WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.500 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.060 Good morning. I am Catherine Lopez and I'm part of the Central Berkeley Community Group. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:44.079 Today's scripture reading is from the Book of Acts, chapter 11, verses 19 to 30, 00:00:44.659 --> 00:00:48.920 and chapter 13, verses 1 to 3, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:55.700 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:59.620 traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.259 Spreading the word only among the Jews. 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:08.140 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch 00:01:08.140 --> 00:01:13.819 and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:20.400 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:26.400 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:32.359 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them. 00:01:33.240 --> 00:01:37.020 He encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 00:01:37.820 --> 00:01:43.939 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:50.379 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:56.159 So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. 00:01:57.179 --> 00:02:00.079 The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:05.340 During this time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:14.420 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.180 This happened during the reign of Claudius. 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:24.340 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.099 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 00:02:29.099 --> 00:02:34.379 Now in the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:44.259 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manan, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:50.879 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:55.299 Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 00:02:55.300 --> 00:03:00.640 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. 00:03:01.100 --> 00:03:02.560 This is the word of the Lord. 00:03:03.320 --> 00:03:04.420 Thanks be to God. 00:03:20.200 --> 00:03:22.640 Thank you, Catherine, for that reading. 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:23.460 Good morning, everyone. 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:29.340 My name is Andrew, and yeah, if you've ever wondered whether you could preach a sermon so bad, 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:31.780 they don't do your ordination after all. 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:32.620 We're about to see. 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:36.540 Will you join me in prayer? 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:43.580 Father, wow, we thank you that you're a God who speaks to us. 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:46.939 You're a God who speaks words of truth and love. 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:49.819 And you're a God who speaks words of power. 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:53.299 The same kind of words of power that created the heavens and the earth. 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.299 You speak them into our lives for our redemption. 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:59.759 And we just ask to bear witness to that power. 00:04:00.079 --> 00:04:02.120 The power of the gospel in the city today. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:04.620 We pray these things in the strong name of Jesus. 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:05.799 Amen. 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.540 Well, thanks, everyone, for being here. 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:10.640 You know, today's a special day for me. 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:16.379 I think I was in 10th grade when I first sensed my calling to pastoral ministry. 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:21.560 That's when I first began to start saying to people, I think I want to be a pastor. 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:24.460 And so it's been 18 years. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:30.739 It's over 18 years, more than half my life that I've waited for this day to come, for this moment. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:38.759 And I just consider it such an honor and really a dream come true to be called to pastor here, 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:41.399 to minister here at Christ Church East Bay. 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:45.259 You know, ironically, over the past two weeks, and I don't say this to puff myself up, 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:50.399 but in the past two weeks, I was actually invited by two other churches in our presbytery 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.199 to apply for the senior pastor position. 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:56.959 And I share that with you not to puff myself up, please, 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:00.839 but to let you know that it didn't even cross my mind 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:06.300 that I should be anywhere else than here at Christ Church East Bay. 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:10.240 And Chelsea felt the same way. 00:05:10.539 --> 00:05:11.699 Chelsea felt the same way. 00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:15.240 And, yeah, just, we love the East Bay. 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:20.620 We love this place where my parents grew up, you know, Oakland High grads, Cal grads, 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:23.599 and even more than my East Bay history. 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:26.620 What excites me about being here at Christ Church 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:29.779 is this incredibly diverse urban environment. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:33.860 You know, in high school, I spent a week in West Oakland, 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:36.639 and I got my first taste of urban ministry 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:40.680 outside of the homogenous Chinese-American middle-class suburban context 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:41.659 that I was raised in. 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:43.680 And I distinctly remember one night, 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:46.199 I was laying in my sleeping bag with Toby Ewan, 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:47.979 a youth pastor at my home church, 00:05:48.539 --> 00:05:49.539 and we were chatting, 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:53.039 and we were just talking about all the things 00:05:53.039 --> 00:05:55.659 that we'd love to see God do in the city. 00:05:56.099 --> 00:05:58.180 And we were hoping and dreaming together, 00:05:58.539 --> 00:06:01.740 hoping to see in my lifetime 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:04.099 the power of the gospel revealed 00:06:04.099 --> 00:06:07.159 in ways that we'd never yet seen in the city. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.000 And so here I am today, you know, just blocks away from Cal, 00:06:11.460 --> 00:06:13.660 and we see undergrads and PhD students 00:06:13.660 --> 00:06:15.240 and faculty members here 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:19.260 exploring the essentials of the faith, 00:06:19.380 --> 00:06:21.200 and some of them even embracing Christ 00:06:21.200 --> 00:06:22.240 from all over the world. 00:06:22.340 --> 00:06:24.180 People coming through our doors 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:25.560 from all over the world. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:26.540 Some homeless. 00:06:26.900 --> 00:06:30.020 Others on the cutting edge of CRISPR technology, right? 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:33.000 Some of them never stepped foot in a church their entire lives 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:34.919 and hearing the gospel here for their first time, 00:06:35.039 --> 00:06:37.060 and boom, baptized members. 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:40.519 And I love also seeing people exiting these doors, 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:43.659 exiting these doors equipped with the gospel, 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:45.699 sent back out to their places of influence, 00:06:45.799 --> 00:06:48.299 whether it be in San Francisco or the Silicon Valley, 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:50.199 the university, across the globe, 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:52.099 to love and serve the world. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:54.320 I love being here, Christ Church. 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:56.540 I love being here because I love seeing 00:06:56.540 --> 00:06:59.280 all that the gospel can do 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:02.860 and all that the gospel has been doing in this city. 00:07:03.640 --> 00:07:04.980 And so I think it's quite fitting 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:06.960 that we are here in Acts chapter 11 today, 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:09.120 the account of the early church in Antioch, 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:11.460 the first majorly urban church 00:07:11.460 --> 00:07:13.280 in the history of the church, 00:07:13.400 --> 00:07:16.040 a story of what the gospel can do in a major city, 00:07:16.340 --> 00:07:18.540 even places like here in the East Bay. 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:21.100 And the main point this morning is this. 00:07:21.960 --> 00:07:24.879 In the city, the gospel exceeds expectations 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:26.720 and builds belonging. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:29.460 In the city, the gospel exceeds expectations 00:07:29.460 --> 00:07:31.120 and builds belonging. 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:33.300 So first let's talk about the city. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:34.600 After all, Christ Church, what? 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:37.100 We exist to lead people into deeper relationship 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:39.060 with Christ and his church through community 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:41.180 for the city, right? 00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:44.160 You know, I've had a fascination 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:45.400 for a long time with the city. 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:46.759 I don't know, maybe it's because I grew up 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:47.740 watching too much of Friends. 00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:49.560 And did anyone see the reunion? 00:07:49.840 --> 00:07:51.120 Pretty good, I thought, pretty good. 00:07:51.960 --> 00:07:54.740 But yeah, I've always been drawn to the city. 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:56.000 My parents are here today. 00:07:56.080 --> 00:07:58.140 You can ask them about one of these family trips, 00:07:58.460 --> 00:08:00.000 family vacations we once went on. 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:02.379 It was to Yellowstone National Park. 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:04.879 And I spent that whole trip, though, 00:08:05.140 --> 00:08:07.000 complaining and whining about how 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.480 I was just not having fun, 00:08:08.900 --> 00:08:09.680 nothing was interesting, 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:11.420 this was a waste of my time, 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:12.379 and it was so much worse 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:13.600 than all of our other vacations 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:17.080 to San Diego and Disneyland and Vancouver. 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.680 And my dad was fed up with me. 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:20.319 He's right here. 00:08:20.699 --> 00:08:23.819 And he tried to play the God card on me. 00:08:24.539 --> 00:08:25.139 And he said, 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.620 Andrew, we're in Yellowstone National Park. 00:08:27.859 --> 00:08:30.139 Can't you at least appreciate God's creation? 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:33.639 And I remember my response to him. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.419 And of course, my response was very, you know, 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:38.159 it was the response of a selfish, spoiled brat. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.860 But I will say, 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:43.819 I am surprised by the theological sophistication 00:08:43.819 --> 00:08:45.899 at which I responded to my dad. 00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:46.959 I said, yeah, dad, sure. 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:48.860 Creation is beautiful. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:49.659 This is God's creation. 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:50.059 Great. 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:53.500 But you can see God's creation in the city. 00:08:53.639 --> 00:08:55.779 You can see that God created human beings 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:57.620 to cultivate these wonderful cities. 00:08:57.779 --> 00:09:00.240 God's creation is just as much there in the city 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.860 as it is here in Yellowstone National Park. 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:06.919 And yes, I was wrong. 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:07.440 I was wrong. 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:07.960 I was complaining. 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:10.659 But I was also on to something. 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:12.480 I was on to something. 00:09:12.580 --> 00:09:13.940 See, the city is a major theme 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:16.360 in the narrative arc of the Christian scriptures. 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:19.620 It's woven into the gospel story itself. 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:23.180 This story that, yes, begins in an uncultivated garden, 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:24.680 but was always intended to what? 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:25.680 End in a city. 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:28.600 From Eden to New Jerusalem, right? 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:30.620 And that's why our heart's desires, 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:32.840 just like Abraham's heart's desire, 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:35.240 our heart's desires are bound up in a city 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.200 whose maker and builder is God. 00:09:37.920 --> 00:09:39.480 And though every city throughout history, 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:41.240 starting from the great cities that Cain 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.000 and his descendants built to Babel and Egypt and Rome 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:45.620 and even the San Francisco Bay Area, 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.560 even the great city Jerusalem under the great King David, 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:50.399 though every city that has ever been built 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.519 has failed to secure the shalom that our hearts long for, 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.480 each and every city has pointed 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:59.720 to its archetypal ideal in the city of God. 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:02.840 The new Jerusalem coming at the return of King Jesus 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:04.220 where every tear will be wiped away 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:06.259 and famines and droughts erased 00:10:06.259 --> 00:10:08.399 and the streets are paved with gold 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:11.779 and we have access once again to the tree of life. 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:14.240 Christ, God loves the city. 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:15.680 God loves the city. 00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:17.440 In fact, the very idea of the city 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:22.019 is not the figment of human sociological phenomenons 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:22.560 and inventions. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.619 The idea of the city comes from the heart and mind 00:10:25.619 --> 00:10:26.959 of God himself. 00:10:27.979 --> 00:10:30.419 Cities are the result of the cultivation of creation 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:33.199 by people who are made in the image of God. 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.419 Remember, God told Adam and Eve to work the garden 00:10:36.419 --> 00:10:38.299 and to cultivate it and to be fruitful 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:40.119 and to multiply and fill the earth, 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:42.659 not just to plant lemons and subsist on citrus, 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:44.779 but to make lemon bars, right? 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:48.479 Not just to drink raw milk from the udders of cows, 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.539 but to make cheese, nachos even, right? 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:54.319 Can you imagine a world without nachos? 00:10:54.599 --> 00:10:57.559 You don't get nachos without the city. 00:10:58.319 --> 00:10:59.620 You don't get nachos without the city. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.419 Now, of course, the fall has infected each and every city, 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:04.259 each and every city, 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:07.079 making cities incubators for the depths 00:11:07.079 --> 00:11:10.120 of human brokenness and poverty and evil, 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:13.860 but the city also functions as an incubator 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:16.099 for the heights of human achievement 00:11:16.099 --> 00:11:18.059 and innovation and virtue. 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:19.959 The city is the place where culture, 00:11:20.079 --> 00:11:21.559 for better or for worse, is shaped, 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:23.659 the center from which culture is spread, 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.919 the place where the riches of creation are mined 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:27.899 by people made in the image of God. 00:11:28.459 --> 00:11:30.359 It's where music and art and technology 00:11:30.359 --> 00:11:32.679 and commerce and knowledge are formed 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.219 and developed and displayed and dispersed. 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:37.559 And as such, the city is both 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:39.219 where the brightest and the best, 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:40.939 the poorest and the powerless, 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:41.500 flee. 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:43.299 We both come, 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:45.080 the poor and the powerless, 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:46.179 to find refuge, 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:47.279 the best and the brightest, 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:48.779 to pursue their ambitions. 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:51.100 The city is a place of incredible diversity, 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:54.320 hosting a wide spectrum of human experiences 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.519 and perspectives and values and beliefs, 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:58.360 all intermingling and testing 00:11:58.360 --> 00:11:59.600 and sharpening one another 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:01.360 in a pluralistic sea of ideas 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:03.799 with just an incredible dynamic energy 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:06.700 that you just can't find anywhere outside of a city. 00:12:07.540 --> 00:12:09.180 And this is why I love Christchurch. 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:10.420 This is why I love Christchurch 00:12:10.420 --> 00:12:13.720 because Christchurch exists for the city. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.920 We want to engage this vibrant, 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:17.879 diverse, urban context 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:18.820 with the good news of Jesus 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:19.900 because we believe 00:12:19.900 --> 00:12:23.300 that if and when the gospel takes hold in the city, 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:25.920 incredible things happen in the world, 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:27.759 both for the good of our cities 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:29.340 and for the glory of our God. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.180 And this is exactly what happened here 00:12:31.180 --> 00:12:32.240 in Acts chapter 11 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:34.280 in the great city Antioch. 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:37.179 Yes, the gospel was on the move 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:39.339 up to this point in the book of Acts. 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:41.059 The Spirit's power had come 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:42.620 to unexpected individuals 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.439 and they were being brought to the church, 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:46.620 into the people of God. 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:47.699 But here at Antioch, 00:12:47.939 --> 00:12:50.980 this is where things really, really start to scale up 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:52.759 amongst the non-Jewish populations. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:54.319 In this major city, 00:12:54.379 --> 00:12:56.639 we find the place where God powerfully launches 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:58.480 his multi-ethnic, multi-national, 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.179 multi-racial, multi-class mission church. 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:04.299 See, Antioch was the capital of Syria. 00:13:04.459 --> 00:13:06.179 It was the third largest city 00:13:06.179 --> 00:13:07.399 in the entire Roman Empire, 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:09.679 only trailing Alexandria and Rome. 00:13:10.059 --> 00:13:10.939 It was a wealthy city. 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:12.139 It had aqueducts 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:14.419 and it had basilicas and baths 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:15.379 and racing stadiums 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:16.739 and it was decorated with colonnades 00:13:16.739 --> 00:13:18.179 and trees and fountains. 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:20.459 It was rich in cultural and religious diversity. 00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:21.879 It was a cosmopolitan city 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:23.159 in every sense of the word. 00:13:23.239 --> 00:13:24.959 It was inhabited by Jewish people 00:13:24.959 --> 00:13:27.120 and Greeks and Romans and Persians, 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.559 even people from as far as India and China, 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:30.859 according to archaeologists. 00:13:31.579 --> 00:13:32.439 And as you can imagine, 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:35.259 it had tremendous influence over the Roman world. 00:13:35.339 --> 00:13:38.019 In fact, it was notorious for its influence. 00:13:38.619 --> 00:13:40.299 For like many pluralistic cities, 00:13:40.479 --> 00:13:42.679 pursuing unity through unprincipled 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:44.239 and inconsistent tolerance, 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:47.119 Antioch was known for its moral laxity. 00:13:47.739 --> 00:13:48.839 That city sound kind of familiar. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.500 And many bemoaned the way the filth of Antioch 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:55.079 would spill into the rest of the Roman Empire. 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:58.820 And yet, God in his divine wisdom, 00:13:58.920 --> 00:14:00.460 he says here, it's here, 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:02.639 in this filthy and influential city, 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:05.160 this is where I'm gonna start my movement. 00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:07.860 This is where things are gonna pick up steam. 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:09.400 This is where I'm choosing to display 00:14:09.400 --> 00:14:10.960 the power of the gospel. 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:12.660 And as we will see, 00:14:12.800 --> 00:14:13.759 in this city, Antioch, 00:14:13.820 --> 00:14:15.700 the gospel exceeds expectations 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:17.360 and it builds belonging. 00:14:17.540 --> 00:14:18.920 So again, in the city, 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:20.080 the gospel exceeds expectations. 00:14:20.800 --> 00:14:22.080 I want us to notice the unplanned 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:24.360 unplanned and volatile circumstances 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:26.020 under which the gospel took root 00:14:26.020 --> 00:14:27.780 in the city of Antioch. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:29.220 Right, after the weakening 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:31.080 of the Jerusalem-based church 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:32.460 scattered by persecution 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:33.720 at the murder of Stephen, 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:36.340 you would imagine that the gospel movement 00:14:36.340 --> 00:14:39.280 was something like a small flickering flame, 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:40.980 something about to be snuffed out. 00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:42.120 I mean, think about it. 00:14:42.400 --> 00:14:44.180 The early church wasn't even in control 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:46.180 of its own missionary spread. 00:14:46.660 --> 00:14:48.440 It just got scattered to the wind 00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:50.500 in a forced migration by persecution. 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:53.519 So how could a persecuted church 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.139 that got disbanded in its home base, 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:58.600 how could it be the powerful witness 00:14:58.600 --> 00:14:59.799 that Christ said it would be 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:02.120 from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:03.899 and even to the ends of the earth? 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:06.879 Well, you know, in my field of study, 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:08.720 there's this new book that just came out. 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:09.580 I can't wait to read it. 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:11.399 It's by a scholar from Sierra Leone. 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:12.919 His name is Jehu Hansels. 00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:15.220 He did his PhD at Edinburgh just like me. 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:16.960 And he's a professor of world Christianity 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:17.980 at Emory University. 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:19.039 And his new book is titled 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.800 Migration and the Making of Global Christianity. 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:23.840 And his basic argument 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:25.820 is that the global spread of Christianity 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:28.180 has not primarily been a result of 00:15:28.180 --> 00:15:31.460 top-down institutional and political forces 00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:34.759 of colonization or the strategic sending out 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:36.720 of super-trained missionaries, 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:38.840 but that the global spread of Christianity 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:41.360 is actually owed far more than we think 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:44.700 to the simple, historical, circumstantial, 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:47.480 we might even say the accidental migration 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:51.540 of ordinary Christians throughout the centuries. 00:15:52.540 --> 00:15:54.120 And I share this not to discourage 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.100 the intentional, strategic, missionary, 00:15:56.340 --> 00:15:57.800 gospel-spreading efforts in the world, 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:00.000 but to impress upon us what Hansel says in his book, 00:16:00.420 --> 00:16:03.379 every Christian migrant is a potential missionary. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:06.920 And that God often, as we will see in Acts chapter 11, 00:16:07.180 --> 00:16:10.060 he simply works through the accidental circumstances 00:16:10.059 --> 00:16:12.439 of history to accomplish his purposes. 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:14.319 Look with me at verse 19. 00:16:14.619 --> 00:16:16.739 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution 00:16:16.739 --> 00:16:18.419 that broke out when Stephen was killed 00:16:18.419 --> 00:16:22.319 traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, 00:16:22.619 --> 00:16:24.419 spreading the word only among Jews. 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:27.259 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, 00:16:27.619 --> 00:16:30.239 went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.500 telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 00:16:32.699 --> 00:16:34.179 The Lord's hand was with them, 00:16:34.599 --> 00:16:36.339 and a great number of people believed 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:37.840 and turned to the Lord. 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:40.340 Notice these people are scattered. 00:16:40.680 --> 00:16:43.500 There isn't a well-defined missionary strategy. 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:46.300 They're just migrating for the sake of survival. 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:50.120 And then some unnamed people from Cyprus and Cyrene 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:51.560 happen to go to Antioch 00:16:51.560 --> 00:16:53.560 and try to share the good news of Jesus 00:16:53.560 --> 00:16:55.040 with people who aren't Jews. 00:16:55.139 --> 00:16:56.220 They share it with Greeks. 00:16:56.980 --> 00:16:59.259 And boom, a movement begins 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:01.240 out of this forced migration 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:05.640 of some unnamed, unknown, faithful followers of Jesus. 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:08.919 See, while we often talk about, you know, 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.500 the incredible missionary journeys of Paul 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:12.659 in the book of Acts, 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:14.079 Acts chapter 11 reminds us 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:15.559 that Paul's missionary efforts, 00:17:15.699 --> 00:17:17.939 they were preceded and dependent upon 00:17:17.939 --> 00:17:21.579 this forced migration of ordinary, unnamed people 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:23.839 who really had no strategic plans 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:25.480 other than to flee for safety 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:26.859 and still try to follow Jesus. 00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:29.220 No one planned to get persecuted. 00:17:29.639 --> 00:17:31.799 No one planned to have to migrate out of Jerusalem. 00:17:32.179 --> 00:17:33.039 No one said, 00:17:33.199 --> 00:17:33.980 we're going to hit Phoenicia, 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:35.599 then Cyprus, then Antioch, 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:36.860 and then we're going to send so-and-so 00:17:36.860 --> 00:17:39.140 with his expertise in this or that 00:17:39.140 --> 00:17:40.019 to get the job done. 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:42.539 No one planned for persecution and migration 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:44.259 to be the means of establishing 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:46.539 the first majorly urban church, right? 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:48.339 This church that would serve as a hub 00:17:48.339 --> 00:17:50.440 and center for major gospel movements 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:53.279 throughout the Mediterranean world and beyond. 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:54.599 But God knew. 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:57.480 God knew, and the gospel advanced, 00:17:57.819 --> 00:18:00.059 far exceeding all expectations. 00:18:00.059 --> 00:18:02.319 And so the question for us today is, 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:03.720 for Christchurch, 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:06.500 especially coming out of this global disruption 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:07.119 of a pandemic 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:09.259 and seeing mass migrations ourselves 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:10.919 in and out of the Bay Area, 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:12.240 the question for us is, 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:14.500 what kinds of things will we expect from God 00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:16.279 in this new, unforeseen, 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.399 and unplanned season ahead of us? 00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:21.319 And what might be the ways God is calling us 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:23.879 to accept these unplanned things that are happening 00:18:23.879 --> 00:18:27.019 and to look for fruit in unexpected fields? 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:28.859 You know, for some of us, 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.359 it's the loss of certain familiar rhythms 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:32.960 and relationships in our lives. 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:34.819 I'm specifically thinking about our Oakland folk 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:36.160 who are now worshiping here 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:37.180 instead of Park Boulevard, 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.259 who don't have Quinn and Patrick and Bart anymore. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.879 And you see a bunch of people in this room, 00:18:42.139 --> 00:18:44.019 well, most of them today are from my family and friends, 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:46.119 but you still see a bunch of people in this room 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:47.139 who you don't know. 00:18:48.099 --> 00:18:49.339 And I know that's painful, 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:51.180 and I don't at all want to minimize 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:53.539 any of these losses. 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:57.579 And sure, even in the diaspora in the book of Acts, 00:18:57.639 --> 00:19:00.759 I'm sure the forced diaspora by persecution in Jerusalem 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.899 was absolutely devastating and heartbreaking 00:19:03.899 --> 00:19:05.799 and a deep and painful wound 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:07.139 that maybe never fully healed. 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:09.759 And I want you to hear that it's good and healthy 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:11.240 to grieve and to process that 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.139 and to acknowledge that loss for sure, 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:14.200 but can I just say, 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:17.000 can we do this without losing hope? 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:20.440 Can we do this without losing faith in God's future? 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:23.740 I know many of us here have ways 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:25.120 that we had hoped our lives would go, 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:27.340 ways that we hoped our life would go, 00:19:27.600 --> 00:19:28.539 but might it be, 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:31.660 might it be that the unplanned futures ahead of us 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:34.080 might actually be better than our plans 00:19:34.080 --> 00:19:35.580 because they're God's plans? 00:19:36.340 --> 00:19:37.500 Is God not able, 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.320 is God not even wanting to do that 00:19:40.320 --> 00:19:42.120 with and through our losses, 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:45.559 to use our losses for his kingdom gains? 00:19:46.340 --> 00:19:48.299 You know, thinking to myself about so many of the factors 00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:50.559 that have led up to this ordination Sunday 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:51.839 for me here at Christ Church, 00:19:51.899 --> 00:19:54.079 it's fascinating to reflect upon 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.200 what God's orchestrated in my life 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:57.859 and even the life of my family history, 00:19:58.419 --> 00:20:00.700 a history that none of my forebears had planned 00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:03.019 as they journeyed through their own forced migrations. 00:20:03.159 --> 00:20:04.379 I'm a Chinese American. 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.359 My grandparents were not born here. 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:09.440 Most of them came illegally, 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:12.500 fleeing incredible turmoil in China. 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:14.359 You know, the communists take over their stories 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:16.220 in my family of certain family members 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:18.279 getting on the last boat out to Hong Kong. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:20.980 And then my parents were born here in the States, 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:22.039 bicultural children, 00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:24.100 navigating American culture, 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:25.120 the children of immigrants, 00:20:25.600 --> 00:20:28.240 and somehow they were sent to church and Sunday school, 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.660 even though their parents weren't Christians. 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:33.900 And somehow, by God's grace, 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:34.980 they learned the gospel, 00:20:35.620 --> 00:20:36.700 and they loved the gospel, 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:38.299 and that's how they raised me. 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:39.779 They raised me in the church 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:42.299 to love the gospel as well, 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:43.440 and in that context, 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.000 that is where I sensed a call to pursue ministry. 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:47.840 And I pursued it hard. 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:49.120 I studied across the country, 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:50.720 across the Atlantic even, 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:53.539 and I tried really, really hard to come back home 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:54.340 because I had a plan. 00:20:54.820 --> 00:20:56.840 My dream was to come back home to my home church 00:20:56.840 --> 00:20:58.759 and serve this huge Chinese church 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:00.600 that had so formed me. 00:21:00.860 --> 00:21:02.259 That was always my hope and plan, 00:21:02.660 --> 00:21:03.960 but I wasn't the right fit. 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:05.900 So I frantically, 00:21:06.100 --> 00:21:07.779 I reached out to a bunch of churches, 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:10.480 and I reluctantly came to this church 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:11.640 that none of my friends or family knew, 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:13.340 Christ Church East Bay, right? 00:21:13.840 --> 00:21:15.780 And the rest is history. 00:21:17.280 --> 00:21:18.380 The rest is history. 00:21:19.040 --> 00:21:20.680 And so although, while back in China, 00:21:20.840 --> 00:21:22.759 you know, Ruby and David Ong 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:24.660 and Harvey and Kay Fong 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:26.500 would never have expected their grandson 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:30.140 to be a Christian minister in Berkeley, 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.040 and although I myself never envisioned 00:21:33.040 --> 00:21:34.660 being here pastoring you, 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:37.040 I'm the only Chinese-American teaching elder 00:21:37.040 --> 00:21:38.560 in our presbytery, 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:40.440 here I am today. 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:43.580 because of this mass migration movement 00:21:43.580 --> 00:21:44.220 out of China 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:47.440 and the disappointments of my own life plans. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:49.880 And isn't it just so beautiful 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:53.519 how God works in the disruptions of our plans? 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:55.880 Christ Church, this is good news for us. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:57.120 This is good news for us 00:21:57.120 --> 00:21:59.019 that our plans don't have to go as we planned, 00:21:59.580 --> 00:22:02.039 but that God's good plans always prevail, 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:03.759 doing far more, immeasurably more, 00:22:03.940 --> 00:22:05.380 than we could ever imagine. 00:22:05.380 --> 00:22:07.640 See, the beauty of the gospel 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:09.860 is that God works in and through 00:22:09.860 --> 00:22:11.360 the accidents of history, 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:13.480 and as such, what we believe to be 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:14.780 the accidents of history 00:22:14.780 --> 00:22:17.520 are actually no accidents at all. 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:21.180 The Son of God, the Messiah, was crucified, 00:22:21.840 --> 00:22:24.520 but God wrote redemption out of even that story, 00:22:24.780 --> 00:22:25.620 because in the city, 00:22:25.619 --> 00:22:28.519 the gospel exceeds our expectations. 00:22:29.859 --> 00:22:31.279 Now, not only did the gospel 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:32.819 exceed expectations in the city 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:33.979 by coming into existence 00:22:33.979 --> 00:22:36.539 as a result of persecution and migration, 00:22:36.939 --> 00:22:39.659 but also by expanding beyond the Jewish people. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:42.319 In the city, the gospel builds belonging as well. 00:22:42.659 --> 00:22:44.359 As it says in verses 20 to 21, 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:46.039 a great number of Greek people 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:47.279 are turning to the Lord. 00:22:47.619 --> 00:22:49.239 These people who hadn't been raised 00:22:49.239 --> 00:22:50.599 to even expect a Messiah, 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:52.559 these people who had always been excluded 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:55.019 from their circumcised Jewish neighbors, 00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:57.079 people who had formerly worshipped 00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:59.379 the man-made, fickle, and cruel gods 00:22:59.379 --> 00:23:00.419 of Greek mythology, 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:03.399 they were now Yahweh worshippers in Christ. 00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:05.940 So the Jerusalem church hears about this, 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:07.279 and they send Barnabas. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:09.919 Barnabas is this Jewish native of Cyprus, 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:12.279 so they send a bicultural representative 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:14.319 of the church to see what's going on 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:15.379 and to provide support, 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.240 and I love what it says in verse 23. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:18.679 When Barnabas arrived, 00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:20.200 when he arrived and saw 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:21.639 what the grace of God had done, 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:22.820 what the gospel had done 00:23:22.820 --> 00:23:23.780 in the city of Antioch, 00:23:23.800 --> 00:23:24.880 it doesn't say he was mad, 00:23:25.300 --> 00:23:26.840 it doesn't say he was in disbelief, 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.140 it doesn't say he was confused 00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:30.280 as many other Jewish people might have been, 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:31.900 but it says he was glad. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:34.060 He was glad and encouraged them 00:23:34.060 --> 00:23:35.620 to all remain true to the Lord 00:23:35.620 --> 00:23:36.780 with all their hearts. 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:38.200 Even if he couldn't explain 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:39.600 what was going on, he was glad. 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:41.180 And verse 24 says, 00:23:41.320 --> 00:23:42.780 even more came to faith. 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:44.660 And we have to appreciate 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:46.360 how incredible of a sight 00:23:46.360 --> 00:23:48.580 this must have been for Barnabas. 00:23:48.820 --> 00:23:49.700 For so many reasons, 00:23:49.800 --> 00:23:50.640 imagine Barnabas. 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:53.020 He's this faithful Jewish follower 00:23:53.020 --> 00:23:53.940 of the way of Jesus, 00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:56.060 but he had been living his whole life 00:23:56.060 --> 00:23:58.620 in this liminal place of being Jewish, 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:01.480 but also a native of Cyprus. 00:24:01.860 --> 00:24:03.320 The bicultural experience 00:24:03.320 --> 00:24:05.280 of familiarity with both cultures, 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:08.000 but also never quite fitting perfectly in either. 00:24:08.520 --> 00:24:10.420 Even after joining the way of Jesus, 00:24:10.540 --> 00:24:12.640 the Jerusalem church in Jerusalem, 00:24:13.020 --> 00:24:14.940 imagine him trying to fit in there, right? 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:16.820 But sometimes never really understanding 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:20.859 Peter's jokes or James and John's cultural references, 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:23.879 always feeling like he's playing cultural catch-up 00:24:23.879 --> 00:24:26.639 to this Jewish church in Jerusalem, 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.220 having this lingering sense 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:31.019 that there was something about him culturally 00:24:31.019 --> 00:24:34.839 that alienated him from God and God's people. 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:38.079 But then picture him arriving in Antioch 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:40.759 and seeing Greeks recite the Shema 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:43.319 and living in the way of Jesus 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:46.459 and try to imagine with me the joy he must have felt. 00:24:46.879 --> 00:24:48.419 It says that he saw the grace of God, 00:24:48.459 --> 00:24:49.240 and what he saw, I think, 00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:51.539 was the gospel building belonging. 00:24:52.879 --> 00:24:55.259 Oh man, my whole life, 00:24:55.379 --> 00:24:57.779 I've wondered if maybe I wasn't Jewish enough. 00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:00.899 I've even felt a bit on the margins 00:25:00.899 --> 00:25:01.940 amongst the people of God, 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:04.980 but look, these people aren't even half Jewish, 00:25:05.539 --> 00:25:07.599 and God's brought them into the family. 00:25:08.379 --> 00:25:09.039 This is bigger. 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:11.960 God is bigger than I ever thought. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:14.180 And just imagine the relief 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:16.399 that this bicultural Jesus follower 00:25:16.399 --> 00:25:19.019 must have felt to see even full-on Greeks 00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:21.279 engrafted into the people of God. 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:23.819 And so in his excitement, what does he do? 00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:25.000 He goes and he finds another, 00:25:25.099 --> 00:25:27.759 even more gifted, bicultural Jesus follower, 00:25:28.399 --> 00:25:29.220 Saul of Tarsus. 00:25:29.660 --> 00:25:31.279 And they team up and they do a whole year 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:32.899 of intensive discipleship training, 00:25:33.139 --> 00:25:33.960 and when they are done, 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:35.879 they have a multi-ethnic, multinational, 00:25:36.019 --> 00:25:38.399 multi-racial, multi-class urban church. 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:39.819 Chapter 13, verses one to three, 00:25:39.879 --> 00:25:42.240 gives us a glimpse of the representative diversity 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:43.039 of this congregation. 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:44.859 You've got two bicultural leaders, 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:46.319 a real estate owner, Barnabas, 00:25:46.740 --> 00:25:47.819 and Saul the professor. 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:49.619 Then you've got two Africans, 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.279 Simon called Niger, 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:53.240 who most commenters believe was black, 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:56.119 and Lucius, probably a lighter-skinned African of Cyrene. 00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:58.679 Then you've also got Manan of the noble class. 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:01.979 This guy was born and bred with King Herod. 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:03.279 He was raised with kings. 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:05.739 So at Antioch, all kinds of people 00:26:05.739 --> 00:26:07.659 who otherwise and apart from the gospel 00:26:07.659 --> 00:26:08.679 would have no reason, 00:26:08.979 --> 00:26:10.539 no business being together, 00:26:11.179 --> 00:26:14.779 they now constitute the first majorly urban church 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:17.019 in the third largest city in the Roman Empire. 00:26:17.679 --> 00:26:20.759 And it wasn't just a unity and belonging in Antioch 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:22.039 that was built by the gospel. 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:25.019 But so tight was the unity and belonging 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:28.339 they all had and they all felt in Christ 00:26:28.339 --> 00:26:31.379 that when an opportunity came for them 00:26:31.379 --> 00:26:34.019 to serve and support the Jewish church in Jerusalem, 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:36.079 people they had never met, 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:37.819 verse 29 says, 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:40.500 each one decided what they were able to give 00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:41.599 and sent it. 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:44.579 Not to the organization they were affiliated with 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:45.200 in Jerusalem, 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:48.359 not to some board of their new religious institution, 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.000 but verse 29 says they decided to provide help 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:53.599 for the brothers and sisters, 00:26:54.399 --> 00:26:58.519 their new family in Christ who is living in Judea. 00:26:58.599 --> 00:27:01.419 And see, this is what the gospel does in the city. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:04.619 In the city, the gospel exceeds expectations 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:06.219 and builds belonging. 00:27:06.399 --> 00:27:08.119 It creates a community of hope 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:10.199 with a unique family identity 00:27:10.199 --> 00:27:11.799 and a radical generosity 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:13.259 that can only be identified 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:16.199 with allegiance to Jesus Christ. 00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:19.460 allegiance to Christ and his unique way of living. 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:21.880 This diverse community and family 00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:23.620 like nothing the world has ever seen. 00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:25.900 And that's why in verse 26, 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:27.799 it says that so powerful 00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:29.759 was this movement of God in the city 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:32.660 led by these two bicultural ministers of the gospel 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:34.519 that the rest of the city, 00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:36.340 the rest of the city even noticed 00:27:36.340 --> 00:27:38.220 and gave this community in Antioch, 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:39.660 they gave them a new name 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:41.940 for it is first in Antioch 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:43.000 that followers of Jesus 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:44.880 are first called Christians. 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:48.100 That's where they got the name Christians. 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:50.200 See, the people of Antioch in that time, 00:27:50.300 --> 00:27:51.520 they knew of the Herodians 00:27:51.520 --> 00:27:52.940 whose allegiance was to Herod. 00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:54.720 They knew of the Caesareans 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:56.360 whose allegiance was to Caesar. 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:57.620 They knew of the Jewish people 00:27:57.620 --> 00:28:00.040 whose allegiance was to their own Jewish culture. 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:02.660 But here at the church in Antioch 00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:04.300 was something altogether new. 00:28:05.020 --> 00:28:06.380 Sort of related to Judaism, 00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:08.920 but like no Jewish community they'd ever seen. 00:28:09.040 --> 00:28:11.560 A Yahweh-worshiping, Jesus-exalting, 00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:14.179 community full of Greeks and Africans 00:28:14.179 --> 00:28:17.039 and bicultural inhabitants of Antioch 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:19.599 from many different nations and classes of society, 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:21.440 all united not by their culture, 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:23.639 not by their political views 00:28:23.639 --> 00:28:25.539 or their socioeconomic status, 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:28.159 but all united in Jesus Christ. 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:30.159 See, in the city of Antioch, 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:32.139 the gospel defied every category, 00:28:32.659 --> 00:28:34.740 every box that they could put people in, 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:36.079 and so the observers of this church 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:37.500 just had to make up a new identity 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:39.079 for those who followed Jesus. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.220 For what kind of community 00:28:41.220 --> 00:28:43.559 could grow and flourish so quickly 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:44.980 with an origin story 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:46.240 that comes out of persecution 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:47.480 and forced migration? 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:49.339 And what kind of community 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:50.980 could be composed of so many 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:53.039 disparate cultures and peoples 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:53.839 and backgrounds, 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:55.619 a community of love and unity 00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:57.019 rather than bitterness and tribalism? 00:28:57.059 --> 00:28:58.240 How do you get to that? 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.099 Only a community devoted to Jesus, 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:04.519 who himself was persecuted, 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:06.940 who himself was forced into migration, 00:29:06.940 --> 00:29:08.440 only a community devoted 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:09.559 to the gospel of Christ, 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:11.360 the crucified and risen Lord. 00:29:12.100 --> 00:29:13.279 For the resurrection declares 00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:14.720 that nothing is too difficult 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:16.100 for the hand of God. 00:29:16.620 --> 00:29:19.059 And the crucifixion simultaneously declares 00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:21.059 that no one belongs to the family of God 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:22.880 apart from the blood of Christ 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:25.600 and also that anyone can belong 00:29:25.600 --> 00:29:26.840 to the family of God 00:29:26.840 --> 00:29:28.360 by the blood of Christ, 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:30.620 shed for the forgiveness of sins. 00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:32.740 In Christchurch, as I always say, 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:34.299 this is the gospel. 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:36.039 This is the gospel. 00:29:36.139 --> 00:29:38.180 The gospel that exceeds all expectations 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:40.000 and builds belonging. 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:41.220 It's the hope of the world. 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:42.740 It's the hope of the city. 00:29:42.819 --> 00:29:44.839 So Christchurch, I want to ask you, 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:47.379 what if we in this city, 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:48.419 what if we in this city, 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:49.259 in the East Bay area, 00:29:49.379 --> 00:29:51.440 what if we believed in this gospel 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:53.299 and lived like it? 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:54.720 Will you pray with me? 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:58.960 Father, we believe, 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:00.359 but would you help our unbelief? 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:02.240 We believe that the gospel 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:03.299 is the power of salvation 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:04.379 unto all who believe, 00:30:04.459 --> 00:30:05.439 all who believe. 00:30:06.139 --> 00:30:07.479 And it is purely by grace 00:30:07.479 --> 00:30:08.279 that you save people. 00:30:08.339 --> 00:30:09.359 And because of that fact, 00:30:09.639 --> 00:30:10.899 anyone can be saved. 00:30:11.639 --> 00:30:13.439 And we marvel at that wonderful truth. 00:30:14.159 --> 00:30:16.119 And we ask that you would inspire us 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:17.379 to go out with that truth, 00:30:17.779 --> 00:30:19.039 to love and serve this world 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:19.879 in the name of Jesus. 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:22.359 We pray these things in his name. 00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:23.099 Amen.