God.
Please have seats.
So if you turn with me and you're my host, I have to ask chapter 11.
I'm going to think about another lesson from the life of Barnabas.
We're going to see Jesus' good news mission, which is unstoppable.
Chapter 11 is going to remind us that the true God is a missionary God.
In the year 2023, the year in which we love, here is the statistic, 360 million believers
in the Lord Jesus will face intense persecution and discrimination.
So that's one in seven of every follower of Jesus will face some form of discrimination
as governments, as other religions, as communities look to stamp out the message of Jesus.
But wonderfully, what we're seeing at the same time is that Christianity continues to grow
and often is growing most quickly in places where there is the greatest opposition.
This year also, here's another statistic, 47% of all Christians in the world are now living
in countries that would be described as non-Christian majority.
So about 100 years ago, 95% of the world that was Christian lived in what we would call Christian
countries.
That's changing because the church of Jesus is spreading and the good news is spreading.
People are more likely than ever before to meet someone in their lifetime who is a Christian.
So there's more opportunities for people to hear the good news.
Now, why is that?
We can think about global trends and phenomena, but we need to understand that behind all that
lies God's desire to reach the lost, God's desire that men and women and boys and girls
be reconciled to Him.
What we're seeing in chapter 11, and especially when you think about the life of Barnabas and
these early Christians in Antioch, is that Jesus' mission is going to keep on growing,
and that this is profoundly good news for us and for our world.
Because Jesus is on a mission to rescue and to restore, to pour out the love of God, to
bring grace that would heal great divisions in society.
So there's two things that we're going to think about today.
One that's going to take up the majority of our time, and it's this.
Jesus is good news for the world.
Okay, so before we get that to there, we'll go back to the beginning of the book of Acts.
Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus says to His disciples, just before going back to heaven,
you will be my witnesses in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
And then the story of Acts, as Luke tells it, is the story of that mission of Jesus being
accomplished.
And you can trace out chapters 1 to 7, the message of Jesus spreads through the region of
Judea.
Then we get to chapter 7, and Stephen is the first martyr, the first follower of Jesus
who's killed for his faith.
That leads to persecution in Judea.
That leads to the church spreading.
Chapters 8 and 9, persecution spreads good news to Samaria.
And then chapters 10 and 11, persecution spreads good news to the Greeks, to the Gentiles, to
the non-Jewish world.
First, as Peter is led to the house of Cornelius.
And then, from verse 19 onwards in chapter 11, we discover what happens in Antioch.
So Antioch is in modern-day Turkey.
So three things to notice from verses 19 to 21 that we've just read.
The first is to notice Jesus' growing mission.
Verse 19, those who'd been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was
killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.
Some of them, however, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the
good news about the Lord Jesus.
So some things to notice.
First of all, notice that the killing of Stephen doesn't stop the church from spreading and
from spreading good news.
Fear doesn't stop them.
Notice as well that the slowness of some of the Jewish believers doesn't stop the message
of Jesus from spreading.
So there's obviously some Jewish Christians who are thinking, well, why would someone who's
not from our country need to hear about Jesus?
Isn't he just our Savior?
But despite their slowness, it doesn't stop.
The church continues to spread.
And notice that now it spreads to reach the Greeks.
So now the good news from God through Jesus has crossed languages, has crossed cultures.
And it's come to this place called Antioch.
So Antioch was a big city.
Actually, it was probably about the same size as Edinburgh, about half a million people.
It was the third city in the Roman Empire.
So you had Rome, then you had Alexandria, and then you had Antioch.
It was significant because it was a port city.
So it was a very busy commercial center.
It was known for being very diverse.
People from all nations setting up trade there, setting up home there, very cosmopolitan.
It was also known for the worship of Roman gods, especially Diana.
Her big temple shrine was just five miles away.
And it was known in its day for being a very immoral city.
So there's a little bit of background to remind us and to encourage us that the good news of Jesus
is believed by many in that city and into that culture, that hearts were won over, that ways of worship, ways of life were being changed.
People were worshiping.
Lots of people were worshiping pagan gods in Antioch.
And to worship a pagan god, what were you doing?
You were looking for someone who is the Lord, someone who would give you the good life.
And to get that good life, what you had to do was to offer sacrifices.
So you had a whole system of religion that was based on this.
But then the good news, the gospel of Jesus comes, and it's different.
Because these Christians will talk about the true Lord, who's not just Lord over some of the world,
but over all the world.
The good life that Jesus offers is eternal life.
It's the promise of knowing life with God.
And it's not on the basis of a sacrifice that a worshiper would make.
Life with God comes because of the sacrifice Jesus, the Son of God, makes.
And so the message found a good hearing,
because Jesus is what every heart is longing for.
However, they didn't know it, but when they heard about Jesus,
then they understood.
He's the one that we need.
He's the one we should worship.
So Jesus' growing mission.
The second thing to notice is that Jesus is the goal of mission.
I'm going to see this in verse 20 and 21.
And I think it's important for us to notice this,
because there could be a negative view of world mission today.
Sometimes you'll hear people negatively speaking about the spread of Christianity.
They'll have this false idea that it's a Western religion.
So how can the West impose their religion or impose their cultural values?
Let's not spread the Christian message,
because isn't it true that religion just causes war and it divides?
We'll set against that.
There's a very positive view of mission in these verses,
because the mission is focused entirely on the Lord Jesus.
Let's see that together.
Verse 20 and 21.
They began to tell them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
The Lord's hand was with them,
and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
You see how central the Lord is there?
He's the source of their mission.
When it talks about the Lord's hand was with them,
that means that it's the Lord Jesus who's giving power for mission.
He's motivating their mission, and he gives the success.
He's also the content of the mission.
Who do they go and talk about?
They go and talk about the good news that Jesus,
the Son of God, has come to be the Savior.
They're not saying convert to a set of practices,
to a set of cultural values.
People are being invited to know their Lord,
their Maker, their Savior.
And notice, too, that Jesus is the goal of the mission.
Success comes, end of verse 21,
when people turn to the Lord.
So instead of turning to an idol,
instead of turning to a statue or some created thing,
now they're giving their heart,
they're giving their loyalty and love and worship
to the Lord Jesus.
And as this happens,
one of the great barriers of the ancient world
is being broken down.
The barrier between Jewish people and Gentile people
is torn down by Jesus.
Because we are all one in Christ Jesus.
It's a message of good news for all people.
Why is it that the people in Antioch
are willing to believe?
Why are they willing to leave behind
their old way of life,
their old religious practices?
Why are they willing to count the cost
to become a follower of Jesus,
knowing it will likely mean opposition,
exclusion, hostility?
It's because they hear the call of Jesus
and God gives them the gift of faith.
They see the glory of Jesus
and they understand that Jesus is better.
So Jesus is the goal of mission.
Another thing we need to see
is that Jesus is the good news of mission.
So he's the content
and that content is good news.
And good news is meant to be shared.
So before we get to our text,
boys and girls especially,
let me just talk to you for a moment.
We got a new puppy this week.
Some of us know that.
It was a big surprise.
Actually, it was a bit of a surprise.
But it was a surprise to our boys.
So we got Teddy.
He's a little labradoodle.
And we had,
we knew on Monday that we were going to get him,
but we didn't tell the boys
until Tuesday afternoon.
That was so difficult for me
because I was with them all morning
and I desperately wanted to share
that good news
because I knew it would make them really happy.
And we all are.
But you know,
my question since then has been,
why don't I always feel like that
when it comes to sharing
the far, far better good news about Jesus?
I wonder if you can relate to that.
We gladly, readily share good news,
but sometimes we struggle
to share the good news of Jesus.
Think about what's happening in chapter 11.
Sometimes it's because the fear of opposition.
Maybe we're not sure
how the other person's going to respond.
Sometimes, perhaps,
it's because we're slow to see
that everybody needs Jesus.
By and large,
we live perhaps surrounded by people
who have plenty money.
They seem pretty content.
Maybe we can find it hard to see beyond that
to see people's spiritual need.
But sometimes,
I think perhaps it's because
maybe in our busyness,
we lose focus,
even as believers,
on the goodness of the gospel.
On how good Jesus is.
On the cost that he was willing to pay
for our rescue.
On the wonderful treasure
that we have for now and for eternity.
But that wasn't the case,
was it,
for these unnamed Christians
who boldly, courageously shared in Antioch.
So they've come to discover
Jesus was on a search and rescue mission
for the whole world
to bring people to God.
He knew Jesus was Savior
for all people in all nations.
They knew the story of Cornelius.
So they know this is too good
to keep quiet.
So what we're going to do
is we're going to use Acts chapter 11
as a window for us
to remind us or to show us
that Jesus is really good news for us,
really good news for our world.
Whoever we are today,
Jesus is good news for us.
One aspect of the good news
that we need to recognize
is that in Jesus,
God saves.
This was actually the message
that Cornelius received.
So in chapter 11, verse 14,
he was told that Peter would come,
follower of Jesus,
and he will bring you a message
through which you
and all your household
will be saved.
So if you're new to Christianity,
maybe you wonder,
why do Christians talk about
being saved and salvation?
To make sense of it,
I think it's helpful for us
to go back
and to consider the big story
of the human race,
maybe especially to think back
to how our Bible begins,
Genesis 1 to 3.
We discover there
in the early chapters
of the book of Genesis
that God made
the first two people,
Adam and Eve,
they were made in His image,
and they were made to know God.
Indeed, the first people
were made to enjoy
perfect relationships
with one another,
with the world that God had made,
and with their God.
When we read about life
in the beginning,
we can understand
it's the world we all long for,
a world of perfect peace
and life and love.
But then,
something went wrong.
In Genesis chapter 3,
we discover Adam and Eve,
these first people
turning their backs on God.
And that explains to us
what we need to be saved from.
To understand salvation,
we need to understand
what's the danger,
what do we need to be saved from?
We need to be saved from sin.
Sin, as we see it from Adam and Eve
and in our own hearts,
is whenever we break
one of God's commands.
Sin is whenever we believe
the false promises of sin.
This says,
rejecting God is good,
following our own way is better.
Sin is rejecting the rule of God
to choose to live for,
to find our happiness,
to base our identity
and purpose in life
on something other,
someone other,
than the one true God.
And we need to be saved from sin
because the effect of sin
is separation.
So in the story of Adam and Eve,
as soon as they sin,
we find them hiding.
We find their shame.
We were made for life with God.
But our sin and our guilt
cuts us off from our God.
We were made to know God
living within us,
but now because of sin,
we only have self at the center.
And that's bad news
because it tends to make us selfish.
We need our God,
but by ourselves,
we cannot get back into the garden.
We cannot get our way back
to life with God.
So sin separates.
And sin and separation,
in the end,
leads to spiritual death.
Adam and Eve were told
that if you sin,
you'll die.
The Bible says
the wages of sin is death.
Because of sin,
physical death comes,
but so too
does spiritual judgment,
spiritual death,
the reality of hell.
And this is not the way
it's supposed to be.
We were made for life.
We were made for eternal life,
made for life with God.
But we have turned our back on that,
and that's what we need
to be saved from.
We need to be saved
from the power of sin.
Sin functions
like a drug addiction.
It kills us,
and it has a hold on us,
and we cannot break free from it.
Or it's like a snake bite,
and its poison is in our system,
and in the end,
it will destroy us.
And so as we understand
what the Bible says
about what do we need
to be saved from,
the question then becomes,
well, how can anyone be saved?
How can I be saved?
Where does freedom come from?
What's the cure?
Where's the good news?
And in Genesis 3,
we discover there's good news.
There's a promise
that Adam and Eve,
in their sin,
God promised
one from their family,
a seed
who would defeat their enemy,
who would crush
the head of the serpent,
who would bring good news.
And that promise is fulfilled.
Jesus,
he's the Savior.
And it's this good news
that comes to Antioch.
These Christians can say,
listen,
you cannot save yourself.
Your idols cannot save,
and they cannot give you
lasting happiness,
but Jesus can.
That problem of sin
that we all have,
the answer is found
in Jesus.
Jesus,
the substitute.
So Jesus comes,
the Son of God
becomes truly human.
And in his life,
he always obeys his Father.
He always pleases his Father.
He fulfills the demands
of the law,
the law that we break,
and he does that
on our behalf.
And then Jesus,
the substitute,
not only does he live for us,
he also dies for us.
He dies as a sacrifice,
and as he dies on the cross,
he is carrying
your sin
and my sin.
The Bible says
he is crushed
for our sin.
And in his sacrificial death,
he completely covers
over our sin
so that we can be declared
righteous.
The problem of separation
from our God,
the answer is found
in Jesus.
One thing we discover
as Jesus dies
on the cross,
as he has been
abandoned by his friends,
as he's been whipped
and beaten,
as a crown of thorns
has been pulled
onto his head,
as he's been nailed
to the cross,
the greatest pain
for Jesus
is that sense
of feeling
forsaken
or abandoned
by his Father.
My God,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Why does Jesus
go to that dark place?
Jesus feels abandoned
so that you and I
might be welcomed
as we trust in Jesus.
And then Jesus
sends from heaven
the Holy Spirit.
So now we're not
separate from God,
rather God
comes to live
in our hearts.
That God is here
right now
by his Spirit.
And the problem
of spiritual death,
that's also answered
through Jesus,
through his death
and his resurrection.
As Jesus goes
under the judgment
of God,
he experiences
hell on earth
for us
so that we can
enjoy heaven
by trusting in him
and his work.
He defeated death.
And having defeated death,
he gives the gift
of eternal life
and he promises
an eternal home
with him,
with our God
and King
in the new world
he will bring in.
In Jesus,
God saves.
That's good news
for the world.
And in Jesus,
secondly,
God blesses.
So there's this
really interesting
discussion
back in chapter 11
verses 15 to 17
between Peter
and some people
who are wondering
how could you go
to Gentiles
and speak to them
about Jesus?
And he says to them,
listen,
they have the same
Holy Spirit
as we do.
God has given
the same gift.
They share the same
Savior.
The church is one.
And again,
if we step back
to the beginning
of the Bible,
we discover,
just as in Genesis
chapter 3,
there was a promise,
here is a seed
to be sent
and he'll save.
In Genesis 12,
a promise comes
to Abraham
that is a seed,
there's someone
from your family
who will bless
the nations
of the world.
And this is the good news
that Antioch hears.
Jesus isn't just
for people over there.
He's not just
for some kind of,
he's for all people.
Jesus is God's way
to extend blessing
and peace
and life
to all nations
and all kinds
of people.
That's still
the good news today.
It's good news for us.
Whatever nation
we are from,
whatever country
we come from,
whatever region
we're from,
Jesus would be good news
for us today.
There is one gift,
the Holy Spirit
for Jew and for Gentile.
So any believer
knows life
from God
and knows life
with God.
The power of God,
the love of God,
the friendship of God,
we have it
through Jesus
and by the Holy Spirit.
And again,
this blessing
that extends
to all nations,
again,
it means that Jesus
is tearing down
those dividing lines
that we often set up.
The lines that divide
different people
and different cultures.
When the message
of Christianity
is truly understood
and practiced,
it doesn't create war.
It doesn't bring division.
Rather,
it brings peace
and it brings healing
because Jesus forgives
and Jesus reconciles.
And so we see
this wonderful promise
being fulfilled
that Jesus will bless
the nations.
And we can look ahead,
Revelation chapter 7,
we have this promise
of what it will look like
when it's fulfilled.
In heaven,
there's this image
of Jesus on his throne
and he's being worshipped
by people
from every language
and every nation
and every people group.
We're all one
in Christ Jesus.
And when we understand that,
we understand
why these first Christians
were so excited
to share good news.
This is why we call
the message
of the Christian faith
good news
because it answers
the deepest human need
of our heart,
our sin,
and our guilt,
and our need
to be right with God.
We call it good news
because it's the way
into God's blessing.
God has sent Jesus
in order to fix
what is broken,
to give us entry
into the relationship
and the life
that we were made for.
We call Jesus good news
because his forgiveness,
his peace,
promises a better way
than division
and hostility
in the Savior
who reconciles
and brings peace.
And it's good news
because to receive it,
we don't say,
well, you have to become
a certain type of person
or you don't have to act
a certain kind of way.
You don't need to
make great sacrifices
or go on some
special journey.
No, you must believe
in the Lord Jesus
and you will be saved.
We must put our faith
in the Lord Jesus.
We must turn away
from whatever we trusted
in before
in order to trust
in him as our Lord,
to receive him
as God's wonderful gift.
So that's our first point.
Jesus is good news
to the world.
Our second point,
super, super brief,
but it's also really important
is that Jesus continues
his mission
through his church.
So we've emphasized
that vital truth
that it's Jesus
who gives the power
for mission.
It's Jesus
who is the content
of mission.
Jesus is the goal
of mission.
So truly and really,
it is all about Jesus,
but we also need
this other vital truth.
Jesus uses his people,
his church,
to achieve
his purposes
to carry out
his mission.
So our response
as the people of God
is not to sit back
and say,
well, Jesus has got this,
so I don't need
to do anything.
It's also not
to stress out
and say,
I need to save the world.
Our response
is to serve
our Savior,
Lord, and Master
with his help
motivated by his love
and grace.
We've already seen it
as these unnamed believers
continue the mission
of Jesus in Antioch.
It's not just apostles
who bring the good news,
who begin to cause
the church to grow.
Christianity grows
as these unnamed believers
boldly share.
And what happens next,
this is in verse 22
to 24,
the Jerusalem church
hears what's going on.
Verse 22,
news of this
reached the church
in Jerusalem
and they sent Barnabas
to Antioch.
So they want to validate,
find out what's going on
and they send
the perfect guy
for the job.
So we know that
Barnabas' real name
is Joseph,
but this is his nickname,
Son of Encouragement.
So we've been thinking
about how Barnabas
is an encouragement
and we're going to see
it again here.
Three very brief points
to notice
and some questions
to ask
about how Barnabas
helps to continue
the mission of Jesus.
First,
verse 23,
Barnabas encourages
new believers.
So look with me
at verse 23.
When Barnabas arrived
and saw what the grace
of God had done,
he was glad
and encouraged them all
to remain true
to the Lord.
He was glad.
Here is the power
of encouragement.
Again,
boys and girls,
I'm going to stick
with the puppy theme
for a moment.
if you've ever had
to help to train a puppy,
you will know
that what you need to do
is to encourage
and praise
and reward
good behavior
when and if you see it,
which with a puppy
doesn't always come
that often.
But the power
of encouragement
is what helps
a puppy be trained
towards obedience.
But you probably
also know,
and all of us,
I think,
know,
the power
and the beauty
of encouragement
in our lives.
Someone who's got
our backs,
someone who says,
you can do this,
someone who says,
I can see
that you're making progress.
The power of encouragement
is real.
Think about what Barnabas does
for these new Christians
in Antioch,
far away from the center
in Jerusalem.
He says to them,
I can see
that Jesus
has really changed you.
I can see
that God
has worked
powerfully in you.
I can say
that you belong
to Jesus,
you belong
to his church.
I can see
and I'm glad
that you're living
with faith
and obedience.
Now imagine
the difference
that that's going
to make
to these new believers,
to be encouraged
by an encourager.
So my question,
my challenge,
my invitation
to myself
and to all of us
is this,
who can you
and I
encourage
spiritually
this week?
Who can you say,
I'm so glad
to see your faith
and obedience
at work?
How can you
and I
do that
so that we
would follow
Barnabas
in encouraging
believers
in the mission
of God?
Second thing,
Barnabas encourages
perseverance.
Again,
verse 23,
he encouraged
them all
to remain
true to the Lord
with all
their hearts.
Faith,
as has often
been said,
is a marathon
and not a sprint.
It's not how
we begin
that matters,
it's how we run
the race,
it's how we finish.
Barnabas encourages
them to persevere.
Keep going
when trials come.
Persevere
by being
wholehearted
in your commitment
to Jesus.
Show your loyalty
to him
and not
to those
idols
that you
used to
trust in.
You may
have seen
on the news,
you may actually
have seen
on the streets
that there
is all kinds
of road
cycling world
championships
happening.
Perth,
Stirling,
Edinburgh,
Glasgow,
those big
long distance
races.
I don't know
if they need
water stations,
but they definitely
have water stations
at a marathon.
Think of a marathon,
think of those
water stations,
tired runners
come for a break,
think of those
water bottle
passers.
How refreshing
for that exhausting
journey to get
a drink of water.
Who can you
and I
refresh
this week
in faith
to encourage
someone to
persevere,
to keep their
eyes fixed
on Jesus,
to focus
on the
eternal
prize.
The last
way that
Jesus continues
his mission
through Barnabas,
verse 24,
Barnabas encourages
faith by
his witness.
Listen to this
wonderful testimony
from Luke
as to the
character of
Barnabas.
I imagine
for all of us
this is something
that we would
love people
to say of us.
He was a good
man,
full of the
Holy Spirit
and faith,
and a great
number of people
were brought
to the Lord.
So here's this
wonderful thing,
so Barnabas is
living out his
faith day by day
in Antioch.
He's speaking
and he's sharing
and he's encouraging
and the impact
is there's more
followers of Jesus.
Let's never
underestimate the
power of
lifestyle evangelism.
Let's not
underestimate the
power of every
day resolving
to live for
Jesus in our
family, our
workplace.
We go back to
school to work
hard and to
work well, to
be good
neighbors, to
be kind, to
be honest, and
to be ready to
speak about Jesus
when we get a
chance.
Robert Murray
McShane, who
was ministering
St. Peter's in
Dundee in the
19th century,
said this, he
said, a
Christian, love
this definition,
a Christian is a
person who makes
it easy for
others to
believe in
God.
A Christian is a
person who makes
it easy for
others to
believe in
God.
In that, Barnabas
is a wonderful
ambassador, isn't
he?
Is that what
people would say
of us as a
church?
That this church
makes it easy for
others to believe
in God and that
he's good news?
Is that what
people would say
of our lives?
Let's ask the
Spirit to be
convicting us, to
be showing us, if
there are areas
where perhaps we
make it difficult for
others to believe
in God.
That's because we'd
want others to be
seeing the goodness
of Jesus.
Acts 11 is a
wonderful lesson
that our God is a
missionary God, that
Jesus continues his
mission in the world,
and he does that
through people and
through churches like
us.
Through Christians
sharing the good
news of Jesus the
Savior.
As the grace of God
transforms lives and
works itself into
cultures, as the
words and lives of
everyday Christians
like us can be
used by God to
accomplish Jesus'
goal.
Because wonderfully,
our God is a
missionary God.
Let's pray to our
God briefly now.
Lord God, we thank
you that we have
good news.
We have good news
from you of Jesus,
the Savior for the
world.
Lord.