A People for His Name

Acts: The First Missionary Journey  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  41:09
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Intro:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Acts chapter 15. We will begin reading in verse 12 and we will read all the way through verse 35 this morning.
When i read the text, especially if you were not here last week, it will feel like you walked into the middle of a heated discussion,
it will fill like your trying to catch up on what the fuss is all about.
A dissension has arisen in the church at Antioch.
False teachers from Judea have begun to teach that Gentiles - that is “the nations” or the non-Jewish people - could not be forgiven through faith in Jesus alone.
They cannot be saved unless they follow all of the Jewish law.
These false teachers taught that Jesus’ life, death, sacrifice and resurrection was not sufficient to bring forgiveness unless Gentile believers performed the right religious ceremonial procedure.
It was so opposite of the gospel Paul and Barnabas had been preaching.
It was so serious, so disruptive, so dangerous…
that Paul and Barnabas and others were sent to Jerusalem to get the authoritative word on the matter from those disciples who had walked most closely with Jesus.
They wanted to get it in writing from Peter, James, and John and the elders in Jerusalem that this false teaching about a works-based salvation did not come from them.
When Paul and Barnabas arrived to Jerusalem and the debate irrupted again…, this time…, Peter was there, and he spoke up to set the record straight.
Salvation is not by law following,
it is by God’s grace through believing.
Peter says it plainly in verse 11.
Acts 15:11 ESV
But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Peter’s testimony alone would have been enough to settle the matter,
but its not the only argument to be made
Now that Peter has silenced the false teachers,
the apostle James, the brother of Jesus himself, now speaks up to add yet another layer to the argument.
We pick up the conversation in verse 12 and we will just read through verse 18 to begin our time.
Acts 15:12–18 ESV
12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
Lets Pray
What is God doing in the world?
Surely this is one of the most ultimate and most meaningful questions that can be asked?
Because if the God who created the heavens, and the earth, and me and you… if that God has a purpose toward which he is moving all things….
then that purpose matters to me.
I have deep in my own soul a burning why question…
I have deep in my soul a burning desire for my own life to mean something beyond the grave,
for my existence to mean something more than fleeting and temporary happiness.
We all feel it.
There is something in the very nature of humanity that makes us want to do something or be something that matters.
We want to leave a legacy.
We want to break records, build big buildings, and write good books,
We want to spread our fame to gain the satisfaction of feeling like we matter,
We want to spread our fame so that when we die, we won’t be forgotten.
The hard reality though, the one we don’t want to admit or think about,
is that our name will be forgotten.
Many of you do not know off hand the full names of your own great grandparents.
And your great grandchildren one day may very well live full lives with almost no awareness of who you were, what you were like, or even what your full name was.
And that is unsettling to most people.
That unsettledness, though, should cause our eyes to look beyond ourselves and our own name, to something beyond what we can do or accomplish or be.
It directs our hearts and minds to this bigger question.
What is God doing in the world?
What is his purpose for me in all of this?
Because if I can join that purpose, then I will be living for something that matters, the something that my soul deeply longs to be a part of.
Peter, Paul, and Barnabas have argued that salvation from sin is by faith alone in Jesus.
But now, James speaks up and he wants to make the point,
that not only do the testimonies of Peter and Paul and Barnabas align with one another….
they align with what God’s most ultimate purpose in the world really is.
Acts 15:13–14 ESV
13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.
Four truths about what God is doing in the world this morning.

#1 God is Creating a People for His Name Sake

James give a shorthand phrase to what God was doing when Peter preached Jesus and the Gentiles believed and were filled with God’s Spirit.
God was taking a people for his name.
This is something God promised he would do
The Old Testament prophet make his point and James chooses to quote just one example from Amos chapter 9.
Acts 15:15–17 ESV
15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things
Israel was called to be a people who represent the name of the Lord.
Amos was written in a day where they had failed miserably to do so.
He cast judgment upon them throughout his book, but at the end held out hope.
God would rebuild the kingdom that Israel lost and this time it would include not only Jews but all the Gentile nations of the world.
What is God doing in the world?
He is building a kingdom,
a cosmic temple where he will dwell with a remnant of mankind
who will seek the Lord.
AND
God’s people will be called “by God’s name.”
The name in the Bible means more than the just a tool which identifies you.
When the Bible speaks about the Lord’s name…it refers to Gods glory being made known.
The name of the Lord is the sum of his nature, what he is like, his glory as the one true God.
When Moses stood on the mountain in Exodus 33 and cried out the bold prayer, “Please show me your glory!”
God responded in this way.
Exodus 34:5–7 ESV
5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Moses wanted to see the Glory of God,
and God proclaimed his own name over Moses.
To be a Christian is to proclaim the eternal name of a God who will never be forgotten.
Listen to how Paul describes Jesus in Philippians 2.
Philippians 2:9–11 ESV
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Later to how Paul and Barnabas are referred to later in Acts 15.
Acts 15:26 ESV
26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul and Barnabas understood what God is doing in the world!
He is creating a people for himself who will
enjoy and reflect God’s unending glory,
his name forever and ever.
Paul and Barnabas saw themselves as participants in God’s priority.
They saw God’s glory as the only legacy worth leaving.
They would even risk their own lives “for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
#1 God is Creating a People for His Name Sake
His priority is his glory shining through a people.
But the people God is creating for himself are not just Jewish people.
The people God is making for himself are not just American people.
That people God is making for himself will be from every nation of the world.
The word “gentiles” simply means “nations”
and even in Amos’ prophecy, the end of a story is a people from all nations who are called by his name.
Acts 15:17 ESV
17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things

#2 God is Creating a People from All Nations

This theme of God’s global people is emphasized from the very beginning of Acts.
Its in the commission given to the disciples in acts.
Acts 1:8 ESV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Its in the commission given to the disciples in Matthew.
Matthew 28:19 ESV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
God is creating a people for his name, that is for his glory, from every nation.
And all of history is moving toward this inevitable end!
John catches a vision of the end of history and it looks like this.
Revelation 7:9–10 ESV
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This is what God is doing in the world.
This is the grand purpose, the kind of never ending legacy, that your soul longs to be a part of.
Its not about making a name for yourself, but its about joining the mission of God to make his name known to the ends of the earth.
We do global missions because we serve a global God who is taking for himself a people for his names sake from all nations.
And thus James argues…,
of course the gentiles are saved by faith alone,
not by works.
They are being formed to be a people who will praise God forever and ever for the Grace that he has poured out on them.
Now James, Does not stop here.
He wants to care well for the Gentile churches who will receive this clarification.
He doesn’t want salvation by grace alone through faith alone to cause the gentile nations to believe they should just carry on with their previous sinful and idol worshipping lives.
Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James have made clear… the good news is that we are saved by grace through faith alone.
BUT, how do the Gentile peoples now live for God’s name?
How do people from all nations make Jesus famous here and now?
This is where James pivots.
Acts 15:19–21 ESV
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
James does not want the Gentiles to think that because they are saved by faith,
they are free to just continue in their pagan idol worship practices.
It is true, that their salvation is not based on law following…
But their salvation does create in them a new heart.
It does lead to repentance.
A turning to God and a turning away from the false gods they once worshipped.
James’ instructions here are about repentance and separation from their old false god worship.
They live for God’s name’s sake now by turning away from those things they did in worship of false gods.
Paul comments on how the Thessalonians made the name of Jesus famous throughout the world by turning from their false gods.
1 Thessalonians 1:8–9 ESV
8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
Julio Noronha Marques’ family in Timor Leste worshipped trees, and mountains, and rivers…
Until a missionary told them about the one true God, and they worshipped those things no more.
Whats God doing in the world?
He is making his name and glory famous by the way he saves people and leads them in repentance!
and that includes you not just Julio and his family in Timor Leste
What is your purpose in the world?
Repentance that increases your joy and gives God glory…
You are a gentile who has turned to God
and is continuously turning away from the false gods of the world to the true God who rules the world.
we get so caught up in building a legacy,
a name for ourselves,
a career,
a certain kind of ideal life,
We get mad at God when he doesn’t build our lives the way we think that he should,
We get disappointed when God’s priorities are not our priorities….
be reminded this morning....
God’s priority is not your picture perfect American dream kind of life.
His priority is your repentance.
It is your turning away from lesser things,
and your turning to the best thing which is God himself.
Don’t get angry at God when is priorities are not your priorities. He is not the one who needs a change of heart and mind.
In fact, he is most concerned with changing your heart and mind for your joy and for his glory.
so James wants it to be clear.
The Gentiles are saved by faith,
but they are saved for the purpose of glorifying God’s name through their repentance from their old life.
Truth #1 God is Creating a People for His Name Sake
Truth #2 God is Creating a People From All Nations
verse 22 pivots to show how the church works together to get this message to the Gentiles.
No new argumentation is given in this next section,
so what I want you to pay attention to
is how God is actually accomplishing his purposes through the ministry of the whole church.
as I read notice how everyone is involved working together across multiple congregations.
Acts 15:22–35 ESV
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” 30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

#3 God is Creating a People Through the Mission of the Church

God’s purpose is a people from all nations for his name’s sake.
but his method is the ministry of the church.
God doesn’t write the truth in the sky for the gentile churches troubled by this false teaching.
God employs the church.
“It seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas”
What does this look like?
It’s a members meeting of the Jerusalem church and they are praying and strategizing and coming to a decision as to how to best fight the false teaching that has spread to Antioch.
They all come to consensus that they need to send two representatives from Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas to preach in Antioch.
And they decide to send two guys named Judas and Silas, leading men among the brothers.
But look at the mechanism of the decision….
The whole church is involved and affirming the missionary sending.
Acts 15:25 ESV
25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
When these men arrive in Antioch they gathered that congregation together.
They delivered the message.
They preached the word.
And look at what happens in the church at Antioch.
Acts 15:31 ESV
31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
The ministry of the church in Jerusalem,
the sacrificial sending,
and the preaching,
served to encourage and strengthen the church in Antioch to continue their important ministry of making disciples.
Once Judas and Silas had ministered with them, Antioch then helped send Judas and Silas back to the those who had sent them…
while Paul and Barnabas remained and continued the long term work of preaching and teaching the word of the Lord.
It is a beautiful picture.
a beautiful picture of the whole church coming together to send,
and support,
and to prayerfully care about God’s glory shining through God’s people around the world.
It is a beautiful picture of global missions through the church and for the church.
Brothers and sisters we get to participate in this.
Every week, we pass an offering plate not so we can make a preacher rich or buy anyone a private jet.
We pass an offering plate so that we can do the work of making disciples here in St. Rose,
AND so that we can support the work of those translating the Bible into the Makasai language.
Timor Leste is a small island in Southeast Asia.
It makes it on to the top 40 list of worlds most impoverished countries.
Its home to only 1.5 million people and over 30 languages.
One day a family in the mountains of Timor Leste,
will read the Bible in their language for the first time
and they will come to know the Savior of the world,
and we will have been participants in that through our praying, and our giving, and our going and our support of Julio and Becky’s ministry, and Matthew and Amanda’s ministry their in Southeast Asia.
On Tuesday, Ronnie and I, will be going and the primary purpose of our visit is two-fold.
I will be preaching a six-session seminar to Julio’s congregation and others in the city about what it means to be a healthy church.
Ronnie will be preaching at their Sunday gathering on the importance of prayer and spiritual accountability to one another from James chapter 5.
You may not be able to go with us,
but church family,
you are a participant with us through your prayers and through your support of the work.
AND you are a participant of God’s work here in St. Rose and in the New Orleans Metro area.
There is much work to be done.
Much disciple-making work.
Much church planting work.
And what a joy it is.
That longing you have in your soul to do something that matters,
to leave a legacy,
to make a name for yourself.
Don’t let the world convince you how to satisfy that longing.
What you are looking for is not a new job, more money, a personal record, or a trophy.
What you are looking for is the kind of life lived for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
a life that pours itself into others who will live for the name Jesus.
Thats how we leave a legacy.
Its a legacy of the name of Jesus being passed down from generation to generation to all nations through the ministry of the church.
May we be a people who joyfully join what God is doing.
He is creating a people for his name sake
He is creating a people from all nations
He is a creating a people through the ministry of the church.
Lets pray.
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