We're going to read some sections in Acts of how the gospel spread to and from Antioch.
And we're going to start in Acts 11, starting in verse 19, going to verse 26, and then we'll read a couple in Acts 13.
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen,
travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.
For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
And a great many people were added to the Lord.
So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.
And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Now we'll read from Acts 13, 1-3.
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manan, a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
And now verses 47-49.
Well, the things Dave said to us earlier, wonderful principles, and yet they set the bar impossibly high, it seems to me.
Since the goal of mission is to create true worship.
That is to see people everywhere in our world discover true joy and gladness in the greatness and love of God.
Since that's part of mission.
And since the fuel of mission is worship.
That is, we can't commend that which we don't already cherish for ourselves.
And the third thing that Dave mentioned is that people aren't neutral.
The people we will speak to in their natural born state are hardwired to autonomy.
To rebellion against God.
Determined to pursue their own glory, not God's glory.
Determined to seek life apart from God, not in God.
Determined to seek life apart from God's glory.
Since those three things are already on the table, then the question we have to ask is,
Who on earth can have the confidence to do mission?
What people, what person, what community could think they could possibly do mission?
Why would we possibly think and proceed with confidence to make people see and do that which they neither want to see nor do?
In the moment, can we venture with confidence into this new partnership with Matt and Grace in a far away land?
Well, the answer, thankfully, this morning is a resounding yes.
We can have confidence.
And I want just briefly to reference the church in Antioch that Jess has just read to us about this morning as a model for our confidence.
And it works like this.
We get God's sovereign purpose in salvation dovetailing precisely with what the ordinary believers were doing on the ground.
The backstory of the church of Antioch catalogues a series of unremarkable people.
Unremarkable people who had been confronted by the gospel of Jesus, spoken to them by equally unremarkable people.
Some of them Jewish, some of them non-Jewish.
But in common, they were followers of Christ.
And they were all fleeing persecution.
And wherever they went, and particularly into the city of Antioch in Syria, they just naturally overflowed.
They gossiped the gospel.
We believe it was a relatively young church at this stage.
But when you flick to Acts 13, verse 1, we see immediately this church was quite ethnically and culturally diverse.
And in the day, that would have been a recipe for disaster and division.
But notably in this church, it was their new identity in Christ that dominated their thinking.
In Acts 11, verse 26, we're told that for the first time, they were united around the term Christian.
Each a servant of Jesus, each a believer, each a Christian, that trumped all other natural divisions, ethnically, culturally, and even gender terms.
And it was the basis, this new identity in Christ was the basis for a deep unity.
A unity of mind and purpose in a diverse community.
And we see that another thing about this church, therefore, because of their backstory,
they were actually deliberately and prayerfully missional in outlook.
What does that mean?
Well, it means very, very simply.
They were so excited by the gospel that they'd experienced themselves and so radically changed them from the inside out.
That, as Dave said, their excitement just overflowed.
And overflowed into a passionate desire to hand on the baton.
To be on mission for Jesus.
To see others experience the same thing that they themselves had experienced when the gospel came to them.
And the new delight in the Lord as their greatest treasure was not just expressed by a few individuals,
but it characterized the church.
The church got together and under the leading of the Holy Spirit,
determined to send out Paul and Barnabas.
To repeat the job that they had experienced for themselves in Antioch.
At a very, very practical level, I think we can say this,
that the believers in Antioch were passionate to do what they could do.
That is, pull the resources, pick suitable people,
and send them out to wherever they could go to speak about Jesus,
to speak about gospel.
Now, why did they do that?
Well, I think the other side of the story, the other side of the coin,
the dovetail part,
is that they did it because they were confident
that the Lord would do what only he could do.
The Lord would do what only he could do.
That is, change hearts.
Give new life to spiritually dead people.
And we're told in Acts chapter 11,
that many were converted in Antioch
as God's purposes in salvation
and the efforts of the believers dovetailed.
That's Acts chapter 11.
Then when we come to Acts chapter 13,
we see the same thing happening down the track.
Acts chapter 13, verse 47, 48, and 49.
And as many as were appointed for eternal life believed.
Brothers and sisters, Matt and Grace,
these are the principles to hang our hats on.
These principles are still true today.
They're the only reason for confidence in a world,
as we speak the gospel,
into a world that doesn't want to hear it.
It's the reason we have confidence
to speak the gospel into our own families,
into our local community here,
and into a faraway land.
It's the confidence we have
underpinning this partnership
that we're still early days,
but we're growing into
and excited about with Matt and Grace.
It seems to us a very simple thing.
We are sending them out.
That's what we can do.
That's what they can do.
And our confidence is
that that will dovetail
with God's purposes in salvation,
with as many as are appointed to believe
in that particular part of the world.
We have a wonderful motivation
and unlimited opportunity.
The whole of the story of Acts,
especially Acts chapter 1,
is about, as Dave's already highlighted,
our God is committed
to making his name great
in his own world.
He's a missionary God.
We see in Acts 1,
he's got big plans,
a big horizon,
his whole world,
the ends of the earth.
He will be worshipped.
He will be adored
by a vast multitude
of redeemed sinners or rebels.
He will,
as he tells us
in other parts of Scripture,
build a great resurrection community
called the church,
a community of died-for people,
each individually brought in
through the process of the gospel,
brought into the kingdom.
So, my friends,
our mission,
our engagement and mission,
must have the same big horizons.
We must be bold
and have the same big plans
to the ends of the earth.
Why?
Well, because it simply reflects
who we are in Christ.
God.
And it's a reflection
of our great God in us.
And as Dave said before,
as those who have experienced
the full extent
of God's saving grace,
even when we were lost,
even when we were
in full pursuit of autonomy
and not in the least interested
in worshipping the Lord,
for those who have experienced
God's grace in that situation,
well,
we would naturally,
we will naturally
overflow with desire
to see others in our world
experience exactly the same
rescue and renewal.
people.
So, my friends,
we ought never to think
about mission
primarily in terms of duty
or responsibility.
that just won't last.
Mission is primarily
about ourselves
overflowing
in worship.
a particular expression
of that worship
is in our partnership
forming and growing
and deepening
with Matt and Grace.
And my friends,
it also means
that mission
is not just
for keen beings
for the people
who might just have
a particular bent
for mission
in the church.
Mission is
for all of God's people
because it's something
that should overflow
from each of us.
we shouldn't have
to drum up support.
We shouldn't have
to whip people
into ongoing
resilient
continuation
of this stuff.
It should be
bubbling up.
And we can be confident
in that situation
that God will gather
his people powerfully
through ordinary folk.
I just think
this is a beautiful
scenario here
in Antioch.
The believers,
and I remember
I said at the start
that they were unremarkable.
The unremarkable
believers
in Antioch,
in the church
of Antioch,
had every qualification
necessary
for mission.
What are those
qualifications?
Well, they themselves
had experienced
forgiveness
and renewal
in Christ.
they themselves
had experienced
the joy
of turning
to the Lord
in thankfulness
and new delight
for new life.
They spoke
out of the overflow
of their hearts.
They knew the gospel.
They knew
that it worked.
They felt resourced
and equipped
by Paul and Barnabas
in Acts chapter 11.
They were there
and taught them
for a year.
It's not told
specifically what
they's taught,
but my guess is
that Paul and Barnabas
filled in the gaps
with,
well, now you're Christians.
Let's go back
and look at the back story
from the very start
from Genesis
and see God's plan
right the way through.
These guys now felt
resourced and equipped
having been instructed
in God's plan
of salvation
focused on the Lord
Jesus Christ.
We're told in Acts 13
verse 2
they were in tune
with the powerful
work of the Holy Spirit
within them
and leading them
as a church family.
They overflowed
in prayer
asking the Lord
to act for his own glory
by rescuing
and renewing
many others
through their efforts
to get the gospel
out far and wide.
Do you hear
what the qualifications were?
They wanted
what God wanted
and they used
the spiritual tools
that the Lord
had provided them.
That's not too complicated
is it?
Their excitement
and determination
to be on mission
for Jesus
dovetails
as I said before
with God's purpose
and plan of salvation.
Let me bring you back
to Acts 13
47 to 49 again.
And we see the scope
again
of mission
picking up
a quotation
from Isaiah.
I have made you
a light
for the Gentiles
that you may
bring salvation
to the ends
of the earth.
God's long time
plan
for salvation
God's big horizon
and when the Gentiles
heard this
they began rejoicing
and glorifying
the word of the Lord
and as many
as were appointed
to eternal life
believed
and the word
of the Lord
was spreading
throughout the whole region.
the church
in Antioch
pretty young
sent Paul
and Barnabas
out
to speak
the gospel
to long
that people
might experience
the same gospel
renewal
that they had
experienced
to be converted
to see new
resurrection
communities
or the church
birthed
and what do we see?
God graciously
used their efforts
to bring the gospel
to specific people
appointed to salvation
and eternal life.
the church's job
get people
to hear
about Jesus
that's something
we can do
the Lord's job
bring them
through Jesus
into the kingdom
forever
how good is that
Triss?
and so
we see
a repeat
the very thing
that they
themselves
had experienced
as these
rag tag people
coming into
Antioch
fleeing persecution
from down around
the Judean region
they just walked
into town
and suddenly
they were hearing
this guy
called Jesus
and suddenly
they were converted
and suddenly
there was a church
and then suddenly
the church
was taken up
by the Holy Spirit
and they wanted
to repeat it
and here it is
they're reproducing
themselves
as it were
and nothing
brings greater
glory to the Lord
that's Paul's
point repeatedly
in Ephesians
when he writes
to the believers
at Ephesus
particularly in
chapter 1
we see over
and over again
he says
all spiritual
blessings are
ours in Christ
to the praise
of God's glory
everything in the
world has been
made for the
sake of Christ
and the church
to the praise
of God's glory
and so it goes
on and on
over and over
again
every church
has formed
according to
Ephesians
that crosses
the natural
boundaries of
hostility and
division
and brings a
new unity
in identity
in Christ
in Christianity
for the praise
of his glory
Matt and
Grace
brothers and
sisters in
this church
family
we can
reach out
boldly
and with
confidence
with the
renewing
freeing
gospel of
Jesus
knowing very
well that our
world is not
interested in the
message it most
needs to hear
and most likely
will despise
when they first
hear it
why
well
because God
will go before
us
to create
his own
glory
we have
great motivation
we have
wonderful
opportunity
both in our
local community
and in a
distant land
now with
Matt and
Grace
we have all
the weapons
required
for the task
the living
word of God
the enabling
power of the
Holy Spirit
blasting
unbelief
out of hard
hearts
weapon of
prayer
so my
friends
let's
let's be
excited
let's be
bold
in our
commitment
to and
support of
Matt and
Grace
make no
mistake
it will
cost us
but in
my
experience
and I
presume in
your
experience
we don't
quibble
over the
cost of
things that
we're really
passionate about
there always
seems to be
money for
those things
doesn't
there
so that
means the
question is
what's our
passion
we
commend
that and
grace
to God's
goodness
and God's
keeping in
the next
weeks and
months
and we
urge them
to
pursue
faithfulness
rather than
success in
our world's
terms