A Gospel Saturated Church

A Gospel Church

Acts 11:18–21 ESV

18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” 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. 20 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. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

When we left off in the book of Acts last year, in march, the Pandemic was just beginning. It was uncertain at that time how long this would last and we certainly had no way of knowing that we would still be dealing with it almost a year later.

In fact everything we thought we could predict proved to be wrong. In this season the Lord has allowed a mighty shaking of this planet and even within his church we have seen a lot of movement with his people.

We have learned to be thankful for everything that comes from his hand, and we have truly allowed everything to be stripped away in order to focus solely on him and his word, because the word of the Lord endures forever.

As we get back to where we were in Acts, I want to give you a brief reminder of what has happened so far.

In Acts 1 we saw Jesus give instructions to this disciples before ascending into heaven. They were to wait for the Holy Spirit to come and empower them to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.

In Acts 2 it was reported that the Holy Spirit came in a fantastic display of wind and fire while the disciples were waiting in a room praying for a long time. As the Spirit filled them he empowered them to preach the gospel in different languages so many would now hear the Gospel in their own tongue. This was a mighty reversal of the tower of Babel and signified a restoration from God in saving his people and not allowing any hinderance to Gospel of Jesus Christ. The chapter ends with Peter preaching and many thousands getting saved.

In Acts 3 we see pater and John heal a lame beggar in the temple and they again preach the Gospel to all who were there.

In Acts 4 Peter and John are brought before the Jewish council and again they preach the Gospel to these men who opposed them. They are asked not to speak the name of Jesus but tell them that they cannot do that. That chapter ends with the church in Jerusalem growing in number and discipleship as the believers there pray for more boldness to preach the Gospel.

It is important to note at this point that the Gospel is only being preached to Jewish believers and there isn’t any Gentile or non jewish churches being started yet.

In Acts 5 we see the authority that the Apostles had in the early church and many signs and wonders. The same council from before arrest the Apostles and beat them and command them not to teach in Jesus name, but they refuse and rejoice at being counted worthy to suffer along with Christ. It concludes with them going from house to house teaching and preaching. The church was growing but it seems like society around them is beginning to persecute them.

Acts 6 gives us the first place where deacons are established in the church to help free the Apostles to give themselves to the ministry of the word. We are also introduced to a man named Stephen who is arrested because God is working through him in unique ways and this threatens the Jew council that doesn believe in Jesus as the Christ.

Acts 7 is long record of the sermon Stephen preaches to these men as a testimony that they have repeatedly heard the Gospel and continued to reject Jesus Christ. It ends with them stoning Stephen and a new character named Saul appears to have a blood thirsty vengeance against these new believers.

Acts 8 details how Saul is persecuting the church and because of this persecution God uses it to spread his people beyond Jerusalem to go preach the Gospel. We now see a guy named Phillip leading a revival in Samaria and then going to preach to one man from Ethiopia, who then returns to the continent of Africa and spreads the gospel there. It ends with Phillip preaching as far as he can without going to the gentiles or non Jews.

Acts 9 becomes the part of the story that God Saves Saul miraculously and he becomes someone who is teaching others the Gospel until he is persecuted and must flee for his life.

Finally in Acts 10 we see Peter commanded to go to the gentiles from God the Spirit. Peter has a vision and then gets sent to a non jew or Gen tile named Cornelius. His whole family believe and are filled with the Spirit. They speak in tongues just like the first believers in Acts 2 did. This becomes a sign to Peter and the other Apostles as well as the main church in Jerusalem that God is saving all kinds of people.

And in Acts 11 we see Peter giving the report to the Jerusalem church and they glorify God because of it. Let’s look at it...

Acts 11:18 ESV

18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

It is acknowledged that repentance leads to Life for any who call on the name of the Lord. Meaning, if God saves you and you repent of your sin, then the early church didn’t need to care about how you identified yourself before receiving Christ.

The historic record of the early church shows how fractured they were and how easily they were able to be divided, and yet God overcomes every barrier that man has erected in order to allow the message of the Gospel be preached. While many are getting caught up in the miraculous in Acts they fail to see that record in Acts isn’t meant to be some repeatable experience but rather to show the divine nature that Christ’ church is established in.

What we have before us in Acts is a picture of a Gospel saturated Church.

This is a church now has all kinds of people, and is intentionally reaching all kinds of people in all kinds of places. It is a church that grows through persecution and thrives in the midst of difficulty. It is my goal to shows us the biblical picture of this as the church started and to present a vision of this for our own local church to lay hold of.

They found themselves in the midst of persecution in Jerusalem, and we find ourselves in the midst of a season of global persecution, if not even in our region but in society at large around us. Let us look to the word this morning and find hope and strength to continue to face the days ahead with God glorifying Grace and a true witness to his Might.

Acts 11:19–21 ESV

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. 20 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. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

This passage picks up where Acts 8:4 leaves off. Dealing with the effects of persecution that came against the church from Stephen. It is interesting that it says they were “scattered” because of this. What that means is that while Phillip went to Samaria, Peter went to Joppa and Caesarea and Saul went to Damascus where he gets saved and starts preaching the Gospel, something else is happening simultaneously.

Verse 20 describes it as, “some of them”, That is displaced Jewish believers are making their way to the north. These men are in a costal region north of Judea where they could take the gospel message to Tyre and Sidon, which was the only place they could’ve taken a boat to the Island of Cyprus. From there they would’ve had to travel by boat some 200 miles north to Antioch.

These believers that escaped from Jerusalem are determined to share the Gospel wherever they go, but there is one problem, they are only speaking the word to Jews. These guys had no clue what had been happening with Peter and Cornelius. They fled Jerusalem before the news had come back that God was saving Gentiles. And so, they just assumed it was for the Jews only.

And yet even in the midst of their ministry they do share the gospel with the Hellenist, which is you were here for it last year we explained that these are Jews who speak Greek. Hellenist also lived amongst the Gentiles and so they were not as concerned about Just preaching the Gospel to Jews only.

These Hellenists were from Antioch which was a major metropolis of the ancient world. It was known as the third largest city ranking just behind Alexandria and Rome. It was a city known for its culture and commerce as well as the many roman trades routes that passed through Antioch.

Antioch was described in Rome as a place of learned men and liberal studies. Yet, it was also known for its sexual immorality and Pagan Worship. It was only 5 miles away from a detestable shrine in the temple of Daphne, where things would happen that we certainly wouldn’t mention here.

It is here in the midst of an evil dark culture that God uses his people to preach “The Lord Jesus” and save people who are not from the original audience of strictly Jewish believers. This means that they were not just presenting the facts that Jesus was the Messiah, since these people didn’t care about what the Jews believed, but rather Preaching the Lord Jesus means that they shared about Life death and resurrection.

They were evangelizing people, preaching the gospel and making much of Jesus for the salvation of all kinds of people.

This is an earmark of a Gospel saturated church.

A Gospel Saturated Church - Spreads the Gospel - Evangelism

They were spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to all they came in contact with, and the first gentile church will be born. And we know this from the key phrase that we see here, which is something of significance when reading through scripture.

The words, “The hand of the Lord was with them” could mean 2 things. I the OT it meant God’s power was being expressed in judgement. But it also referred to God’s power expressed in blessing. And we know that it is that in which we are meant to see the hand of the lord, because it says that they saw, “A great number who believed turned to the Lord.”

This means that by the ordinary means of faithfully preaching the gospel, God was saving people. This is evangelism. And it happens every-time we gather and God’s word is opened to us, and it should also happen every-time any of his people share about Jesus Christ with someone who isn’t a believer yet.

We call this evangelism and it is how the gospel spreads. It is sad that many churches have began to forego faithful preaching and evangelism. God saves people by simple means of telling others about him based on the truth we find in scripture alone. Too many churches and Christians seem to think that this is old hat and outdated, but God has always built his church on the message of the Gospel, no matter how many church growth books are written, and no matter how many famous pastors want to unhitch from the scriptures and try new methods of reaching people, God always uses preaching the gospel to save people.

If we are going to be a faithful church full of faithful Christians then we too must never move away from preaching the gospel and spreading the gospel to all we come in contact with.

If we simply continue to do our part God will be faithful to do his, and many will believe and turn to the Lord, just like we read here in Acts 11.

See believing is inseparable from repentance manifested which is always seen in a changed life. Thats what we want to see and it is what they saw. Which will cause them basic problems in the church. Seeing people become mature in their faith. Look as they figure it out.

They need help from other churches and and get it from Jerusalem.

Acts 11:22–26 ESV

22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 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, 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. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 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.

Ok, so news of this reaches Jerusalem… News of what? Not Just an Ethiopian that got saved, or a Roman centurion and his family that were filled with Spirit after hearing the gospel preached… those things could not compare to the news that hundreds of miles away while all that was happening a whole new church is started and it is full of Gentiles.

What would they do? They needed to send a faithful man with a good testimony to check in on them and help them if it was true. So they send Barnabas. He was a small character earlier in Acts 4 when he gave the proceeds of a property to the church and later was someone in Acts 9 that vouched for Saul that he was truly a believer now.

Apparently Barnabas has been faithfully serving in that church and he is still there through the persecution that broke out against the church in Jerusalem. See, God always strengthens the church with faithful qualified men. Men who don’t check on Christs church in the midst of problems and persecution.

And so Barnabas goes to see what is happening, and he is described as, “A good man full of the Holy Spirit and of Faith”. This is why the Jerusalem church sent him, not because he was immature, but rather growing in Grace and able to be trusted. Of how the church needs more faithful men like Barnabas.

And he was the right man for the job because he was himself from the Island of Cyprus, so he wouldn’t have seemed like an outsider or a strict jewish leader. And what would he see when he comes to Antioch?

The grace of God is invisible in our lives so many times until way later when we recognize it, but the effects are easily seen by others who come in to watch what is going on. We may not see the grace of God clearly sometimes but God is faithful and his grace sustains his people.

Barnabas Saw the grace of God and was Glad! He rejoiced because of what he saw. And it must have been messy and full of difficult question because he exhorted them to remain faithful. You don’t need to do that when everything is going well. I have never had to exhort people to remain faithful when things are going well, I never have the please stay with the church conversation when things are good, but when things are getting crazy and people are in need of the church the most.

He is encouraging them to be faithful and to do it with a steadfast purpose, like continuing to preach the gospel. Which apparently they were doing because it says a great many people were added to the Lord. Which is so cool because that underlines the idea that people don’t just belong to a church but ultimately to the Lord.

But the Lord’s people are a messy bunch and they are ever in need of growth and such exhortations like what Barnabas gave here.

But what happens next shows that the same means we want to employ are exactly what the church has always done and that is to disciple people by teaching them constantly what God’s word says. And this discipleship happens when Faithful preacher and teachers give themselves to a people for their growth and God’s glory.

So Barnabas leaves them briefly to go get Saul. He has to go all the way to Tarsus, which is known as a far off place, and he brings him back.

What would they do? Meet with the whole church as much as possible and teach them God’s word. This is what we call discipleship…

A Gospel Saturated Church - Sees the Gospel - Discipleship

Meeting constantly with God’s people and learning God’s word. It is one of the other ear marks of a Gospel Saturated church… to see the Gospel in the lives of the people as they learn and grow and meet regularly.

This example is one that the church needs now more than ever. Faithfully teaching God’s word and preaching the gospel is the only way to see believers come to the Lord and grow in the Lord.

When this happens people take notice of it and here the city of Antioch noticed and called them Christians. This meant that their allegiance was to Christ above all else. In that culture where people were pledging allegiance to Herod they were known as Herodians, and so when people called these believers from Antioch Christians, they were mocking them and labeling them as those who were fore mostly loyal to Christ above all else.

It wasn’t a nice thing that they were doing as they were trying to single out those who didn’t belong to the world that they lived in, and yet we are proud to be known as one today. It also meant that they could see these people who preached the Gospel were different… And that is what happens when the church faithfully teaches its people and they are discipled. This is how we see the gospel at work in the world, though changed lives.

And here is where it all started with seeing discipleship, in Antioch. But there was more that marked the Gospel saturated church, look...

Acts 11:27–30 ESV

27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 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). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Without spending any time on it I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this is the first place in the NT where we see the office of Elder mentioned. Even the early church had men leading it in the office of elder. Gospel leaders protect gospel churches.

Also, while we do not have much time to teach on it here, it is important to notice that the office of prophet was still in use at this time in the church. Prophets will be seen throughout the book of Acts but they will soon fade like the Apostles do as they were for the foundational work in establishing the church and will be replaced by Evangelists and pastor-teachers. Ultimately once the word of God is recorded there was little to no need for this office to remain as God has revealed himself in scripture to all. That being said here God uses one in particular to warn his people.

What we see is that God is always providing for his people and here he lets them know they need to prepare for tough days. So the prophet comes to Antioch and they respond to the word of the Lord by showing the gospel. What do I mean by that?

A Gospel Saturated Church - Shows the Gospel - Giving

The response from the Antioch church for relief for their brothers in Judea was immediate. they wanted to help the mothering churches that have helped them so much. And they didn’t need a lot manipulation to give generously, they just looked at what they could each do and they gave.

Giving is another ear mark of a Gospel saturated church. A church that evangelizes and disciples people will always be a generous church that gives to those whoa re in need. And the beauty of it, was that these believers would’ve been looked down on because they were not Jews, and yet it didn’t matter to them because they were united in Christ.

How can we look at the church and how God began it, and not see a pattern for us to follow. One that guarantees god will be glorified. A Gospel saturated church will be sustained by God as they are faithful to the work God has called them too. And it is not because we work that we are sustained but because we are sustained we can be faithful to his work.

Our desire is for Living Water to be a Gospel Saturated church that will advance the multiplication of other Gospel Saturated churches… And just like the early church in Antioch where they were first known as Christians, let us be sure that we are also known in our world as Christians, Those who have primary allegiance to Christ in all things.

As we conclude today I want to ask you a question? Why are you called a Christian? We know the name Christian means that you identify with Christ because you are his disciple. But for many this seems to only apply on Sundays during a worship service. What about the rest fo the week?

Will we only be known as Christians when we sing and pray in our gatherings, or will we be known for this primary allegiance to Christ everywhere we go?

Ask yourself, “Why am I called a Christian”. The 16th century, German theologian Zacharius Ursinus asked this same question and formulated the following answer, which is now found in the Heidelberg Catechism...

Why are you called a Christian?

Because by faith I am a member of Christ, and so I share in his anointing.

I am anointed; to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

Can you say that same thing about yourself today? If not cry out to Jesus Christ to come and save you, for God the Father to restore your soul and for his Spirit to fill you and give you a new heart. Repent of your sin and turn to him and you will be saved. And if you have already been saved, then my dear brother and sister, let us make sure we are known by that wonderful name everywhere we go, We are Christians!