 Chapter 11. I'll begin by simply reading the first three verses going to an introduction. We're gonna look at the the entire chapter today It's it's what has been referred to as Peter's defense, and you'll see why it's it's been Entitled that in just a moment, but beginning at verse 1 acts chapter 11 going to verse verse 3 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God and When Peter came to Jerusalem those of the circumcision Contended with him saying you went in to Uncircumcised men and you ate with them Now what has happened and we saw this in chapter 10 is that the Gentiles had received the word of God When the Bible speaks concerning the Gentiles here in verse 1 having received the word of God That's another way of saying that the Gentiles had been born again. They had by faith Welcomed God's word and as a result of that they had received salvation Because the word received means literally to welcome or to be associated with and So when it begins here by telling us that the Gentiles had also received the word of God It's another way of simply saying that word had come in Judea That the Gentiles are now entering into the body of Christ They have received God's word and they have been saved and so the people in the area When this happened in that region When it happened began to speak about it and word had begun to filter all the way down south It had traveled south to the city of Jerusalem Now there are those who are hearing this were concerned as they do so as they hear because this this Reception of the word of God by the Gentiles is countering their traditional understanding of how salvation occurs So you see they they normally would have thought now these are Jews. They normally would have thought That in order to have a relationship with God Then you would have needed to have been if you were male Circumcised and you will certainly would have been brought under the law And so as they're hearing this is taking place and the Gentiles are entering into the kingdom of God Without following Moses's law and without being circumcised in the ritual sense Well, they begin to be concerned about it and so what happens in verse 2 It says that Peter came to Jerusalem Those of the circumcision began to contend with him and this is what they were saying you went into Uncircumcised men and you ate with them again as I mentioned to you that when when Peter went and spent time with Cornelius in the home of a Gentile that that broke Jewish law and tradition There's no way that a kosher Jew would ever have fellowship with an Uncircumcised unkosher Gentile and so that's what we saw happen when he went and spoke to them gave them the word of God And that's when when Peter had that initial revelation that that God is not a respecter of persons But that anybody whether Jew or Gentile who hears the gospel of grace and embraces it by faith Can be saved and enter into the kingdom Well, that was a new revelation to him But it's something that these people have yet to be initiated into and so they're upset about it And they're beginning to contend with them concerning that now when it says here in verse 2 those of the circumcision that can be speaking of Jews, you know just regular Jewish people who had had been saved but we need to also remember that among the early believers were Pharisees and Pharisees who had been converted to faith in Jesus Christ. Yes Pharisees actually were coming to faith in the Lord. We'll see later on in chapter 15 verse 5 How it says there some of the believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees Stood up and said the Gentiles must be circumcised required to obey the law of Moses. So so there was the regular Jewish People who are perhaps contending and upset and there were more than likely some Pharisees also Who were upset about this and so they're becoming stumbled by this seeming lack of religious respect in all We need to remember that Jewish customs were normally followed The Jewish believers at that time were meeting in synagogues. They were still going to the temple many Jews believed and We're not yet breaking away from the traditions that they had received And that happens even today amongst those who are not raised in a in a Jewish sense But that that still exists today with those who are who are coming to faith in Christ and and perhaps who were raised in a particular religious tradition and So they they continue to believe and hold fast to the things that they at one time had embraced because that's what they had Been taught to believe. I don't know what your background is my background being Roman Catholic when I got saved I got saved in the next week. I went to Mass Because I was now a Christian, but I didn't necessarily think in terms of me And I never have thought in terms of me being now a Protestant I didn't think of it that way at all. So what I did is I went to Mass I went to church because that's what Christians do and I went to the Catholic Mass at St. Pius the 10th church I brought a Bible because when I got saved I was told you need to read the Bible So I brought my Bible went to Mass by myself and I sat there I had been raised Catholic therefore I knew the ritual and all and I waited to open up the Bible It'd been a while you can tell since I'd been in church So I'm waiting to open up the Bible because I was taught you read the Bible when you're a Christian And then I discovered that you really don't and when that happened I said to myself. Well, I Probably would be better suited if I'm gonna grow on my faith To go to a place that opens the Bible So it wasn't like anger and it wasn't resentment. It was just it made sense to me I need to be where I'm gonna be taught how to follow Jesus But I didn't get upset with the ritual. I didn't get upset with all of that I just realized that that was no longer going to be part of my life But there are others who embrace and continue in that that ritual and all and and so they become saved and yet They they hold fast to those things and sometimes it takes a while for them to let them go When Marie my wife got saved She was a very devout Catholic coming from a very devout Catholic home and so when she got saved I I never pressed her about anything She would she would go to Mass on Sunday mornings and then she'd go to church with me Sunday nights and she did that for some time and I didn't twist her arm and I didn't say anything to her I just you know, I know the Holy Spirit is going to do a work in her the way that he did it in me So it wasn't a point of argumentation at all. That's what she did But about eight months to a year into our relationship I was at her her place and I was sitting on the couch I still remember this and and her purse was seated next to me and it was asking me to look into it And so I did And I took her wallet You know and I was just looking at she had pictures in there and I was throwing away pictures of old boyfriends, you know and so so I saw a particular picture there and and She came and sat down next to me and I still remember the conversation. I looked at her and said I Thought you were my girlfriend She goes I am your girlfriend. I said then why are you going out on me? She goes What I said you got another boyfriend She goes no, I don't I said yes, you do No, I don't Yes, you do. I said you're you're you're going out with Joe She said Joe and I pulled out a picture of st. Joseph and she says all there's There are things from my background. I haven't even thought about she used to have a little brown scapular You know one of those little things that you can wear and if you die you go instantly to heaven things like that She used to have a little statue of Joseph on the dashboard of her car and You know, he was facing traffic and his hands Were over his eyes And he melted so is the hunchback You know, you can hold on and you do I'm not giving you permission to but it's a fact that you can hold on to certain traditions Until you get to know what the truth is and the truth set you free and so what happens here is They're upset because these are people of the circumcision. They're hearing that Gentiles are receiving the word of God and they're hearing that the apostle Peter Had gone and actually eaten with them and to eat with an uncocher person Was a religious taboo you didn't do that And so they're upset about that in that he had done that you see it was an outrage to them that that Peter actually was eating with Gentiles because part of that that process of eating with somebody is to it really is to be having fellowship with them and actually being identified with them and It was something that they had a real real problem with This is something Jesus himself actually dealt with when it came to being identified with those whom he ate with You see it in Mark 2 verse 16 when it says when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners They said to his disciples How is it that he eats and drinks with publicans and sinners? because to to eat and drink with them is to be identified with them and so They're upset that the apostle Peter has gone and eaten with Gentiles And so Peter has to rehearse what has happened He has to begin to speak to them and it says here in verse 4 Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning Saying I was in the city of Joppa praying and in a trance I saw a vision an object descending like a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners And it came to me when I observed it intently and considered I saw four-footed animals of the earth wildebeest creeping things and birds of the air And I heard a voice saying to me rise Peter kill and eat But I said not so Lord for nothing common or unclean has any time entered my mouth But the voice answered me again from heaven what God has cleansed. You must not call common Now this was done three times and all were drawn up again into heaven At that very moment three men stood before the house where I was having been sent to me from Caesarea Then the spirit told me to go with them doubting nothing Moreover these six brethren accompanied me and we entered the man's house and he told us how he had Seen an angel standing in his house who said to him send men to Joppa Call for Simon whose surname is Peter who will tell you the words or you words by which you and all your household will be saved and As I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell upon them as upon us at the beginning I remembered the word of the Lord how he said John indeed baptized with water But you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit if therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we Believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who was I that I could withstand God And so he rehearses. This is why it's called Peter's defense. He's rehearsing what had taken place He's sharing with them how that these things had had had occurred And so they had a religious as well as a cultural opinion concerning the the Gentiles So how did Peter deal with that? Well notice with me what we just read. He gave an orderly explanation Of how it all came about He didn't react with pride After all I'm an apostle. Who are you to question me concerning how God has led me. He didn't react with pride He didn't tell them to be quiet and to leave it alone in and he didn't belittle them for asking He simply gave a synopsis of all about how all of this came about and That to me is a model of ministry by the way I believe that we ought to be able I as a pastor teacher I should be prepared to be able to explain to people there at times people want to know certain things as a matter of fact I am on panels quite often and I answer questions related to to things and all Pertaining to church order and Calvary traditions and various things like that I do it all the time and I'm asked questions and I give answers I think it's a wise thing to do and that's what we see here in scripture He didn't say you know, you have no right to ask me. I'm an apostle. Who are you? I'm an a-postle. You're not even a B-postle. So leave it alone. No, he didn't do that So what he does he's just sharing this is how it took place And I want you to notice what he says in verse 15 how he says I began to speak as I began to speak Notice the Holy Spirit fell upon them as upon us at the beginning Holy Spirit fell upon them in the same way that he did on us As he was preaching they received the message They mixed with it faith It produced the fruit of salvation He gave the gospel When you read what he had to say in uh in chapter 10 You see that he gave the gospel You'll see that he pointed that Jesus was anointed by the spirit And with power As you read it you see that he's he said that Jesus did good That he delivered people who were possessed he healed the people who were sick As he was preaching he made it clear that Jesus was put to death But he also centered on the reality of Jesus being resurrected And as you go through his sermon he concluded by promising forgiveness of sins To anyone who trusted in Jesus and as he was preaching God was moving God was moving in the hearts of those who were there. That's how you by the way got saved That's how you got saved God when you are hearing the message And the word of god and i'll develop this with you And as the word of god was being preached god was doing a work in you Bringing conviction by the spirit And an awareness of fact of salvation And what he did Is he brought him to faith and they received the power of the holy spirit they were saved Because even as we see in chapter 10 They had assembled to hear all the words that god had commanded peter to say and it if i approached the word of god with that heart But and that to me i don't want you to don't let that get past you If you listen to the word of god Not just the opinions of the preacher If you listen to the word of god With a heart to obey All things that he has commanded god doesn't work in you That's how it works i'll develop that in a second But the book of romans chapter 10 verse 17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god So one thing that we need to remember This is very very practical and important and especially this our day We need to remember that it is the proclamation It's the preaching and teaching of the word of god and it's the receiving of the gospel That saves you we need to remember that god's word is the seed that produces salvation it It isn't the music that does that It isn't the personality of the preacher that does that It isn't the environment of the people of god that produces salvation That is so basic that is so basic But if there's anything that is true of the church in the 21st century in the year 2017 Is that it is very slowly Being twisted to an entertainment oriented group of people Absolutely People who have no heart to hear the word of god and to obey it There's no doubt about that And what we're ending up with right now is people Who will choose the place they attend Based on how they feel when they leave and how they feel while they're there And when they're uncomfortable because the conviction of the spirit may reach their heart Rather than saying woe unto me. I'm a sinner god help me. I want to be a better person We simply say I was condemned. I felt judged When in reality what god is doing is convicting you so that he can turn you from your sin So that you might be blessed by him and have the life that you've always desired to have But instead of us saying god reveal my heart We have a tendency of saying Don't judge me I wonder what would happen if the lord were able to really show me the condition of my heart If I would really be open to seeing that Because I know of all people I can be most self-deceived and think i'm doing just fine. Thank you very much when in reality my pride My arrogance my lack of humility could be keeping me from the blessings of god And so we have to be very careful that we understand That when the word of god is being proclaimed if you want to change And there's a desire you need to have God will give you the ability to And as he speaks the word to you through his bible What happens is the word of god takes root And transformation can occur when uh Paul was writing to timothy in second timothy in chapter three Verse 15 this is what he said to timothy He said you have known listen you have known the holy scriptures Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in christ jesus It's the word of god when received by faith that produces the ability to be saved It doesn't come any other way It comes through the word of god That's why i've had young parents asked me in the past About doing devotions with their children And they'll ask me What do you recommend When my kids were small and we did what we called family devotions, which was a time set aside every night Before they went to bed Where I would have them seated in front of me in the front room And I would have them in front of me and This is what would happen, you know and they were kids they were small growing up And a lot of times when they're little kids they'll they'll start You know bouncing into each other and getting irritated because he's too close to me. Oh, he's looking at me You know those kinds of things And there's that griping and oh don't touch me and I'd say marie you're being a bad example to the children You got to stop that They would start that And do you know this is the truth before the lord? This is a fact I would sit down on the couch and my children would sit on the carpet in front of me I'll four the little ones there sometimes marie would be And they would be making noise. This is this is how it happened every night I gave my kids devotions every night five out of seven days of the week Five out of seven days the only two days they did not receive devotions at night or wednesdays and sundays And sunday nights why not wednesday night sunday night because they were in church wednesday night and sunday night And when they sat down and they would be doing that as kids do All I would do is this I'd have my bible on my lap And I would open it like this And when I opened it I taught them to be quiet I taught them to be quiet and I said when this book is open Your mouth is closed I taught my children that from the time they were small Because god's word when spoken should be heard And you can't hear and talk at the same time So you need to listen So I taught my children to reverence the word of god. Am I saying I raised perfect kids? No, I didn't of course I didn't they received their mother's nature. How could I? I tried I really did No, they received my nature the ademic nature that old man Their sinners by nature They have to die to those things But they also are encouraged to discipline themselves to hear the things that are important And no, they weren't perfect and I would never stand up and some of you know my kids and you'll say hey man faster They're not perfect and that's true. They're not But you know what? I just poured into them and you know as old as they are to this day. I still pour into them I still pour into them because not only am I their father But I'm also their pastor And I pour into my children Because I know that the enemy is after my children and he's after my grandchildren So you pour into them and that's what you do Because I knew that I could pour into them the word of god and the word of god Is what it's going to be active in their salvation So it wasn't going to be me reading just story books Of bible characters though. I did that and it wasn't going to be just me reading history of of great missionaries and great and great Pastors and teachers which they got It was going to be the word of god And that's how it works. It's the word of god that saves you In first Corinthians 118 the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing But to us who are being saved It is the power of god And so he says in verse 15 as I began to speak the holy spirit fell upon them As upon us at the beginning Then I remembered the word of the lord how he said john indeed baptized with water You shall be baptized with the holy spirit if therefore god gave them the same gift As he gave us when we believed on the lord jesus christ Who was I that I could withstand god? And so john indeed baptized with water john in other words is not the holy ghost baptizer And neither were the apostles The holy ghost baptizer is jesus christ He's the one who pours out the holy spirit in matthew 3 verse 11 John said I baptize you with water into repentance But he who comes after me is mighter than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear He shall baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire jesus is a holy ghost baptizer And so because jesus is jesus does that work and as they were hearing the word of god and their hearts returned to god god poured out A pentecost experience upon them He poured out the holy spirit upon them even as he says in verse 15 Even as he had done upon them at the beginning They had their own if you will their own session of what would be called a pentecost And god he said in verse 17 gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed So he's saying this basically listen. He's saying if you have an argument argue with god argue with god And remember the apostle peter had argued with god and you you don't win arguments with god You just don't You know and peter had argued with god when god said rise up peter slay slay and eat. He says not so lord I've never eaten anything on kosher peter had had an argument with lord And then god just silenced him. He says don't call unclean what I call clean End of story no more conversation. No more argument So one if you have an argument concerning how god can pour his holy spirit upon you You're arguing with god don't argue with with the apostle Because arguing with god is not a good idea Isaiah 40 verse 13 asks the question who has understood the mind of the lord or instructed him as his counselor Who here has this last time god called you or Texted you and said listen. I have a problem and I Did you give me some advice? I don't know what to do Jesus is busy and I don't know where the spirits taken off to I don't think so How about how about job 21 verse 22 can anyone teach knowledge to god? Since he judges even the highest There are a whole lot of people who don't know god who think that they can instruct god That's simply because they don't know him And so when it's not a good idea to argue with the lord but two Uh, he points out that god is the one who gives the gift. He said god gave them the same gift God gave them the same gift which is in reference to the holy spirit So the important thing to note in this is that the spirit is given as a gift of grace And is not received by human efforts God promised this gift Christ purchased it The word reveals it And thousands have experienced it somebody said and that's true And so this is a gift You do not receive the power of the holy spirit through any efforts on your part You don't receive the power of the holy spirit through doing spiritual things or Anything like that Jesus said that the father will give the spirit to those who ask And if there's anything and this I want to emphasize for just a moment If there's anything that the church the body of christ needs right now It's a refreshing in the power of the holy spirit You have got many of you have got to be tired because you're trying so hard to be good You've got to be tired You've got to be trying so hard to be good And the bottom line is It's good to be disciplined in the things that walk in worthy I would never say be sloppy and just run around doing nasty things, of course But you know the holy spirit has been provided as a grace to us You receive the power of the holy spirit By turning from your sin and turning to him And he say to god Lord without you I can do nothing And and and you have promised that you have said your father gives Gives gives a holy spirit and you have said even even an evil father would not give a serpent Or a rock to a child who was hungry for an egg or bread Even so you said I be an evil father Know how to give good gifts to my children even so You are a good father and you will give your spirit to those who but ask You know on on an occasion. We already saw it in chapter five in the book of acts verse 32 We saw how peter said that the holy spirit is given to those who obey him You know, we say god be merciful to me a sinner. I need the power of your spirit lord I want jesus christ to be dominant in my life I hate my flesh. I hate what I do in the flesh. I hate the way I can be When my flesh is dominant. I need your power lord And I'll tell you what, you know, you know in many ways using just a very poor illustration, you know I'm a leaky vessel I need to be refilled I need to be refilled My flesh can dominate I can begin to gravitate towards the the things of my flesh And resist even the power of the spirit So I need to be renewed in the power of the spirit On a daily basis in sense. I I know that the promise of god not by my Nor by power but by my spirit say that the lord of host is still applicable to us today I know that jesus said you shall receive power after that the holy spirit has come upon you I know that he has promised to give the holy spirit to those who believe and to those who ask And if there's anything guys that you need right now if there's anything You need in this church needs in the church in the united states and throughout the world needs It's a it's an inundation. It's an outpouring of the holy spirit in our life You see one of the things that happened Let me give you a short and brief illustration that contains a bit of a history lesson But what you need to do is you need to remember and some of you were alive and others were not yet born When god was doing a revival here in the united states and he began to pour his holy spirit out through what was called and has been referred to as the jesus movement And what happened at that time is something i believe god wants to continue to do and that is That he began to pour his spirit out on young people and all people really because calvary chapel A lot of times i think of calvary in my early days when i was 20 years old And i saw a lot of young people part of the reason i saw a lot of young people is i went to what would have been Youth kinds of things and so there are going to be a lot of young people there But in in the reality of the actual church life, there were there were old people in their 80s sitting next to hippies in their in their teens It was made up of Businessmen and and people who walked into the church barefooted Pastor chuck tells used to tell human stories about how offended the elders would get because the hippie kids would walk in barefooted And i was one of those hippie kids who would walk in barefooted because shoes were just who needs them and and i and i would walk in Barefooted i was always barefooted And i went to church barefooted and it we didn't even think about it. I never wore shoes anywhere supermarkets Anywhere i did not wear shoes as a matter of fact when this church began My mother's the one who made me wear shoes when i taught because i would teach barefoot I would kick my shoes off and teach barefooted that's that's just me at home I never wear shoes at home and i'm still a hippie at heart, you know And we would sit there and i still remember sitting in in The the pews there and and the communion cup holders. I i remember getting my big toe stuck in one You know, that's the truth and and so it made me laugh When i heard chuck say how the elders were mad because the hippie kids would get their toes stuck In the communion cup holders and that's true because i had it happen to me It's it's not something you try to do, you know, you just cross your feet and before you know it you're pulling your Foot out, you know because your toe got stuck in and so i remember that with humor and all but What happened what happened was God began to move in through two things the word and the spirit The word and the spirit You know pastor chuck would be invited to come to conferences They wanted to hear the secret of how he's reaching through his ministry all these hippies He said on one occasion he was invited to go speak and the guy who invited him More than likely expected him to be one of these preachers who cried and got very emotional And chuck said at the end of his message the only one crying in the congregation was the guy who invited him Because he was sad that he invited him because he didn't have the emotionality and the personality Because what chuck did is he modeled to guys like me the power of the word of god And so he taught us as my pastor he taught us to love god's word But secondly we were taught to rely on the power of the holy spirit I just got today an invitation from somebody who said he wants to show me How to how he built his big church His words I will teach you how I built my church Well, I guarantee you if he built it it will not last because jesus christ said Pond this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it When it's built by jesus it lasts when it's built by men It dies and any movement and any church that is built on the personality of a pastor Or the entertainment factor of the church or the production of the entertainment factor of worship Any church that is built on a man is going to fail It always will but when the church is built on jesus christ and his word and the power of the holy spirit It continues and for those of you who do home bible studies and do ministry never forget that It is the word of god and the power of the holy spirit And that's what we see taking place here. He is saying as I was Sharing god brought them into the kingdom of god through the power of the word and the power of the holy spirit And that's how god works. That's why we don't put our trust in men We put our trust in the lord Now as this is taking place verse 18 when they heard these things they became silent And the glorified god saying then god is also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life Often all we need to do is give a biblical explanation And the problem is solved now Those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over steven traveled as far as finicia cyprus Antioch preaching the word to no one but the jews only But some of them were men from cyprus and sirene who when they had come to antioch spoke to the hellenists preaching The lord jesus the hand of the lord was with them and a great number believed and turned to the lord The news of these things came to the ears of the church in jesus And they sent out barnabas To go as far as antioch when he came and had seen the grace of god He was glad encouraged them all that they with purpose of heart should continue with the lord He was a good man full of the holy spirit and of faith Great many people were added to the lord Then barnabas departed for tarsus to seek sol and when he had found him he brought him to antioch So it was that for a whole year They assembled with the church and taught a great many people and the disciples were first called christians in antioch and so Persecution had arisen remember persecution had arisen after steven had been martyred We know that in acts chapter eight verse one It states that a great persecution arose against the church at jerusalem So when this persecution happened What did the christians do did they stop speaking out of fear of being persecuted? Well answers no they took the message out of jerusalem and took it into the world So instead of stifling the message the believers were more intent on sharing it Now as it states here and in verse 19 at first they spoke only to the jews But when it goes on into verse 20 It's as some of them were men from cyprus siren who and siren who when they had come to antioch spoke to the halanist preaching the lord jesus So they continued to go out and preach it to those who would hear And god had made it already clear That uh the message was to go out to all people and the result is verse 21 That the hand of the lord is with them and a great number believe and a great number turned to the lord again Take the word of god and proclaim it and see what happens people turn to the lord See sometimes you may be afraid to speak in the name of jesus christ We're living in a time and and i'm speaking to people who know this When you can actually be self-conscious about mentioning the name of jesus You've been basically forbidden to do so by our society for a little bit of time now but the fact is If you really Trust the lord if you really do and you really believe the message you're gonna share it Jesus in luke 21 15 said it like this. He said i'll give you a mouth in wisdom Which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist um, you just need to You just need to um really believe the message I'll say it like this very briefly I'm pretty open with my faith I'm an old man now I'm pretty open with my faith, but you know what I was open with my faith When I was 20 I was open with my faith when I was in the army I was open about my faith when I got out of the army when I went to college when I went to secular school I've been around educated people I've felt so stupid Because compared to them I am I am I remember professors went in particular. She had two I believe it was two Two masters degrees in a doctorate And I remember how intimidated I was by her Yet I shared with her why because the truth is the truth I've I I have as a young college student speaking to Extremely liberal extremely progressive professors. I would I would sit in class Again, secular colleges Cal Poly junior colleges like Rio Hondo Cerritos school at Cal State Fullerton And I would sit there and I would listen to what was being said And then I would pray And I would say God give me an opportunity to share And then I would And yeah, I was mocked and yeah, there were people who thought I was stupid And yeah, there were people who looked at each other with one of those sidelong glances like what an idiot That's a fact I was a young man But I was real convinced about something I was convinced there is a god I was convinced that there is a heaven I was convinced there is a hell I was convinced that Jesus Christ is the savior of mankind I was convinced that the power of the holy spirit Can actually work in my life I was convinced that the gospel is true And I was convinced that I was supposed to share it You know, that's just a fact and and You see sometimes when when people come to this fellowship You may be new here and and you see that that guy up there speaking and he oh he speaks like this But he doesn't know what what I go through He doesn't know what it's like to sit in a college class with a a brainiac professor who will mock you The fact is is yes, I do And yes, I've been there and yes, I've been mocked by professors. Yes But that doesn't mean I should shut up. I discovered a long time ago when I tried to that I can't I I can't I can't there have been times forgive me. It sounds like I'm boasting about myself. I'm not I'm trying to illustrate something There have been times when when I would fold my arms and I would bite my tongue and I would say don't say anything Don't say anything and my body literally vibrates. My body begins to shake I'd be shaken. There were times when my mom saw this happening I'm in a bible study. She invited me to go to the teachers teaching things that are wrong And I'm vibrating and my mom looks at me like uh-oh Because like Jeremiah, I determined that I would say nothing But your word was like a fire in me and I had to speak That's how it is. Listen when you fall in love with the lord You can't help it You can't you can't help it. I I can I we have classes here. You want to learn how certain scriptures can be used In street witness. Yes door-to-door witness. Yes ministering to to cult members and Muslims. We can help you that we can equip you with that Yes, but if you don't have a belief that Jesus Christ is everything and the power of the holy spirit is necessary You'll just be educated but not usable when you have in your heart a burning desire for people to know god He'll give you opportunities to speak about him. That's how it works What do you have that's more important than heaven? You have something more important than heaven Do you do you understand that your friends and your family are going to hell if they don't have jesus? Do you understand that do you believe that? Because if you do get on your face before god and say god give me opportunity to share with them Lord at least to give him an opportunity to know you we need that today We need that today guys. We really really do i'm watching my nation go down And down and down because the church is silent and too caught up wanting to party Too caught up wanting to party Too caught up arguing with men like me. I can drink and go to heaven You're a good evangelist for alcohol. How good are you for jesus? How good are you for jesus? Because a lot of people are good for sin, but they're not good for him We got to be aware of that What is your priority and where's your power come from? It comes from the word of god And the spirit of god that's where it comes from. That's where it comes from And we need to understand that sometimes people are afraid to speak The fact of the matter is open your mouth jesus said and i will fill it I will give you opportunities and you will blow your mind There's hardly anything more exciting than to see someone's eyes open up to jesus and get saved hardly anything is exciting I don't think there is anything as exciting as that Listen, we need to remember that when you're faithful to him, he uses you The bible tells us here that the hand of the lord was with them and a great number believed Again, the jesus movement Was not centered on one person god used many people to take the gospel out to an unsaved world And there were people many people young and old turned to turning to the living Living for jesus christ and sharing him And and that's the bottom line and and one of the things that will ultimately stifle the move of the spirit Is when we begin to give credit to to individuals and begin to honor people Over the one who's saving people we have to be very careful with that We need to be careful to give all glory to the lord We need to remember also that successful ministry isn't based on externals Some people think that you need to be eloquent you need to be energetic You need to be charismatic you need to be handsome persuasive funny inventive culturally sensitive young you name it Now what you need to be is In love with jesus christ If you want to be used by the lord and you want the hand of the lord to be upon you Then seek the lord and ask him to fill you with this spirit verse 21 says god's hand was with them And a great number believed and turned to the lord They were converted And finally in verse 22 following it goes on to say and i'll close at verse 30 News of these things came to the ears of the church in jesus them They sent out barnabas to go as far as antioch When he came and had seen the grace of god he was glad and encouraged them all That with purpose of heart they should continue with the lord He was a good man full of the holy spirit and of faith Great many people were added to the lord barnabas departed for tarsus to seek salt And when he had found him he brought him to antioch So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people And the disciples were first called christians in antioch These days in those days These days prophets came from jesus them to antioch Then one of them named agbas stood up and showed by the spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world Which also happened in the days of claudius caesar Then the disciples each according to his ability determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in judia This they also did and sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and sol and so 22 following in 22 barnabas lives up to his name Barnabas means son of encouragement And so what he's doing is he's encouraging the church As he sees god moving through his grace And his encouragement is that they with purpose of heart should continue with the lord And one of the ways that is made possible is simply remain faithful to him and faithful to his word So as a genuine minister barnabas is concerned that these new believers grow Notice how he's described as being a good man a man who's filled with the spirit and with faith And that's why he exhorts them to continue with the lord It says in verse 25 that he departed for tarsus to seek sol they were friends So he went to seek him and in verse 26 so when he found him he brought him to andioc Now andioc was the capital of syria. It was the third largest city next to roman alexandria When you look at andioc in ancient history during that day It was a city that was known for commerce as well as culture It was also known for sexual immorality that people were worshipers of artemis and apollo as well as The syrian worship of astarte and astarte had a cult of ritual prostitutes So Barnabas wanted sol the work alongside Of him in the ministry at andioc why well sol was a hebru scholar who was fluent in greek He was acquainted with gentile culture He'd be a great asset in discipling and winning converts The work was too big for barnabas alone. So he needed help It says in verse 26 when when sol arrived they taught a great many people So it's always good to minister with more than one person And then it says the disciples were first called christians in andioc It was here that they are now referred to as christians up until that time when you've come into this chapter here They've been referred to as disciples or brothers believers They're referred to as saints. They're followers of the way But now they're being called christian the word christian by the way means little christ literally that's what it means Little christ like christ christ like or little christ It may have been used in a derogatory fashion at first. Here come those little christs And by the way, they still say that that way today Now as this is all taking place in conclusion verses 27 through 30 There were prophets who came from jerusalem to antia Prophets were used in the church primarily to preach as well as to Predict events of the future We know that the apostles were referred to as the building block They were the transmitters of god's word to men But prophets were used to confirm the word that was preached as well as revealing events to come into in the future Here we're introduced to agabus And he predicts widespread famine and that did occur during the time of claudius, which was between the years of 41 and 54 ad What happens and we'll close with this Is there's a famine that occurs that he had prophesied How did the church respond? Verses 29 and 30 they cared for him The disciples each according to his ability determined to send relief to the brother and dwelling in judia once again The church took care of the need they cared about those in need That's been the mark by the way of the church throughout our history Is to care for those in need they heard That there was a need and according to their ability They sent relief to the brother and who were dwelling in judia or down south Now they had this Finances that they were going to give to them. How did they get it to them? It says in verse 30 they sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and sol couple of thoughts and then we'll close One I want you to notice this. This is something that'll pass you by if I don't point it out because it passes me by too Verse 30 this they also did and sent it to the elders That's the first mention of elders in the church The elders this is the first time elders in the church are mentioned You will see the word elder also Translated by the word bishop It can also describe The pastor teacher It is it is an overseer And so it's given us an insight into the fact that the church had leadership They were the elders They were the overseers of the church and their responsibility was in teaching and leading the body of christ A second thing I want to point to is they sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and sol So it was sent By the men who were trusted to carry sums of money If there's anything that you need in ministry It's trustworthy people when it comes to finances trustworthy because There have been many many people in churches Who have robbed god stealing? Offerings stealing money. I was reading recently of a church That had on a sunday morning there Not the whole offering but a good portion of their offering was stolen $600,000 Let that number sink for just a moment Somebody stole From this church It's a very huge church, obviously $600,000 There's just something about filthy lucre that draws people's hearts That you'd even steal from god That you'd even steal from god And so when it comes to finances You always want the most trustworthy people to be around the finances You always do And that's giving us some insight Into barnabas and sol They were men of integrity Somebody said the character and labors of these men Had marked them out as the most fit to be bearers of this help And it was from jerusalem that barnabas had been sent at first to anteo He was a trustworthy man sol was a trustworthy man And in matters of finance you need to always have trustworthy people Because it's amazing how even a little money can turn a person's heart So whenever you handle finances, you need to have Trustworthy people in our fellowship. I have very trustworthy people who handle the finances I never handle them at all. Just so that you know, I don't know who gives in this church I don't I don't I don't ask that question. I don't know who gives I I Don't count the money. I don't handle the money. I don't carry the money I don't even really ever see the money. That isn't something I do I have trusted people who do all of that for me We have teams of people who take care of that all the offerings Anything we have I'll have two or three people who handle it. They keep each other in check They're overseen to make sure that they don't take the money Because there are a lot of people who steal We do the best that we can to keep that from happening here just letting you know We're very careful with the finances. We learned that from scripture. They had barnabas. They had sol They were trusted. They handled the money We'll stop here and we'll pick up next time chapter 12