The gospel in a city
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
HELP PEOPLE KNOW WE ARE NOT SKIPPIng
good morning it is a joy to be with you if you have your Bibles go ahead and open up to Acts chapter 11 and in a moment we will start in verse 19
over the next few mininutes i want us to look at what happens when the good news about jesus takes hold of a city.
How it changes, shifts, trnasforms and impacts the city in really wonderful and beaitful wasys
this is important becasue I think for anyone in this room who is a follow of Jesus who would idenifty as a christian it’s what we long to happen. We want the good news of Jesus to change the places and spaces we go
and my hope is that as we would look at our text today we would be encoruage to do the things the early church did.
that the hand of the Lord would be on our church in this time and space and that the good news of Jesus would go out thorughout huntsville and north alabama and beginning to transfrom our city in really wonderful ways
and that when people look at our lives they would know those of us who Go to rivertree church truly are Christians. that would be what’s most true about us. more then where we are from, more then what we do for a job, more then where we went to college the most true thing about every single one of us would be that we look so much like Jesus people know us as his disicples by the fruit of our lives
let’s read
Acts 11:19–30 “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.”
verse 19 says those who were scattered becasue of the persecution of Stephen traveled
so right here Luke is telling us something. He is letting us know that becasue stephen was killed Jewish beleives in Jesus left Jersualm and went far. they went to Phoenicia, cyrpus and Antoich.
and everywhere they went the spoke the word but only to Jews. This was the pattern. We know of indvidual cases wehre the gospel was told to non jews but never an entire population.
and it is encouraging once again to process that the reason Stephen was killed was to stop the gospel but his death only ingaited a fire that could not be put out. Instead of allowing his death to silence them Stepehns death embloded the followers of Jessus and conintued to fufill the promise Jesus made in
Acts 1:8 “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.””
and as they were witnesses to Jesus they do something new.
Something begins to shift. They preach the gospel to greeks in ANtioch.
and we don’t know at first who these beleivers are. We just know they are from Cyprus and Cyrene.
as far as we know they don’t have offical direction, the don’t have precedent to floowing, all they have is a burning love for Christ.
During the first century this is the 3rd largest city in the world, behind Rom and Alexandria. It’s a melting pot of at least five different culutres. Almost 500,000 people
and it was famous for gambling over charot racing and it’s delebrtie purstuist of pleasure
some have said it was the Las Vegas of that day and age. in other words what happened in Antioch was suppose to say there
There was immorality and darkness of all sorts taking place and it’s here where the good news about Jesus begins to take hold of the city
we are told these men who remain nameless preach good news and great many believed and turned to the Lord
and there is the first thing we see when the good news about Jesus takes hold of a city
The gospel proclaimed and the gosple multiplies
this has been a pattern in the book of Acts. People enter a city. The proclaim the good news about Jesus and all of a sudden people belive and lives are changed.
this move of God was intiated by God. we are told in verse 21 the hand of he Lord was with them.
this was not something they stirred up, this isn’t something they caused. No they were lving in obedeicne to the promises of Christ. Buring with passion for him and letting the world know the good news about Jesus and it was out of that God began to move.
they were aviaalbe and they start to see and esxpirence this great movement of God
the movement was so amazing that the report of what happens comes to the church in Jerusalem. this is awesome. the movement was so increadible that news of it traveled over 300 miles and all the early church new to do was send Barnabas
Now this isn’t the first time we have been introduced to baranabas. He has shown up in the story a few times already
early in the days of the early church Barnabas expressed generousity in acts 4:36-37
then he even advocates for Paul to the apostle once Paul has come to faith in Christ and now he is sent by the church to see what/s going on
and look at what happens when he arrives He sees the grace of God and he is glad
He has postured his life in such a way that he actually get’s to see the grace of God at work
in other words since he trusted Jesus as his saviour he has continued to get to expirence this deep and amazing Joy that comes from God moving.
it’s a way, that if you are a follower of Christ you are invited into also. At times our life can feel small
it can feel fleeting, or not making that big of a difference in the sceme of things but when our lives our connected to Gods work our lives are wonderfully big and most likely bigger then we think
we have an inviation like barnaabus to be so connected to the Lord that when he is at work, when his grace is moving, when people are being saved to not only hear about it but participate in it
to see God at work
he is understanding something in this moment that’s remarkable. NO longer are just Jewish people coming to believe in the messiah
it’s actually people from every tribe, every tounge, every nation who are placing their faith In the perfect work of Jesus on the cross and Jesus is changing lives
barnabas knows something , he knows the only way this could happen is because of the grace of God
and really that’s the only way anyone’s life is changed
Paul would later write in ephesians 2
it’s by grace through faith you are saved
barnaabus has contineud to expierence and see evidences of Gods grace
and what does the grace of God produce in his life? Gladness
to be glad is to
to be in a state of happiness and well-being, rejoice,
and of course this is what it produced. He heard of the grace of God and then he got to see it
(THIS MIGHT BE A PLACE TO TALK ABOUT OTHER AREAS WE SEE GLADNESS)
Gods grace was not only impacted the whole city it was impacting him.
and my encouragment to all of us would to put ourselves in the paths of Grace and Gods work. to be connedcted enough to Jesus and his work that not only do we hear about it but we see it.
If I’m not careful I can think about how do I do enough things, or have enough postive expirences that I can just remain happy.
But this is something more then that. There have been good days and bad days for teh early church however because God is at work their is something deeper then happiness happening in barnadabas life. There is something deep and profound happening within him that allows his whole person to be affected.
and in his gladness he did what he so often would do he enocuraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose
He is pointing them towards a goal or truth. He is calling out something inside them
He is coming alongside them. He is with them. He is near them
He is giving them love and truth
I’ve read before the word encourement can have behind it the idea to GIVE courage.
what a great ministry he has. He is saying becasue God has been so faithful to you, he has pursued you, he has saved you
remain faithful to HIM, and do this with steadfast purpose
He is trying to give them courage.
this is a group of people who have lived their whole lives in one of the darknest places on earth at the time. A gropu have pepole who were surronded by false worship and evil on everyside
and a group of people who were mircously being changed by Jesus
and what he does is he speaks a word to them and said now more then every cling to CHRIST
“”In this way Barnabas helped them focus on that which would cleanse them of the defilement of Antioch. His advice is appropriate for all Christians, whether in beginning stages or well along the path. Maclaren rightly warned, “Many of us are so busy thinking about Christianity that we have lost our hold of Christ””
don’t let go. Do it with steadfast purpose
the word steadfast means heart. so he is saying in the deepest places of your life with all your are and with real purpose keep chasing after Jesus
and he could say this becuase it’s what he was doing in his own life
Luke tells us he is a good man, fully of the Holy spirit and faith
His faith produced spiritual desire, expectation, and dependence
it’s a wonderful way to live. It’s a way where you say God you are everything to me, God I expected you to move and transforms hearts and lives like you have mine, and God I am complelty like you
maybe you’ve been around people like this but my encouramgement to you today is be like this.
it’s a wonderful way to live, to allow your desire for christ to form an expectation and dependence on him that is wonderful
and the result of this is something we continue to see in the book of acts. a great many people were added to the Lord
It’s almost like everything goes into a type of hyperdirve
evanglism, growth, disicipleship it’s all happening fast.
Keller put in this way in 2013
The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2012–2013 The Gospel Church
we cannot grow into the people we were designed to be except in this soil. We have to be surrounded by people who are not so cowardly that they just affirm us and not so impatient and unloving that they give advice too quickly.
We need to be surrounded by people who are characterized by truth and love or we won’t grow
and as this is happening Barnbas goes to look for his friend Saul. and brings him to Antioch.
it would be worth remember how this passage started to undestand the wieght of this moment.
Acts 11:19 “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.”
we are told in Acts 8:1 “And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
so one of the very people responsible for the scarrtering, who approved of Stephen being killed was in the city of Antioch were revival is breaking out
This would be a good time to just ask How is this possible and why is this happening?
out of all the people in the world Barnabas could have brought this is who he brings
but barnabas knows something. Sauls life was radically changed by Jesus.
and if He is full of the Holy spirit he is trusting in the wisdom of the spirit to lead him to what needs to happen next
in stead of trying to do this alone he goes and gets Saul to help him in the process of disicpling new believers in Antioch
and what a moment this would have been. We aren’t told what Sauls reaction was but we can be sure it most have been and amazing and reedming moment for him
reminding us that our life and our story isn’t defiend by our worst days and worst mistakes and sins
no we have a God who is bigger then our biggest regreats we have a God who is faithful to us and better then we deserve
we have a God through the gospel who is making all things new
that my friends is a glory
let’s not move so fast through the text that we miss what Luke is showing us
the gospel of Jesus christ is so powerful, so wonderful so marvaious here in Antioch
we have a group of unamed Christians who have been displaced from their homes because Stephen was killed preaching the good news about Jesus
and eventually they get to a city that is complelty Lost and they tell people is this dark place abut Jesus
and a great number are saved
and as they are gathering as a church walks in one of the people who apporved of stephens death and now he is going to lead them.
How does this happen. Only becasue Jesus is alive. ONly because of his love, his power, his grace and his purpose
the gospel is literally taking people who should hate each other, who should be scared of each other, who have nothing in common and uniting them. The gospel is brininig together making a new sort of huminity
early in scriputre we are told the story of Joseph. Sold into slavery by his brothers, lied abut, left for dead, in prison twice and at when he is reunited with his brothers instead of taking revenages says these words
Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
and that’s whay God continues to do. He really does work all things for good!
Satan thought by the persuection of exection of Stepehn he might have won but what was intended for evil God used for good.
and now here in Antioch we are seeing that
and in a way only Jesus could he has repurposed Sauls life. No longer is he killining followers of Jesus he is actaully teaching them.
so no wonder verse 26 ends the way it does. it’s here the disiciples are first called Chrisitans
in the book of Acts the people who trusted in Jesus as saviour are reffered to as
followers of the way
disciples
brothers
saints
later people of the sect of nazerene
but now Chrisitans.
this word meant “little christ’
Christians were a new humanity completle. Up to this point in history your religion was proably tied to the region of the world you lived
Even today some assume that one’s religion is based on one’s ethnicity, social class, or family, but the Antioch followers of Jesus showed the world something beautifully different about Christianity.
R kent hughes says
Christ was so much on these believers’ lips, they lived so like Christ, that no other name would do. Christian is a wonderful name—a name of which we should seek to be worthy.
it’s what Paul would write about in
Galatians 3:25–28 “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Their lives began to look so much like Jesus life it was the only name which they could be called
As this is all happeningAgabus comes up and amkes a prophecy about a famine that would take place and Luke tells us it did.
This section closes with a glimpse into the hearts of the Christians in Antioch. They display sacrificial mercy and generosity to those in need.
They put others before self. Pointing once again to the generousity of Jesus
Exalting Jesus in Acts It Was Generous
The church doesn’t ask, How much will it cost? They simply give as much as they can. This kind of generosity shows that the gospel has transformed them (cf.
allowing once again the way they lived as Christians to point people to Jesus
2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
The story of Acts has once again shifted. From Jerusalm now to Antioch and here the church would start to move out into the ends of the earth
and it’s good to remember the story of Acts is our story. we are here today as a result of what’s happening in Acts 11. Becasue people lived this way we now know the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus christ
if you are a Christian in this room today your life is connnected to something bigger then your life today. God has been moving and pusuing people, growing his church for thounsands of eyars
and here is how I want to encourage our church today
if you aren’t a follow of Jesus, if you have never adminnted of your sin and repented of your sin, beleived Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life, died on the cross for your sin, buried in a tomb, rose on the third day appeared to the disipcles, and ascedned into you heaven I want to urge you to let today be the day you become a Christian.
If you sense God is calling you and pursuing you to do this I want to invite you to do so. during our worship time call out to jesus and he will save you
and if you have done that consider your life and the evidence of Gods grace you see around. Are you glad when you see the grace of God? Are you putting your self in the paths of Gods grace? If not ask him for help
some questions we ask for at rivertreee
Does it cause you to change the reality of your life
We ask these questions here
Am I resting in the finished work of Christ?
Are the People around me better because I am in their lives?
Am I enjoying the nearness of God through scripture and prayer?
Was I more generous this year than last?
When did I last introduce Christ into a conversation?
Where in the world does Jesus want me to go next?
I think these are evidences of Gods grace in antioch and they can be in our lives today. reflect on thiese questions during our response time
Pray-
English Standard Version Chapter 6
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
keep praying
Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly … in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
closing prayer
I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!
