WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.210 Hey, I'm going to invite you this morning to Acts chapter 11 is where we're going to be together today. 00:00:04.780 --> 00:00:05.820 Acts chapter 11. 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:12.920 And my time is a little bit tighter this morning because of our we had some special music that it was far more important to 00:00:12.920 --> 00:00:13.570 celebrate. 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:15.680 So that was beautiful to see, wasn't it? 00:00:15.680 --> 00:00:18.780 I mean, I think we have we have no room on our stage. 00:00:18.780 --> 00:00:21.360 That's what I found out is we got a we got a lot of kids. 00:00:21.380 --> 00:00:22.740 You guys are good at that. 00:00:23.180 --> 00:00:25.520 So well that's wonderful. 00:00:25.520 --> 00:00:27.640 That's next generation right in the Lord. 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:28.750 And so it makes me thankful. 00:00:30.140 --> 00:00:32.229 Thankful for you, thankful for our families. 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:39.440 And so Acts 11, I think is a critical part of Scripture to consider when we think about future generations for the cause of the gospel. 00:00:39.660 --> 00:00:46.320 And if you remember, Acts chapter 11 is on the backdrop of something significant that took place. 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:52.970 Starting in chapter ten, we read about the conversion of a man named Cornelius, who was a Gentile who came to know the Lord. 00:00:53.800 --> 00:00:54.510 Acts chapter ten. 00:00:54.660 --> 00:01:01.700 That story follows all the way to verse 18 of how the church, Their eyes were opened to the glory 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:06.040 of God, made known not just among the Jewish people, but also the Gentile people. 00:01:06.600 --> 00:01:13.800 And when Jesus came to Jerusalem and was crucified in Jerusalem and the early church started sharing the gospel, 00:01:13.860 --> 00:01:19.180 the question became like, how far is this gospel going to go in radically transforming the world? 00:01:19.300 --> 00:01:24.280 And as persecution broke out in Christianity the Jewish people started to scatter. 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.430 Those that embraced Jesus started to scatter. 00:01:26.960 --> 00:01:29.420 And as they did, they started to share the gospel wherever they went. 00:01:29.440 --> 00:01:35.500 And what they came to discover is Gentiles were transformed in the gospel, too, especially this man named Cornelius. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:37.970 And one of the things we saw about Cornelius is he was a centurion. 00:01:38.220 --> 00:01:41.190 He was a very influential man in Roman society. 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:48.580 And when he comes to know the Lord, not only does his family know the Lord, but also those around him, and opened their eyes to the possibilities of what 00:01:48.580 --> 00:01:50.300 God desired to do. 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:55.790 And in seeing that they were seeing the way that the gospel was to spread around the world. 00:01:56.260 --> 00:02:03.460 And today, as we look in chapter 11, we're going to see how this one particular city, known as Antioch, became a hub of gospel influence 00:02:03.460 --> 00:02:04.740 through this world. 00:02:05.220 --> 00:02:12.240 In fact, Antioch during this first century was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, the first 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:14.000 being the capital, Rome. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:21.360 And then you had Alexandria, Egypt, and some debate whether or not Istanbul and Constantinople was the 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:22.300 third largest city. 00:02:22.320 --> 00:02:25.190 But most believe it was this city that we're going to read about today. 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:32.920 Antioch people speculate that the population of this city was somewhere between 300 and 500,000 people, and so roughly 00:02:32.920 --> 00:02:35.940 about half the size of Utah County. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:36.220 Right. 00:02:36.220 --> 00:02:43.340 And so the ability to influence the world when you when you see a city's heart given over 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:50.200 to God becomes powerful because not only does the city know the Lord, but it also begins to influence the region around it. 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:54.800 And so Antioch becomes this place of major gospel influence. 00:02:54.820 --> 00:03:02.120 It becomes a hub for the sake of the gospel, much like people today might refer to Lehi, Utah, now as a tech hub, and 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.080 we talk about the idea of being a hub. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:04.920 It's to collect. 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.700 It's to gather, it's to train and it's to send out. 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:10.920 And it's the same for us as God's people. 00:03:10.980 --> 00:03:12.350 We've been invited to belong. 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:17.820 When we gather in his name, we grow in the Lord and what God does in us he desires to do through us. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:25.620 And so what is it as you look at this city of Antioch, we're going to find it's it becomes so influential that this is the place where Paul 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:27.440 does ministry. 00:03:28.040 --> 00:03:35.200 And then as he's doing ministry in the city, he's then sent out from this church to then go on his missionary journeys, which we'll read out, read 00:03:35.200 --> 00:03:36.220 about through the rest of Acts. 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:43.300 Not only does Paul go, but Barnabas goes with him on the first journey, and then on the second journey, Paul goes with Silas and Barnabas takes a man named 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:43.960 John Mark. 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.300 And they continue on these journeys, and it just spreads throughout the Roman Empire. 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:54.460 And these this church, highly impactful in this city for the sake of the gospel, not just in this region, but throughout the 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:55.040 world. 00:03:55.760 --> 00:04:02.980 And when you look at this the influence of the church in Antioch, and we recognize and we follow the same God today, and he still desires to 00:04:02.980 --> 00:04:04.270 move in that way. 00:04:04.640 --> 00:04:11.960 And so when we talk about being a gospel hub where we're really asking the question, God, how can you use me? 00:04:12.660 --> 00:04:19.680 How can you use us collectively to live so inspired in the power of the gospel and what it can do, that it makes a difference 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:20.550 in this world? 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:27.590 I mean, rather than just sit back and complain about the way life is going and how I don't like society for whatever reason. 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:32.280 How can the Lord use me to make a difference in what he desires to do? 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:39.460 How can God use Alpine Bible Church to see the Lord make a difference in this world and the way he desires 00:04:39.460 --> 00:04:40.140 to move? 00:04:40.140 --> 00:04:45.590 I mean, there's all kinds of ways you can live your life and the way that you choose or what you choose to make your life about. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:51.380 But it reminds me, there's a there's a quote by Francis Chan, and he's not the first one to say this quote. 00:04:51.380 --> 00:04:53.300 There's a few other variations of it, like D.L. 00:04:53.320 --> 00:04:55.520 Moody has one that's very similar to this. 00:04:55.560 --> 00:05:02.720 But he says this our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:03.820 don't really matter. 00:05:05.260 --> 00:05:09.720 I think it's critical for us to just consider what is the pursuit of my life about. 00:05:10.580 --> 00:05:17.640 And sometimes when it comes to the thought of the American dream, and we think about meeting God face to face one day, it's as if we might expect that when 00:05:17.640 --> 00:05:23.660 I see God one day, he's going to base the success of my life by how much I accumulated stuff. 00:05:25.380 --> 00:05:30.240 And I tell you that God's interests are not the same as human interests. 00:05:31.340 --> 00:05:35.830 The measure of your life is not going to be based on the accumulation of things. 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:39.900 Now, if God allows certain things to pass through your life, wonderful. 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:44.450 But the hope of that is that you would use it for his glory to the blessing of others. 00:05:45.140 --> 00:05:52.140 I mean, God's primary call in your life is to know him, and in knowing him, how he uses your life then to 00:05:52.140 --> 00:05:54.180 glorify him in this world. 00:05:54.940 --> 00:05:56.670 And that's what transforms lives. 00:05:57.960 --> 00:06:01.420 And so God has given you certain abilities and talents and resources. 00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:03.420 And what does that look like for me? 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:05.080 To be a hub for his glory? 00:06:05.380 --> 00:06:12.740 We're going to look at the Church of Antioch fairly quickly and understanding this, but what are markers of a major gospel 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:13.140 hub? 00:06:13.140 --> 00:06:14.220 Let me give you point number one. 00:06:14.960 --> 00:06:16.280 It starts this way outward. 00:06:18.260 --> 00:06:21.280 Thinking outward. 00:06:21.280 --> 00:06:21.720 Thinking. 00:06:22.580 --> 00:06:28.280 Now there's a difference between the mentality of the world and the mentality of the gospel. 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:35.880 A life in Jesus and how God changes our perspective from a very me centric identity to 00:06:35.880 --> 00:06:40.020 a to a God centric identity, which becomes an other centric identity. 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:48.120 And if we're not careful, there's some methods in a worldly way of thinking that might appear outward in its pursuits, but 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:55.610 often the motivation behind the outward thinking in a in a worldly perspective are still selfishly motivated. 00:06:56.260 --> 00:07:01.080 And what I mean by that is we might look beyond ourselves when we're apart from Christ. 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:08.260 But the reason we often look beyond ourselves is we're trying to find a reason to validate ourselves and purpose through what other people say 00:07:08.260 --> 00:07:09.220 about us. 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:11.280 And the meaning they might attribute to our lives. 00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:18.300 So maybe we're looking outwardly, but truth be told, the reason we're looking outwardly is because we're still staring back inwardly and wanting to feel important. 00:07:18.860 --> 00:07:21.520 But in the life of the Christian, it's unique from that. 00:07:21.520 --> 00:07:28.740 In saying, man, I'm able to think outwardly in my life because I really don't need the things of this world to validate who I am, because 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:35.920 my life has been filled up in the richness of who Christ is, and there's nothing this world can offer me that's going to give me more worth 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:42.980 and value than what is what Jesus has already poured upon me by giving his life, that I could find freedom in him, the forgiveness and hope that 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:44.440 only Christ can bring. 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:51.960 But it's because the richness of Christ is so blessed my life and filled me up with the goodness of who he is that I'm able to pour my life 00:07:51.960 --> 00:07:59.000 out for the benefit of others because I don't need them to validate who I am, but rather I'm here to give myself away for the glory of God to the benefit of others because of 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:06.000 the richness that I have in Christ and in that richness, then I can think beyond me. 00:08:06.820 --> 00:08:08.560 And this was a mark of the early church. 00:08:08.700 --> 00:08:16.020 If you see in Acts chapter 11, verse 19, it says, now those who were scattered because of the persecution that 00:08:16.020 --> 00:08:23.140 arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except the 00:08:23.140 --> 00:08:23.740 Jews. 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:26.760 So here it is, a difficult moment for the church. 00:08:26.780 --> 00:08:33.780 We've looked at this persecution, this start in Acts chapter six and seven, when Stephen becomes the first martyr and the church begins 00:08:33.780 --> 00:08:34.900 to scatter. 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:41.890 And this difficulty didn't prevent them from still sharing the thing that defined them, who they were in Christ. 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:49.260 And so they began to scatter about but and thinking outwardly, even in moments where things are being taken from them in verse 20. 00:08:49.280 --> 00:08:56.320 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 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:00.600 and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:09:01.420 --> 00:09:04.560 In verse 21, the men of Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch. 00:09:05.160 --> 00:09:12.540 When it says, they're sharing to Helenus, here's what they're really saying so far up into this point, what you've read about is what's referred to as God fearers 00:09:12.540 --> 00:09:15.010 like there are the Jewish people, and then there are the God Fearers. 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:21.900 The God Fearers are people who are endeared to the to the Jewish way of life, but haven't become Jews. 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:22.540 Right? 00:09:22.540 --> 00:09:25.440 So they love the Jewish God. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:26.520 And so they're seen as God. 00:09:26.540 --> 00:09:32.920 Fearers when it talks about hellenists, there's this is what they're saying is these are pagan people living wild lives. 00:09:32.920 --> 00:09:33.550 This is this. 00:09:33.820 --> 00:09:35.440 They're not even familiar with the Old Testament. 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:39.300 That's who it's talking about in this, in this part of the story. 00:09:39.380 --> 00:09:46.540 And yet they're still sharing the gospel with them, and their lives are being transformed when it's talking about these different regions, 00:09:46.540 --> 00:09:52.530 I think it's important to recognize he's not just tossing out names to toss out names in regions where these people are coming from. 00:09:53.040 --> 00:09:57.030 He wants us to understand just how quickly the gospel is going around the known world. 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:04.110 In fact, if you I don't know what happened, take me back to the map from that demon possessed computer. 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:05.820 It's like. 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:07.520 That was weird. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:14.820 But when you think in terms of where God is making a difference in this world, the idea of 00:10:14.820 --> 00:10:20.160 Jerusalem, much of the traveling took place up to the north and then west of that. 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:23.870 And you see places like Phoenicia and then Antioch, which we're going to look at. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.220 We're looking at that particular town today. 00:10:26.220 --> 00:10:28.160 Tarsus is where Paul's from. 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.480 Cyprus is where Barnabas is from. 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:35.620 And then out of nowhere, way out in left field, you get the town of Cyrene, right? 00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:38.140 And you look at and you think, wow, that's incredible how that happened. 00:10:38.160 --> 00:10:39.190 And all the way out to Cyrene. 00:10:39.380 --> 00:10:45.280 And they even want you to particularly know people from Cyrene are sharing with Antioch. 00:10:46.060 --> 00:10:48.240 And it's almost like they just skipped over Jerusalem, right? 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:48.910 It's like, wait a minute. 00:10:48.920 --> 00:10:49.970 All this has happened in Jerusalem. 00:10:50.560 --> 00:10:53.380 How is it already gone from Cyrene back to Antioch? 00:10:53.880 --> 00:10:57.820 I mean, it's amazing lives radically transformed in the Lord. 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:05.500 Because I would say for us, when we talk about outward thinking or any of these five points that I'm going to share with you this morning, I 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:10.160 want us to know the motivation behind all of it is not just about obedience to do these points. 00:11:11.660 --> 00:11:16.100 This really becomes an outflow of God's people when they love Jesus. 00:11:17.300 --> 00:11:24.520 And so when your life is deepened in the richness of Christ, this is the evidence of what that life looks like. 00:11:25.680 --> 00:11:31.000 So this morning, I'm not just I'm not saying here's a religious law to abide by these five points. 00:11:32.060 --> 00:11:39.260 What we're really saying is continue to fall in love with Jesus, grow in your relationship with the Lord, and in growing. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:41.380 This is how your life's going to look. 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:47.300 It's going to become outward thinking, other oriented because your life has been so filled with Christ. 00:11:47.300 --> 00:11:49.600 You want others to experience this too. 00:11:50.380 --> 00:11:57.290 And when you look at places like Cyrene, who went from transformation in Jerusalem of the church started to Cyrene to back to Antioch. 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:05.520 I mean, it's amazing when you trace that thread in Scripture, like for example, in Acts chapter two, it tells us during the Passover celebration and 00:12:05.520 --> 00:12:11.180 the Feast of Booths, the early church the Jewish people had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the holidays. 00:12:11.540 --> 00:12:17.760 This is when the Holy Spirit on Pentecost ascends and life is radically changed in the Lord. 00:12:17.760 --> 00:12:19.480 It's transformed. 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:26.900 And among that group of people, you have a different list of all sorts of different people, including in verse ten, people from Cyrene, which 00:12:26.900 --> 00:12:27.910 is a long way to travel. 00:12:29.640 --> 00:12:31.380 How did people from Cyrene get there? 00:12:31.380 --> 00:12:38.760 Well, at the end of the gospel of Mark, it tells you in Mark chapter 15, verse 21, when Jesus was going 00:12:38.760 --> 00:12:43.740 to the place where he would be crucified, we know the story tells us he couldn't completely carry the cross there. 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:45.180 So what are the Roman soldiers do? 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:47.340 They picked an individual to carry it. 00:12:47.580 --> 00:12:48.340 And who do they pick? 00:12:48.760 --> 00:12:51.350 A man named Simon from Cyrene. 00:12:51.900 --> 00:12:52.780 Now, when? 00:12:52.920 --> 00:12:57.880 When this man carries the cross Mark at the very end of chapter 15, verse 21 says something interesting. 00:12:57.880 --> 00:13:02.100 It says he was the father of Alexander and Rufus to carry his cross. 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:06.000 Now when I read that, I think, who cares, right? 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:07.670 Like, why would I care? 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:11.860 I mean, it's nice, I guess, to know that Simon was one that carried the cross. 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:12.960 He was a man from Cyrene. 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:15.760 But why does Mark want me to know that detail? 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:20.540 And then why does he even want me to know that he has kids named Alexander and Rufus? 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:22.830 Like, why should that matter to us? 00:13:23.260 --> 00:13:29.750 But then when you start to read how the story unfolds, you realize what the writers of the New Testament are doing. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:36.820 They're showing gospel influence, because when you get to the book of Romans chapter 16, Paul says it like this. 00:13:37.280 --> 00:13:41.370 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord and his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 00:13:42.400 --> 00:13:49.780 The reason Mark is talking about Simon's son is because there is a gospel thread of transformation that's taking place not just in 00:13:49.780 --> 00:13:53.540 Simon's heart, but the way he's influenced his family for the sake of the gospel. 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:56.280 And that's beginning to impact regions in this world. 00:13:56.380 --> 00:14:00.030 As Rufus goes forward sharing the gospel and it's impacting generations. 00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:08.780 And guys, I would say it's the same for you and the way that God wants to use you in this world, that you would impact the region in which you're 00:14:08.780 --> 00:14:15.860 you live and not only that you would make a generational impact in this world, that your lineage would know Christ and 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:22.160 the decisions you're making, even for the early church expense to themselves, they knew what defined them was Jesus. 00:14:23.520 --> 00:14:30.620 In fact, when I think about the Great Commission for all believers, what God calls us to at the very end of the Gospel of Matthew, he tells us, 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:32.660 go into this world and make disciples. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:37.400 Alright, so the calling of the Lord is to take what God's given me and impart it to others. 00:14:37.420 --> 00:14:40.600 As I'm growing in Jesus, I impart what I possess in Christ. 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:42.560 And so I get to share that with others. 00:14:42.560 --> 00:14:43.770 I get to make disciples. 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:46.200 But here's the interesting thing. 00:14:46.380 --> 00:14:53.480 We sometimes read this verse, and I think in my mind, people read it like this that I haven't been making disciples. 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:58.440 But now that I know this is what Jesus called us to do, I need to make disciples. 00:14:59.880 --> 00:15:03.940 Truth be told, you're always making disciples. 00:15:04.520 --> 00:15:08.500 The question is, what kind of disciple are you making, right? 00:15:08.500 --> 00:15:15.860 So what Jesus is saying to us is he's saying to us, we need to be intentional in the discipleship of 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:18.160 the way we're conducting our lives, right? 00:15:18.160 --> 00:15:20.100 The formation of what's happening in the heart of the people. 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:23.420 And I can tell you, if you're worrying this morning, well, how am I making disciples? 00:15:23.420 --> 00:15:24.300 What am I making disciples of? 00:15:24.380 --> 00:15:29.100 I would say it like this it's what you're passionate about and what you love people around you. 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:36.240 It doesn't take them long to discover what you really care about, and in so doing, the desire you have towards that thing begins 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.180 to shape them in some fashion or form. 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:44.140 They've got to decide how they want to conform to it because of a relationship with you. 00:15:44.140 --> 00:15:48.480 Because to be close to you, they understand that you care about whatever that thing is. 00:15:49.140 --> 00:15:51.700 And so it influences them in some regard. 00:15:52.020 --> 00:15:54.420 Some embrace it fully in order to relate to you. 00:15:54.420 --> 00:15:55.720 Others just see it as well. 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:56.700 That's kind of them. 00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:03.220 They're unique, but they've got to respond to it in some way because of the influence that you're having on them. 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:05.800 So you're making a disciple of something. 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:08.780 And what are you making a disciple of is whatever you're passionate about. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:16.080 And if Jesus truly matters to you, then the evidence of who Christ is should be made known as you're thinking outwardly. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:24.200 And so for the early church, this is the way that they carried their lives as this outward thinking of how to live 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:28.540 intentionally for the sake of Christ, imparting what they possess in Jesus. 00:16:29.380 --> 00:16:32.220 Number two, they're faithfully encouraging. 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:38.680 They're faithfully encouraging, really, to see the movement that started in Antioch. 00:16:39.160 --> 00:16:45.590 It came through the strength of one individual, and I think it shows the power of an encourager. 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:46.980 Right? 00:16:47.020 --> 00:16:54.040 It shows how it really just takes one encourager, seeing the potential in someone or a group of people to help spark that 00:16:54.040 --> 00:16:55.180 passion further. 00:16:56.280 --> 00:16:58.540 And for Barnabas, this is what he represented. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:02.160 He was certainly an individual of encouragement. 00:17:02.160 --> 00:17:09.280 It says in verse 22 the report of this what happened in Antioch came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent 00:17:09.280 --> 00:17:10.520 Barnabas to Antioch. 00:17:11.260 --> 00:17:13.240 So here's the church in Jerusalem where everything starts. 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:14.760 They hear great things are happening in Antioch. 00:17:14.760 --> 00:17:16.050 Oh, what should we do about it? 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:17.099 We should send someone. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:18.089 Who should we send? 00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:20.160 The encourager, right? 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:21.730 We want to see that perpetuate. 00:17:22.060 --> 00:17:23.859 And so they send Barnabas. 00:17:23.859 --> 00:17:31.280 And in verse 23, when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad and exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast 00:17:31.280 --> 00:17:31.880 purpose. 00:17:33.040 --> 00:17:34.980 I mean, he inspired him to stay on this course. 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:42.120 Here's the thing that's great about Barnabas is when it comes to being an encourager, that his name, 00:17:42.140 --> 00:17:43.780 Barnabas literally means that. 00:17:43.860 --> 00:17:45.800 And that wasn't his original name. 00:17:46.600 --> 00:17:49.220 In Acts chapter four, it tells you his original name was Joseph. 00:17:50.600 --> 00:17:56.410 But the early church saw the way that God was going to use him and the way God did use him. 00:17:56.560 --> 00:18:01.080 And so they're like, let's we just need to change your name because this is who you are wherever you go. 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:05.560 I mean, we just feel like we're enriched people having been in your presence. 00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:09.360 So this was a representation of the way Barnabas conducted himself. 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:16.640 Now, let me just say, for all of us, you might even think in your own friend circle, there are some people that are just better at being 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.700 Barnabas than than others. 00:18:19.760 --> 00:18:22.350 But truly, God calls all of us to be encouragers. 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:27.700 And I want us to recognize that when we talk about encouragement. 00:18:28.580 --> 00:18:31.400 I'm not talking about flattery, right? 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:33.860 Because there's a kind of encouragement that's just empty. 00:18:34.360 --> 00:18:36.780 And it's when you might even say it. 00:18:36.780 --> 00:18:37.840 Maybe you've even done it in your life. 00:18:37.840 --> 00:18:38.900 Like this feels weird. 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:39.900 I'm just going to say something encouraging. 00:18:40.460 --> 00:18:43.020 And you said it, but everyone was like, nobody believes that, right? 00:18:43.020 --> 00:18:44.780 You're just you are full of it. 00:18:44.780 --> 00:18:46.320 Like you're just making it up. 00:18:46.360 --> 00:18:49.440 You're just speaking positive things that have nothing to do with anything, right? 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.400 Like it's like it's trying to ignore the situation. 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:52.420 Right? 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:59.140 So when we talk about encouragement, we're not talking about just be dishonest with circumstances and only say positive things. 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:01.650 That's not what the word encouragement means. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:10.640 Encouragement talks about being honest, but also seeing the potential of what God can do in the situation 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:12.280 as we surrender to him. 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:16.340 It doesn't mean you ignore what's happening. 00:19:17.080 --> 00:19:20.540 In fact, I think because of what we have in Jesus, we can approach those things boldly. 00:19:21.320 --> 00:19:28.760 So I would say like this if I gave it very practical, practically, I would say some people might say like this, you're great, 00:19:28.800 --> 00:19:28.940 right? 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:30.300 They just might just give you that positive thought. 00:19:30.300 --> 00:19:31.080 You're great. 00:19:31.080 --> 00:19:32.240 And everyone's like, look at that. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.060 Like, they are not doing great right now. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:38.000 Like they are They're making some terrible choices, or some bad things have happened. 00:19:38.100 --> 00:19:39.380 This is not great, right? 00:19:39.380 --> 00:19:46.820 Like, but sometimes we might think encouraging just means you show up and say that and that may not always be true, but 00:19:46.820 --> 00:19:51.740 here's what we can say is that God is faithful. 00:19:53.080 --> 00:19:54.720 And therefore you can take the next step. 00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:56.360 Right? 00:19:56.360 --> 00:20:02.180 It's not it's not because of who we are, but because of who he is. 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:03.600 Right? 00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:11.160 The idea of an encourager, he does a wonderful job, or she does a wonderful job of really taking our eyes off ourselves 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.240 and putting it on the Lord. 00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:19.580 Because to be honest, anything we do successful in Jesus is not because of us, but because of him. 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:23.140 And the idea of encouragement carries two thoughts with it. 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:30.410 One is you speak courage into the life of someone else and get this, not because of who they are, but because of Christ, who Christ is. 00:20:30.520 --> 00:20:34.490 So you speak courage in the life of someone else, but also the word encourager. 00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:39.960 It also comes to the same from the same Greek word for where we get the Holy Spirit and the idea of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.330 He certainly empowers us, encourages us, emboldens us for what God calls us to do. 00:20:44.580 --> 00:20:46.760 But the Bible also promises he walks with you. 00:20:47.320 --> 00:20:47.920 He's with you. 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:49.480 Wherever he goes, you go. 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:49.840 Right. 00:20:49.840 --> 00:20:51.880 So the Holy Spirit is with you in life. 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:54.900 He's permanently indwelling his people. 00:20:54.980 --> 00:21:00.750 So the idea of encouragement is not only you speak courage and life of someone, but you come alongside them to help them along. 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:08.540 There's a I was thinking of an example this week of rope bridges. 00:21:08.840 --> 00:21:16.000 It's a weird thing to think of an example of, but rope bridges, if you've ever if you've ever seen a rope bridge or walked across a rope bridge, people that 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.420 are afraid of heights, I can promise, probably have never gone across the bridge. 00:21:19.540 --> 00:21:20.280 Right? 00:21:20.320 --> 00:21:27.320 But when the world started to open up to more and more travel, and as people got braver in the parts of the world they would go to, there were people 00:21:27.320 --> 00:21:34.780 that began to explore and get to remote parts of civilizations and find there was a tendency for those that lived in mountain 00:21:34.780 --> 00:21:41.940 lands to travel from one place to another through rope bridges, and even today, if you go to the Himalayans, there 00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:47.430 are villages that are so remote that the only place, the only way to get to them are through rope bridges. 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:55.280 But in documenting about these travelers, when they would begin to explore these far regions, they discovered that when people would first encounter these 00:21:55.280 --> 00:22:01.700 rope bridges, that being travelers, they were excited to go across, but often reluctant. 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:09.540 And the way they were able to travel across those bridges is not simply because someone said, you can do it right, like go do that, 00:22:10.120 --> 00:22:16.460 but because someone was willing to walk with them across that bridge, encouraging them each step of the way. 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:25.820 Guys, it's the same for our faith journey, speaking courage in the lives of people not because we're great, but 00:22:25.820 --> 00:22:29.960 because the Lord's great and we put our eyes on him. 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:31.920 It gives us the strength to move forward. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:36.760 Our tendency when we lack encouragement or boldness is that we've internalized it. 00:22:36.760 --> 00:22:37.540 We've become anxious. 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:40.860 We're very self-focused, right? 00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:44.560 But then we understand as Christians to be successful in God's called me to do in this world. 00:22:44.840 --> 00:22:50.260 It was never about me, but rather resting in him and so trusting that he's sufficient. 00:22:50.340 --> 00:22:57.400 In fact, when you read passages of the Bible like Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 12 Bible students, if they're familiar with Hebrews 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:03.280 chapter 11, if I said, give me one way to summarize Hebrews chapter 11, people quickly say it like this. 00:23:03.300 --> 00:23:04.420 Oh, it's the Hall of Faith. 00:23:05.260 --> 00:23:05.640 Absolutely. 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:06.440 That's the Hall of faith. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.480 That's where that's where they listen. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.150 Hebrews, all of the great saints before us who have fallen after the Lord. 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:14.950 And it's encouraging to us, you see this hall of faith. 00:23:15.300 --> 00:23:19.410 But I want you to know, in looking at other people walking faithfully, yes, that can be encouraging. 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:25.060 But the whole point of Hebrews chapter 11 is to remind you of Hebrews chapter 12. 00:23:25.800 --> 00:23:32.920 It's not just simply about looking at other people and what they did, but Hebrews chapter 12, it says this now run the race set before you, looking 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.160 unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. 00:23:36.660 --> 00:23:38.090 And so the declaration for your life. 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:44.640 It works like this, that the reason they were able to be so successful in chapter 11 is because they didn't take their eyes off the Lord. 00:23:45.460 --> 00:23:47.060 And it's the same for you and for me. 00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:54.920 It's not just giving words of flattery being an encouragement, but rather finding how our lives rooted in Jesus gives us the strength 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:58.100 to move forward and recognizing he's with us wherever we go. 00:23:59.100 --> 00:24:02.720 When you look at the life of Barnabas, this is who he was. 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:10.680 In fact, verse 24 says, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord. 00:24:11.120 --> 00:24:13.360 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:22.140 I mean, verse 24, what is really saying is Barnabas was a man that just dripped the sweetness of Jesus wherever he went, because 00:24:22.140 --> 00:24:29.220 he spent time with the Lord, and therefore it gave him this confidence as he moved forward, as he rested in the strength of God, 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:32.660 and he was able to impart unto others what he possessed in the Lord. 00:24:32.760 --> 00:24:39.760 So much so that he saw the potential in Saul, even when no one else did that he went to the region of 00:24:39.760 --> 00:24:43.680 Tarsus where Saul was from, who had just recently killed Christians. 00:24:44.540 --> 00:24:49.040 But his life was radically transformed, and Barnabas knew God could use him. 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:52.320 And encourager sees the potential of what God can do. 00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:58.280 It's not to say they're blind to the problem, but it's more than just recognizing the problem. 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:03.840 It's seeing the solution that Christ can bring and moving forward in it. 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:06.800 So the early church was they were encouragers. 00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:09.380 Number three, they were fully committed. 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:11.720 They were fully committed. 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:15.290 I mean, when Barnabas went to this church, look what it says. 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:20.290 He exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord and steadfast with steadfast purpose. 00:25:21.300 --> 00:25:28.300 Look, sometimes I recognize when we read a statement like that as Christians, and then we look at our Christian journey, we might think, but I 00:25:28.300 --> 00:25:31.240 am God's biggest mistake, right? 00:25:31.280 --> 00:25:38.260 Because when I followed Jesus, my life is all over the place and there's just inconsistency in my faith pattern. 00:25:38.300 --> 00:25:39.860 And why would God want to use me? 00:25:40.560 --> 00:25:46.040 But can I just speak some encouragement to you this morning and say to you, you're thinking too much about you? 00:25:47.760 --> 00:25:51.000 The Bible tells you his mercies are new every morning. 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:52.080 Great is his faithfulness. 00:25:53.800 --> 00:25:54.840 You might have a checkered past. 00:25:56.060 --> 00:25:58.230 You might have messed up a thousand times yesterday. 00:25:58.460 --> 00:26:01.200 But more than anything today, what Jesus wants is you. 00:26:02.040 --> 00:26:03.680 Your heart surrendered to him. 00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:08.660 You can't undo the past, but you can choose how you respond today. 00:26:09.360 --> 00:26:13.740 And what God wants today is for you to know him and to walk with him in your life. 00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:22.260 And so for the early church, this was the decision that they're making in this moment as Barnabas encourages them this way, their 00:26:22.260 --> 00:26:24.600 pursuit again is to be faithful and steadfast. 00:26:25.060 --> 00:26:28.220 I mean, even if you've messed up in your life. 00:26:28.280 --> 00:26:30.880 The Bible tells you, look, don't run away from God. 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:34.450 Don't walk in penance towards God thinking that you owe anything. 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:35.640 The Christ has. 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:39.180 The Christ on the cross has covered that Jesus has paid for your life. 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:46.360 So rather than run from God, repent from the things of this world and run to God so that you find it tells you in Hebrews chapter four verse 00:26:46.360 --> 00:26:48.540 14, grace in your hour of need. 00:26:49.860 --> 00:26:54.840 God wants you near him, because he knows in being near him that's where he changes your life. 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:59.640 And so for the early church, they're fully committed, half hearted. 00:26:59.640 --> 00:27:01.880 Christianity is not what God calls us to. 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:03.340 There is no joy in that. 00:27:04.560 --> 00:27:06.660 As Jesus has given his life for you. 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:13.300 He calls you to give your life in response, and the early church steps in this way. 00:27:14.120 --> 00:27:17.710 Number four, this church was actively growing. 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:21.300 They were actively growing. 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:28.770 It tells us in verse 25, So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 00:27:29.500 --> 00:27:34.500 For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. 00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:39.090 And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:46.190 So here it is, this church giving their lives to the Lord, and they're just soaking up the richness of who Christ is in their lives. 00:27:46.540 --> 00:27:49.980 So that as they're being filled up, they can be poured out for the glory of God. 00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:51.080 And it's the same for you. 00:27:51.800 --> 00:27:58.180 I mean, if you spend time with Jesus, you dig into God's Word as God molds His Word in your heart, you have something to impart to others. 00:27:58.200 --> 00:27:59.650 And this is what's happening to early church. 00:28:00.100 --> 00:28:03.140 So much so that this is where they're first called Christians. 00:28:04.320 --> 00:28:11.400 It's interesting, if you take time in the New Testament to research the word Christian, you'll find for us that is 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:16.660 that is honestly the most uncommon word used to describe God's people. 00:28:17.100 --> 00:28:19.700 The body, the church born again believers. 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:21.360 I mean, the way followers of the way. 00:28:21.360 --> 00:28:23.320 That was the popular phrase in the book of Acts. 00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:30.860 Christian was probably the least popular in the New Testament, but for some reason that's the most endearing term that we use today, which if you label 00:28:30.860 --> 00:28:32.880 yourself Christian, I think that that's wonderful. 00:28:33.040 --> 00:28:35.800 I'm glad you find that term endearing to you. 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:43.120 I can tell you for us in our in our modern day world, that word has almost become a junk drawer word that people just kind 00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:45.300 of toss it around if it's convenient for them. 00:28:45.300 --> 00:28:52.500 I think it's more important for us to discover who is Christ, really, because there's a lot of people that describe themselves as Christian have no idea who Jesus 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:53.540 really is. 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:59.900 So just because you might find the term favorable, I think it's important to ask the question who you are really in the Lord? 00:29:00.360 --> 00:29:01.380 Do you know the Lord? 00:29:02.260 --> 00:29:09.360 But this word Christian in this particular moment begs an important thought for us and a question to consider, because it's 00:29:09.360 --> 00:29:15.500 believed in the first century, when this term Christian was used, it was actually used as a derogatory term. 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:20.530 It was used in a way to mock Jesus's followers, to look down upon them. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:26.120 But the church loved it and they embraced it as a way to acknowledge, yeah, that's it, make fun of us. 00:29:26.120 --> 00:29:27.260 But that's this is who we are. 00:29:27.260 --> 00:29:30.120 We do want to be identified in Jesus this way. 00:29:30.470 --> 00:29:31.850 Look, I want you to know this. 00:29:32.020 --> 00:29:37.360 This is not some kind of campaign that they set out in order to brand themselves this way. 00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:39.460 They're like, they didn't get together in a circle and say, you know what? 00:29:39.780 --> 00:29:40.800 What should we call ourselves? 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:48.220 I got it, let's start a social media movement that lets people know our name is now Christian, right? 00:29:48.560 --> 00:29:49.520 That's not what happened. 00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:53.970 What happened was they were living their lives in honoring Christ. 00:29:54.460 --> 00:29:57.560 And other people saw that and they gave them this label. 00:29:58.620 --> 00:30:00.980 This wasn't something they put upon themselves. 00:30:01.020 --> 00:30:04.560 This is what people around them recognized and attributed to them. 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:14.140 Because if you didn't carry the label Christian and people looked at the life you live. 00:30:16.520 --> 00:30:17.380 How would they describe you? 00:30:20.100 --> 00:30:25.580 What would they say about you now if your first word was a dirty word and just. 00:30:27.760 --> 00:30:30.140 But this becomes important for us to think about as God's people. 00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:39.000 In fact, if you if you think of that, here's the early church living their lives in a way that the world sees them and says they're like little jesuses, what 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:40.220 would people say about you? 00:30:41.940 --> 00:30:49.160 And if when people think about you, if they don't think about a life that's following Christ, it becomes a place to reflect 00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:50.360 in our own hearts. 00:30:50.420 --> 00:30:52.120 Like, what about me? 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:58.800 Do I need to better align with Jesus so that when people think about my life, they see the sweetness of who Christ is? 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:05.000 Like, where do I need to go back in relationships and say, I got this one wrong and I'm sorry? 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:10.860 How can I best honor the Lord in my life to those around me? 00:31:12.320 --> 00:31:13.660 And this was the church in Antioch. 00:31:15.080 --> 00:31:17.080 They laid their life down for the sake of Christ. 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:20.200 They were actively growing. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:21.550 I need to give you this. 00:31:21.800 --> 00:31:22.500 This last point. 00:31:23.620 --> 00:31:24.600 Last point is this. 00:31:24.620 --> 00:31:26.900 They were they care for those struggling. 00:31:27.800 --> 00:31:28.840 They care for those struggling. 00:31:29.040 --> 00:31:30.320 You see this with the early church. 00:31:31.260 --> 00:31:34.680 Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:40.560 One named Agabus stood up and foretold by the spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. 00:31:41.320 --> 00:31:47.220 So the disciples determined every one according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:52.280 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. 00:31:53.060 --> 00:32:00.540 I don't have a whole lot of time to dig into this, but I do want us to recognize when your life has been richly 00:32:00.540 --> 00:32:03.020 transformed in the greatness of who Christ is. 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:10.800 You're going to see the importance of every human being in this world, and you're going to recognize who we are in 00:32:10.800 --> 00:32:13.820 Jesus is the far most important thing about us. 00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:17.190 And so therefore, the way I represent him to others matters. 00:32:17.780 --> 00:32:20.880 People matter and whether they embrace them or not. 00:32:20.940 --> 00:32:22.420 I can love them as Christ loved them. 00:32:23.320 --> 00:32:30.620 I mean, the evidence of your faith in Jesus is how you care for people when you stand nothing to gain from them because of 00:32:30.620 --> 00:32:31.840 what Christ has done for you. 00:32:33.080 --> 00:32:40.060 And so the early church certainly lived their lives this way, and it radically transformed the world around them. 00:32:40.100 --> 00:32:47.160 So much so that in the early church, in the in the fourth century, there was a tremendous 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:48.900 plague that took place. 00:32:48.900 --> 00:32:51.830 Excuse me, the third century, there was a tremendous plague that took place. 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:59.640 And it was so devastating that entire cities collapsed, priests ran away, families 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:00.880 abandoned the sick. 00:33:02.040 --> 00:33:04.380 But the early church chose to stay. 00:33:05.560 --> 00:33:09.460 They stayed, they served, and they even died doing it. 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:17.380 And one of the early church fathers known as Dionysius, he said this Christians took charge of the sick. 00:33:18.360 --> 00:33:21.480 Attending to the to the their every need. 00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:24.380 Many losing their lives. 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:31.440 And in this particular moment, certainly the church was losing their lives temporarily on this earth. 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:34.220 But ultimately they knew what they had in Jesus endured forever. 00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:39.630 And so they willingly gave of their lives for the benefit of others. 00:33:40.360 --> 00:33:44.240 And there's a historian he recently passed away known as Rodney Stark. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:50.620 He was an American sociologist of religion, and he studied early Christianity and asked the question, what? 00:33:50.760 --> 00:33:52.300 What caused the church to grow? 00:33:53.280 --> 00:33:55.330 How are they able to make such a radical difference? 00:33:55.620 --> 00:34:01.340 And he said it like this Christianity didn't grow despite the plagues. 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:04.200 It grew because of them. 00:34:05.300 --> 00:34:07.400 The gospel spreads the fastest. 00:34:07.840 --> 00:34:11.239 When the church refuses to save save itself. 00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:14.520 Who is willing to lose for Christ? 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:24.420 Your willingness to give yourself away for the glory of God to the benefit of others is 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:26.219 how transformation takes place. 00:34:28.060 --> 00:34:32.500 An American Dream is all about what you can get accumulating to prove. 00:34:34.620 --> 00:34:38.699 But the life of Christ is about what he gave for the benefit of those around him. 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:47.120 And the gospel story continues to be retold in his people as we surrender our hearts for the glory of God to the benefit of 00:34:47.120 --> 00:34:47.719 others. 00:34:48.540 --> 00:34:50.130 We think about the church in Antioch. 00:34:51.239 --> 00:34:53.159 Why were they able to make a difference? 00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:54.940 Outward thinking. 00:34:56.020 --> 00:34:57.100 Faithfully encouraging. 00:34:57.100 --> 00:34:57.840 Fully committed. 00:34:58.520 --> 00:34:59.480 Actively growing. 00:35:00.200 --> 00:35:02.080 Caring for those who are struggling.