Missional Church Model
Notes
Transcript
Missional Church Model
Missional Church Model
Whenever we want to chase a goal, start something new, or just change direction we usually look at someone or something to be the model for that change.
As a church, we want to do good work for the kingdom of God and the Glory of Christ.
We want to be a church on mission so that others can come to know the goodness of Jesus.
So we need a model or structure to help point us in the right direction.
Yes we understand the fundamentals.
Love God.
Love Others.
Preach the Gospel.
But how do we do it. We have the knowledge, we need to know the action steps to put knowledge into action.
Sometimes the distance between where we are and where we want to be is a simply model to follow.
Today we are going to read about a church that is a great model for how we should be doing ministry.
In fact, I would argue that this is probably the most important church in the NT.
If not the most important at least tied with the church in Jerusalem.
The church I am talking about is the church in Antioch of Syria.
There are two cities called Antioch that we will talk about in Acts, but today’s Antioch is in Syria. About 300 miles from Jerusalem.
Antioch was the third largest city in all of the Roman Empire.
It was Rome, Alexandria, then Antioch.
Antioch had a population of about 500,000
It was a major connection point for trade between Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia, and India.
It was a cultural center of Greek thought, arts, and spirituality.
Antioch was also known as a morally lax city.
In fact, the entirety of the Roman Empire heard about and talked about the rampant immorality of Antioch.
Just outside the city there were temples where ritual prostitution ran was practiced.
One ancient historian even quipped that the “filth of the Orontes” (river that Antioch sat near) had flowed into the Tiber (Near Rome).
Basically, the immorality had flowed from Antioch to Rome.
Antioch was like the Vegas or New Orleans of the Roman Empire.
There was much debauchery, sin, and an extreme need for repentance.
But God saw a city that would be used to glorify him.
A city and a people that needed to know the risen Christ.
A city that would become the one of most important city to all of Christianity.
A city filled with Gentiles that would reach the world for the kingdom of God.
God used the people of that city to build a church that would extend his mission to the end of the earth.
Let’s Pray.
So let’s take a look at the church in Antioch together.
What did they do? How did they do it? How can we imitate them?
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.
Evangelism
“Now Those who were scattered”
Let’s not forget that there were men and women who had been displaced from their homes due to persecution of the Church.
People had been persecuted in Jerusalem and were scattered upwards of 300+ miles away.
Remember this word “scattered” that Luke uses is used on purpose.
It’s the same word that was used in reference to farmers spreading speed in farm land.
These men and women were scattered to grow.
They were scattered to preach the good news of Jesus.
They were not content with sitting on their hands and waiting for something better to come along.
They had the something better
They had the message of Jesus.
They had the hope of salvation and resurrection.
They had the joy of the the Lord.
They had a relationship with the giver of Life and they weren’t keeping it to themselves.
They were embodying the Great Commission.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
As they were going, as they were moving, as they were living their lives they were telling people about Jesus.
Their heart and soul was the good news of Jesus.
This is the reality. If we want to be the church that God wants us to be we have to be willing to tell others about Jesus.
At the VERY LEAST we need to invite people to church.
I know for a fact that there is one family sitting in this room that came back to this church because they met one of our members at the Short Stop on a Sunday Morning after church.
All this member said was… “I had such a great time at church this morning, you should come by and visit us.”
And here they are.
Inviting people to church is an awesome way to help people hear the gospel, but the best way is for you to tell them the hope you find in the gospel of Jesus.
God has spread us all out to grow. Not just grow as individuals but to plant and grow a hunger for Jesus in our communities.
The people we first hear about here in this passage are limited in their spread of the message of Jesus.
They only spoke it to the Jewish people.
To them, they had do idea that the message of Jesus was applicable to any one except for the Jewish People.
He was their messiah.
He was the one they had been waiting for.
He was the promise fulfilled to the people of God.
But we know that the Gospel message is for all people.
We shouldn’t just share it with the people that look like us.
We shouldn’t just share it with the people to talk like us.
We shouldn’t just share it with the people that vote like us.
Listen to the same music like us.
The gospel message is for all people at all times in all places.
Jesus is the hope of the nations.
The Muslim. The atheist. All People All Places.
He is the hope for all.
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.
And there were some who knew that or at least they figured it out along the way.
“Some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene”
No names, no titles. just faithful men preaching the gospel.
These men of Cyprus and Cyrene got it
They were speaking the truth of Jesus to the Hellenists.
Now you may be thinking, “haven’t we heard of the Hellenist before? And weren’t they Jews?”
So there is some debate about this verse.
Some Scholars and Theologians believe that this verse means they were speaking to Hellenistic Jews, but if we look at the context of the verse, I think its pretty easy to see that, that can’t be true.
First, Luke uses the word “But” (de) to describe what they are doing
But is a contrasting word.
Let’s read it again
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.
Luke is obviously contrasting the work of some with the work of others.
Some were only preaching to the Jews
But these men were preaching to the Hellenists.
I remember sitting in a class during bible college trying to figure out what in the world a Hellenist is.
It’s not some one who loves our Organist.
B/c if it were we would all be “Helenists”.
No this word Hellenists simply means those who partake in Greek Culture and speak the Greek Language.
Remember Antioch was a hot bed of Greek Culture and Pagan worship.
They knew very little if anything of the Hebrew Religion
Rather they worshipped a multitude of gods and lived a life of immorality.
Notice what they preached… “the Lord Jesus” (v.20)
This is contrast to what we have seen throughout the preaching to the Jews
For the Jewish people, they were preaching the fulfillment of scripture, they were preaching Jesus as the Christ, they were preaching the arrival of the messiah.
All of these things were good and true, but do you think that the Hellenists would have known or even cared about any of those things?
NO. Those realities wouldn’t amount to a hill o’ beans to those who lived and grew up in the Greek Culture.
But they did understand the concept of “Lord.”
Kurios is the Greek word and it is used for people in a place of authority.
This title could be used for any authority including the Ruler of the Roman Empire, the Caesar.
Some believers were even imprisoned and martyred b/c they said that Jesus is Lord instead of Caesar is Lord.
So what’s going on here?
Why aren’t they preaching and teaching in the same way to the gentiles that they would to the Jews?
Simply, they are speaking the truth in a language that those present can understand.
Here’s the reality if you have been in church for any amount of time you know that we can have our own language.
Some like to call it Christianese.
To an unchurched person these words and phrases would make absolutely no sense.
Example:
Sin
Repent
Saved
Fellowship
Born Again
Grace
Spiritual Gifts
All these are words that you have probably heard within the walls of the church.
But if you are talking to someone who has never been in church before and you use this same type of language without explaining what it means they are not gonna understand.
So when these believers in Antioch are preaching the gospel they are “contextualizing” the message of the gospel.
You’re probably thinking Josh you just used a word we have never heard before. You’re doing exactly what you told us not to do...
So let me do a quick explanation.
Contextualization is when you take a message and present it so that someone will understand it.
Here’s the Key: You don’t change the meaning of the message but you change the way the message is relayed.
We do this in many aspects of our lives so we also need to do it when we talk to others about Jesus.
Sometimes we need to approach situations and speak to people about Jesus like they know nothing of Him.
We don’t want to take anything for Granted. We want to make sure that the message isn’t muddled and that they know the truth.
There was this preacher I was talking to one time and he said he stopped asking people if they were Christian.
They lived in the South and most people still consider themselves Christian b/c they go to church once or twice a year.
Momma and Granny go to church.
Or it is the cultural norm to say you are a Christian.
But instead of asking if they are Christian, he would ask if they are living a Life devoted to Christ.
And a lot can be told by their response.
Are they trying to be good enough or do they know the grace of God?
Anyway, these believer’s in Antioch were devoted to evangelism.
They were devoted to telling others about Jesus in a way that they could understand it.
If you are trying to tell someone something and they don’t or can’t understand it then you need to find a new way to explain it.
We, too, should be devoted to evangelism.
We, too, should be devoted to telling others the good news of the gospel.
We, too, should be focused on the mission of God.
But the Antioch church wasn’t just devoted to evangelism, they were also devoted to discipleship.
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.
Discipleship
There are many different layers to discipleship and we see them here in the context of these verses.
First, we see accountability.
They Weren’t allowed to do whatever they wanted to do.
There was supervision from the church in Jerusalem through the Sending of Barnabas.
The church in Jerusalem wanted to do some quality control in order to make sure that the Gospel of Jesus wasn’t being tainted.
This is important in all aspects of Ministry.
As the pastor and along with Church leadership, I want us to make sure that any ministry that is done in the name of FBC Louise is done to glorify and magnify Christ.
So as much as I want you all to be free to do ministry, I also want us to make sure that it has the right motivation, right mission, and is pointing in the right direction.
In addition to accountability, Discipleship needs encouragement.
Following Jesus can be hard.
The Apostles knew this so they sent the king of encouragement to the believer’s in Antioch.
Barnabas shows up and is excited to see how the Lord is working in this town.
He continued to encourage them in the work that was being done.
He was their biggest cheer leader.
He rejoiced in their victories. He encouraged them in their difficulties. and he guided them in their purpose.
We need cheerleaders when it comes to ministry.
We can get overwhelmed. We can get exhausted. We can get burned out.
So we need one another to encourage and uplift each other.
Don’t quench the fire of excitement when a new ministry is starting or when we don’t see the growth we expected.
Rather encourage and take part.
Honestly one of the ways that you can encourage someone is by taking part in what they are doing.
It’s encouraging to see someone you know and love take an interest and take part in what you love and have a desire for.
Encourage one another. Be excited and rejoice with one another.
For the ministry work is hard but rewarding.
Encourage them to stay faithful and focused on their purpose.
I Met a guy a few weeks ago who was asking me about a spiritual rut he was going through.
This man has been a musician for 27+ years. And he still played music as a side gig.
He had a full time job and Wed-Sat nights he played in a band sometimes til 2 in the morning.
He is a believer, but he felt disconnected and removed from fellowship with God.
Partly because on those Sat. nights he played he was up late and rarely made it to church.
So I asked him if it was worth it?
I told him that following Christ costs us something, but that Christ is much better.
We spoke a little while longer and I said that maybe he needs to step back from the music and focus on his purpose in Christ.
We prayed and he left.
A couple of weeks go by and I hear from him again.
He wanted to meet up so we got together and he told me that he was going to quit the band and focus on his relationship with God.
I encouraged him but even more so he encouraged me.
Sometimes encouragement looks like hearing the things we don’t want to hear to push us further into reliance and relationship with Jesus.
Sometimes we need that type of encouragement.
As they evangelize and disciple, the believers in Antioch grew in numbers and Barnabas realized that he couldn’t do this on his own.
This is a reality that sometimes has to be hammered into our minds.
WE CANT DO IT ALL! WE NEED HELP!
And if we try to do it all without help we are withholding a blessing from someone.
Have you ever thought about that. That it is selfish to try and do everything on your own.
Allowing someone to assist you in your life or ministry is a blessing to that person.
That’s why it is important to serve in the church. You will never know the blessing you are forfeiting if you aren’t serving.
Barnabas needed help and so he did the right thing and sought out help.
He went to Tarsus to look for Saul.
Why did he choose Saul?
Why not send word back to Jerusalem that help was needed and ask them for help?
Because Saul was the perfect man for the job.
Saul was educated. He knew and lived among the Hellenists.
He knew their culture. He knew their pagan worship.
He was the perfect one fit to “contextualize” the message of Christ to the people of Antioch.
When Barnabas and Saul got back to Antioch what did they do?
For a whole year they taught the believers there.
We don’t come to Jesus knowing all that we could ever hope or need to know.
We have to be taught. We have to learn. We have to Grow. We have to be challenged.
We have to:
Learn to be like Jesus.
Learn to love like Jesus
Learn to live like Jesus.
Learn to love the doctrines of God.
Learn to love the art of learning.
Learn to love being challenged.
The Depths of God are too deep for us to ever reach the bottom.
But the more we continue to learn. The more we continue to be taught. The more we continue to grow. The more we love will Love God.
I spent 7 years studying theology.
I spent 7 years reading, writing, and discussing the things of God intensely.
I can stand before with honesty and integrity and say that I don’t know it all.
I can’t know it all. I know some, but I still have to learn.
I still have to grow.
You can be a follower of Jesus for 50, 60, 70 years and still learn more about him.
There is richness in growing to know the Lord.
You don’t have to be super smart or well read to know the depths of God, but you do have to be open and willing to learn and be taught.
One of the most upsetting instances that I come across is the way that Followers of Christ are portrayed in the media.
We tend to be characterized as slow or dimwitted.
The world believes that faith is for the shallow and ignorant.
The reality is that there are many intelligent and thoughtful believers all across this world.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people who claim Christ that don’t take the time to know Christ.
One of my passions is Discipleship.
I love helping people think through their faith.
I love helping people answer or at least try to answer the difficult questions.
This is how we Love God will all our Mind.
We are commanded to love God with all that we have.
We should be learning and growing in our knowledge of him.
We cannot neglect the minds that we have been given.
Once someone has been taught and they have learned.
The Next step is to teach someone else.
This is how we build disciple makers.
It’s a simple formula:
Submit to Christ
Learn about Christ
Tell others about Christ
Teach others about Christ.
That’s what a disciple making church looks like. That’s what a church on mission looks like.
We need to be into and interested in feeding the soul
We need to be living differently from the world while still living in the World.
This is what we see in the last part of verse 26. “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” We see here that Discipleship brings with it Good Fruit.
“ianos”—Christianos
“Belonging to, identified by”
Did you know that the believers and followers of Jesus were not the ones to come up with the moniker “Christian?”
It was the world that first called them Christians.
Those outside the church saw those inside the Church as those that belonged to Christ. They were identified by Christ.
The name of Christ was always on their lips.
The deeds of Christ were always accomplished by their hands.
Their very character was that of Christ. Loving God and Loving People.
The city of Antioch was a diverse city.
Many people worshipped different gods and lived pagan lives.
The “Christians” didn’t live like them.
There were also Jews that lived in the City.
They had their kosher lives that they had to live.
They ate a certain way. They avoided certain people. They had to remain clean.
The “Christians” didn’t live like them either.
These followers of Jesus lived such a different and radical life from all around them that they needed a new Identifier.
The only one that would work was “Christian”.
For the Jewish people there were only two types of people.
The Jews descended from Abraham and the Gentiles who were everyone else.
These Christians were creating a third category.
It’s almost as if God was taking those that Follow Jesus and making them into a “New Creation.”
A New People for himself.
A third category that was open to all who believe in the Son, Jesus Christ.
Not only did they focus on discipleship, but these early believers wanted to take care of people.
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.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
Mercy Ministry
We see in these verses that the church in Antioch was generous when it comes to their helping out those in need.
A Famine came and the EACH PERSON according to his ability sent relief to the believers in Judea.
Here’s the reality.
A healthy church is a generous Church.
If we have the ability we should give to those who are hurting.
If we have the ability we should give to other churches that are struggling.
Why? b/c the mission of God is bigger than our Bank Account.
We should always be on the look out as individuals and as a corporate body for ways that we can be generous.
We need to care about our ministry here and the ministry of God everywhere else.
We need to be generous b/c God has been generous toward us.
But in order for our church to be generous, we need our members to be generous to the church.
That generosity has shown us a great mercy and we should show mercy to those in need as well.
Finally, our Church Should have open Doors.
1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
Open Doors
We should be open to all people for leadership and membership
As we look at this church in Antioch. We see that the church consisted of people from all different walks of life, not just in membership, but also in leadership.
There is a healthy standard for church congregations when it comes to how they should look.
Here is the standard.
A church should reflect its neighborhood.
The church membership should look like the neighborhood it is surrounded by.
If the neighborhood or community is 60% white, 20% black, and 20% Hispanic.
The church should reflect that.
That would mean that we are impacting and reaching the community where we live.
And I’ll be honest it would take some getting used to b/c we may have to do things differently if we truly want to reach the community.
As many of you know a few weeks ago Corrie and I were at the Associations Minister and wives retreat.
It was a good time of fellowship and relaxation.
Can I tell you what one the best parts was for me?
We had some of the Hispanic Pastors from the area get up and lead us in Worship.
I didn’t understand a word that was being sung, but I do know that God did and he was pleased.
It was an absolute Joy to sit there and listen to these men praise God with their gifts.
You know why?
b/c I know that is what heaven is going to look like.
All Tongues, tribes, and nations worshipping God.
So if we want to engage the community we need to be open to changing our preferences in order to be open and inviting to the community.
Not only do we need to be open to people joining us, but we also have to be open to people leaving us.
We need to be committed to training and discipling people so that we can send them out to preach the gospel.
One of the things that really excited me when I was interviewing to serve here was that one of the committee’s goals was that we would plant a church w/i the next 10 or so years.
I want to train, educate, and disciple the people in this community so that they can go and tell others about the good news of Jesus.
Our doors need to be open to all who will come and open to all those who will Go and make disciples.
May we be a Mission Focused Church like the church in Antioch.
That each of us will
Tell others about Jesus
Grow in our Relationship with Jesus
Be Generous like Jesus
And Be open to change for Jesus
As we wrap up the sermon today we are going to participate in the Lord’s Supper.
This is a time to reflect on the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
The bread and the cup that are going to be passed around are set aside only for those who have trusted Christ as their Savior.
If you are not a follower of Jesus, we ask that you let the plate pass by and that you accept the Gift of Grace extended by our Savior.
As you receive the elements take a moment and offer up a prayer of gratitude for the new life you have in Jesus.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.