Latest / HBCWestminster / 5.26.24 Acts 11:19-30 Guest Speaker

Transcript

5.26.24 Acts 11:19-30 Guest Speaker · HBCWestminster

0:00
And friends, I want to ask you this morning,
0:02
do you have any idea how many Christian cross-cultural missionaries
0:08
are serving throughout the world today?
0:12
The total number of foreign missionaries sent from all the countries of the world
0:17
and all branches of Christendom is about 445,000.
0:25
How many of those missionaries, would you guess,
0:28
are serving among unreached people groups?
0:33
People groups in which evangelical Christians comprise less than 2% of the population.
0:42
Estimates are around 3.3% or only about 14,700 missionaries worldwide.
0:54
Now, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
0:58
about 2.3% of the population are serving among unreached people groups.
1:00
3.26 billion people are unreached.
1:06
They have no reliable access to the gospel message.
1:11
If anything, this statistic may be a little bit low
1:14
because the Joshua Project website considers 3.4 billion people unreached.
1:24
So the world's 14,700 cross-cultural missionaries
1:31
who are serving among the unreached,
1:32
are tasked with sharing the gospel
1:36
with 2 to 3 billion people who have never heard it.
1:42
That's one worker for roughly every 200,000 unreached people.
1:50
That would be the equivalent of assigning 15 people
1:55
to reach the entire population of the greater metro Denver area by themselves.
2:03
One connectome or less to share the gospel with the 3 million people
2:11
who live in this 10-county region.
2:15
That is equivalent to the challenge that missionaries
2:19
who serve among unreached peoples are facing today.
2:25
Now, I have read on the internet that 87% of statistics are made up on the spot,
2:32
but friends, I am pulling these statistics from the most credible sources that we have.
2:40
And even if the statistics are somewhat inaccurate,
2:44
I hope that we can agree that there is no way
2:49
that the world's current foreign-sent missionary force
2:53
can ever reach the 7,280 unreached people groups
2:59
and complete the Great Commission.
3:03
It's statistically impossible.
3:07
You might be thinking,
3:09
okay, I see where Alex is going with this.
3:12
He's going to shout that the global church needs to send out more workers,
3:17
more laborers into the harvest.
3:20
And yes, I do believe that, but here's the thing.
3:25
Although it may be a part of the solution,
3:29
it will only be a relatively small part.
3:34
I would predict that the number of foreign-sent missionaries
3:38
will decrease in the coming years for a variety of factors,
3:42
economic, political, demographic, cultural.
3:47
Yet even if we send out 10 times the number of foreign missionaries
3:52
in the next 30 years,
3:54
I think it would only make a small dent in the unfinished task,
4:00
which leads me to the following conclusion.
4:04
Foreign-sent cross-cultural missionaries
4:07
will never complete the Great Commission.
4:12
So where does this leave us, brothers and sisters?
4:16
Have statistical challenges killed the mission of God?
4:21
There was a little boy for service sitting right here
4:24
who screamed no at this point, and he's right.
4:27
No, not at all.
4:29
But I wonder if we need to change the way that we think.
4:36
Back in 1970,
4:37
more than 2,300 evangelical leaders from 150 countries
4:44
gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland,
4:46
to participate in the first international congress
4:50
on world evangelization.
4:53
From that congress emerged the Lausanne Covenant
4:56
with John Stott as its chief architect.
5:01
It's an excellent document.
5:02
I would recommend that you read it.
5:05
If you do,
5:06
you will read the following words from its sixth section.
5:12
We affirm that Christ sends his redeemed people
5:15
into the world as the Father sent him,
5:19
and that this calls for a similar deep
5:23
and costly penetration of the world.
5:28
We need to break out of our ecclesiastical ghettos
5:32
and permeate non-Christian society.
5:37
In the church's mission of sacrificial service,
5:41
evangelism is primary.
5:44
World evangelization requires the whole church
5:48
to take the whole gospel to the whole world.
5:53
And this morning, I want to focus on three words
5:56
of that quotation, the whole church.
6:02
Christ sends all of his redeemed people
6:06
into the world, not just the missionaries.
6:11
So although missionaries alone
6:13
will never complete the great commission,
6:16
God will.
6:18
And he will use the whole church to do it, all of us.
6:26
In order to substantiate this idea,
6:29
I want to take you this morning
6:31
to what I think is a highly overlooked passage
6:34
in the book of Acts.
6:37
As you know, the full title for the book is what?
6:41
The Acts of the Apostles.
6:44
And it is not hard to understand why.
6:48
The book is dominated primarily by Peter,
6:51
who is much of the focus from Acts chapters 1 through 11,
6:56
and then Paul, who is much of the focus from Acts 13 to 28.
7:02
And yet, tucked between these two halves of the book
7:05
is a curious and brief,
7:07
passage,
7:09
Acts 11, 19 through 30.
7:12
And in it, we will see what I am calling
7:17
the Acts of the Non-Apostles.
7:21
The surprising role of so-called ordinary believers.
7:28
We'll consider this passage in three scenes,
7:31
but before we do, let's pray again.
7:36
Father, we do praise you this morning.
7:40
You are the hope of our lives.
7:43
And we live in such an age of spin
7:47
and misinformation, disinformation.
7:52
And yet, we know that one thing is true,
7:55
and that is your word,
7:57
what you have revealed of yourself to us.
8:01
And on your word, we can take our stand
8:03
and we can build our lives.
8:08
We're so thankful, Lord,
8:10
that we have a truth that cuts through,
8:12
through the fog.
8:13
We know what is right and what is true
8:17
because you have told us so.
8:18
So I pray this morning that you would instruct us
8:22
and build us up by this holy word.
8:26
Help us to listen with eager hearts and open ears.
8:32
And as Sam prayed,
8:34
pray that the seed of your word would meet
8:37
a fertile soil of our hearts
8:39
and that we might produce
8:41
a crop of obedience a hundredfold.
8:44
God, work in us what is pleasing in your sight.
8:47
We ask this morning in Jesus' name.
8:51
Amen.
8:54
Okay, let's look at the first scene,
8:57
verses 19 through 21.
9:00
The birth of missions.
9:04
Now those who were scattered
9:06
because of the persecution that arose over Stephen
9:09
traveled as far as Phoenicia
9:11
and Cyprus and Antioch.
9:15
Speaking the word to no one except Jews.
9:18
But there were some of them,
9:20
men of Cyprus and Cyrene,
9:22
who on coming to Antioch
9:24
spoke to the Hellenists also,
9:28
preaching the Lord Jesus.
9:30
And the hand of the Lord was with them.
9:33
And a great number who believed
9:35
turned to the Lord.
9:38
In order to understand this passage,
9:41
let's first rewind the story a bit
9:44
to catch this.
9:45
The context.
9:46
You will remember that back,
9:48
all the way back in chapter one,
9:50
Jesus declared to his apostles,
9:54
you will receive power
9:55
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
9:58
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
10:03
and in all Judea and Samaria
10:06
and to the end of the earth.
10:09
It was primarily Peter, John,
10:12
and the other apostles
10:13
who were the leading witnesses,
10:15
in Jerusalem.
10:17
But who were the pioneers
10:20
who took the gospel to Judea
10:22
and Samaria?
10:25
Was it the apostles?
10:28
In Acts chapter seven,
10:29
Stephen, who is not an apostle,
10:32
bears witness before the high priest
10:34
and the Jewish council in Jerusalem,
10:36
you may remember.
10:38
And his speech so enrages them
10:40
that they stone him to death.
10:42
And then we read this.
10:46
And Saul approved of his,
10:48
that is Stephen's, execution.
10:50
And there arose on that day
10:52
a great persecution
10:54
against the church in Jerusalem.
10:56
And they were all scattered
10:58
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria,
11:02
except, who?
11:04
Except the apostles.
11:07
Now those who were scattered
11:09
went about preaching the word.
11:12
Philip went down to the city of Samaria
11:14
and said,
11:15
and proclaimed to them the Christ.
11:17
So, who was scattered
11:19
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria?
11:22
Who went about preaching the word
11:24
and proclaiming Christ?
11:26
Was it the apostles?
11:29
No.
11:31
It seems as if it was everyone
11:32
except the apostles.
11:35
As Pastor Danny asserted
11:37
so powerfully seven weeks ago,
11:39
it was ordinary everyday believers
11:43
who were doing the work of the apostles.
11:45
It was a pioneering work of evangelism,
11:48
gossiping the gospel
11:49
in new territories.
11:53
And then the text seems just one of them.
11:55
Philip, was he an apostle?
11:58
No.
12:00
Later in chapter eight,
12:01
we read about Philip
12:02
explaining the scriptures
12:03
to an Ethiopian eunuch
12:05
who is returning to his homeland
12:07
from Jerusalem.
12:10
I think it is implied
12:11
that after believing the good news
12:13
about Jesus
12:14
and being baptized,
12:16
if anyone first spread
12:18
the gospel to Ethiopia,
12:21
it wasn't an apostle,
12:23
but rather this brand new convert,
12:26
an ordinary believer.
12:29
Acts 8 then ends this way.
12:33
So, but Philip found himself at Azotus
12:36
and he passed,
12:38
as he passed through,
12:39
he preached the gospel
12:40
to all the towns
12:41
until he came,
12:44
to Caesarea.
12:46
So we see the good news
12:48
of Jesus Christ
12:49
is penetrating
12:49
a number of new towns.
12:52
And again,
12:53
it wasn't an apostle
12:55
doing the work.
12:57
It was a non-apostle.
13:00
Beginning in chapter nine,
13:02
we read that Saul,
13:03
or Paul,
13:04
is hunting for believers
13:05
in Damascus,
13:07
the first time this city
13:09
is mentioned in the book of Acts.
13:12
However, as you know,
13:13
Paul is confronted
13:14
by the Lord Jesus,
13:15
before he arrives at Damascus.
13:17
He's blinded.
13:19
He's taken into the city
13:20
and he's healed by God
13:22
through Ananias.
13:25
And then verse 19 mentions,
13:27
rather matter-of-factly,
13:29
that for some days he, Paul,
13:32
was with the disciples
13:34
at Damascus.
13:38
Have you ever asked yourself,
13:40
where did these disciples
13:42
in Damascus come from?
13:45
The text does not say,
13:47
but I think it is highly unlikely
13:49
that all the disciples in Damascus
13:51
were only transplants
13:53
from Jerusalem.
13:55
I think it is much more likely
13:57
that at least some of them
13:59
became believers in Damascus
14:02
when they heard the word
14:04
proclaimed there.
14:06
Yet at this time,
14:07
there were no apostles
14:08
in that city.
14:10
The 12 apostles were still
14:11
in Jerusalem.
14:14
So if anyone,
14:15
if any evangelistic work
14:16
was done in Damascus,
14:19
it was the ministry
14:20
of unnamed,
14:22
ordinary believers.
14:26
Here's a map
14:27
of the early movement
14:29
of the gospel narrated
14:30
in the book of Acts.
14:31
From Jerusalem to Judea
14:34
and Samaria,
14:37
to the road to Gaza,
14:38
to Ethiopia, to Azotus,
14:41
all the way to Caesarea,
14:43
and even as far north
14:45
as Damascus.
14:48
And who is driving
14:49
the spread of God's kingdom?
14:53
Not the apostles.
14:54
Not even once.
14:56
It was the work
14:58
of ordinary believers,
14:59
including Philip,
15:01
the non-apostle.
15:04
Now it is true that Peter
15:06
is the first one to preach
15:08
directly to non-Jews,
15:10
as we've heard about
15:11
the last two weeks.
15:14
Cornelius and his household
15:15
believed,
15:16
and received the Holy Spirit
15:18
without being circumcised.
15:21
Yet what is intriguing to me
15:23
is that after this incident,
15:25
the book of Acts
15:27
never mentions Peter
15:29
preaching to Gentiles again.
15:32
So it's as if
15:34
Peter's witness to Cornelius
15:36
establishes what you might call
15:38
a proof of concept,
15:40
or an important
15:41
historical precedent.
15:44
However,
15:45
Peter,
15:45
Peter's preaching
15:47
at that time and place
15:49
does not directly launch
15:51
a deliberate and systematic
15:53
mission to the Gentiles.
15:56
It doesn't.
15:58
At least not one mentioned
15:59
in Acts.
16:01
So with that context in mind,
16:04
let's return to Acts
16:05
11, verse 19.
16:08
Now those who were scattered
16:10
because of the persecution
16:11
that arose over Stephen,
16:13
traveled as far as
16:16
Phoenicia and Cyprus
16:18
and Antioch,
16:20
speaking the word
16:21
to no one except Jews.
16:24
We rightly concentrate
16:26
on this last phrase,
16:27
to no one except Jews.
16:29
But don't miss the fact
16:33
that unnamed ordinary believers
16:36
are pushing the geographic
16:38
boundaries of the kingdom again,
16:41
speaking the word
16:42
as far as Phoenicia,
16:43
and Cyprus,
16:45
and Antioch.
16:47
This is significant.
16:50
The gospel is crossing oceans
16:52
and moving into new provinces
16:54
through non-apostles.
16:58
Then we read in verse 20
17:01
that men of Cyprus
17:03
and Cyrene,
17:05
and Cyrene was a city
17:07
in what we would call today
17:08
Libya, North Africa.
17:11
Men of Cyprus
17:12
and Cyrene,
17:13
not men of Jerusalem,
17:16
came to Antioch
17:18
and spoke to the Hellenists also.
17:22
The contrast between
17:23
verse 20 and verse 19
17:24
makes it clear that these Hellenists
17:26
are non-Jews.
17:28
They're Gentiles.
17:30
But why does Luke use
17:32
the term Hellenists,
17:34
which basically means
17:36
Greek speakers,
17:37
a term that was applied
17:39
to Greek-speaking Jews
17:40
in chapter 6?
17:45
I think the reason is that
17:46
Luke is emphasizing
17:47
that the gospel is now
17:49
penetrating a new culture,
17:52
the Greek culture
17:53
that is represented
17:55
by the Greek language.
17:58
Antioch,
17:59
according to the Jewish historian
18:01
Josephus,
18:02
was the third largest city
18:04
in the Roman Empire,
18:06
behind Alexandria
18:07
and Rome itself.
18:10
It was a major center of trade
18:12
and was populated
18:14
by a number of different
18:16
ethnic groups,
18:17
including Jews, Greeks, Romans,
18:20
and even what they would call
18:21
Orientals from Persia, India,
18:25
and even China.
18:27
There's evidence there were
18:28
people from China
18:29
in ancient Antioch.
18:32
Antioch was an extremely
18:34
cosmopolitan city,
18:36
but all the people there
18:38
were connected by Greek,
18:41
the language of trade.
18:44
So Luke is claiming
18:46
that unnamed so-called
18:49
ordinary believers
18:50
were the first ones
18:53
to undertake a concerted
18:56
and sustained effort
18:57
to proclaim the Messiah
18:59
to the Gentiles,
19:01
who may or may not
19:03
have been connected
19:04
to a Jewish synagogue.
19:06
In that sense,
19:08
they are the first
19:10
cross-cultural missionaries
19:12
in history.
19:14
And one more time,
19:15
let me emphasize,
19:17
they are not apostles.
19:20
Yet verse 21 tells us
19:23
why they enjoyed
19:24
the ministry's success
19:26
that they did.
19:28
The hand of the Lord
19:29
was with them.
19:32
Therefore, by the mighty
19:34
power of God,
19:35
a great number who believed
19:37
turned to the Lord.
19:41
So here is another map.
19:44
Updating the movement
19:46
of the gospel
19:47
that is narrated
19:48
in Acts chapter 11.
19:51
And once again,
19:53
it was always
19:54
and only non-apostles,
19:58
ordinary men and women
19:59
filled with the extraordinary
20:01
spirit of God,
20:03
who are proclaiming Christ,
20:05
gossiping the gospel,
20:07
and pushing the boundaries
20:08
of God's kingdom.
20:13
Let's move to
20:14
the second scene,
20:15
verses 22 through 24,
20:18
which I would label
20:19
an apostolic thumbs up.
20:25
The report of this
20:26
came to the ears
20:27
of the church in Jerusalem.
20:29
And they sent Barnabas
20:31
to Antioch.
20:32
When he came and saw
20:34
the grace of God,
20:35
he was glad.
20:36
And he exhorted them all
20:37
to remain faithful to the Lord
20:39
with steadfast purpose.
20:41
For he was a good man,
20:43
full of the Holy Spirit
20:44
and of faith.
20:46
And a great man
20:47
and a great many people
20:48
were added to the Lord.
20:51
When the report of
20:52
what's happening in Antioch
20:54
reached Jerusalem,
20:56
that a great number of Gentiles
20:58
were coming to faith,
21:00
many of whom probably
21:01
weren't even God-fearers
21:02
who had no connection
21:03
to the Jewish synagogue,
21:05
the church in Jerusalem
21:07
naturally wanted to investigate
21:09
what is going on.
21:11
I think it likely
21:12
there was probably
21:13
a mixed reaction
21:15
to this report in Jerusalem.
21:18
Some were probably
21:19
excited by the news.
21:21
Some may have been skeptical.
21:24
Most were probably
21:25
very curious.
21:27
In the providence of God,
21:29
Barnabas may have been
21:30
the perfect representative
21:32
to send to Antioch
21:33
at this key turning point
21:35
in the history
21:36
of the early church.
21:39
We learn in chapter 4
21:40
that the name Barnabas
21:42
means what?
21:44
Yes, son of encouragement.
21:47
And true to his name,
21:48
verse 23 gives a textbook example
21:51
of encouragement in action.
21:54
Notice first
21:55
that Barnabas sees
21:58
the grace of God.
22:00
Seeing the grace of God
22:02
in what were probably chaotic
22:04
and messy circumstances
22:06
requires eyes of faith.
22:10
This is the first step,
22:14
first necessary step
22:15
leading to gospel encouragement.
22:19
Then seeing the grace of God
22:21
makes Barnabas glad.
22:24
If you have the discernment
22:26
to see evidence
22:27
of the grace of God
22:28
but you do not rejoice in it,
22:30
then you are not going to encourage
22:32
other people.
22:35
The third and final step
22:37
is the actual words
22:38
or exhortation
22:40
that should be the overflow
22:42
of joy in the grace of God.
22:46
So as a quick word of application,
22:49
ask yourself,
22:51
do I excel in a ministry
22:53
of encouragement
22:54
as Barnabas did?
22:57
Do I have eyes
22:58
to look for the grace of God
23:02
in every situation?
23:04
When I see God at work
23:06
in other believers,
23:08
does that threaten me
23:09
or thrill me?
23:12
Does that make me jealous
23:14
or joyful?
23:17
And then do I
23:18
actually take the step
23:19
of saying something
23:20
to encourage another person
23:23
when I see God's grace?
23:26
How often do we say,
23:28
hey brother,
23:29
hey sister,
23:30
I see God at work in your life,
23:33
thereby giving glory to God
23:36
for what he is doing?
23:39
Almost every church,
23:40
especially in the day and age we live,
23:42
could probably benefit
23:44
from its people
23:45
offering each other
23:46
more encouragement
23:48
and less criticism.
23:53
The first half of verse 24
23:55
then is a curious addition.
23:58
It tells us that the reason
24:00
that Barnabas exhorted them
24:03
was that he was a good man,
24:05
full of the Holy Spirit
24:06
and of faith.
24:08
Why does Luke add this detail?
24:12
The way that I interpret it
24:14
is that if Barnabas
24:15
was not a good man
24:17
or if he was not speaking
24:19
from the fullness of his heart,
24:20
from the fullness of the Holy Spirit
24:21
or from faith,
24:23
then he might have been critical
24:25
in what he said
24:26
to the believers there.
24:28
And this probably
24:30
would have been very easy to do.
24:32
I am sure
24:33
that Barnabas
24:35
could have found things
24:36
in Antioch to criticize
24:38
if he had wanted to.
24:41
After all,
24:42
pioneering missions work
24:44
is a sloppy business.
24:46
Trust me.
24:48
Mistakes are made.
24:50
And new believers
24:51
coming out of a pagan background
24:53
would have provided
24:54
a lot of material
24:55
to critique.
24:58
Yet Barnabas still chose
25:00
to focus on the positive.
25:04
And I believe that
25:05
that should be
25:06
our primary posture to today.
25:10
We should not be blind
25:12
to the faults and deficiencies
25:15
of other believers.
25:16
But our default reaction
25:20
should be to rejoice
25:21
and encourage each other
25:23
whenever we see
25:24
the grace of God at work.
25:29
The second half of verse 24
25:32
tells us the result
25:34
of Barnabas' encouragement.
25:37
A great many people
25:39
were added to the Lord.
25:40
His encouragement was like
25:42
gasoline to the fire
25:44
of the Spirit's work.
25:46
It made it grow even bigger.
25:49
Yet when verse 23
25:51
tells us
25:52
that Barnabas exhorted them
25:55
to remain faithful to the Lord
25:57
with steadfast purpose,
25:59
this suggests to me
26:00
that his basic message to them was
26:03
keep doing what you're doing.
26:06
In other words,
26:07
he was encouraging them
26:09
to continue their work
26:10
of reaching out to the Gentiles
26:12
with the gospel.
26:15
So even when Barnabas
26:17
arrived on the scene,
26:19
it was the ordinary believers.
26:22
Who continued to proclaim Christ.
26:27
Finally, the third scene
26:30
in this passage,
26:31
verses 25 through 26,
26:33
which could be called
26:34
Paul the non-pioneer.
26:40
So Barnabas went to Tarsus
26:42
to look for Saul.
26:43
And when he found him,
26:44
he brought him to Antioch.
26:46
For a whole year,
26:48
they met with the church
26:49
and taught a great many people.
26:51
And in Antioch,
26:52
the disciples were first
26:54
called Christians.
26:57
I have only three brief comments
26:59
to make on these two verses.
27:02
First, notice that
27:04
even though Barnabas approved
27:06
of what the believers
27:07
were doing in Antioch,
27:09
he still searched for Paul
27:11
and brought him to Antioch.
27:14
This suggests that Barnabas
27:15
recognized that the church,
27:17
which was growing quickly,
27:19
could benefit from Paul's teaching
27:21
to strengthen, deepen,
27:23
and solidify the new faith
27:25
of that church in Antioch.
27:30
Second, the text does not mention
27:34
that Paul engaged in speaking the word
27:36
to the Gentiles in Antioch.
27:40
It only tells us about
27:42
his teaching ministry among believers.
27:46
At the least, this suggests that
27:48
Paul did not take over the evangelism,
27:52
the evangelical,
27:53
ministry of the church
27:55
or replace
27:56
the work of ordinary believers
27:59
it wasn't as if he arrived and said
28:01
good job let me take it from here
28:04
rather it seems
28:05
as if those ordinary
28:07
believers continued their
28:09
evangelistic work under the
28:11
instruction and encouragement
28:13
of Paul
28:14
and Barnabas
28:16
third consider the last sentence
28:20
of this passage
28:23
commentators are quick to point
28:24
out that the term Christians
28:26
was not
28:28
a self designation
28:30
it was not what believers called
28:32
themselves
28:34
but rather was a
28:36
sarcastic nickname given
28:38
to them by those outside
28:40
the church
28:41
it may have meant something like Jesus freaks
28:45
in today's
28:46
language
28:48
one thing I find significant
28:50
is that this term of derision
28:53
and that's what it was
28:54
a term of derision
28:55
it was applied to all the believers
28:58
all the disciples
29:01
not just
29:03
specifically Paul and Barnabas
29:06
why would
29:07
the citizens of Antioch
29:08
call all the disciples
29:10
Christians
29:13
well probably
29:15
because all the disciples were
29:16
proclaiming Christ
29:18
publicly and vocally
29:20
associating themselves
29:22
with Christ
29:23
this again suggests that all
29:26
believers whether apostles or not
29:28
viewed it as their
29:30
responsibility
29:31
to talk to unbelievers
29:34
about Jesus
29:37
verses
29:38
27 through 30
29:40
then narrate a fourth scene
29:42
that has been called
29:44
the famine relief visit that Barnabas
29:46
and Paul make to the
29:48
Jerusalem church
29:51
once again this was not a cross
29:53
cultural missions trip
29:55
but rather an effort at
29:57
building solidarity between the
29:59
Judean church and the church
30:01
in the diaspora between
30:02
Jews and the newly
30:04
believing Gentiles
30:06
I believe that the result
30:09
of this visit is narrated
30:11
in Galatians chapter 2
30:13
which you can look up later
30:15
if you want to
30:18
now some of you
30:19
may be thinking
30:19
well
30:20
okay
30:21
I can see that
30:23
non-apostles did most
30:26
of the early pioneering work
30:27
but
30:28
after Paul
30:31
started taking missionary journeys
30:33
in Acts chapter 13
30:35
Paul did virtually
30:37
all of the pioneering
30:39
cross-cultural missions
30:41
for the early church
30:42
and actually that is not
30:45
true either
30:48
in Acts chapter 13
30:50
Paul preaches in Antioch of Pisidia
30:53
a different Antioch
30:55
than as mentioned in chapter 11
30:56
and when Jews there
30:58
become jealous
30:59
and begin to contradict Paul
31:02
he declares in a pivotal moment
31:05
that he is turning to the Gentiles
31:07
then we read this
31:09
and when the Gentiles
31:11
heard this
31:12
they began rejoicing and glorifying
31:15
the word of the Lord
31:16
and as many as were appointed
31:18
to eternal life
31:20
believed in the word of the Lord
31:20
and the word of the Lord
31:23
was spreading
31:24
throughout the whole region
31:26
and the disciples
31:28
were filled with joy
31:29
and with the Holy Spirit
31:32
now wait a minute
31:34
verse 49 tells us
31:37
that the word of the Lord
31:38
was spreading
31:38
throughout the whole region
31:42
how was that happening?
31:45
it wasn't Paul
31:46
it couldn't be
31:48
he was still in Antioch of Pisidia
31:51
so how is the word
31:53
spreading throughout the whole region?
31:57
it must have been
31:59
by the mouths of unnamed
32:01
ordinary believers
32:03
filled with the Holy Spirit
32:05
and with joy
32:07
right?
32:08
they are the ones
32:10
through whom the word
32:11
is radiating outward
32:13
from Antioch of Pisidia
32:17
furthermore let me just make
32:19
one more observation
32:21
about the last third of the book of Acts.
32:26
I would argue that from Acts 19.21 onward,
32:30
when Paul resolves in the spirit to go to Rome,
32:35
the final nine chapters of the book of Acts
32:38
are filled with dramatic tension
32:40
as to whether Paul will make it to Rome or not.
32:46
He faces opposition, imprisonments, plots on his life,
32:50
a shipwreck, and a snake bite,
32:53
and even believers are urging him not to go there.
32:57
But God stands by him and assures him,
33:00
you must testify also in Rome.
33:06
So what happens?
33:08
After years of travel,
33:10
when Paul finally reaches the imperial capital
33:14
of the ancient world at the climax of the book of Acts,
33:19
let's read about it, Acts,
33:22
putting in at Syracuse,
33:24
we stayed there for three days,
33:26
and from there we made a circuit and arrived at Regium.
33:30
And after one day a south wind sprang up,
33:34
and on the second day we came to Puteoli.
33:36
And Puteoli was a port city
33:39
about 150 miles down the coast from Rome.
33:44
There in Puteoli, we found brothers,
33:48
and were invited to stay with them for seven days.
33:52
And so we came to Rome.
33:55
And the brothers and sisters there,
33:58
when they heard about us,
33:59
came as far as the forum of Appius
34:02
and three taverns to meet us.
34:04
On seeing them,
34:06
Paul thanked God and took courage.
34:10
Do you see?
34:13
Even though Paul is reaching Rome for the first time,
34:17
the gospel beat him there years ago.
34:21
Even though the word of the Lord has been spreading,
34:25
not through apostles, not through only apostles,
34:29
but through ordinary believers,
34:33
penetrating the very heart of the Roman Empire
34:37
by their bold witness.
34:41
And when Paul sees the warm welcome he is receiving,
34:44
he thanks God and takes courage.
34:48
I think because he knows
34:51
that the hand of the Lord is with him
34:53
just as it is with those
34:56
who have already been preaching in Rome.
35:01
Jesus' promise in chapter 1
35:03
that his witnesses will reach the ends of the earth
35:06
is being fulfilled,
35:09
and it has been the whole church that has done it.
35:17
So looping back to our text for this morning,
35:19
Acts 11, 19 through 30.
35:23
Let me ask you,
35:24
why would Luke include this curious episode
35:29
in the middle of his book?
35:31
Why would he even choose to narrate this story?
35:38
Well, in the American evangelical church,
35:41
I wonder if we have overdrawn
35:44
the distinction between goers and senders
35:50
in the church's mission.
35:51
You've heard of this distinction, right?
35:53
Some are called to go,
35:55
and the rest are called to send them.
36:00
Now there is, of course,
36:02
biblical warrant for this kind of language.
36:04
In the book of 3 John, we read this,
36:08
Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do
36:10
in all your efforts for these brothers,
36:12
strangers as they are,
36:13
who testified to your love before the church.
36:18
You will do well
36:19
to send them on their journey
36:21
in a manner worthy of God.
36:24
For they have gone out for the sake of the name,
36:27
accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
36:31
Therefore, we ought to support people like these
36:34
that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
36:39
Betsy and I are certainly very thankful
36:42
that Highland Church,
36:45
that this church supports our ministry in Indonesia.
36:50
And we feel that you have done so
36:52
in a manner worthy of God.
36:56
However, remember that throughout the book of Acts,
37:00
it was not the apostles
37:03
who were doing the majority of the pioneering work.
37:08
Neither was it those who were deliberately
37:10
sent out by local churches
37:12
for the sake of the name,
37:14
such as Paul's coal workers.
37:17
Rather, the gospel,
37:19
which was traditionally advanced
37:20
because ordinary believers
37:22
were telling the people around them about Jesus.
37:27
They were speaking the word with boldness.
37:31
They were gossiping the gospel.
37:35
And that is exactly what we are seeing
37:38
happening in Indonesia today.
37:41
The bulk of missions is not being done
37:44
by the foreign missionaries.
37:47
I think we have a crucial role to play,
37:51
but we are mostly encouraging,
37:54
training, supporting, funding,
37:56
and connecting indigenous Indonesian church planters.
38:01
And truth be told,
38:03
though I consider these Indonesian church planters
38:06
to be real heroes of the faith,
38:08
it is not primarily these church planters either
38:12
who are doing most of the front work.
38:16
It is not.
38:21
Rather, it is an unnamed
38:24
but vast army of business people,
38:28
students, housewives,
38:31
farmers, fishermen,
38:33
ordinary believers
38:35
filled by the extraordinary spirit of God
38:38
who are telling family, friends, co-workers,
38:42
and strangers around them about Jesus.
38:44
It is these
38:45
who are most often
38:47
pushing the gospel into new territories
38:50
and advancing the kingdom.
38:54
And isn't that just like our God?
38:58
Brothers and sisters,
39:00
to use the foolish,
39:02
the weak, the low,
39:04
and the overlooked
39:05
in the world's eyes
39:08
to accomplish His purposes
39:11
so that no one may boast.
39:14
If the 194,000 people
39:17
or million unreached in Indonesia
39:20
are ever going to hear the gospel,
39:23
it will not primarily be because of
39:27
a handful of foreign missionaries.
39:29
It will rather be because
39:31
the hand of the Lord
39:36
will be with ordinary Indonesian believers
39:40
who proclaim the Lord Jesus.
39:43
Yes, as a missionary I have a role to play,
39:47
but I believe that what is required
39:50
is for the whole church
39:52
to take the whole gospel
39:54
to the whole of Indonesia
39:57
and to the whole world.
39:59
Amen?
40:01
Brothers and sisters, in Denver,
40:04
like in ancient Antioch,
40:07
the nations are gathering.
40:09
They are coming here.
40:12
Highland has a part to play
40:14
in their evangelization,
40:17
not only in praying
40:19
and supporting workers to reach them,
40:22
but in speaking to them ourselves.
40:26
If the gospel is going to advance
40:28
in this region
40:30
and among the nations,
40:32
I believe that it is not going to be
40:34
primarily through
40:35
vocational Christian workers.
40:38
It won't be primarily
40:40
the ministry of the pastors
40:43
or the staff of this church.
40:47
It will be all of us,
40:49
the whole church,
40:52
working together,
40:54
speaking boldly.
40:57
Yes, you may feel intimidated
40:59
in sharing the gospel
41:00
with those around you.
41:03
But friends, can we just talk to people
41:06
about Jesus?
41:08
Can we bear witness
41:10
to what he has done
41:12
in our own lives?
41:14
And do we not have
41:16
the same spirit
41:18
that dwelled in Peter and Paul?
41:24
Do we not have the same message
41:27
of salvation that they did?
41:31
We do.
41:32
And I want to leave you with a line
41:34
that summarizes the thrust
41:35
of my message this morning.
41:40
The goers are not enough.
41:42
By that I mean
41:44
the foreign-sent missionaries
41:45
cannot complete the task
41:48
by themselves.
41:51
The goers are not enough.
41:54
So the senders
41:57
must also become
41:59
speakers.
42:01
Let's pray.
42:07
Father, we praise you this morning.
42:09
You have done great things
42:12
for us.
42:13
And how evident
42:17
your grace is
42:18
in this church.
42:20
What you are doing here.
42:22
What you are doing in our lives.
42:26
And I pray, Lord,
42:27
that we would make that grace
42:29
known to those around us.
42:31
That we would be witnesses.
42:34
That we would offer testimony
42:37
to what you have done for us.
42:40
Please make us willing.
42:42
And please make us bold.
42:45
God, to share the truth
42:47
of your word.
42:47
It's the only hope
42:49
that people have.
42:51
And Lord, if this area,
42:54
if Westminster,
42:54
and Denver and beyond,
42:56
is going to hear the gospel,
42:58
it's not going to be
42:59
from Pastor Danny.
43:00
It's not going to be
43:01
from missionaries.
43:04
It's going to be
43:05
all my brothers and sisters
43:06
who are sitting here.
43:09
Gossiping the gospel.
43:10
Telling others about Jesus.
43:11
And I pray that you would
43:13
equip and strengthen us
43:15
for the task.
43:16
For your great name's sake.
43:19
Amen.