29. A Vibrant Church

Random Question

What was your favorite childhood show?

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Booys and girls night (May 22nd, 6pm-9:30pm)

Middle School Activity (May 29th, 6-9pm)

Vs. 1-18

Short recap

What super significant thing just happened in our study last week? Who got saved? (Cornelius & his household, Gentiles are now a part of the church)

In vs. 1, the believers in Jerusalem hear the news...

How do you think they’d receive this? (Not well at all)

What do we have in vs. 2 that would show us they weren’t too impressed? (Those of the circumcision contended with Peter)

These are not Pharisees, these would be Jewish members of the church. And they, like Peter, were not impressed to hear these news at first.

Have someone read vs. 3. In your own words can you tell me what is said in vs. 3?

What things did Peter do that specifically made them angry? (Went in and dines with them)

These men made a very big deal over the fact the Gentiles hadn’t been circumscised before they were saved.

Process of becoming a proselyte

Anti-Gospel thinking

Peter defends the Gentiles and shares his dream to the Jews...

That brings us to vs. 16-18

Acts 11:16–17 NKJV

16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

Peter realizes that gatekeeping the Gentiles from the church would mean opposing God directly.

Similar to the parable of the forgiven servant...

Jewish believers realise and worship God.

That ends off the account on the salvation of Cornelius, now we have a church fully united in their goal to reach the whole world with the Gospel!

Vs. 19-21

What do we find happening in vs. 19-20? (Believers scattered from persecution)

Where do we find the Christians moving to? (Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch)

Show the spread of the Gospel on the map...

- All this happens because of Stephen getting martyred all the way back in chapter 6

What can we learn from our trials through this truth? (God has a purpose for them, He brings good through difficulty and even through evil)

There’s particular focus made on the church in Antioch, and this is what we’re going to draw plenty of principles from in our lesson.

Acts 11:20 NKJV

20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Show Cyprus and Cyrene on the map...

- Believers from Jerusalem, Cyprus, and from Cyrene evangelising Antioch

Antioch photos:

Antioch was quite the incredible city.

- 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire (500 000 - 800 000 people), only behind Alexandria and Rome.

- Amazing design; city laid out in grid fashion, making the streets easily navigated (Face the wind for cool breeze). Right on the Orontes river.

- Main street almost 6.5km long all paved in marble. Only city in the world at the time with street lights.

- There was only a small community of 25-50 000 Jews, so the majority were Gentile. Religiously, they were all over the place: Worship the goddess Daphne, Apollo, and the Assyrian goddess Astarte. Morals were all over the place, people called it the “filth of the Orontes.”

As awful as this city was on the religious front, somehow maybe the most vibrant church in the Bible is found there.

Who were the believers preaching to at the end of vs. 20? (The Hellenists)

What have we learned about the Hellenists so far? Who are they? (Greek speaking Jews)

What I never told you is that there’s more to the Hellenists than just Jews. Most Hellenists were Greek speaking people, they came in all stripes and colours. And I think, the believers were preaching here in Antioch, specifically to Gentiles. The Christians weren’t scared of the big city, they weren’t scared of the Gentiles, they made a push for the Gospel by faith. We’ve got to have that same exact boldness.

We’re getting pretty bad here in Canada, and I’m starting to hear people threatening to move away, “I’m going to the States before it’s too late!”

What kind of attitude should we have towards cities that are full of darkness? (Desire to be the salt and the light)

Why might we be even more effective in places like Antioch, where morality is an afterthought? (The contrast between the dark and the light is greater, the light exposes the darkness for what it truly is)

And the believers from all around realise this, so they make a push for the Gospel in the big city of Antioch

And what are the results in vs. 21?

Acts 11:21 NKJV

21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

God rewards our boldness!

Vs. 22-24

So, the great news of salvation has reached Jerusalem. What do they do next in vs. 22? (Send out Barnabas to check it out)

Acts 11:22 NKJV

22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.

Why would the church want to send Barnabas on this mission? (Quality control)

Business checking on new branch

- Caelan, your dad has been in and out of Greece for the last little while, why is his company sending him out there?

- Did they send him saying, “Matt, we really need you to take some nice photos of Greece. When you’re back, we’ll frame them and hang it in our office.”

That would be rediculous! When a new branch of a business is opened, as is the case with Cooke, you send a Matt Roach to check things out, make sure everything is in line and growing how it should.

I think that’s exactly what’s happening here...

You know what the Jerusalem church realised? This new church in Antioch needed some accountability, they needed help to grow. It’s not a matter of babying these new Christians, they didn’t send Barnabas because they don’t trust Antioch yet. They just knew something that we should too, that keeping each other accountable is so very important. Keep checks on your friends, ask them how they’re doing, and don’t be scared to go on the deeper scale. “Hey, how’s your walk with God been?” “Have you been doing your devotions?” “Are you staying pure?” “How can I pray for you?” Real friends care about the fact that you are walking with the Lord, so be that friend!

So, Barnabas is on his way to Antioch, which by the way, is a pretty big trip! And he gets there, meets the Christians there, goes to church with them, maybe has lunch with a nice family...

And what does he see in vs. 23? (The grace of God)

Acts 11:23 NKJV

23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

This is kind of shocking from a Jewish perspective. You’ve got these Gentiles, who for your whole lifetime you’ve been avoiding, and now, they’re worshipping the Lord, and showing all the signs of God’s work of grace in their lives.

What happened after he saw God’s grace at work in Antioch? (He was glad)

As a Jew, could there have been a few differences between him and the believers in Antioch?

Absolutely! I can totally picture Barnabas showing up tot eh church there and noticing all the little details...

- What’s this guy doing here?

- I’m not used to this kind of worship music

- Christians shouldn’t dress that way!

DO you ever get distracted on the differences?

Why do we do that? (Self-righteousness, failure to look deeper than the appearance)

What made Barnabas glad wasn’t how good they looked, it wasn’t how Jewish they sounded in their hymns, it was the fact that God was obviously at work!

Were the Antioch believers perfect? (Of course not! But they were being worked on little by little, they’re getting there!)

How should that affect the way we look at new believers? (Grace, patience, they all have their own things. We were there too!)

So, what does Barnabas do in response to what he sees? (Encourages them to continue)

Yes, maybe a new believer you know at FBC watches movies you aren’t allowed to watch, maybe they listen to music your mom would kill you for listening.

But are we helping them at all if we confront them, “you’re in sin because you like this ungodly music.”?

We aren’t helping them at all! Encourage them in the work that God is doing in their lives, and trust that God will take care of the rough edges! We don’t need to be their Savior, “I see what’s wrong with you, here’s how you change everything. Thank me later.”

That being said, when we see a friend who should know better doing something that dishonours the Lord, what should we do? (Lovingly confront)

Take a look at vs. 24 now, and we learn why Barnabas was the man for this job in Antioch..

Acts 11:24 NKJV

24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

Vs. 25-26

Barnabas was an amazing fit for Antioch, so we see the Lord at work and many people coming to know the Lord. So many people were getting saved, so many people needing someone to teach them where it got to the point Barnabas realised, “I need help!!!”

What does he do in vs. 25?

Acts 11:25 NKJV

25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.

Little note: the wording here seems to indicate he had a hard time finding Paul...

Acts 11:26 NKJV

26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

We find something pretty amazign at the end of the verse, can you see what I’m talking about? (Disciples called Christians)

Why do I say that’s amazing? Why do you find that amazing? (This name was given to them, their testimony was BRIGHT)

Christ - ian (Belonging to) = Belonging to Christ

What a testimony! They lived out their Christian lives so boldly in the world to the point that everyone knew, they knew what you stood for.

Vs. 27-30

Acts 11:27 NKJV

27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.

“Then one of them, named” … (Agabus)

What a name!

Agabus arrives in Antioch and warns them of a severe famine that was coming soon.

If you were in the crowd, how would you take those news? Legit or no?

Why? (stood up and showed by the Spirit)

Like every Biblical account, history backs up these claims...

Flood in A.D. 45-46

- Nile river floods

- Famine in Egypt, Israel, Greece, and even Rome

What do the believers do in response to this distress? (Send a care package to Jerusalem church)

Were they in danger in Antioch too? (Yes, plagues show no favorites)

What does that show us about thei character? (Sacrificial giving)

Here’s the important point, the gave “each according to his ability”

Giving as much as you are able...

Application

Be like the Antioch Christians, they were bold with the Gospel, they were genuinely growing, and they gave!