Ordinary people just like us

Move 1/The situation in Acts chapter 11 around AD 43-44 is this,

The Jerusalem church has heard about the conversion of Cornelius but does nothing to further the work amongst the gentiles.

        The Jerusalem church were quite happy as they were.

Having salvation but remaining in their own nation and enjoying the privileges of being Jewish.

The beginning of Acts 11 indicates this, and verse 18 tells us that they eventually, after being persuaded, accepted that the gospel was for the gentiles.

But they themselves did nothing about it.

Acts 15 tells us that the matter was not really settled until a long time later.

Instead it is the Jewish believers who were associated with Stephen, from Acts chapter 7 and 8, who take the gospel to new frontiers.

Now these believers were simple ordinary everyday people, just like us.

They were not the super strict religious folk like some of those in Jerusalem.

They were Jewish believers in Christ who, lived in outlying areas of Judea.

Many of them were from other countries having stayed in Jerusalem for an extended time after receiving Christ.

They spoke Greek the common language of the day.

This is an indication to us that they were less rigourus about observing the Jewish law.

It indicates that they were Hellenistic Jewish Christians.

People who because of their daily business and association with non - Jewish people were more inclined to accept and be comfortable in the culture which dominated the world at the time.

Some were traders, others tradesmen, others farmers, and some were fishermen.

There was nothing special about these people.

They were fairly average for their time, just like us.

These people, because they were associates of Stephen.

Because they were not super strict in their adherence to every minute law of their people, because they were associated with some who were willing to tell it as it was.

Got in trouble with the authorities, and the "rent a crowd" in Jerusalem.

They had to flee for their lives.

They were ordinary people forced to leave Jerusalem in a hurry.

The persecution scattered these simple everyday people to Phoenicia, which is just to the north of Israel on the coast.

Cyprus, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, and to Antioch, the third largest city in the empire, the capital of the province of Syria.

Antioch was a huge city for ancient times with a population of half a million people.

These Jewish believers as they were scattered, naturally talked with others that they identified with.

People from their home towns, people in similar professions, people in similar classes and social circles.

Move 3/ We are very similar to these people.

Like some of these people in Acts 11, there are some of us who have travelled back here from somewhere else because we call this home.

And many of us have lived here all our lives

We are very much like the people in Acts 11.

In fact we are very much like people all over the world.

We live, we eat, we carry on business.

Now our lives are easier than most peoples are.

But we are basically the same.

We travel through life, we stay in different places.

We are scattered across the nation.

Each one of us looking for that place that is ours.

Each one of us seeing our circumstances change as time goes by.

And like us, the people in Acts 11 talked to those they met as they passed through life.

They engaged in natural conversation with people all around them.

Initially they only mixed with people of their own background they only talked with Jewish people.

Some from Cyprus and Cyrene settled in the city of Antioch, that huge melting pot of people from all over the known world.

As time went by they began to talk with Gentiles.

They went to the market and purchased food, they stopped in that market and talked to the traders as they went about their business.

They discussed price, and as they built up a relationship with that trader they would have started to talk about family.

And politics, and the weather, and the latest fast camel at the camel yard.

They built natural conversations with people.

People from all walks of life, people they mixed with as a natural course of their day to day business.

They were not trained in ten steps to conduct a conversation!

It was a part of their culture, as it is ours, to talk to people to get to know them.

What do people normally talk about?

Once they get to know you, isn't it the important people and events in their lives?

Isn't that what you talk about with people?

Isn't that how you get to know them?

To know their likes and dislikes.

For the people in Acts chapter 11 this is what happened as they went about the business of establishing their lives in new places, or as they settled back into their old occupation after an extended stay away at Jerusalem.

They talked, they shared what was important to them and that was Christ.

Their saviour and Lord.

The one who had made a dramatic change to their lives.

The one they had been persecuted for.

The one who was the reason for their being in the city they found themselves in.

They simply spoke about Jesus as the centre of their life.

There were no Apostles with them.

We see in verse 22 onwards that Barnabas was only sent after a church had been founded by ordinary people.

Barnabas was in fact sent to check things out.

He was the representative of the church at Jerusalem.

The official sent to make sure all was OK.

Verse 25 tells us that he was so excited about what he saw, that after a while there, he went and got this hot young preacher he knew called     Saul.

Together they worked with the church there and saw a great work grow stronger in the key city of Antioch.

The church in that city was founded and grew as the people went about talking with those they met in natural everyday life.

Move 4/ We have natural conversations with people every day.

As we go about our normal everyday life, we meet people and we talk with them.

We get to know them and they become friends.

People we care about and talk with.

Every single one of us has many natural conversations with many different people each day.

Some of us talk to those we know from our social circle, others of us talk to people we know from our business contacts in town.

Some of us talk to people we know from our community service activities.

And some of us have the gift of the gab and talk to every person who will listen.

Isn't it true that you have many opportunities to meet and talk with people.

Natural conversations.

Conversations about day to day events in your life and theirs.

Conversations about the events in this city.

Your family life and how things are developing for your children, or your parents, or your friend’s children.

Isn't it natural that you would share with these people the important things in your life?

After all isn't that what friendship is all about?

Caring for the person and being cared for.

And the things that we care about most are the people in our lives.

I hope that is what you care about and that is what you talk about with other people.

Aren’t we are just like the people in Acts chapter 11?

We meet people we get to know them.

We form friendships and we talk about things that are important to us.

Move 5/ So what is the difference between us and the people in Acts chapter 11 in the city of Antioch?

Why did they see so many converted?

Why did they see a church grow and grow?

Yes there are some differences of culture, and maybe a greater hunger amongst the people they dealt with.

After all people in those days and those places were much more aware of the spiritual world.

We have the same Saviour and Lord.

We have the same Holy Spirit there beside us to empower us.

We have the same opportunity to speak.

We have the benefit of two thousand years of study on the Scriptures.

We have every reason to be able to share.

But that is not the key issue.

The key issue is this!

They shared about Jesus because he was the most important person in their lives.

Shouldn't you share about the one who is the most important person in your life?

Isn't it the natural thing for you to do?

To talk to those you know.

To talk about the most important person in your life?

I suspect that we find it hard to bring the Lord into the conversation as a natural part of our life, because we are often guilty of separating the spiritual part of our life from the rest.

If Jesus is the most important person in your life.

Naturally you would talk about him and the work he is doing in your life.

That is the difference between us and the people in Acts chapter 11.

To them Jesus was the central person in their lives.

They talked about him every time they possibly could.

I don't think for one minute they rammed the gospel down people's throats.

I think that the relationship they had with Jesus was so real to them that it formed a natural part of the conversation.

The peace that they felt because of Jesus they talked about.

The joy that they felt because of Jesus they talked about.

The hope that they had because of Jesus they talked about.

The fact that he had radically changed their lives for the better they talked about.

Jesus was so important to them, he affected every part of their lives so they talked about the difference he made.

That is the reason why they saw the church grow as it did.

They had no special power that we don't have available to us.

They had no secrets that we don't have.

They were just an ordinary group of people.

Talking to ordinary people about the one who meant so much to them.

They talked about Jesus and the church grew.

They talked about Jesus and people's lives were changed.

They talked about Jesus and then some leaders were sent to them from Jerusalem.

They were simple everyday people just like us.

They were telling the gospel and they saw great results.

We are simple everyday people just like them.

Can you go out this week and in coming weeks and talk about Jesus.

You will see results as you keep on talking about the most important person in your life.

If you need encouragement, look at the people in Acts chapter 11.

See that you to can have the same passion, the same fire in your belly for God as these people did.

All you need is to pray each day a simple prayer.

A prayer surrendering yourself to the Holy Spirit.

Be encouraged when you speak people will see the truth of this statement.

that;

The Gospel is not presented to mankind as an argument about religious principles. Nor is it offered as a philosophy of life. Christianity is a witness to certain facts -- to events that have happened, to hopes that have been fulfilled, to realities that have been experienced, to a Person who has lived and died and been raised from the dead to reign forever.

(Massey H Shepherd Jr Far and Near)

Acts 11:19-26

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

NIV