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Little Christs - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And it came to pass that a
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  Speaker 1: whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught
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  Speaker 1: much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for giving me the heart of Barnabas, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for allowing me to encourage and to speak
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  Speaker 1: life into all those willing to listen. As I grow
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  Speaker 1: and evolve in my faith, I pray that my life
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  Speaker 1: would be a beacon of hope and a model for
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  Speaker 1: others to follow. As you begin to expand your number
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  Speaker 1: of believers around me, I pray that we would operate
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  Speaker 1: in such a way that people can see the resemblance
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  Speaker 1: of Christ in our everyday actions and deeds. Through this,
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  Speaker 1: I pray that revival will break loose in my city,
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  Speaker 1: in my state, and in my country. I pray that
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  Speaker 1: we would make such a noise that the whole world
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  Speaker 1: will look in our direction and wonder where we get
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  Speaker 1: our joy, our peace, and our power from. When asked,
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  Speaker 1: we will rejoice because you are now giving us the
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to share the greatest love story ever told, the
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  Speaker 1: gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Little Christs.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, Peter discovered that the kingdom of
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  Speaker 2: God was expanding to more than just the Jews. Through
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  Speaker 2: his interactions with Cornelius, Peter began to learn that God
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  Speaker 2: was going to extend his reach to all the nations.
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  Speaker 2: Now we see the church expand and grow despite persecution.
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  Speaker 2: Everywhere the family of God goes, positive change follows. And
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  Speaker 2: the believers begin to create a reputation everywhere. that would
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  Speaker 2: echo thousands of years into the future.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham.
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  Speaker 3: In our last episode, we heard how God showed Peter
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  Speaker 3: that the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for everyone,
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  Speaker 3: all nations, not just the Jewish people, but people everywhere.
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  Speaker 3: Peter then shared the gospel with a household of a
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  Speaker 3: Roman centurion named Cornelius, and his whole family came to
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  Speaker 3: faith in Christ. The good news of Jesus was beginning
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  Speaker 3: to spread beyond the Jewish world and Jerusalem, and now
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  Speaker 3: the Word of God is moving throughout the earth. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we'll hear how more non-Jews around the world began to
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  Speaker 3: embrace the gospel, and as the church grew, Barnabas was
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  Speaker 3: sent to Antioch to strengthen and encourage the new believers.
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  Speaker 3: So let's listen now to today's reading from the exciting
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  Speaker 3: book of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: The heavy clanging of chains echoed through the streets of Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 2: Believers in Jesus were rounded up like cattle and thrown
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  Speaker 2: into prison for their faith. Soon the jail cells were
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  Speaker 2: overflowing with people singing psalms and praises to God. So
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  Speaker 2: the violence increased. Men were fed to lions and women
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  Speaker 2: were ripped away from their children. Whoever did not receive
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  Speaker 2: a beating received humiliation. So the people of God scattered
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  Speaker 2: to the outer regions of the Roman Empire. Believers in
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  Speaker 2: Jesus fled to Cyprus and Antioch for safe havens. Before,
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  Speaker 2: the word was only preached to the Jews, but now
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  Speaker 2: there were rumblings of the revival erupting forth from the Hellenists,
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  Speaker 2: who were Jewish Greeks. So many started coming to know
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  Speaker 2: Jesus that the apostles sent Barnabas to go and lead them.
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  Speaker 2: They needed someone rational yet caring. They needed a man
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  Speaker 2: strong enough to lead but gentle enough to comfort others.
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  Speaker 2: Barnabas was all of these things and more. God had
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  Speaker 2: appointed him with a sharp mind and saintly heart. It
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  Speaker 2: was this mind and heart that resonated with Saul. Barnabas
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  Speaker 2: had taken Saul under his wing and discipled him. The
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  Speaker 2: two spoke of God, Jesus, the Word, and miracles. Slowly,
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  Speaker 2: Saul was growing in the power and wisdom of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: The Hellenistic believers created an infamous reputation in Cyprus and Antioch.
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  Speaker 2: When there was a great famine in the land, The
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  Speaker 2: disciples of Jesus sent a great deal of resources to
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  Speaker 2: meet the city's needs. Believers worked day and night to
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  Speaker 2: ensure everyone was fed and clothed. People observed their self-sacrifice
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  Speaker 2: and kindness. They saw thousands of people being fed and
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  Speaker 2: hundreds of people being healed. The Gentiles noticed that there
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  Speaker 2: was something strange about them. They looked and acted like
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  Speaker 2: Jesus himself. They were like little Christs. Thus, people began
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  Speaker 2: to refer to them as Christians.
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  Speaker 3: As we begin today's reading, we see that the gospel
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  Speaker 3: is on the move. The church is on the move.
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  Speaker 3: The persecution that came as a result of faith in
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ has now scattered the church in Jerusalem as
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  Speaker 3: believers now move from their safe haven from Jerusalem to
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  Speaker 3: the uttermost parts of the earth. They're going to places
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  Speaker 3: like Cyprus and Antioch. Though many of the believers were
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  Speaker 3: still stuck in the mindset that the gospel was for
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  Speaker 3: a select group only, and therefore only preached the word
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  Speaker 3: to people who were religious, there were others who, like Peter,
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  Speaker 3: understood that there was a much greater mission, a broader mission.
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  Speaker 3: So in Acts 11, verses 20 and 21, here's what
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  Speaker 3: we find. But there were some of them, men of
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  Speaker 3: Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to
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  Speaker 3: the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand
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  Speaker 3: of the Lord was with them, and a great number
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  Speaker 3: who believed turned to the Lord. Hellenists were Greek men
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  Speaker 3: and women. They were Gentiles. And we see that as
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  Speaker 3: they heard the good news, they also received it by
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  Speaker 3: putting their faith in Christ and following him. The church
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  Speaker 3: is multiplying and now is experiencing an explosion of growth
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  Speaker 3: in these distant cities. This, of course, was great and
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  Speaker 3: all a part of God's plan. And when the church
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  Speaker 3: in Jerusalem realized received the news that people were being
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  Speaker 3: saved at distant places, they sent a trusted brother in
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  Speaker 3: Christ to help strengthen and instruct these new believers. Barnabas
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  Speaker 3: was one of these men. He was known to be
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  Speaker 3: full of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit. He
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  Speaker 3: had been the first in Jerusalem to welcome Saul, who
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  Speaker 3: became Paul in his miraculous conversion. And so when Barnabas
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  Speaker 3: saw the need in Antioch, he went to Tarsus to
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  Speaker 3: find Saul and bring him to Antioch. And together, These
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  Speaker 3: men taught the believers for an entire year, and their
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  Speaker 3: teaching paid off. These followers of Christ stood out from
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  Speaker 3: the crowd in Antioch. Their generosity and kindness did not
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  Speaker 3: go unnoticed, and soon they earned a moniker, Little Christ
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  Speaker 3: or Christians. This is the name now with which we
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  Speaker 3: are so familiar, and it began back at Antioch when
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  Speaker 3: the believers there were first called Christians because of their
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  Speaker 3: Christlike attitude and actions. Today's reading reminds us of the
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  Speaker 3: importance of discipling new believers in the faith and that
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  Speaker 3: this is something that takes time and intentional investment by
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  Speaker 3: more mature believers. Barnabas knew that the believers in these
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  Speaker 3: places needed to be instructed in the faith so that
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  Speaker 3: they would remain true to the gospel and to the
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  Speaker 3: word of God. He also understood that Saul, though he
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  Speaker 3: was highly educated in Jewish law and tradition, needed a
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  Speaker 3: mentor in his new faith, someone to walk with him,
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  Speaker 3: to encourage him, and prepare him for the ministry to
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  Speaker 3: which God had called him. We all need a Barnabas
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  Speaker 3: or two in our lives, and we should also seek
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  Speaker 3: to be a Barnabas to others, encouraging, mentoring, and bringing
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  Speaker 3: people up in their faith. This reading is also a
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  Speaker 3: reminder of what it means to be called a Christian.
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  Speaker 3: This is not simply a group or a club that
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  Speaker 3: we joined. We are called to reflect Christ into the world.
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  Speaker 3: to remind people of Jesus, that people will see Christ
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  Speaker 3: working in us and therefore call us Christians. Let's pray together.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, how we praise you for your goodness and
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  Speaker 3: your grace in taking the gospel to the whole world
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  Speaker 3: and including all of us who believe and trust in you.
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  Speaker 3: Help us, like those believers in Antioch, to remind people
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus, to be models of Christ in the world
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  Speaker 3: so that when people see our good works, they will
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  Speaker 3: glorify God and believe and follow Jesus himself. For it
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  Speaker 3: is in his name that we pray.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.