WEBVTT 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:09.359 For those of you that may not know me, my name is Jesse, and I preach. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:15.679 So take your Bible, if you would please, and turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter number 11. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.640 Acts, chapter number 11, this morning. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:26.960 My heart has been ministered to by the music, and there are certain times, as a pastor, you know you cannot add to anything that has been sung. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.679 I am mindful of the fact that our Bible closes with those words. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:33.759 Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:36.000 Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:38.399 And I say, Lord, let it be today. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:39.759 Let it be today. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.320 It would not bother me one bit to wake up in heaven tomorrow. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.600 I don't think I've got any problem that the Lord's return would not solve. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:55.840 It would not hurt my feelings a bit that the next time we worship together, we worship together in glory. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:57.520 Praise the Lord. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:00:59.119 Praise the Lord. 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:01.920 Acts chapter 11 and verse number 19. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:06.400 We're going to consider the rest of the chapter here in the book of Acts today. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:19.040 And as we study this passage today, we are going to be blessed to be in the delivery room as a brand new baby word is born. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:27.680 Now I'm fascinated by words, by linguistics, by their etymology, their history, by their uses. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:37.519 Why is it that for those of us that are Appalachian Americans, we know exactly where over yonder is? 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.120 I've been over yonder and I may go over yonder later. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:47.760 And you hear that word yonder and you think, ah, well, that's just the way those mountain folk, those hillbillies speak. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:53.359 The truth is that yonder is proper old English. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:57.040 It's good English to say, I need to run over yonder. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:08.400 I'm fascinated by that because as English speakers, we have uh a vocabulary, or at least in our language, we have at our disposal about a million different words. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:21.680 Most of us have a vocabulary of around 30,000 different words that we use that would be different for all of us depending on uh where we were raised and depending on our education and our job and those sorts of things. 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:26.639 Some of our vocabulary is specialized and technical based upon what we do with our lives. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:32.479 But truthfully, if you want to just get through as an English speaker, you only need to master about 3,000 words. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.800 Fairly small vocabulary. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:44.240 They say on average that the grown, the average grown English-speaking man uses 10,000 words a day. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:53.919 The average grown English-speaking woman uses 20,000 words a day. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:57.759 And there's a joke in that, and I'm just going to keep rolling right on past it. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:07.840 But one of the phenomena of the English language, which is true for every language, is that words come and words go. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:13.039 For instance, your great-great-grandparents had no idea what a microwave was. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:15.599 That word would have been meaningless to them. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:22.960 But eventually, because of that technology and invention, that word came to be a common English word. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.199 And that happens even now. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:37.120 Up to the present day, there are words that are used that then become officially recognized by the good people at Merriam-Webster and other dictionary companies. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:43.520 So, for instance, the following sentence I'm about to speak is actually English. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:54.719 Yesterday, I needed to clean up my floor drobe, but instead of doing that, I spent all day bedrotting and cozy maxing, watching Tradwives Aura Farm on TikTok. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:01.919 Now, if you understood that, what I want you to do after church today is go outside and touch some grass. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:03.360 It would be good for you. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:13.520 The word that is going to emerge in our text today, you can see in Acts chapter 11 and verse number 26, is the English word Christians. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.079 The Greek word Christianus. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:17.439 Christians. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:33.199 And as this word Christian that we use all the time, that we think perhaps very little of, we assume we know what it means, as we see it born into the world here in Acts chapter 11, this is a good place for us to stop and ask, what is a Christian? 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:35.120 What is a Christian? 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:47.600 If you were to ask my mama, who lives in an assisted living center in Caldwell County, what is a Christian, she would give you an answer, what she believes a Christian is. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:56.160 If you asked a Muslim on the streets of Saudi Arabia what a Christian is, they would give you an answer. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:59.360 But it would be very, very different. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:10.879 If you were to ask people, the beginning of the Christian movement during the first century who were not Christians on the outside looking in, what is a Christian, they would give you an answer. 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:13.759 They would say, and they have recorded this. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:17.199 Those Christians, they're cannibals. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:22.879 They go to their worship services and they eat the body and blood of somebody named Jesus. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:30.399 They said that the early Christians were atheists because they did not believe or worship the gods of the Roman Empire. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:34.560 They said that the early Christians were incestuous. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:37.839 They talk about how much they love their brothers and sisters. 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:43.120 They had an idea of what a Christian was, and they were terribly wrong, just so there's no confusion. 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:47.920 We're not cannibals, we're not atheists, and we are not incestuous. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.399 I'm against all of those things, just so you're clear. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:52.079 What is a Christian? 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:59.120 If you ask most people in Henderson County, North Carolina, the neighboring places, they would have an idea of what a Christian is. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.040 And for many, a Christian is just anybody who's not other. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:07.120 Like if you're born in Western North Carolina, it's kind of by default. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:08.160 You're born to a Christian. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:13.680 Chinese parents have Chinese kids, skinny parents have skinny kids, and people in Henderson County, they have Christian kids. 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:15.519 That's what we are. 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:21.759 Christian is somebody who is just kind of raised up in what is a Christian culture. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:34.800 But this morning, what I would like for us to do is I would like for us to read this passage, strip away all of our judgments, all of our opinions, all of the cultural ways we may define a Christian. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:43.199 Read this text, see how it is this word came into being, what it means, why it was used, and ask ourselves, if these people were Christians, what are we? 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.480 If they are Christians, what are we? 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:47.519 Let's read this together. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:48.959 Acts 11, 19. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:07:01.360 The Word of God says, Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:09.519 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:15.519 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:22.480 The news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:31.199 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. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:37.759 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.519 Then Barnabas departed from Tarsus to seek Saul. 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.560 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:49.439 So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.680 And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.199 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:08.480 Then one of them, named Agabus, 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. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:14.959 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:19.759 This they also did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.319 The grass withers and the flowers fade. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:27.120 But the word of the Lord abideth forever. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:41.440 As you come into this sort of middle section of the book of Acts, you are encountering a time in the history of the church when the church is growing beyond its Jewish roots. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:53.840 Christianity began as a very Jewish movement led by very Jewish leaders with very Jewish followers in a very Jewish place, relying on Jewish scriptures, and it's all very Jewish. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:05.919 But beginning in Acts chapter number 10, we start to see how this Jewish movement is uprooted from its Jewish soil and replanted among non-Jewish people. 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:14.879 Acts chapter 10 records for us the Christian conversion of the first non-Jew, a Roman army officer by the name of Cornelius. 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:22.879 And through the remainder of the book of Acts, trickling down to where we are today, Christianity takes a very Gentile flavor. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:24.879 It has a very Gentile accent. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:30.720 And I'm very thankful for that because you probably didn't notice, but I have a certain Gentile accent. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:40.080 And the only way that the gospel would ever be preached in this hillbilly accent is for the gospel to begin to take on a Gentile flavor. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:48.080 But as that happens in the book of Acts, it's not going to be the first church in Jerusalem that is the epicenter of this new growth. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:52.879 It's actually going to be this church that begins here in Acts chapter 11, the Church of Antioch. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:59.600 The Church of Antioch is going to be the church that sends out the first true Christian missionaries in Acts chapter 13. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:04.000 The Church of Antioch becomes sort of the home church of the Apostle Paul. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:10.320 It becomes the sending church in the book of Acts, which we'll look at as we go. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:16.559 How did the gospel, the message of Jesus, get from Jerusalem to Antioch? 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:31.759 Well, the scriptures tell us there in verse number 19 that it dates back to persecution that arose over the death of the first Christian martyr by the name of Stephen, which is recorded in Acts chapter 7 in verse number 8. 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:46.320 And as Stephen is murdered, and as the enemies of the Christian church begin to feel emboldened, and as they become more bloodthirsty against these first Christians, some of those Jewish Christians ran for their lives. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:51.440 We may think that's not very courageous, it's not very bold, there's not a lot of faith in it. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:54.000 But hey, sometimes you just got to live to preach again another day. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:56.000 Discretion is the better part of valor. 00:10:56.399 --> 00:10:57.440 And so they run. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:04.399 But as they run seeking safety, the Bible says they take the message of salvation with them. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:13.840 So that when the Bible says that they are scattered, in verse number 19, that word scattered is the word for dispersed. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:24.559 It's not merely that they're running for safety, but it is that God, like a farmer sowing seed, is sowing them to the four winds, and they take the message of the gospel with them. 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:30.240 The Bible says that they take the message as far as Phoenicia, a hundred miles away from Jerusalem. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:40.159 They take the message to Cyprus, an island some 250 miles away from Jerusalem, and they end up in Antioch, 300 miles away from Jerusalem. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:46.480 That is as far from Jerusalem as Cincinnati, Ohio is from Hendersonville, North Carolina. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.679 They are taking the gospel with them a long way. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:12:00.320 And what seems to be a satanic triumph in the death of Stephen becomes a gospel victory as the hand of the Lord takes the message further than anybody would have imagined. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:07.919 Initially, the Bible says that those very Jewish believers take the gospel and they only preach to Jews in verse number 19. 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:14.960 But some of them, whose names have been lost to history, some anonymous brothers, just put it together. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:17.679 Well, this gospel is for everybody. 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.960 And so we should preach to everybody that Jesus is Lord. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:24.799 And so they come to Antioch preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:31.679 And it's in Antioch we're told that these people who believe in the Lord are first called Christians. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:36.240 People in Antioch in the day, they knew what a Jew was. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.279 They knew what a Roman citizen was. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.279 They knew what a Greek was. 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:45.440 Antioch and Syria, they knew what a Syrian was, they knew what an Antiochan was. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:47.200 They knew what a rich person was. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.639 They knew what a poor person was. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:50.080 They knew what a slave was. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:59.519 They knew all of these different groups of people had labels for wealthy, had labels for people in poverty, had labels for healthy and sick, important and unnecessary. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:00.559 They knew all of that. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:02.559 But now they're going to the market. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:09.279 And as they buy up their groceries, they're hearing all these people talking about somebody called the Christ. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.000 As they go to work. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.440 They're hearing about these people that worship the Christ. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.559 They're being told about this Christ. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.799 Who are these new people? 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.159 What do we call them? 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:23.759 How do we categorize them? 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.919 And they lump them together under that Greek word Christianus. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:28.960 Christians. 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:31.279 They are Christ people. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:36.879 What I want to do today is I want to talk about these Christ people, asking that question. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.519 If they are Christians, what are we? 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:40.639 What are we? 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:42.000 So let's talk about this word. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:43.360 Christianus. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.120 What is a Christian? 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:51.759 Well, first, when we think about that word Christianus, the word Christian, you need to know first that the word is derivative. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:53.440 It is a derivative word. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:14:00.559 What I mean is that if you take the word Christ out of the word Christian, you have nothing. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:02.320 You have nothing. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:05.120 The word is derivative of the word Christ. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:14.000 Just as our English word car, we've got a parking lot full of them, the English word car is derivative from the earlier English word carriage. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:15.039 Same way. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.799 The word Christ lends itself to the word Christian. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:22.879 People are talking about a Christ, they're worshiping a Christ just like we've done today. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:25.120 They're singing to a Christ. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.440 What in the world is going on in Antioch? 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:28.960 Who are these people? 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:38.320 The word Christian is derivative from the word Christ because the understanding is that if you take Christ away from these people, they have nothing. 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:44.720 They sing about this Christ, they worship this Christ, they pray to this Christ, they're telling us about this Christ. 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:51.919 They believe that this Christ is their righteousness, this Christ is their future, this Christ is their hope, this Christ is their peace. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:54.879 If you take Christ away from them, they're nothing. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.000 To which the Christians would say, that's right. 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:00.399 You take Christ from us, there is nothing. 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:05.840 He is our hope, he is our joy, he is our peace, he is our future, he is everything to us. 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:07.759 We are Christians. 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.159 But that means we have to answer the question. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:11.840 Well, what in the world is a Christ? 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:13.200 What is a Christ? 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:14.399 They're talking about Christ. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:15.440 What is Christ? 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.519 Now, I want you to be clear on this. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:19.759 So I want to belabor this point for just a moment. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:24.080 I do not want you to think that Christ is a name. 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:25.679 It is not a name. 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:31.519 It is not as if you have Mary Christ and Joseph Christ and then outside of Bethlehem they had little Jesus Christ. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.360 That's not what happened. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:38.799 The name Christ or the Greek Christos is a title, not a name. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.240 Very much like my name is Jesse. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:46.480 Most of you call me or may refer to me as Pastor Jesse. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.399 My name is not Pastor Jesse. 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:53.919 That's my name and my title, and they just kind of come together and it's just sort of me, right? 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:55.759 Same way with Jesus Christ. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:57.200 Jesus was his name. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:15:58.799 Christ is his title. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:00.159 But what is Christ? 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:02.480 Why was this title given to him? 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:11.519 The word Christ relies very heavily on the Hebrew word for an understanding of a Messiah. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:18.399 And that literally means, and the word Christos means an anointed one or a chosen one. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:39.360 And that's because in Jewish history there could be three occasions, maybe more, but three specific occasions, when a person would be set aside, they would undergo an anointing ceremony where somebody would place olive oil on their forehead, set them aside for a specific office or task. 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:43.440 First would be when they were chosen to be the king of Israel. 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.799 You can read about this happening a number of times in the Old Testament. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:48.480 They would be anointed. 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.360 They would be chosen as king. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:56.639 It happened when they were set aside for the prophetic ministry to declare directly the word of the Lord. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:58.799 They would be anointed as a prophet. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:09.759 And it also happened when a priest was set aside for his priestly ministry, anointed as a priest, chosen to represent the people of God in the presence of God. 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:18.079 Now these early Christians are coming along saying, We know the one who is our prophet, our priest and our king. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:30.480 We know the one who has been chosen by God as the king of Israel, the son of David, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the King who will return to establish his kingdom for all people. 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:32.000 He is our King. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:39.039 They would say He is our prophet, not merely sent by God to be a messenger from heaven, but He is the very message on the heart of heaven. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:42.960 He is the one who comes to declare to us the truth about who God is. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:53.519 And they would say he is also our priest who takes us into and represents us in the presence of God, who is also set apart as the one sacrifice for our sins. 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:55.920 Jesus is the Christ. 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.759 He is Christ. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:03.440 And they tie that to what is a very Greek concept when they say Jesus is Lord. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:09.920 Now the Greeks may not have understood everything about the Jewish Messiah, but they would have understood the concept of Lordship. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.599 That is a title of divinity. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.279 Their gods were called lords, but it's also a title of authority. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:17.440 A Lord is the one who is in charge. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:19.440 A Lord is the one who rules. 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:20.720 He is the master. 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:32.160 And they are saying that we have believed, the Christians were preaching, we have believed in the one who is God of very God, and we have believed in the one who is Lord over all men. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:49.599 We have believed in the one who has stepped into all of the prophecies that predicted him, who fulfilled all the laws that came before him, who was sacrificed for the sins of the world, who rose again and who reigns as Lord of Lords, and you must believe in Jesus the Christ. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:57.519 And for everything that may or may not be considered Christian. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.680 I want to say to you today, if that's a Christian, I sure want to be one. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:22.640 Because today, as a Christian, I still believe that Jesus is everything the Bible says he is, that he did everything the Bible said he did, that he stepped into the story of Israel to redeem the world, that he died for sinners, that he rose again, and that he sits now on the right hand of God, ruling and reigning as King of kings and Lord of Lords. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:24.880 These people believed. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:27.519 It says they believed in the Lord. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:34.240 In fact, the response from the Antiochans who became Christians is represented with three phrases. 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:40.960 They believed, they turned to the Lord, and they were added to the Lord. 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:43.359 Now I wish I had time to talk about all of those things. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.640 They're all vital to understand how we respond to Jesus. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:48.400 But I want to key in on the last one. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:59.279 Before we get there, first they believe, not merely intellectually, not merely the claims of the Bible, but they believe personally, trusted personally in Jesus for themselves. 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:01.680 Second, they turned to the Lord. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:03.680 That's another way to say they repented. 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:10.640 They turned from their idolatry, they turned from their sin, they turned even from their good works, and they turned to Jesus. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.599 But the Bible says this: it says they were added to the Lord. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:25.519 I read that and I recognize that in Christian conversion, in an essence, there's something that is active, repentance and faith, and then there's something that's passive. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:27.200 Now, don't get me wrong today. 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:28.880 Hear me clearly. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:33.920 Repentance is not a good thing that you do to get God to save you. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:36.319 It is a gift that God gives you. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.359 The goodness of God, Romans 2, 4, leads us to repentance. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:43.200 Faith in Jesus is not a good work that you do to get Jesus to save you. 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:46.000 Faith is merely trusting Jesus to do all the work for you. 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:49.920 It is a gift of God according to Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:55.920 And yet, while it is a gift from God and a work of the Holy Spirit in us, we must believe for ourselves. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:57.119 We must repent. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.559 You are commanded by God to do those things. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:05.680 And yet, the Bible says that these people were added to the Lord. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:10.319 Something occurred in them and to them that they could not do for themselves. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.759 Something happened that was deeper than their decider. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.200 Something happened that was deeper than their thinker. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:19.680 Something happened that was deeper than their feeling. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:24.319 And they were supernaturally added to the Lord Jesus. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.640 Friends, they were united to Christ. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:29.759 They became one in Him and one with Him. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:32.799 Have you ever been added to Jesus? 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.480 See, I could ask you today if you ever believed in Jesus, and it's Hendersonville, man. 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:38.000 Everybody believes in Jesus. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:39.920 I could ask you, have you ever been saved? 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.039 I could ask you if you are a Christian, and most everybody would say, Yeah, of course I'm a Christian. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:46.880 Everybody in Hendersonville has a third cousin somewhere that's a preacher, right? 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:48.880 So that when it's true. 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:53.839 So that when they get married or when they need to be buried, they can call this guy up and say, hey, brother, we need you. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:55.519 Is that right? 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.279 Everybody in Hendersonville has a church. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.079 Many of them that they don't go to. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:05.759 They hadn't been in 20 years, but you ask them, well, where do you go to church? 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:07.359 They say well, I'll go over there to No Hope Baptist Church. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:09.200 You know, preacher so-and-so is my cousin, third cousin. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:10.480 He's a preacher of that, right? 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:15.759 Hadn't set foot in that place in the Carter administration, but that's their church. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:18.799 That's the way we think in this part of the area. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.559 We're all Christians, of course. 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.319 So I'm not going to ask you if you're a Christian. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:25.920 I'm going to ask you, have you ever been added to the Lord? 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:34.319 Have you ever had your sin added to his righteousness so that all of your sin was forgiven and removed as far as the east is from the west? 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:44.559 Have you ever had your past, as dark as it was, added to his future, so that your future became glory in heaven and joy evermore? 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:50.000 Have you ever had your death added to his life so that your death was swallowed up in victory? 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:56.559 Have you ever been united to Christ by a supernatural divine work of the Holy Spirit? 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.440 Friend, you cannot do that for yourself. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:01.920 But I will say this. 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:05.279 If you'd like to turn to him today, you can be added to him. 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:11.039 And understand today that the invitation to Christ is exactly that. 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:12.559 These people understood that. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:17.200 I think we've had so much lay, so many layers of culture and tradition put on top of it, we've lost it. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.480 But the invitation to Christ is the invitation to Christ. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:31.359 It's not merely an invitation to join with a church, it's not merely an invitation to participate in religious traditions, however they are defined, but the invitation to Christianity is Christ. 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:39.519 And Jesus invites you to himself, saying to all of us, Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.240 Jesus' invitation is come to me. 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:44.480 He is Christianity. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:46.559 Because you remove him, you lose everything. 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:50.000 So the word Christianus, the word Christian is derivative. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:52.400 Second, and I need to move quickly. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:58.079 Second, the word Christianus, the word Christians, here the text, is plural. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:23:59.680 It's plural. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:05.920 The disciples, plural, were first called Christians, plural, in Antioch. 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:18.720 The first time that the word Christian ever makes its way into human vocabulary, it's not talking about a Christian, it's talking about those Christians. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:22.799 Now, that is not to say that there's no such thing as an individual Christian. 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:25.200 Obviously, I am a Christian. 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:26.400 I'm one Christian. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:34.319 And the Bible does use the word Christian in the singular several times to talk about one person being or not being a Christian. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:41.440 But I think it's important that in this text we see Christians living together. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:53.599 The people who had been added to the Lord were added to the people who had been added to the Lord. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:25:08.880 And you see in this text how they share their lives together in remarkable ways because for Christians, for Christians, church is not an event to attend. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:14.720 For Christians, church is a people to belong to. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:16.720 So what happens? 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:17.920 Verse 22. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.200 This incredible outpouring of the Spirit, the growth of Christian followers in Antioch. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:25.839 They hear about this in the Mother Church of Jerusalem. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:29.279 And the Mother Church of Jerusalem says, Well, we need to go check this out. 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:32.480 And we don't know if they're thinking, well, we need to make sure this is legitimate. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:36.079 So we need to go affirm that what they're preaching actually is Christian. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:41.039 Or maybe they're excited and say, hey, we need to go encourage these people, which is what happens. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.480 But regardless, the Church of Jerusalem sends a man by the name of Barnabas. 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:49.279 We haven't seen Barnabas since he first connected with the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 9. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:53.839 And from there he's mentioned earlier in Acts chapter number 4, a gracious, generous, godly man. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:58.559 I mean, the Bible tells us about it that he is a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:01.200 That gives you everything you need to know about Barnabas. 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:02.640 He's a Christian. 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.319 I mean, there you go, right? 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:06.559 And so Barnabas comes to Antioch. 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:08.240 Notice verse 23. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:14.480 He comes to the church, and when he had seen the grace of God, he was glad. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:21.119 When he came to see these new believers, the Bible says that he saw the grace of God. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.279 He saw in their community the grace of God. 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:27.279 Think about this with me. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:33.599 There are many things that we believe in strongly that we cannot see. 00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:36.319 I believe my kids love me. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:40.400 I believe my wife loves me. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:42.640 I believe most of y'all like me. 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:46.880 I've got like three, alright? 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:47.599 I'll take it. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.640 Man, I'll take it. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:51.279 So here's the thing. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:56.160 I can't see my family's affection towards me, right? 00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.359 It's invisible. 00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:58.799 It's intangible. 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:04.799 Over the past several years, we've seen so many different communities in our country marching for justice. 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:16.400 And however they may define that or however they may want to achieve it, it still betrays a conviction that there is this intangible, invisible thing called justice. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:18.640 But you can't see justice, can you? 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:24.880 Grace is one of those intangible, invisible realities that you can't see. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:28.799 And yet, in the church, please don't miss this. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:33.519 In the church, grace is made visible. 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:38.960 In the church, grace is made visible. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:41.279 Now we believe today in grace. 00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:47.440 The Bible tells us that God saves us by his grace, keeps us by his grace, preserves us, preserves us by his grace. 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:51.839 God's grace can be defined as any positive movement from God to you. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:52.799 That's grace. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:54.720 The undeserved favor of God. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:57.519 I've heard it described as God's riches at Christ's expense. 00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:58.960 All those things are appropriate. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:01.119 It is God being better to you than you deserve. 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:02.319 That's grace. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:06.480 But you can't see that until you get around God's people. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:10.319 And the church makes grace visible. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:11.599 So how does that happen? 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:16.880 Well, I think there are clues in this text, but I think we can see them in our church as well. 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:36.079 Every time we stand in that baptistry and we baptize a new brother or sister in Christ who has been added to the Lord, and we say, based upon your profession of faith, I baptize this my brother or sister in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is the grace of God made visible. 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:44.799 Every time we gather around the Lord's table and we take of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus through bread and wine, well, here we do juice. 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:49.039 But every time we do that, we are seeing the grace of God. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:29:04.079 But friends, also every single Sunday morning, when we come into this place, and people who are fighting the darkest battles of their lives come and they lift up their hands to Jesus and they say, Lord, come today. 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:09.519 We want to see you today because we know the day's coming when we will look upon you face to face. 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:18.799 And they say, All creatures of our God and King, all the mountains and all the hills and all the trees and all the cats and all the caterpillars, join and praise to our God. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:20.799 That's the grace of God made visible. 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:38.240 When a bereaved family who's lost a father or a mother comes into this place and they say goodbye to that body for the last time, preparing to commit it to the earth and the sure and the certain hope of the resurrection of their dead, and they worship and they cry while they sing, It is well with my soul. 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:41.119 That is the grace of God made visible. 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:52.240 Today, when I sat in a Sunday school class and I heard an incredibly gifted brother open the word of God and teach my heart, that is the grace of God to me made visible. 00:29:52.720 --> 00:30:01.279 You see this in the church as they come together, living as Christians in community, and I think you see it profoundly in the example of Barnabas himself. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:03.759 Notice what happens in verse number 25. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.640 Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:10.000 So he comes to Antioch and he sees all of these new Christians. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:13.279 He sees God doing something unique and something special. 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:15.759 And for a while he leads them well. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.440 He oversees it well. 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:20.319 But it seems like the work probably outgrows him. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:22.400 He realizes he needs help. 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.720 So where's he going to turn for help? 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:28.400 He's going to turn to the man that we will know as the Apostle Paul. 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:36.799 They haven't seen each other for many years, but he goes and finds them, knowing that Paul is the right mixture of passion, dedication, commitment, and love. 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:41.359 He is exactly what Barnabas needs and what the church in Antioch needs. 00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:43.920 So verse 26, he finds them together. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:48.400 They come and they work for a year and they taught a great many people. 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:54.799 And it's during this season that the word Christianus arises for these disciples of Jesus. 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:57.920 Couple of things that I think are very, very important here. 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:05.119 One is that these Christians, together as a group, are being taught. 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:08.240 See, it's disciples. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.640 Disciples of Jesus. 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:13.839 People that are following Jesus and walking in his footsteps. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:16.319 People that are learning in the school of Christ. 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:19.119 Those are the people entitled to the name Christian. 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:22.319 The Bible doesn't say that church attenders were called Christians. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:25.119 The Bible doesn't say that good people were called Christians. 00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:27.680 The Bible says that the disciples were called Christians. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:34.559 In fact, in the book of Acts, the word disciple is used for Christians many, many more times than the word Christian is used for Christians. 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:41.200 The word Christian comes from the outside, from people that say, we've got to label them. 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:45.599 But the label the church took for itself were disciples. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:49.599 Friends, we should believe in discipleship. 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:52.400 We should believe in being taught. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:53.759 We should believe in learning. 00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:54.799 We should believe in growing. 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:57.119 And we should believe in pouring into others. 00:31:57.279 --> 00:32:03.519 Whether we are the people learning, like the Antiochan believers, or whether we are the people teaching, like Paul and Barnabas. 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:06.079 And as a church, we want to embrace that. 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:07.920 And so Dr. 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:25.279