verses 27-28. We have Agabus the Prophet.

Prophets were still active in the first generation of the church.

Paul says that they, along with the Apostles, lay the foundation of the church in Ephesians 2:20...

Agabus, like Barnabas, comes down from Jerusalem, and he prophesies by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all of the world (v. 28).

The NIV translates this “over the entire Roman world,” which is correct.

The Greek phrase in verse 28 was one used to describe the whole world at time, but was often used to describe the whole Roman world as well.

Luke says this happened in the days of Claudius (v. 28).

Claudius was the emperor from 41-54 AD.

During his reign, there was indeed a food crisis in Egypt, Syria, Judea and Greece from 45-47 AD.

This would have taken place about a year after Agabus came to Antioch.

The fact that Egypt was impacted by this famine shows how destitute things were.

They were the main producer of grain in the Empire.

For Egypt to be in famine meant the rest of the Empire would be in famine.

This won’t be the last time we will see Agabus in Luke’s narrative.

He will return in Acts 21.

APPLICATION

Much like divinely-empowered witness, anywhere you see a great movement of God, you are going to find godly leadership.

In the early church you had giants like Athanasius and Clement. You had Polycarp and Ignatius, who was from none other than Antioch.

In the Reformation you had Luther and Melancthon. Zwingli and Calvin. Tyndale and Rogers and Cranmer.

In the Great Awakening you had Edwards and Whitefield. Mather and Brainerd.

As an entire generation of millennial believers agreed that it would be a waste of life to spend our days on hobbies and seeing retirement as the ultimate Promised Land, it was John Piper standing at the pulpit, heralding the Word.

Those are just a handful of grains of sands on a seashore of Christian faithfulness, but the bottom line is that godly leadership is crucial to a great movement of the Lord.

Our church is no different.

We need men like Barnabas to shepherd and elder and pastor our people. To serve by leading.

Back in August, when I preached from Acts 6, I laid out a vision for us setting apart men who are called and qualified to serve in our church a non-staff, unpaid pastors.

Nothing has changed. It is still a huge need. We just cant fix all the things at once.

This year we work on our membership roll, but in the months that follow, we will turn our attention to the issue of seeking more godly leadership for our church.

We need men like Stephen and Phillip to deacon our people. We need called and qualified men to lead by serving.

We have a phenomenal body of deacons, but we need more who would commit to this important work.

More hands to care for our widows and homebound. To help with our Children’s Ministry on Sunday mornings. To oversee benevolence ministry to our community.

We need more women to lead ministry in our church body.

Godly women of godly character who will count other more important than themselves and lead in humility in the manner of Christ.

Paul and Barnabas and Agabus were not lightweights, though.

These were serious men of God who walked with Him and were faithful to Him day in and day out.

We don’t just need leaders—we need leaders who read their Bibles.

We don’t just need leaders—we need leaders who pray.

We don’t just need leaders—we need leaders who are humbly living before God according to His will and not their own.

Pray for this. Labor for this.

CHRISTIAN LOVE (v. 29-30)

And finally, we have our third element in the soil:

3. A great move of God grows out of Christian love (v. 29-30).

In light of Agabus’ prophecy, the believers in Antioch decide to send an offering of relief to the believers in Jerusalem.

One mission center helping another.

Everyone gives according to their ability to give and they send it by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

This is important on a couple of levels.

First of all, it establishes a familial relationship between Antioch and Jerusalem.

We know that many in Jerusalem will struggle with the inclusion of Gentiles into the church.

We saw it last week.

We will see it again in Acts 15.

Even here we have Jerusalem sending Barnabas down to take a look at things.

This act of benevolence and love from Gentile believers to Jewish believers is going to speak volumes about the bond that they have in Christ.

The blood of Christ is thicker than any other sort of blood.

It is thicker than the bonds of Hebrew heritage.

It is thicker than the bonds of Roman citizenry.

When it comes to salvation, it is not white or black or brown or any other color that matters, except red. It is the blood of Jesus and the blood of Jesus alone that sinners from every skin tone find justification in the eyes of God, and true equality in his kingdom, both here and for eternity.

Thaddeus Williams

Secondly, this establishes a pattern for Christian giving that Paul will use in another instance when he is organizing a different collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem.

1 Corinthians 16:1–2 ESV

Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

2 Corinthians 9:7–9 ESV

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

Because God has given to us according to His rich means in the Gospel—giving us the treasure of His one and only Son—we should give to one another according to our means.

Because God gave us His Son to die for our sins out of His good pleasure, we should not give under compulsion or reluctantly, but cheerfully, out of our good pleasure.

And as we do this, our giving demonstrates the love of God in Jesus Christ to the world.

Jesus said that our love for one another would be one of the major determining factors in whether or not someone recognizes us as a believer:

John 13:35 ESV

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

THE GREAT AWAKENING AGAIN

One of the most prominent leaders of the American Great Awakening is Cotton Mather.

He often gets a bad wrap for his association with the Salem Witch Trials, but in truth, he was so much more than a man who like many, got caught up in that hysteria.

In 1710, he wrote his Essays to Do Good, which influenced many people in the generation before Jonathan Edwards.

In it, Mather said:

Let us not be content to barely be Christians, but let us endeavor to be Christians indeed…The greatest glory of a Christian is to do good.

Cotton Mather

In fact, the whole concept of “Pay It Forward,” is not actually new. It is Mather’s.

Let not...good actions stop with yourselves, but let them be perpetuated. If they are of such a nature that they cannot be perpetuated, let them at least be imitated. Thus, you will spread a happy influence beyond your own immediate sphere.

Cotton Mather

APPLICATION

If someone in the church blesses you, let it be perpetuated.

If you can’t pass it on, imitate it by doing some other sort of good for someone.

When we are selflessly giving of ourselves—time, talents and treasure—to one another, the love in our community will be distinctly Christian and the world will recognize it when they bump into us, whether it be at Upward Basketball or in the grocery store.

But on the other hand, when we are nasty and unforgiving with each other...

When we hold grudges and do not truly forgive...

When we are selfish with what God has blessed us with...

We are poisoning the soil, rather than enriching it.

CONCLUSION (ASK BAND TO RETURN)

The pepper growers of the world are out for heat.

They want to create peppers with record-breaking impact on the Scoville scale and health-jeopardizing pain to the eater.

Well, as Christians, we are also out for heat, but the kind produced by peppers.

We are out to see the white-hot heat of passion for Christ in our church and in the neighborhood around us.

Romans 12:11 ESV

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

We want zeal in our witness and zeal in our leaders and zeal in our love, to lead a fervency in the souls of those who do not currently know God.

We want to see their affections for the world to die and for a born-again affection for Christ to be stirred as we carry the Gospel to the world.

Who doesn’t want to see a great movement of God in Seaford?

Who wouldn’t want to fill their journals with stories like Griswold?

Well, we know what is in the soil of movements like this.

This isn’t math.

Ultimately great movements of God are down to the sovereign will of God Himself.

But we can look to Acts 2 and Acts 11 and see that when He does move, there are these common elements in the dirt.

How passionate are you about these things?

How zealous are you to be a witness?

How zealous are you to be a leader or to pray for your leaders?

How zealous are you Christian love in our church body?

We cannot ask God to move if we are not willing to move ourselves.

Let’s pray.