 Okay, great. So yeah, we were saying that, you know, people responded to the gospel while the preacher was still preaching and the Holy Spirit was poured out. So we are clear that it is the Lord Jesus who is the baptiser. And I remember one incident. It was a mission strip that we had taken from APC Bangalore. And we had gone for a conference where people had joined from so many different states in India. And Pastor Ashesh was sharing on the Holy Spirit. And at the end of the meeting, because the crowd was huge, he said, why don't we all stand up? And we, yes, we can trust that we will be baptized in the Holy Spirit when others lay hands on us. But even if nobody lays hands on you, where you're standing, if there's no one to lay hands on you, go ahead and believe that you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And people did that. And after that session, when he asked how many of you were baptized in the Holy Spirit, there were hundreds and hundreds of hands, you know, that were being waved across the auditorium. And many of them were not even touched by another human being to lay hands and pray for them. But like this Cornelius' household, the Holy Spirit fell on them. And, you know, they were, they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, you know, this is so encouraging. Can I pray for Holy Spirit baptism for someone whom I cannot touch for whatever reason, okay? Maybe they are far away at that time or you're praying on the phone for them. Can they still be baptized? Yes. They just need to believe. They need to believe, to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Okay, so that is something we saw in Cornelius' family. Then what else? Now let's continue. So we were at verse 44 when we said that the Holy Spirit fell. Then later on, when the Holy Spirit falls, what is the other common feature that we observe speaking in tongues? So these people were also speaking in tongues and they were magnifying God. Then now Peter is asking, see usually what is the usual scenario? You have people believing and then they are baptized in water. But in this case, Holy Spirit baptism is happening first. So again, another question people ask, should I first get baptized in water or first get baptized in Holy Spirit? See, it immediately after one is born again, we follow the example of the Lord Jesus and we follow the instruction of the Lord Jesus, which is to be baptized in water. Now this is something we plan and we go ahead for that, but Holy Spirit baptism, it can happen before or after. There is no issue. It's no issue. Like in my own life, I remember I got born again as a child and then I went for some crusade. My mother took me for some crusade there. The preacher was preaching about Holy Spirit baptism and said, those of you who believe you will be able to receive it and you will start speaking in a new language. And I just believed and I started praying in tongues. But it wasn't until I think I finished almost, did I finish college? I don't know. But maybe I was in college. Only at that time, somebody taught us about water baptism. So water baptism happened much later. Holy Spirit baptism happened first. So it's not right or wrong this first, that next, but we must teach the believer that yes, you must be baptized in water, repent and be baptized. But also teach them about the Holy Spirit baptism. And God doesn't necessarily worry about the order what comes first. Now Peter also, he says, look, now that God has been so faithful to the Gentiles. He began by saying, I know I perceive that God shows no partiality. God accepts everyone as the same. So now again, he says, look, how can I stop these people who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit? How can I stop them from being baptized in water in the name of the Lord? I can't do that because God has uprooted them by pouring his spirit. So he then next thing is he commands these people to be baptized in water also. So both the baptisms commonly we see in the Acts of the Apostles, water baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit. Both of these are done. The order, you know, we are not specifying, you know, this before that or anything like that. So this is the story at Cornelius's house. Any thoughts, any questions about these matters? If you have, you can ask, we will answer and then proceed. Water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism. Okay, it's all clear. Great, great. Okay, sure, sure. All right, so we have observed, you know, how the gospel now went to the Gentile people. And this was also a mighty plan of God. He's the director, remember? He's directing the gospel to go out to various communities. And that is the greatness about Cornelius's family. That it was a Gentile family. Okay, something different that God was doing. And who is God doing this through? Somebody like Peter. He first, when he saw the dream, he said, no, no, no God, I will not touch anything unclean. So as a Jew, he's very rigid about what one must do and what one must not do. That's how the Jews work, remember? When the lady who's not a Jew, she came to Jesus and asked for healing. Jesus said the bread of the children will not be given to the dogs. So that was the strictness of how the ministry was mainly for the Jews. But after Jesus went on the cross, the gospel was made available to everybody, right? So that is the difference while Jesus was alive and after Jesus died on the cross. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So Jesus is for the whole world. Salvation is for the whole world. It's for all the communities. And that is what we see happening in the Acts of the Apostles. It's going out. It's going out. And it is going out. You know, it's a little bit funny because it's going out through a person like Peter who is very rigid in his convictions. So now this has already happened. Now let us see. Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God. So the Christian circle, at this point they were not yet called as Christians. But you know, the believers, the circle of the believers, they were quite well informed about what is going on here and there and everywhere. So people heard that the gospel had already gone out to the Gentiles. They heard the Word of God. And when Peter came to Jerusalem, okay? So now Peter is travelling at all. He was in Simon the Tanner's house. But what is the base church, Jerusalem church? So he's coming back to the base church. And usually when they come back, they will report. They'll say all these things happened. God did all these mighty things in my missionary journeys. I met these people, shared the Word of God and all. So he goes back and he tells the others in Jerusalem. This is what God did. I went to Cornelius's house. So what kind of a response did he get? They were also Jews. They were also passionate devout Jews. They were not at all happy about Peter going to the house of a Gentile person. Okay? So it says those of the circumcision. So those of the circumcision refers to the Jews. They contended with him. Contended is like kind of opposing, right? And arguing and saying, how could you? How could you go to the Gentiles? You went into uncircumcised men and ate with them. So the Jews were very proud of their status, their covenant with God and the others were low for them. And these Jews in Jerusalem, they were very unhappy that Peter, you have gone to the Gentiles. Not only did you go to their house, you also ate with them. Eating is a sign of fellowship. You don't eat with anybody. You eat with people who you relate to. So we don't relate to the Gentiles. How could you eat with them? They were unhappy with Peter. But now Peter has to help them understand what God did in his heart and in his life. So he goes through the entire vision. So from verse 4 to verse 15, you see him narrating the same thing. He says, look, this is what happened. Okay, I will tell you from the beginning, everything I'll tell you. So I was in Jopah, Simon Tanner's house. I was hungry. I went into a trance. I saw our vision. There was this, you know, there was this sheet. It had clean and clean animals. Then God said, okay, I told God, no, I won't do it. So he explained himself. It was not me. It was not me. But God said, you know, why are you calling some things as common and unclean? You know, you just rise up, kill and eat it. So then he kind of connects that with the three men who came asking for him. And then he went along with them because the spirit told him, you go doubting nothing. He explains all these things. And he says, so I went to their house and I preached to them. And then, you know, as I spoke, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, upon, as upon us at the beginning. So he tells them, remember the time when we were waiting in the upper room and suddenly and suddenly, right? Suddenly, there was a sound of a rushing mighty wind and then the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. So he says, look, why are you blaming me? I'm not responsible. God told me to go. So I went and suddenly, if God pours out his Holy Spirit on these people, how am I responsible? You know, when God has accepted them, we should not reject them. So basically, Peter is giving them this clarity that it is God's work. He is touching the lives of the people. Who are we to stop God from doing what he is doing? Aren't we supposed to be obedient to the promptings of God in our lives? So he explains like this. Okay. And then he adds to it about the Holy Spirit baptism. He says, see, look, John, he baptized with water, but like the Holy Spirit baptism, right? Holy Spirit baptism is something that Jesus said that we would all receive. So if God gave that same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus, who was I that I could withstand God? So, you know, he's saying, let God do his work as a minister of God. I have to move in the direction of the leading of God. I cannot, you know, put up my preferences and biases. And, you know, like, you know, sometimes we have all these preferences, personal preferences that we have, for example, I'll just give you some examples. Okay, for example, if I am the kind, I don't like young people. When I'm doing my church ministry, I don't give them much importance. I feel, oh, they are so rebellious. They are so, you know, they are so worldly. They don't listen. So don't waste time on the young people. Let us have most of our ministries for adults. Let us have our ministries for children. It's my personal bias. I don't like young people. Okay, but if I'm a true minister of God and I'm being led by the spirit of God, maybe God put some things in my heart and says, you do it for the young people. As a true minister, I can't say, no, God, I don't like young people. So my personal preference and my bias should not stop me from spreading the word to the people that God is bringing in my life. I just give you one example. Now, it could be possible that I stop God's work because of my attitude. And I said, no, I will not. Let them go. Let them go. There are a lot of programs going on in the city. Let them go there. I could stop God's work. I can delay what God wants to do or I can be somebody who puts aside my personal preference. I say, okay, I don't like them, but God is telling me, let me do it. Now, this can be applied for, you know, maybe languages. We don't like people of certain languages or it could be that we like people only to speak our language. But when God is leading us to minister without partiality to people of all languages, we should be open to doing that or how about, you know, a certain background, people who have this kind of education, we prefer them. People who are not so educated, we don't prefer them. So there is a bias, right? What we understand here is our bias, we should be willing to lay it aside or let's say as a woman, you know, I might prefer only to minister to women. I might not trust men, right? Like why should I trust this brother to do the ministry? What if he, you know, does more harm than good bias? I might think, no, if I put one lady in charge, she will do a better job. So it's a gender bias, which I have. God is not a God with biases and partiality. So as ministers of God, we have to be open to minister to all kinds of people and never feel that, you know, my personal preference is more important. When we do that, we will get stuck. Okay, so beyond personal preferences, we must minister. So that's how Peter is explaining and he's saying, look, how could I withstand God? I can't stop God. No, as a true minister, I have to flow in the direction and Holy Spirit was flowing in the direction of the Gentiles. So I moved in that way. They heard all the things they gave their life to God and God has granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. So he explains everything to them and hopefully a lot of them would have been comforted by what exactly happened. Okay, so that is the account of Peter ministering to the Gentiles and mainly through the family of Cornelius. Now, did Cornelius take the gospel to many people from his community? Yes, that's how the gospel spreads, right? So God is gaining entrance into lives of people, lives of communities, lives of nations. And he is touching people's lives. Now, at that time, we also said that there was a lot of persecution going on. So people, because of persecution, what happened? They got scattered. Why did people get scattered because of persecution? Any idea? Why would they want to get scattered? Any thoughts on that? Come on, you must have some thoughts, no? Why people got scattered? Class, you're there or? Okay, I didn't say no idea. Okay, so here, see, you just think about it. If we are ministering in a certain place and the work of God is going on very well. And if there is persecution. And seems like there was pretty severe persecution. You know, people being, we saw how Saul was harassing the people, right? Even physically beating them up, dragging them to the prison. So it was scary. But at the same time, if you recall, you know, when Paul was not accepted and people were very cautious about, you know, Saul, who had converted. The believers in Damascus, what did they do? They made him escape. Okay, from the opposers. So it could be that the work was going on powerfully. But because of a threat to one's life, because of the, you know, challenges. Which they were facing, it would have been safer for them to go and live in another place. So because of that, people were getting scattered. So, you know, they would try to find a safer place and maybe spread the gospel there. So what do you think? Is it a godly thing to keep yourself safe from persecution? Or is it a cowardly thing? Like when you try to escape persecution, is it ungodly? What are your opinion? What are your thoughts? Sometimes, even Jesus said that people are not accepted. Just move on. We don't dare. So when increased, there is no point because people are so hard and hearted. It's quite difficult. We have to see the godly thing. We have to move from that place. That's, I think. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Thomas, for sharing those thoughts. Yeah, it makes complete sense, right? If, I mean, Jesus did say that when they persecuted him, they will persecute his followers. But this does not mean that we walk right into danger. Okay. Now, when we are doing God's work and there is no other way and persecution happens, that is different. That is different. We have to face it. We can't run away from it. But if there is an opportunity for us to escape, why not? Because if we die or are seriously harmed, how will we be useful for the kingdom of God? Isn't it? So it is okay to escape. It's not an ungodly thing at all. In fact, when we saw in Acts chapter 9 and verse 25, we said, I'll read from 23 to 25. Okay, Acts 9, once again. Yeah, let me post it here in our chat section. Now, after many days were passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. So you see the wisdom that God gave the disciples and Saul and Jesus and the believers. When persecution was high, there's nothing wrong with trying to save your life. If you can, then save it. But if you can't, someone like Stephen, he stood there and he knew he could not escape. And he knew that he's going to enter into the presence of God. So he fought for it in that way and he became a martyr. So there is a place for both of these things. If there is an option to be safe, it's okay. We can go to a safer place and do the ministry, but be led by God. It shouldn't be like you run away from God's purpose. So that's the point. Now, when we read that people were scattered, that's what it means. They probably tried to find a safer place. And this is a time when persecution arose over Stephen. And that was not a simple matter. Stephen had died in such a public way. And at that time, many believers were being imprisoned and physically harmed. So it was quite severe. So they scattered. They tried to find safer places. And we are told that they went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch. But here is the beauty. See, when there is water in the sponge, okay. I am sure you all have experimented with sponges. Dip it in water. It's full of water. Now, if you want to carry it from the bucket to a distance, remove the sponge, it will be dripping with water. Wherever you carry it, there will be water coming out of the sponge till such time that the sponge is completely dry. So it makes the trail wet. That path becomes wet. The believers, they were born again. They were filled, baptized with the Holy Spirit and passionate about God. So when they were scattering, what was happening? They were like the sponge with water. Wherever they went, preaching the word too. But, you know, they still did not have the understanding that they could preach to the Gentiles. So they were true to whatever they knew. They knew that it can be preached to the Jews. So they preached. But the most important thing is they preached the word, okay. And also think about this. When they were persecuted, maybe let's say a believing couple in Jerusalem church. Oh, but persecution is increasing. Why don't you leave this place, go somewhere else? They go. They may not have a pastor going with them or, you know, some elder from church going with them. It's just them. They might have attended church for, you know, a year and learned some basic things, but that doesn't stop them from preaching and sharing about the love of God, about the power of the Holy Spirit. Right? So ordinary believers from the church of Jerusalem and, you know, the early church, we're just saying early church to include people in the region because there was persecution all over the region. All these people were capable of sharing the word. Isn't that amazing? You know, today, if we all get scattered, will the gospel go to new people, new communities, new families? It's a question. If we are like the early church believers filled with the spirit, you know, passionate about the gospel, then yes, it will go. Otherwise, what will happen? We'll just go, ah, I found a safer place. That's it. But early church is not like that. They are so passionate. If you send me to Nepal, I will preach the gospel in Nepal. If you send me to Bhutan, I will preach the gospel in Bhutan. If you send me to, you know, Bangladesh, I will preach the gospel in Bangladesh. If you send me to India, I will preach the gospel in India. Wherever they are going, they don't mind. They're just sharing their life. They're sharing the truth that they have learned. The gospel which has changed their life. The power of God, supernatural power of God, which they have experienced. They are sharing with others. So that is the passion with which, you know, they were scattered. But was it an advantage in a sense for the church? Very much. Persecution is not a good thing. But, you know, God can use even that which is meant for evil for our good. As we say in Romans 8, 28, all things work together for good. How can persecution be good? Yes, it is evil. But God used it for good. The believers who were scattered took the word and they preached all over the place, all over the place. What? More people came to know about Christ. So could, you remember, Gamaliel, he said, if this is a work of man, it will end. But if this is a work of God, we cannot stop it. This is a work of God. Even in persecution, it is spreading. So can persecution stop the word from going out? Answer is no. Even persecution cannot stop the word from going out to the people. That's what we see in the early church. Okay, now let's continue. There were some people, they were from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to this place called Antioch, there are two Antiochs in the Book of Acts. Don't get confused. This Antioch is where the church was planted where you'll see later. Saul comes there and now we'll call him Paul, his Roman name. Paul and Barnabas they minister in this Antioch. So this church it is said Syrian Antioch. We'll call it Syrian Antioch because there's another Antioch of Pisidia which we will talk about later. But this church was planted in Syria. So some people from Cyprus and Cyrene again notice it doesn't say some pastors or some leaders. It could have been ordinary believers who planted a prominent church the Syrian Antioch church. So they came here they spoke to the Hellenists. Remember we said Greeks speaking Jews. So they spoke to them preaching the Lord Jesus. What did Peter preach to Cornelius? The Lord Jesus. How are so many people giving their lives to Christ? Preaching the Lord Jesus. Sometimes when people are not coming to Christ, we can also ask the question Are we preaching Jesus? Because if we are preaching Jesus it will make an impact. So the message of the early church so clear the message is preaching Christ. What is the mission? Go to the ends of the earth. So they are willing to go and they are preaching Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Wow. For any of the pastors this statement is such a blessing. It's not ministry is not in numbers. We agree with that. Everything we do for the Lord is important. Even if we are ministering to only one person it is what God calls us to do. So that's okay. But you know our heart is to see many lives touched. Isn't it? So time and again in the book of Acts we see that Peter stood up and preached 3000 were added. They preached at Solomon's porch. So many people heard. The miracle happened. So many people believed. Samaria. So many people believed. Again great number believed and turned to the Lord. So whatever is happening good or bad, scattering, persecution anything whatever is happening miracle is happening a great number believed and turned to the Lord. I told you throughout the book of Acts it's like that forest fire. So a lot of people coming to Christ like a revival is taking place and it grows and several people actually come to give their lives to the Lord. So that is a little bit about how the Antioch Church came about. So now as this church was gaining prominence and the work of God around the region was gaining prominence remember I told you the news spread quite fast so the Jerusalem church heard about it and what was the practice of the Jerusalem church? It's like apostolic. What is apostolic? Apostolic is when they provide oversight and the leadership provides oversight, they provide support for governing the new churches they help mature the new churches any other doctrinal issue they are ready to help So a lot of support coming in from the elders or the more mature ones the apostles. So when they hear about all these churches and especially about the Syrian Antioch church they send Barnabas to go to Antioch from Jerusalem when he came it says he saw the grace of God he was glad so that basically tells us that the church was doing well there was good growth happening in the lives of the people individual people as well as the church at large it was really blessed and it made him happy obviously we want to see a healthy church a church which is passionate for Christ where people are growing in God the church itself is growing and the church is making an impact for the gospel so seems like the Antioch church was all this and so Barnabas was very happy and he what did he do? Barnabas is also known as the encourager he used to encourage people so he encouraged them the Antioch church that they should continue they should continue with the Lord with purpose of heart or in other words the church should keep growing and they should keep fulfilling what God has called them to do so he encourages them and he sees that people are added so when Barnabas goes to do ministry in the Antioch church what happens? again you read there a great many people were added to the Lord so it was a blessed time people are constantly being added people are coming to know the Lord Jesus for whatever reason Barnabas he feels that in this Antioch church how about in the word of God in the word of God how about we equip the people some more so what does Barnabas do? we are told that he goes to Tarsis who is there in Tarsis? we talked about somebody earlier who went off to Tarsis who is that? this place is associated with this name who of Tarsis? Saul of Tarsis so Saul had fled he had gone into hiding hiding in the sense he was doing ministry there but he did not want to be in other places where the Jews were plotting to kill him so he had got undercover but Barnabas he had a heart for Saul and here in Acts 11 he goes looking for Saul why? maybe God put it in his heart let's say it was Peter and God told Peter go and find Saul of Tarsis we are not sure Peter was the kind that God had to convince him even to go to the Gentiles he got a vision and then he went but Barnabas on the other hand seems to be a person who is very open to serving with those who are not like him Barnabas I told you earlier he is an encourager he goes to Tarsis to find Saul because he would have heard in these regions after so many years Saul continues to do good ministry definitely over a decade when you do the calculations it's like I don't know 14 years or something like that that more than 14 years actually that Saul had been serving God but not in the public view so Barnabas probably had an idea that this man of God is faithful and can be trusted right initially yes everybody doubted whether Saul was a sincere person because he was a persecutor turned into a preacher but now after several years I'm sure Barnabas was clear that this person would be useful for the work of the ministry so he goes he searches for Saul and when he found him he brought him to Antioch understanding his ministry so this shows us also partnership right partnership we spoke about kingdom building where we must allow others to step into our vision we may think that I'll do it I don't want anybody God has given me this church I will preach till I die okay I'm not going to allow anyone to share the word but that's not how it works in the church of Antioch a beautiful thing that we notice is team ministry where it's not just one person it's not just a Barnabas or it's not just the initial leaders of the Antioch church but now who comes into the picture okay so he is brought to Antioch and once he was brought to Antioch we are told it was a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people so think together with me these believers must have been very passionate for God but we always find the leaders in Jerusalem trying to find out what are all the things the people don't know they don't know about Holy Spirit baptism okay come Peter, John, let's go to Samaria let's baptize them in the Holy let's speak about the baptism in the Holy Spirit or what are the doctrines these people don't know so they would have understood the spiritual need of the church of Antioch Barnabas would have understood and he would have thought okay let me partner with Saul we both are going to get together for one year for one year look at that one year church assembly taught a great many people so many different subjects teaching equipping you know you have your something like you know I am just saying like an APC weekend school conference seminar this that classes Bible college classes so the people are being equipped for an entire year and Barnabas and Saul are engaging in teaching the people how does teaching the people help how does it help do you think it helps yes okay how okay so that says yes okay so maybe you want to share from your own experience how learning has helped anyone briefly anything that you know like one of you this is the third year of learning for one year the believers in Antioch were taught three years you are learning how does it make a difference to your spiritual walk with God reaching out to the lost okay okay it equips you to reach out to the lost true yeah how is it helped you in your personal walk your ministry okay I am just asking is that anything if you are comfortable share from where you are how does learning help you in your personal journey in your ministry it helps to grow personally man my spiritual life to the to grow closer to God it helps me to grow personally okay okay sure thank you so it helps one grow personally okay great great yeah how about the others we Prince or Thomas Kandan how does learning help you okay so you know new revelation right on so many things we don't know we are not aware maybe we know about you know we know about the gospel but maybe we are baptized in the Holy Spirit also we don't have much knowledge about tongues or we don't have much knowledge about prophecy but when we learn from God's word right it equips us what is the meaning of equip okay now I understand I know how to use it and if there is somebody else who needs to learn from it I can share okay come on this was says like this about tongues so this is what it means no don't be afraid it's a gift from God so whatever we know we are able to teach others you know this kind of a journey we are able to make in the Lord and it's very very important for every believer it's not just you know I want to go to Bible college so that I can become a pastor no but this is the life of a believer throughout to learn about God to draw closer to God to serve God in whichever calling he has given us so that's the reason equipping people of a church it's so important and you see Barnabas and Saul doing that so I told you Church of Antioch so unique it was planted after persecution people got scattered some believers planted it and at the same time you know there was a team ministry and investment of the word of God for a long period of time so let's stop here we will come back and we will continue we will discuss little more about the Church of Antioch and move on to what are the other things that took place so at this point we will just close with the word of prayer and you know once again I just want to ask Kiran Kiran can you please pray and we will close out today yes please Father could we just come before you turn once again Father thank you for that today's teaching Father thank you for that thank you that all revolution Father God help us to understand and help us to apply to our life Father God the kingdom journey Father God help us to every way Father God thank you to Nancy ma'am and all the students Father God thank you for that today's teaching Father thank you I am coming I am just submitting to your hand Father God take care of your side thank you Father God Almighty teachers tell me thank you Kiran and class I am so sorry because of my cold I think it was a little disruptive the first session and the second but yeah sorry about that I hope you can still learn something from these sessions ok God bless you have a good day bye for now thank you thank you bye bye everyone thank you