Untitled Sermon

From Persecution to Purpose: Embracing God's Mission

Bible Passage:

Acts 11:19–26 CSB

Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. News about them reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers of people were added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

My Goal

My goal is that you will trust the sovereign plan of God by taking Christ with you as your treasure where ever life takes you.

Proposition

Our God is able to use the evil that we see in this world and use it as an instrument for His glory and our good!

Biblical Exposition

Scattering

v19 The persecution that started because Steven.

Steven was a Hellenistic Jewish Christian

They could not stop the fruit of his labor for the Kingdom of God so they had him killed

Something that is important to remember, Paul was there. He approved. He is arguably responsible.

This happened outside of Jerusalem and because of this, all of the Judea was now not safe for the Hellenistic Jews.

This, in a way, made it easier for the hebraic or aramaic jewish Christians because they were not the main target of jewish persecution.

v19 The Scattering

The Hellenistic Jewish Christians fled far. They slowly moved north.

In 6-9 years these people were forced to move around three hundred miles from Jerusalem.

Many of them were making it home to places like Cypress, Cyrene, and Antioch.

v19 Only Jews at first

It only makes sense that they would share first with the Jews. I remember when we first moved here, Gus said something that just blew me away and really almost made me tear up. We had left a church that we loved and moved to this new place and i remember him earnestly saying, “well, we need to find a church.”

As time passed, these people would move to a new town, go to the local synagogues and meeting halls, share Christ, and then be chased out once again.

As they made there way to these places, the culture became more and more Greek along with the language which meant that these greek speaking Jewish Christians had found themselves in a very opportune situation to tell people about their new found Lord!

v20 The tearing down of the racial barrier in Acts: Jews, half Jews, gentiles.

We can see that God’s plan from the beginning, that Abrahams children would be more numerous than the stars of the sky.

We see that his offspring, Jesus, would not just save the Jews but would in fact save the whole world.

Jesus Told the people that the message was for the Jews first, then the gentiles

He said that they would share the gospel in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the world.

In the Great commission he promised that he would be with them until the end of the age and in verse 22, what do we see? That the hand of the Lord was with them.

Gods plan is unfolding before their eyes and now our eyes. Why, because of the persecution of Stephen. What the world meant for evil, God used to set off a wildfire of evangelism.

Comfort has a way of making us sit still doesn’t it?

These Hellenistic Christians were all in Judea. Stephen was heading up a food ministry. everyone was getting fat and happy so they stayed.

Just like at babel, they were safer together.

But once that comfort was taken away they found themselves on the move. And they took Christ with them where ever they went.

Gathering

Antioch was a great place to establish a church and i think by the Holy Spirits wisdom they realized that.

there was a large jewish population already.

it was a crossroads for many trade routes

close to the sea.

and there were many people who need Jesus.

v22. because The Lord’s hand was upon them they were successful and in verse 22, we see that they were so successful in fact that Jerusalem heard about it and sent Barnabas to check on them.

v23 this verse makes me love Barnadas so much

When he arrived, what did he see?

He saw the grace of God working in the Antioch Church

when he saw the grace of God in the church of Antioch what did he do?

He rejoiced!

its so easy to be jealous in situations like this.

He encouraged them to remain devoted to the Lord.

he did start nitpicking and say i would do this different or we didn’t do things like that in Jerusalem.

no he simply encouraged them

v24 The son of encouragment

It is so wonderful that Luke put this little part in here. It showed that he truly loved Barnabas. He had so much respect for the man. After his reaction to the church in Antioch i can see why.

You see when we are acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit we are not jealous. We do not breakdown what is good.

to do that is to do the same thing that Paul did in a way. to stand in the way of what God is doing. its a fools task because as we see in Pauls conversion. as we see in todays text, Gods plan cannot be stopped. He will succeed he will receive glory.

In Need of More Shepherds

v25 seeking out the Apostle to the Gentiles

Barnabas realized as he lead this church that it was growing to a point where more leaders were needed.

he went and found Paul and brought him to Antioch

Guided visualization

Paul entered the building at Barnabas’ side. The room got quiet. These are followers of Jesus. Some of them have lost family and friends, and even homes, all because of Saul of Tarsus. These were the people he hunted, Imprisoned, and even had killed. Can you feel the tension?

Some of them wouldn’t recognize him. But others would know that his was the man who killed their friend Stephen and drove them out.

Aim For the Heart

v26 Paul is Accepted as Their Shepherd.

Was there a mob?

did they take him outside the city to give him what he gave Stephen and probably others?

I want you to see the unstoppable grace of God this is upon these people in this moment.

People don’t act this way. In our flesh, left to our own desires we do act this way when we are brought face to face with those that have hurt us.

these people are not in the flesh. Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

Those people that fled because of persecution brought the character and name of the Lord Jesus every where they went and it is apparent here that they had not stopped doing so.

filled with the Holy Spirit they accepted a man that had more than likely wronged some of them in the worst way. All i can see in this is Jesus. Forgiving sins of crippled man. Jesus forgiving the sins promisucous woman. Jesu forgiving the sins that thief on the cross.

When you come face to face with those that have wronged you can you say the same?

When you are having a bad day can people see Jesus in you, or do they see and angry man or angry woman ready to bite someones head at the slightest provocation?

Sum up

I’ll say it. We here have reached a cross roads where a scattering of sorts is taking place. We will find a new place to worship. We will find a new place to minister. I don’t want you to be sad. I don’t want people to look at you and see disappointment or the fact that you feel like a failure.

I want them to see Christ. In the hard moments when you are on the run and in the moments when that enemy is upon you. We do not need to be sad or afraid of what is to come, because our God is unstoppable and He sees His plans through all the way to the end for His glory and our good.