WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Good morning, church. 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:08.160 Glad you braved the snow this morning and made it out. 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:14.179 Hey, we're looking at Acts chapter 11, verses 19 through 30 this morning. 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:19.160 I believe that's page 920 in the Pew Bible, so let me encourage you to turn there with 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:23.920 me and we will study this passage together this morning. 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:27.679 Acts chapter 11, verses 19 through 30. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:37.820 Let me read this for us. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:46.060 Now, those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:52.120 as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:58.920 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:02.120 to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:01:03.260 --> 00:01:08.000 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:15.480 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:20.500 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad. 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:30.280 And he exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:33.939 And a great many people were added to the Lord. 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:39.560 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:43.319 For a whole year, they met with the church and taught a great many people. 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:48.819 And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians. 00:01:50.699 --> 00:01:59.199 Now, in those days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and one of them, named Agabus, stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:01.280 This took place in the days of Claudius. 00:02:02.339 --> 00:02:08.199 So the disciples determined everyone, according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:14.839 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. 00:02:18.839 --> 00:02:25.120 Well, we've been following Luke's history of the early church this winter. 00:02:26.019 --> 00:02:35.539 And it's hard to imagine a more exciting church in Luke's narrative than the church in Antioch. 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:42.500 For starters, what Luke is showing us here is that this church is really a groundbreaking church. 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:48.000 Here, for the first time, you have a whole church made up of Jews and Gentiles. 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:54.019 That's something that hadn't ever happened before Antioch. 00:02:54.020 --> 00:03:08.240 You see, God's ancient plan to heal the nations, to build a new family from every culture and language and ethnicity, was actually breaking into history and becoming a reality right here for the first time. 00:03:10.160 --> 00:03:13.500 Of course, up to this point in the narrative, we've seen Gentiles converted to Christ. 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:17.580 Remember the Ethiopian official in chapter 8 and Cornelius and his household. 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:20.000 Just last week we looked at that in chapter 10 and 11. 00:03:20.100 --> 00:03:34.680 But now, in Antioch, it's not just an individual here or a family there, but a whole church where Jews and Gentiles and people from all sorts of cultures and backgrounds are joined together in one body. 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:41.080 A groundbreaking, promise-fulfilling church. 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:48.460 But as Luke's story continues, we see that this groundbreaking church also becomes a strategic church. 00:03:49.660 --> 00:03:55.720 We'll see in chapter 13 that it's from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas are sent out. 00:03:56.840 --> 00:04:02.860 The pioneering mission work to the Gentiles is launched from Antioch. 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:11.400 God uses this church in major ways, and this church ends up playing just a pivotal and central role in Luke's history of the early church. 00:04:12.100 --> 00:04:13.740 It comes up again and again and again. 00:04:14.660 --> 00:04:24.939 So as we think about this text this morning, and as we think about fulfilling our calling as a church, we can actually look to what God did in Antioch and learn from their example. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.040 What made this church such a special and exciting place? 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:37.560 What does Luke want to show us about this church so that we can be built up by God's grace to be and to do the same? 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:46.439 Well, I want to break this passage down for us this morning by asking four simple questions that will just walk us through the text. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:50.500 And hopefully they'll teach us what there is to learn from the church in Antioch. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.660 So first we're just going to ask, how did it start? 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:55.000 Then we're going to ask, how did it grow? 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:57.980 And then we'll ask, how did it live? 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:00.439 And then finally we'll ask, how was it known? 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:01.640 How did it start? 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:02.200 How did it grow? 00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:03.100 How did it live? 00:05:03.520 --> 00:05:04.319 And how was it known? 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:07.060 So first, Luke shows us how did it start. 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:08.379 This is verses 19 through 21. 00:05:08.580 --> 00:05:15.520 And he tells us that it was actually some utterly unknown guys from Cyprus and Cyrene. 00:05:15.640 --> 00:05:17.200 That's northern Africa, Cyrene. 00:05:17.340 --> 00:05:19.080 Cyprus was an island sort of off the coast. 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:23.980 These unnamed men started sharing the gospel with the Hellenists. 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:29.100 Now that word actually just is sort of a general word that means people who speak Greek. 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:33.500 But it's pretty clear from the context that what Luke means here are non-Jews. 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:41.060 Here for the first time, the church is actively evangelizing people who aren't Jewish. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:46.560 I mean, last week we saw that God had to literally just pound Peter over the head to get him to do it. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:48.860 And now they're doing it naturally. 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:53.920 Now, the city of Antioch was massively diverse. 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:59.519 It was probably the third largest city in the empire behind Rome and Alexandria. 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:03.300 And historians think the population might have been upwards around half a million people. 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:08.980 And because of its location, it was sort of on the northeastern part of the Mediterranean. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.040 And its role was sort of as the regional capital. 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:14.759 It was an incredibly cosmopolitan place. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:25.540 It was a place where Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Asians, and Jews all sort of lived together in one tight spot. 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:40.640 And in this place where cultures were pressing together, the church finally starts to see just how powerful and how international the gospel really is. 00:06:41.400 --> 00:06:50.080 They start to see in this place, maybe a very unlikely place, that it really is good news for everyone. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:58.879 Now, Luke doesn't tell us what the circumstances were when these men from Cyprus and Cyrene first evangelized their Greek-speaking neighbors. 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:01.300 Maybe they were God-fearers in the synagogue. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:04.860 That is sort of non-circumcised Greeks who worshiped Israel's God. 00:07:05.159 --> 00:07:10.899 Or maybe they just got to know these Greek speakers through their business or in the marketplace. 00:07:11.099 --> 00:07:11.740 Who knows? 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:19.899 But the encouraging thing is that this groundbreaking work of God happens through the boldness of ordinary believers. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:24.800 who love their neighbors and share the message of Jesus with them. 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:29.539 They didn't wait until the professionals showed up. 00:07:30.099 --> 00:07:33.199 It wasn't as if spiritual conversations started happening and they said, 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:34.120 Wait! 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:37.039 Let's call the people up in Jerusalem and get them to come down. 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:37.459 No! 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:40.180 They didn't have to. 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:45.659 Luke says they preached the Lord Jesus and God began working. 00:07:45.660 --> 00:07:57.560 Now, it's probably significant, as Luke says here, that they preached Jesus as Lord, rather, at first, than as Christ. 00:07:57.860 --> 00:07:58.520 Did you notice that? 00:07:59.520 --> 00:08:01.640 The title Christ, after all, what is that? 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:03.180 It's a Jewish category, right? 00:08:03.520 --> 00:08:06.580 It means the Messiah, the anointed one, the long-awaited king. 00:08:06.579 --> 00:08:14.500 Now, that category probably would not have made much sense to their pagan neighbors at first, right? 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:23.159 But, to introduce them to Jesus as Lord would have resonated much more deeply. 00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:31.779 F.F. Bruce, the great 20th century New Testament commentator, suggests that many of the pagan mystery religions of the time 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:40.759 claimed to connect their followers to a divine kurios or a divine Lord who, through their initiation and rites, 00:08:40.839 --> 00:08:44.779 which were very costly, actually, could sort of bring them salvation and immortality. 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:51.379 So, their neighbors were all looking for a Lord who was going to save them. 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:59.899 And perhaps these unnamed Christians in Antioch had heard about that and then started to tell their friends about Jesus 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:02.779 as the real Lord that they were seeking. 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:09.700 The one who could truly bring salvation and life and who could give it to them free of charge. 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:13.320 You're looking for a Lord. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.899 Let me actually introduce you to the one true Lord. 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:20.080 His name is Jesus. 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:26.820 In other words, they were contextualizing the gospel for their Greek friends. 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:31.019 That is, they were speaking it in a language that they could understand. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:34.259 Of course, more teaching would follow. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:35.919 We see that in the rest of the passage, right? 00:09:36.100 --> 00:09:40.740 But these pioneering Christians in Antioch knew the spiritual needs of their friends well enough 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:43.720 to be able to proclaim Jesus meaningfully to them. 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:49.500 Now, you might be thinking, okay, well, how do I do that today? 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:51.860 That kind of sounds hard. 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:56.659 Well, actually, it's not really that difficult. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:05.779 You simply need to spend time with people and listen to them and ask them some good questions and love them. 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:09.419 And then trust that the gospel is good news for everyone. 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:11.879 That's what they found in Antioch. 00:10:11.939 --> 00:10:13.500 They had been worshiping Jesus as Lord. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:17.659 The Christians, mind you, had been worshiping Jesus as Lord long before they got to Antioch. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:21.899 And then, lo and behold, they show up and all their pagan neighbors are talking about finding the Lord. 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:23.179 Hello. 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:25.419 Let me introduce you to him. 00:10:25.459 --> 00:10:26.199 His name is Jesus. 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:36.219 Imagine sitting at lunch with a classmate or a colleague and just being interested in them, listening, asking questions. 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:41.279 And then perhaps they eventually tell you how anxious they are, 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:47.199 fearing that they're never going to measure up to the performance standards of everyone around them, 00:10:48.079 --> 00:10:50.959 always fearing that their best isn't good enough. 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:56.220 And then they ask you, how do you handle it? 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.900 And suddenly, here's your Antioch moment. 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:10.460 When you get to tell them about the God who accepts you apart from your performance because of what Jesus has done. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.920 You get to tell them that you know your best will never be good enough. 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:21.139 But there's one who is good enough and who loves you and gave himself for you. 00:11:22.419 --> 00:11:26.659 And now, of course, you still feel pressure, but it doesn't crush you. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:30.559 And it can't crush you because you know him. 00:11:33.319 --> 00:11:35.919 You see, that doesn't take a graduate-level course in contextualization, 00:11:37.079 --> 00:11:39.879 as fun and as useful and as helpful as that would be. 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:46.700 It just takes a loving and listening ear and an ongoing relationship with Christ. 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:54.259 You see, we too should seek to speak of Jesus in ways that our neighbors can understand. 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:58.799 And oftentimes, it's going to be the way that your heart understands it. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:05.939 But, you know, the real comfort is, at the end of the day, it's not about, actually, how skillfully we share the gospel. 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:07.659 Look at what Luke says in verse 21. 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:11.179 And the hand of the Lord was with them. 00:12:11.939 --> 00:12:14.000 You see, God was at work. 00:12:15.059 --> 00:12:20.679 He can use even our most feeble and failing attempts to do great things. 00:12:21.079 --> 00:12:22.579 Not that we shouldn't strive to do our best. 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:23.079 We should. 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:27.060 But we shouldn't rely simply on techniques or cleverness. 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:29.460 That's not what it's about. 00:12:31.660 --> 00:12:35.360 And practically, I think this means that we should pray. 00:12:37.560 --> 00:12:42.920 If the Lord's ultimately the one who needs to change people's hearts, then we should be praying that he should do so. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:46.160 So, friends, do we pray? 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:53.059 Do we really pray for spiritual renewal to happen in our city and in our neighborhoods and in our families? 00:12:53.799 --> 00:13:05.719 You know, if God can take a city like Antioch, massive, cosmopolitan, powerful, pagan, and do something utterly groundbreaking and strategic there, surely he can do it here. 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:09.000 You know, it's very fascinating, isn't it? 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:22.779 That what maybe seemed like barriers to the gospel in Antioch, its size, its diversity, its affluence, its pluralism, those are the very things that became the opportunity for the gospel to shine out even more brightly. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:30.080 And God can do the same thing here in the New Haven area. 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:33.259 Well, let's pray that he does. 00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:36.299 And watch what he'll do. 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:44.299 Well, the last detail that Luke adds to his description of how the church got started in Antioch is the end of verse 21. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:44.659 He says, 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:48.059 And a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:54.159 Over and over again in Acts, you see that this is what a genuine response to the gospel looks like. 00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:58.000 Believing the message and then turning to the Lord Jesus. 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:01.899 If you're new to Christianity, if you're sort of exploring things, 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:05.779 That's what's meant by those sort of words faith and repentance. 00:14:05.959 --> 00:14:07.699 They're sort of weird, scary religious terms. 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:08.879 But that's really what they mean. 00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:12.259 Just believing the message and turning to the Lord. 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:14.079 That's genuine conversion. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.360 Not a warm sort of fuzzy spiritual feeling. 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:21.980 Not sort of just merely intellectually assenting to certain truths. 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:24.539 Not a moral resolution to try harder. 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:26.659 And important for the context of Acts and Antioch. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.340 Genuine conversion wasn't getting circumcised and following the law of Moses. 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:36.519 No, genuine conversion wasn't any of those things. 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:41.100 It was simply believing the message about Jesus. 00:14:41.920 --> 00:14:44.139 And turning your life over to him. 00:14:45.560 --> 00:14:47.820 Entrusting yourself to him. 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:52.760 So that's how the church in Antioch gets off the ground. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:53.740 That's how it gets started. 00:14:53.900 --> 00:14:59.760 Bold, ordinary Christians who love and listen to their neighbors well enough to share Jesus in a way that they can understand. 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:05.140 While God works to bring out genuine belief and genuine turning to the Lord. 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:14.820 Now, it's maybe hard for us to realize how fragile this new work in Antioch really must have been. 00:15:14.820 --> 00:15:24.000 After all, this is seemingly the first time there's been sort of bold, active evangelization of non-Jews. 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:26.360 That probably was making some people uncomfortable. 00:15:27.300 --> 00:15:32.560 This is probably one of the first churches where Jews and Gentiles are sharing table fellowship with one another. 00:15:32.800 --> 00:15:37.940 And worshiping as equals with one another without the expectation that all those Gentiles become Jews. 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:44.940 And all this is happening in the face of hundreds of years of cultural animosity between Jews and Gentiles. 00:15:45.160 --> 00:15:50.820 Not to mention all the other cultural animosities that would have been happening between all the other ethnic groups that were being gathered together in the church. 00:15:52.300 --> 00:15:55.540 On top of all that, there was a group known as the Circumcision Party. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:58.980 That was doing their best to enforce the law of Moses on new converts. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:00.600 So there was a present threat as well. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:06.779 You see, the potential for misunderstanding and conflict both within and without was huge. 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.399 This thing could have blown up at any moment. 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:18.060 But instead of falling apart, Luke tells us that it grows. 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:19.980 How? 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.019 And that's the second question that we see answered here. 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:25.700 Luke shows us how it got started. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.899 And now he's going to answer the question, how did it grow? 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:32.059 And this is verses 22 through 26. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:37.980 And in these verses, Luke introduces us to a man named Barnabas. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:44.579 The church in Jerusalem hears what's going on in Antioch and they send Barnabas to investigate. 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:53.679 And, you know, as I've been meditating on this passage, it strikes me that there couldn't have been a better person to send than Barnabas. 00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:58.419 It's amazing in God's providence that it's Barnabas who ends up going. 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:02.620 Because Barnabas, true to his name, shows up. 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:03.639 And what does he do? 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:06.359 He begins to encourage them. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.180 He begins to encourage this young church and these new believers. 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:16.059 The word translated in our ESV as exhort in verse 23 actually could be translated encourage. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:17.779 That's what he shows up and starts doing. 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.579 In fact, if you look back at the end of chapter 4 in the book of Acts, 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:26.559 you see that the name Barnabas literally means son of encouragement, Bar-Nabas. 00:17:27.879 --> 00:17:30.079 It was actually a nickname that the apostles gave him. 00:17:30.139 --> 00:17:31.279 His given name was Joseph. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:36.159 He must have been so good at encouraging people and building them up that they just started calling him Barnabas. 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:38.139 How do you like that? 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:39.579 There's your spiritual gift. 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:40.879 You know, you don't need to take a survey. 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:41.339 Boom. 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:48.959 And it's because Barnabas shows up in Antioch and begins to encourage them, 00:17:50.139 --> 00:17:54.179 that instead of the whole thing collapsing, it grows. 00:17:54.180 --> 00:18:01.120 Friends, have you considered how important encouragement is to the life of the church, 00:18:02.060 --> 00:18:03.460 to the life of your fellow believers? 00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:07.720 I don't think it's something we naturally think about. 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:14.940 I think we're much more easily to sort of, we much more easily default into sort of a critical mode of being. 00:18:16.360 --> 00:18:24.100 We're prone to comparing, to sizing things up, trying to see the weaknesses and the holes and the defects and the imperfections. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:31.519 But you know, over time, that sort of merely critical culture becomes toxic and just deadly. 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:36.120 And people end up becoming defensive and disheartened. 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:44.740 I mean, imagine if Barnabas had shown up in Antioch and begun to give them nothing but honest feedback, as we sometimes say. 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:49.380 There must have been plenty to point out that was goofy and wrong. 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:51.799 I mean, there were a bunch of pagans who just came to Jesus. 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:54.599 For sure there were things that they were doing that weren't right. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:02.639 And yet, had Barnabas shown up and just been pointing out all that was wrong, the thing would have just stopped in its tracks. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.000 You see, encouragement is kind of like the grease in the wheels. 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:12.839 Encouragement just keeps the whole thing spinning and moving and working together. 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:16.139 But without it, everything comes grinding to a halt. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:23.939 And our life as a church, not to mention our marriages and our friendships and all our other relationships. 00:19:24.959 --> 00:19:30.339 Friends, we need to cultivate a habit, a practice of encouragement. 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:36.599 And thankfully, we get a helpful picture here of how good biblical encouragement works. 00:19:36.919 --> 00:19:38.139 Look at verse 23 again. 00:19:38.699 --> 00:19:43.819 When Barnabas came, Luke says, he saw the grace of God and he was glad. 00:19:44.699 --> 00:19:46.579 Now, this tells us a couple things, right? 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:52.699 First, when Barnabas got to Antioch, there was actually genuine evidence that the grace of God was at work. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:54.099 Like what? 00:19:54.099 --> 00:19:56.159 Well, like faith in Christ. 00:19:56.959 --> 00:19:58.240 Like changed character. 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:01.139 Like heartfelt worship and prayer. 00:20:02.379 --> 00:20:06.379 Like visible expressions of unity and love among believers. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:12.639 You know, so Barnabas wasn't just blowing smoke when he affirmed the work in Antioch and started encouraging them. 00:20:12.659 --> 00:20:13.719 He wasn't making stuff up. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.699 He could see the grace of God in them. 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:21.399 But that also tells us that he was looking for it. 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:28.860 He had his eye out for ways in which God was working. 00:20:29.300 --> 00:20:32.060 And friends, that's the way we need to look at each other. 00:20:33.560 --> 00:20:39.900 We need to become specialists in spotting the grace of God at work. 00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:49.160 You know, not that we ignore the rough edges or the areas for change that we see in other people's lives. 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:58.100 But, you know, we have to learn how to look in some sense through them or beyond them to the grace of God in someone's life. 00:20:59.460 --> 00:21:03.340 And when we see it, we need to be glad. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:04.700 And we need to rejoice. 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:07.340 This is really the first step of encouragement. 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:10.160 Rejoicing in God's grace at work in another person. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:18.240 And one way to do this, actually, is to share specifically with someone how something they said or did blessed another person. 00:21:19.600 --> 00:21:21.880 That would be one way of encouraging someone like this. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:28.540 Saying something like, hey, I wanted to let you know how much it meant to so-and-so that you prayed for them the other night at small group. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:30.680 You know, they were really blessed by that. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:35.140 And the Lord actually really spoke to them through some of the things that you prayed for. 00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:39.160 So, I just want to let you know, be encouraged, sister, brother. 00:21:40.820 --> 00:21:46.420 Or maybe you'd say something like, hey, so-and-so just told me that they really appreciate the time that you spend with them when you get lunch together. 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.680 They told me you ask really good questions. 00:21:49.300 --> 00:21:51.440 And God's really been using that in their life. 00:21:53.340 --> 00:22:00.420 Find some way that what the person is doing is affecting others and show that to them as a way to encourage them. 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:06.779 And, of course, you can also just tell them what you see of God's grace in their life, what you see in their life. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:14.160 You know, especially if you've known someone over a length of time, you can really see how they've grown and changed. 00:22:14.860 --> 00:22:22.500 You know, with some of your relationships that you've had for a long time, you are in a special position to be able to affirm the work of the grace of God. 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:26.460 Because oftentimes we don't see it in ourselves because it's so slow and it's so gradual. 00:22:27.340 --> 00:22:28.420 But you can see it. 00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:31.680 So maybe it's Christ-like character that's grown. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:35.160 Or maybe it's a ministry they've taken up that's really doing well. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:39.200 Or maybe it's something you've seen that's changed in their relationship with others or with God that's improved. 00:22:39.300 --> 00:22:45.220 Maybe it's the fact that they're an example to other believers in how they sort of live out faithfully in the workplace. 00:22:45.360 --> 00:22:51.440 Whatever it is, this aspect of encouragement is so important. 00:22:53.320 --> 00:22:54.480 And what does it really take? 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:56.340 What does it take to do this kind of thing? 00:22:56.339 --> 00:22:59.599 Well, I think it takes a genuine Christ-centered interest in others. 00:23:01.019 --> 00:23:01.279 Right? 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:06.439 To rejoice in the grace of God in others means doing something that's actually kind of hard. 00:23:07.439 --> 00:23:16.359 It means consciously putting on pause our natural tendency to think about how others are thinking about us. 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:19.959 Which is like 99% of your thought life, right? 00:23:21.699 --> 00:23:28.079 Putting that on pause and purposing to think about what God's doing in them. 00:23:30.379 --> 00:23:35.459 Asking the simple question, where is God's grace at work in this person? 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:39.700 You know, encouragement is a lot like restarting a fire. 00:23:40.900 --> 00:23:45.420 I was sad I didn't get a chance to go with a youth group this weekend on their retreat. 00:23:46.120 --> 00:23:48.980 But it's like zero degrees in New Hampshire, so I'm not that sad. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.860 But you know, on our fall retreats, we often start fires and do things like that. 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:57.599 But, um, sorry parents, they're not really that safe. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:59.099 That's why we have you sign all those waivers. 00:23:59.639 --> 00:24:03.559 Um, no, so we've relit some fires as a youth group. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:06.199 Anyway, this is what you do when you have to restart a fire, right? 00:24:06.939 --> 00:24:08.399 When the fire's going out, what do you do? 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:12.779 Well, you look for the coals that are still hot. 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:21.339 Maybe they're just the tiniest little bit, orange and yellow and still glowing amidst all the other blackness. 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:22.980 You find those and what do you do? 00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:25.279 You start blowing on them. 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:27.940 Sometimes just gently. 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:30.559 And then you get a little more and a little more. 00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:35.339 You get some oxygen going across those coals until they come to life. 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:44.399 And friends, that's what we're doing when we see the grace of God in another person's life and we rejoice in it with them. 00:24:44.939 --> 00:24:46.419 You're blowing on the coals. 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:50.899 And once the coals get going, then what do you have to do? 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.500 You have to throw some wood on there, right? 00:24:54.419 --> 00:24:58.359 And that's actually the next aspect of encouragement that we see in the rest of verse 23. 00:24:58.619 --> 00:24:59.379 Look back there again. 00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:07.380 And Barnabas exhorted or he encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. 00:25:08.300 --> 00:25:12.100 Notice the focus here is on the Lord. 00:25:13.360 --> 00:25:15.820 It's not merely just saying you're doing a good job. 00:25:16.040 --> 00:25:16.820 You're a good person. 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:19.520 I'm really, you know, glad that you're so awesome. 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:22.720 No, saying keep going. 00:25:23.020 --> 00:25:24.220 Look to the Lord. 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:26.260 Remain faithful to him. 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:34.279 Set your eyes on him and keep running the race, as Hebrews 12 would put it. 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:36.440 God's at work in you. 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:37.420 He's faithful. 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:38.519 Now keep going. 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:39.099 Don't give up. 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:39.819 Don't turn back. 00:25:40.220 --> 00:25:43.720 That's the sort of fuel when we start speaking those kinds of words into each other's lives. 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:48.079 That's the sort of fuel that starts drawing forth more fire from those coals. 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:53.059 When we encourage each other to look to Jesus, to remain in him, to hold fast, 00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:55.980 that takes our little spark and starts growing a fire. 00:25:56.259 --> 00:26:00.039 So think about your relationships for just a moment. 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:07.980 Who has God put into your life that you can be encouraging in this twofold way? 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.259 Think forward into the week. 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:14.240 Who are you going to run into? 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:15.759 Who are you bound to run into? 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:18.640 Your spouse, if you have one. 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:21.400 What about the people in your small group? 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:27.060 What about the friends that you get coffee with after the service downstairs or go out to lunch with? 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:28.700 Who else? 00:26:28.780 --> 00:26:31.320 Who are you going to run into this week? 00:26:33.320 --> 00:26:36.560 Where do you see the grace of God in their life? 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:43.799 Where do they need a fresh reminder to look to Jesus and remain in him? 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:49.980 What aspects of who Christ is can you be sharing with them to fuel that flame? 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:57.519 As we said, this sort of work is vital to the health of the church. 00:26:58.519 --> 00:26:59.880 But it's not easy, right? 00:27:00.120 --> 00:27:05.120 As we said, it takes looking outside of ourselves and often looking past the faults of others. 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:10.620 In fact, it's ultimately a work for which we need the Holy Spirit. 00:27:10.619 --> 00:27:13.579 Look at verse 25. 00:27:13.699 --> 00:27:15.519 Barnabas is described as a good man. 00:27:15.659 --> 00:27:18.500 One of the few people in the Bible who's actually called a good man. 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:22.479 A good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:26.799 And you know, it shouldn't surprise us that we need the Holy Spirit for this work of encouragement. 00:27:27.219 --> 00:27:32.959 Not just because we're naturally selfish, but because the Holy Spirit seems to actually specialize in this ministry. 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:40.059 Do you remember in John chapter 14 through 17 when Jesus is teaching his disciples about the one that he's going to send? 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:42.299 What's the name that he gives the Holy Spirit? 00:27:43.459 --> 00:27:45.239 Well, the ESV translates it helper. 00:27:45.959 --> 00:27:46.879 I think that's kind of lame. 00:27:47.439 --> 00:27:51.299 But the word actually means the encourager, the comforter. 00:27:51.719 --> 00:27:53.659 It's the same word that's behind encouragement. 00:27:56.159 --> 00:28:00.019 It seems that the Holy Spirit is the encourager par excellence. 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:05.279 He's the one who takes the grace of God and fans it into flame in our hearts. 00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:09.859 He's the one who lifts our gaze to Jesus, making him not only clear to our minds, 00:28:09.859 --> 00:28:12.519 but real to our hearts so that we remain steadfast. 00:28:14.479 --> 00:28:15.839 That's the work of the Spirit. 00:28:16.339 --> 00:28:22.099 And it's also the work of the Spirit to equip us to minister in those same ways to others. 00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:28.299 So, friends, if you think you stink at encouragement, pray for the Holy Spirit. 00:28:30.939 --> 00:28:36.419 Pray that he would be more and more at work in our lives as a church, 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:40.199 in particular with this regard, with regard to this ministry of encouragement. 00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:43.259 And don't forget what Jesus said to his disciples. 00:28:43.360 --> 00:28:44.200 Do you remember what he said? 00:28:45.080 --> 00:28:46.779 He was teaching them about prayer, and he said, 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:49.900 If our earthly fathers know how to give good gifts, 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:55.440 how much more will our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them who ask? 00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:02.779 Well, we see that once Barnabas encourages them, the church grows even more. 00:29:02.779 --> 00:29:05.559 And by God's grace, that's what we want to see too. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:13.779 And at this point in the story, Barnabas does something incredibly wise and profoundly humble. 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:17.019 The work just starts growing and growing and growing. 00:29:17.399 --> 00:29:18.180 And what does he do? 00:29:19.160 --> 00:29:24.579 He goes to Tarsus, finds Saul, and brings him to Antioch to help with the work. 00:29:24.879 --> 00:29:28.099 Because Barnabas knows that he can't do it all on his own. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:30.480 Now, isn't that surprising? 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:32.599 Just picture Barnabas. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:33.819 Barnabas is there. 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:39.519 He is one of, if not the only, kind of mature, long-standing believer in this new church. 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:41.819 He's the leader from Jerusalem who showed up. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:45.339 You know, he probably had the respect and admiration of the whole place. 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.420 And his ministry was bearing fruit. 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:50.259 I mean, he was kind of the man in Antioch. 00:29:52.220 --> 00:29:54.319 But instead of basking in that glory, 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.480 he goes and gets Paul and starts sharing the work. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:03.380 And that's really the second reason why the church grows. 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:04.799 The first is Barnabas' encouragement. 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:09.000 And the second is Barnabas' willingness to share the work with other skilled leaders. 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:13.720 Even with leaders who are really more qualified and talented than themselves. 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:16.519 I mean, that's kind of what we see in the rest of Acts. 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:21.160 Barnabas says, who's the best guy I can get? 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:22.299 Who's going to outshine me? 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:23.720 I'm going to go get him and bring him here. 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:25.200 Because I love these people. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:31.080 And for a whole year, he and Paul meet with the church and they teach. 00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:35.559 In other words, they do life together and they just dig into the word. 00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:38.660 And the church grows like wildfire. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:44.039 Notice again that it's the word, taught, lived, proclaimed, 00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:47.420 that brings spiritual joy and health to the people. 00:30:47.420 --> 00:30:53.640 Well, quickly, Luke has shown us first how things got started in Antioch. 00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:54.960 Then he's just shown us how they grew. 00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:56.940 And now he's going to answer a third question. 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:58.740 How did it live? 00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:05.519 How does this growing, exciting, groundbreaking church actually starts living its life? 00:31:05.820 --> 00:31:07.080 And here's what he says they do. 00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:11.640 They start publishing materials on how everyone else can become exactly like them. 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:14.160 And they set up, no, I'm just kidding. 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:15.420 What do they do? 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:18.740 This is verses 27 through 30. 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:21.120 There's nothing wrong with curriculum, by the way. 00:31:22.900 --> 00:31:26.660 Briefly, their life was marked by generosity. 00:31:28.520 --> 00:31:33.480 Upon hearing about a coming famine, they all purposed to give to the needs of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.640 You know, we've seen in Acts up to this point how the gospel creates radical and thoughtful generosity 00:31:39.640 --> 00:31:42.040 within a local church. 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:45.620 But now we see it doing the same thing globally. 00:31:47.840 --> 00:31:50.920 That an international people of God is being formed. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:58.480 And in an expression of fellowship and solidarity, the believers in Antioch send relief all the way to Jerusalem. 00:31:59.020 --> 00:32:05.600 As if to say, we're one family, and we love you, and we're in this together. 00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:17.000 There couldn't have been a more profound and telling sign of the unity that they shared across all that, humanly speaking, divided them. 00:32:18.099 --> 00:32:21.259 Distance and culture, all sorts of things. 00:32:21.919 --> 00:32:24.179 And yet here they were saying, we're one. 00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:31.779 And again and again, we're going to see this in the life of the church in Antioch, that it's characterized by giving. 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:34.779 Here we see them giving money to another church. 00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:42.259 But in chapter 13, we're actually going to see them giving some of their best leaders away to the work of church planning and missions. 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:46.600 They send Paul and Barnabas off to continue the work of the gospel in new cities and new regions. 00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:52.859 And this is so critical, this giving impulse of a healthy church. 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:59.119 Friends, the reality is that a growing church that's not a giving church is going to soon be a dying church. 00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:00.480 Count on it. 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:03.039 Why? 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:10.459 Because the very DNA of the Christian message is about the God who gave. 00:33:10.460 --> 00:33:20.380 Who gave what was most valuable and treasured in, I don't even know how to describe it, of all. 00:33:21.819 --> 00:33:29.100 God gives his only son, the one through whom he made the world for our sake. 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:38.940 And if he's given us his son, as Paul says in Romans 8.32, how will he not with him give us all things? 00:33:40.460 --> 00:33:47.059 We have become the recipients of the most radical act of generosity in the universe. 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:51.880 Though we are sinners, God has given us his son to save us. 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:55.680 And in his son, we actually have all things. 00:33:57.220 --> 00:34:02.600 And that means nothing that we give away in this life, money, time, energy, resources, talents, 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:10.059 nothing that we give away will actually diminish what we abundantly have. 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:14.579 In fact, it's only going to increase our joy. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:19.300 So friends, when we partner as a church with missionaries like the Kings, 00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:27.360 or when we send aid, as we did around Christmas time, to Hannah Massad and his work among refugees in the Middle East, 00:34:28.059 --> 00:34:32.840 or when we help plant a church and give money and send people off to make it happen, 00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:35.620 in six months, we're not going to have any drummers at Trinity. 00:34:35.740 --> 00:34:36.400 Do you realize that? 00:34:36.620 --> 00:34:38.140 Because they're all going to New London. 00:34:41.140 --> 00:34:45.340 In all these ways, as we give, as we give, as we give, 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:49.440 we're living in line with what God has done for us in Christ. 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:53.880 And we're showing not just to one another, but to the world, 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:57.300 the radical glory and love of God and Jesus. 00:35:00.380 --> 00:35:02.780 And that brings us to our last point, our last question. 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:08.159 The church started, it grew, it lived, but finally, how was this church known? 00:35:10.780 --> 00:35:12.619 Luke tells us at the end of verse 26, 00:35:12.619 --> 00:35:18.079 And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians. 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:23.980 And the language that Luke uses here suggests that it wasn't a name the believers were using for themselves, 00:35:24.059 --> 00:35:25.420 it was a name that was given to them. 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:29.039 Probably a label that was sort of put on them by their neighbors. 00:35:31.259 --> 00:35:36.339 But you see, their neighbors had to come up with some kind of name for it, right? 00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:39.960 Because what was going on in the church in Antioch 00:35:39.960 --> 00:35:42.740 was something that no one had ever seen or heard of before. 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:48.639 Here were Jews and Greeks and Romans and Asians and Arabs 00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:51.360 all meeting together and sharing their lives with one another. 00:35:53.340 --> 00:35:54.159 That's ridiculous. 00:35:55.860 --> 00:35:59.039 You can imagine their neighbors looking on in curiosity 00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:02.260 and almost disbelief and probably some cynicism, 00:36:02.679 --> 00:36:04.199 saying to one another, what is going on there? 00:36:04.900 --> 00:36:06.920 I heard they actually sent a bunch of money to Jerusalem 00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:08.480 to care for their needs too. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:10.420 What's it all about? 00:36:11.980 --> 00:36:15.559 And someone else says, well, they keep talking about someone named Christ. 00:36:16.619 --> 00:36:18.179 And the other guy pipes up. 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:20.179 Yeah, that's all they talk about. 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:24.980 Well then, let's call them Christians. 00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.699 May have even had a tinge of ridicule. 00:36:30.219 --> 00:36:31.420 But the label stuck. 00:36:31.420 --> 00:36:36.119 Friends, you see, what was happening in Antioch 00:36:36.119 --> 00:36:41.619 was that believers no longer needed to cling so tightly 00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:44.420 to their own culture or upbringing or preferences 00:36:44.420 --> 00:36:46.639 as a means of bolstering their own identity, 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:49.420 as a means of justifying their existence. 00:36:50.260 --> 00:36:50.720 Why? 00:36:52.019 --> 00:36:54.579 Because they'd been given a new identity. 00:36:54.579 --> 00:36:59.599 Now, not that this new identity did away with the old, 00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:03.059 but it was an identity that actually ran deeper. 00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:06.779 In other words, Greeks were still Greeks. 00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:11.299 They still ate Spanakopita or whatever Greeks ate in the first century, right? 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:15.239 But now something ran deeper than their Greek identity, 00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:18.400 than their language, than their culture. 00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:21.500 And Romans were still Romans. 00:37:23.980 --> 00:37:27.539 But now a deeper identity had taken first place. 00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:33.780 And that deeper identity was Jesus, was Christ. 00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:39.720 And you have to ask, what was it that made people 00:37:39.720 --> 00:37:42.180 of every nationality and culture so attracted to him? 00:37:43.180 --> 00:37:47.660 Why would people cross every known social taboo and barrier 00:37:47.659 --> 00:37:49.679 to worship Christ together? 00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:53.819 How was Christ so different than anything 00:37:53.819 --> 00:37:56.139 or anyone else that had come before that this started happening? 00:37:56.239 --> 00:37:58.899 What made people of all sorts of backgrounds 00:37:58.899 --> 00:38:01.799 willing and glad to identify with him? 00:38:04.379 --> 00:38:06.420 Well, the answer that the New Testament gives 00:38:06.420 --> 00:38:10.259 is because he identified with us. 00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:14.339 When every other religion had been saying, 00:38:14.899 --> 00:38:17.099 here's what you need to do to get to God, 00:38:17.099 --> 00:38:19.319 pay the fee, follow the rules, 00:38:19.420 --> 00:38:21.339 and maybe God will identify with you, 00:38:22.299 --> 00:38:26.339 the gospel message came and said something radically different. 00:38:27.539 --> 00:38:31.259 That God has come and identified with us. 00:38:32.279 --> 00:38:34.000 Not just in our humanity, 00:38:34.659 --> 00:38:36.339 but even in our sin. 00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:41.139 That God stood in the place of our worst 00:38:41.139 --> 00:38:45.099 and bore our penalty so that we could stand in him 00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:50.279 and know grace and life and peace with God. 00:38:53.460 --> 00:38:56.480 The message of the grace of Jesus, 00:38:56.659 --> 00:38:58.879 that's what was so powerful then, 00:38:58.879 --> 00:39:02.779 and that's what continues to be so powerful today. 00:39:02.780 --> 00:39:06.480 And the call remains the same. 00:39:07.100 --> 00:39:09.940 To identify with the one 00:39:09.940 --> 00:39:14.140 who has so lovingly identified with us. 00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:19.500 So friends, as we grow and live as a church, 00:39:20.100 --> 00:39:22.720 let's hold fast to the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:39:23.580 --> 00:39:25.640 And let's continue to bear his name, 00:39:25.700 --> 00:39:27.240 even if it brings a little bit of ridicule. 00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:30.759 Let's be confident that the gospel is for everyone, 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:34.679 and it will open up their hearts like a lock and a key. 00:39:36.419 --> 00:39:38.079 And let's pray that God will use us 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:40.479 like he used Antioch for his glory. 00:39:41.139 --> 00:39:41.779 Let's pray. 00:39:49.859 --> 00:39:51.179 Father, we ask that you would, 00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:53.759 indeed, by your Holy Spirit, 00:39:54.519 --> 00:39:55.579 make these things so. 00:39:55.579 --> 00:40:00.159 God, help us to be thoughtful and bold evangelists. 00:40:00.319 --> 00:40:02.079 Help us to be encouragers. 00:40:02.900 --> 00:40:03.880 Help us to be generous. 00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:06.900 Orbit in and through it all. 00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:09.719 Help us to be resting in you, Lord Jesus. 00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:13.460 God, I pray for those who are here who don't know you, 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:15.059 who are seeking you. 00:40:16.539 --> 00:40:17.799 God, I pray that you'd open their eyes 00:40:17.799 --> 00:40:18.759 and draw them to yourself. 00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:23.619 And Lord, for those of us whom you've called to yourself, 00:40:23.619 --> 00:40:26.779 Lord, would we be excited by the prospect 00:40:26.779 --> 00:40:29.279 of being your church in the world. 00:40:30.799 --> 00:40:32.199 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:40:32.420 --> 00:40:32.619 Amen. 00:40:35.440 --> 00:40:37.319 The music team's going to come up, 00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:39.259 and we're going to sing a song in response 00:40:39.259 --> 00:40:41.239 that's really a call 00:40:41.239 --> 00:40:44.539 to love and to serve one another. 00:40:44.539 --> 00:40:47.019 So, as they come up, why don't we stand, 00:40:47.259 --> 00:40:47.980 and we'll...