WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:24.480 Father, help us to rest in that. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.359 You've washed us white as snow. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:33.280 God, thank you. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:36.000 Just simply thank you for the forgiveness of sin. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:43.679 And thank you that we get to be heralds of this incredible message to the darkest places. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:56.880 God, I as this sir, as this uh the service is full with things, with a baptism, a beauty dedication, God, I pray that this honors you, Lord. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.320 We're so grateful for the blood that was spilled in Calvary. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:06.640 Now, would you please bless the teaching and the preaching of your word? 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:11.920 Would you still our minds and our hearts to hear what you have for us here today? 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:16.719 God, thank you for who you are, and I pray these things in your name. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:17.599 Amen. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:19.599 Maybe seated. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:23.840 Good morning. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:25.120 How are you? 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:26.319 Awesome. 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:30.159 If you have Bibles, would you grab those and go to Acts chapter 11? 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:31.680 Acts chapter 11. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:38.079 If you don't have one, you can relax as the words, I'm gonna uh uh the text we're preaching from is gonna appear here on the screen. 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:40.000 Um we had a full service, I'm gonna dive right in. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:42.159 We're gonna be verses 19 through 30. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:46.000 I'm just gonna summarize the first 18 verses here um for you. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:51.920 So over the last few times we've studied in the book of Acts, we've looked at a man named Cornelius, okay? 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:57.760 Um up until this point, um, Jews are sharing the gospel with other Jews. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:04.000 But with the story of Cornelius, it's so intriguing because you have a Gentile man who actually comes to faith in Jesus. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:10.560 Cornelius gets saved through the ministry of Peter, and word spreads that this happens. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.599 There's a Gentile that gets saved. 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:18.000 And Peter comes back to the church in Jerusalem. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:22.879 And in a stunning twist, they don't give him a raise for that. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:26.960 He doesn't get any extra PTO or a gift card. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.960 What he gets is he gets questioned. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.120 They question him, hey, what do you think you are doing? 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:41.520 Okay, so this religious party, they're still stuck in the religious mindset that the gospel was reserved for the Jews. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.319 Okay, it was reserved for the rural followers. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:49.280 So therefore, Peter starts explaining to him, listen, God shook my snow globe. 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:56.960 God shook my snow globe, and what that means is Peter's Jewish brain is trained to think clean, unclean. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:01.280 Jewish, gentile, us, them, us, them, us, them. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:07.680 And Peter explains it, listen, I had a vision, and that vision turned into a mission, and God told me, make no distinction. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:10.800 So I preached the gospel to Cornelius. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:13.759 God showed Peter that the gospel is for everyone. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:18.639 It's not reserved for the rule followers, but it's also moving out to the rule breakers. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:23.039 And in verse 17, he's telling them that salvation is a gift. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:29.599 And he's explaining to the church in Jerusalem, listen, this gift is going places we didn't expect. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.240 And he says something hilarious in verse 17, right here. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:41.360 He says this if God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way? 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:45.840 And there's a legendary moment of silence. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:48.800 And then they glorified God. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.319 Today it looks like we're going to the Gentiles, too. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:53.039 Okay? 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:54.319 And that's where we are. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:56.000 We're gonna land here in verse 19. 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:58.639 So we're gonna look at verses 19 through 30. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:00.080 It says this. 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:12.960 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:23.519 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:30.720 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:37.279 And a report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent to Barnabas, uh they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:47.199 And when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:53.360 And a great many people were added to the Lord. 00:04:54.079 --> 00:05:05.279 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:10.079 And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:13.360 Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:20.160 Now one of them named Agabas stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a famine over the world. 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:22.399 This took place in the days of Claudius. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:33.120 So disciples determined, everyone according to their ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:41.199 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:42.800 It's the word of the Lord. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:50.240 Now, in the early 1800s, there was a playwright, a guy who wrote plays, his name is John Dennis, and he came up with the revolutionary way. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:56.240 This is before sound machines, he came up with the revolutionary way to make the sound of thunder during plays. 00:05:56.480 --> 00:06:01.519 He had somebody standing backstage with the metal thing and they would strike and it would sound like thunder. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:04.879 He premiered this in a play of his in 1709. 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:07.279 And it sounded awesome. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.000 But the play wasn't that good at all. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:13.120 So after just four days, the play was shut down. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:18.480 And a few days later, they were premiering another play called Macbeth in the same theater. 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:24.800 So John Dennis shows up as just a fan, as a spectator, and he's in the crowd and he's listening and he's watching the play. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.600 And there's a scene in this play where there's a storm. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.399 And he's like, wait a second. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:32.319 I know that sound. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:34.319 I know that sound. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.279 And he realized they took his invention. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:39.519 Someone stole his invention. 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.079 So he stands up and he says a curse for it. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:43.920 I get that would give me fire right now. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:50.959 And he says, Quote, they rejected my play, but they stole my thunder. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.639 They stole my thunder. 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:58.959 So listen, something was obvious and familiar to him. 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.079 So he named it and it stuck. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:09.199 In that same way, the passage we just looked at, okay, Antioch is making a lot of noise. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:18.240 And people are watching from the outside in, and something looks familiar and obvious to them, so they named them Christians. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:19.600 And it stuck. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:27.199 Okay, up until this point, they've been called disciples, they've been called saints, believers, brothers, witnesses, or even followers of the way. 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:30.879 But right here is the debut of the nickname Christians. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:40.079 And my question we're gonna explore in our short time together is this hey, what was obvious and familiar that warranted this nickname? 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:42.800 So think of John Dennis in the crowd listening. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:43.680 Wait a second. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:45.680 Like it was I know that. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:46.720 I know that tune. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:47.600 I know that noise. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:48.399 That's mine. 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:49.920 It's my machine. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:50.800 Right? 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:56.399 So what was obvious here, what was obvious and familiar about these believers that warranted that nickname? 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:02.879 Well, the first thing you see here in the text is that they saw darkness as an opportunity to be a light for Christ. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:04.800 They saw darkness as an opportunity. 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:08.399 Listen, it darkness to them was not a fuel for their pride. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:10.000 Like, look at all these heathens. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:11.839 Good thing I'm a Christian. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.319 It wasn't a fuel for their irritability. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.040 This world's going to hell in a handbasket. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:21.519 No, they saw darkness as an opportunity to be a light for Christ. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:23.439 Look at verses 19 through 21 again. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:24.399 It says this. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:36.399 Now, those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:47.120 But some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenist also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:49.840 And the hand of the Lord was with them. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:53.919 And a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:59.600 So a few weeks ago, I showed you people in London who made art out of trash. 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:02.399 And I told and I pointed to the fact that this is what God does. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:06.480 He makes beautiful things out of us and he makes art out of our situation. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:07.679 He's the ultimate artist. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:09.600 And verse 19 is an example of that. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:14.080 Okay, the persecution of Stephen scattered the saints. 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:18.639 Okay, he turned a murder, a brutal murder, into international missions. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:22.559 Okay, so people were spreading the gospel, but only to other Jews. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:23.679 But look at verse 20. 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:24.799 Look at verse 20 again. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:25.679 It says this. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.639 But there were some of them. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:33.440 This seems to be a theme just in the Christian culture, even today. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:37.919 There are people who are um they're okay with the status quo. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:44.240 They're not rebels against the status quo, but they're always thinking, is there a more faithful way to be the people of God in this moment? 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:46.639 But there were some of them. 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:52.399 And this, some of them, okay, started sharing the gospel with the rule breakers. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:58.000 Okay, now there were Gentiles, and these rule breakers were actually coming to know Jesus. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:02.080 So there, but before this point, there were Gentiles who did come to Christ before, okay? 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.200 We saw um the Ethiopian eunuch. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:11.440 But the Ethiopian eunuch was already reading his Bible when Philip came. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:12.879 But he came to Christ. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.879 So there is also Cornelius. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:23.200 But Cornelius already had a reverence for Yahweh that fleshed itself out in him being generous and him praying continually. 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:23.840 Okay? 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.879 Antioch is a whole different animal. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:28.399 This is a different beast. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.679 Okay, so I have a map here that I'm gonna show you. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:38.399 Um, you can just ignore the colors and ignore the numbers, but I want to show you the distance between Antioch and Rome. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:44.240 So Antioch, um, as you can see here on this uh on this map, this is the third largest city in the Roman Empire. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:45.679 This is the capital of Syria. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.399 So if you can see it right there, I should have circled it or something. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:53.440 This is the capital of Syria right here to your to your right, left, right, to your right. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:56.879 Um, it was a very, very diverse place. 00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.919 People from all over the world were here. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.360 And as you can see, it's pretty far from Rome. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:15.840 And yet, there was a famous Roman comedian at the time who said the sewage of Antioch has been spilling into Rome for a long time. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:25.840 By this he meant the debauchery from Antioch continues to make its way over to Rome 1300 miles away. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:30.879 Okay, this city was in part notorious for some of its debauchery. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:34.879 Okay, there were worship of multiple gods, there was cult prostitution. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:37.600 This was a spiritually dark place. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.000 This was no longer them preaching to Cornelius. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.000 Okay, these were pagans smack dab in the middle of paganing. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:48.639 I don't know if that's a thing. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:56.080 And yet, these unnamed people, these unnamed mavericks said, let's tell them about Jesus. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:57.919 Let's tell them about Jesus. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:02.000 So these days, my favorite worship song says, I'm gonna praise him anyway. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:07.840 Okay, if you can catch me up and down West Airport blasting that song and screaming, I'm gonna praise him anyway. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:12.320 And but these unnamed people, we don't know who they are, had the remix down pat. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:14.080 I'm gonna preach him anyway. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:16.240 I'm gonna talk about him anyway. 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:21.440 They sought darkness as an opportunity to be a light for Jesus. 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:24.559 Now, our our youth pastor's name is Ian. 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:26.159 Okay, but forget about that for a second. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:33.840 Okay, um in Latin, um, the ending Ian, I A-N, meant the party of. 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:38.000 So Christ Ian literally meant the party of Jesus. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:43.440 Okay, Christians were saying the word Christian was literally saying like Jesusites or Jesus people. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.960 It's describing people who were associated with Jesus Christ. 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:55.120 So what warranted the nickname for Christians is that Christ was continually on their lips despite their environment. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:58.080 There were lights in the world. 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:04.720 They weren't the point, they weren't selling themselves, but Jesus was the hero of their story. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:12.639 Not their political party, not their country, not their personality, not their therapist, not even their church. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.519 Jesus was the hero of their story. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:17.919 And friends, that's freeing. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:22.720 When Christ is the hero of your life and your story, that's freeing. 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:28.000 And what you see here is when Jesus is the hero of your story, you can evangelize without any fear. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:41.360 Verse 20 says, but there were some of the men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming out Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:44.879 They were preaching the Lord Jesus. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:45.919 This is amazing. 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:49.600 Okay, this is a place that's been nicknamed the abode of the gods. 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:55.600 There is Zeus, there is Poseidon, there is Artemis, Apollos, Adonis, Athenus, Athena. 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.279 Yet they presented Jesus as the Lord. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:04.399 They would have been familiar with the word Lord, but they presented Jesus as the only Lord. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.600 He is the Lord. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.240 And friends, that is beautifully offensive. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:12.480 Sometimes we say things so much we don't even remember, we don't even think about them at all. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:25.360 I had a friend of mine that was um discipling me in uh in high school, his name is Jordan, and he I remember him telling me the story of him going on a college campus and getting his guitar and singing the song Our God is greater at a college campus. 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:32.399 And as he's singing, going, Our God is greater, our God is stronger, our God is higher than any. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:34.159 He hit him. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:40.399 This song is really offensive, but that's what you see, that's what you see here. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:44.879 Okay, that's what they they knew that the gospel was power. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:47.840 They knew that the gospel was power. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:15:02.080 Romans 1:16 says it like this I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:16.720 Notice what it doesn't say, it doesn't say it is powerful or it has power, but it is the power of God for salvation to anyone, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:27.200 Listen, if you have a powerful bomb in your hands or a detonator in your hands, and your commander tells you, Hey, it's time, press the button. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:29.679 Be a good soldier, press the button. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:37.600 Okay, your form in pressing the button, your technique, and how cool or how put together you look in pressing the button doesn't matter. 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:40.639 Even your competency up to that point doesn't even matter. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.320 It's just be faithful enough to press the button in that same way. 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:49.279 Your job would be just to simply unleash its power because your commander told you to. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.559 And that's what they did unanimously, faithfully, and powerfully. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:01.200 But when Jesus is the hero of your story, you can evangelize without any fear, not selling yourself, you can evangelize without any fear. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.480 And you can also lead without any ego. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:06.879 Yeah, verses 22 through 26. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:14.639 The report came, the report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:17.519 And they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:20.960 And when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad. 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:26.639 And he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:33.840 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:39.519 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.480 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:46.879 For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:51.840 And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:56.159 So the mothership church at this time is a church in Jerusalem. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:02.240 Okay, there's people are hearing that this church in Antioch is becoming bigger and bigger and bigger. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:07.200 So they send Barnabas 300 miles to go see what's happening over in Antioch. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.920 And Barnabas starts doing what only Barnabas could do. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:15.519 He starts he starts uh he starts acting out his nickname, okay, encouraging anything that moves. 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:16.960 He's encouraging everyone. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:21.440 So um he tells him to remain faithful and keep going and give it their all. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:28.000 But instead of playing hero ball, he leaves again to go get Paul to help him. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.119 And they do ministry there for a year. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:38.319 Okay, Barnabas walked into a situation where he could have been a big-time megachurch guy, mega church pastor. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:48.000 He could have soaked up the praise and saved the day, got all the glory and affirmation, maybe even a book deal at the very end of it. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:52.559 But he understood that it's too dark to play these games. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.319 It's too dark to live life on selfie mode. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.880 The gospel takes us out of selfie mode. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:02.880 What the gospel does, it makes us less about me and more about mission. 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:12.079 Remember, the church is not just some organization that you can rise up in and to feed your ego, but this is an organism in which Jesus is the head and he is the hero. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:17.039 Jesus dying on the cross outs us as bad heroes and bad gods. 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:23.680 And because of this, he realized verse 24 says he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:26.000 So he he didn't have this ego about him. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:27.200 I got this. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.000 But he did good shoulder-to-shoul work with Paul for a year. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:33.680 This is ego-less leadership that would have been a light in a dark place. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.759 All sorts of religions around there was all about building yourself up. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:42.079 But yeah, he had the humility to ask for help and he could lead without the ego. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:47.920 Overall, this church was successful because they saw darkness as an opportunity. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:53.200 They weren't annoyed or eager to escape people with different beliefs. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.519 That's my question to you. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:56.480 Okay? 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:58.799 What a world we're living in right now. 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:06.559 Okay, think about what's happening over in the Middle East and think of what's happening with the sexual revolution here where we're at. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.039 As you watch the darkness of this world, what stirs in you? 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.000 Is it persistent irritation? 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:17.279 Or do you see this with eager opportunity? 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:18.640 Okay, this is time. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:25.920 But what's so different about this church in Antioch is that they were thinking, uh, we were made for this moment. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:28.640 We were made for this moment right now. 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:32.240 So um what what war into the nickname? 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:37.839 Okay, the nickname was because they they saw darkness as an opportunity to be light. 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:43.920 Second, they also saw um uh the constant conversion to Christ. 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:46.880 Okay, constant conversion to Christ. 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:48.160 Look at verse 21. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:20:00.559 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turn turned to the Lord. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:06.160 Okay, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:18.079 So years ago, um at the MTV uh awards, music awards, um Um, Justin Bieber won an award, and he got on stage. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.160 But who do you thank whenever you you win an award? 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.039 What do you do? 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:28.880 So he got this award and he says, I want to say thank you so much to not only God but also Jesus. 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:31.039 And what happened then? 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:35.599 The internet did what the internet does best, and they roasted that man. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:36.559 So what happened? 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:41.920 People started making videos with selfie videos going, hey, I want to thank my mom and dad, but also my parents. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.839 Hey, I want to introduce you guys to my my cat and my dog, but also my pets. 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:47.039 What are they doing? 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:51.279 Because they're making fun of the fact that they they think he sounds redundant when he says that. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.000 When he says, I want to thank God, but also Jesus. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.519 Okay, and some of you had that same thought whenever we read this passage right here. 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:01.279 Um, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:06.240 For some of you, that sounds pretty redundant uh language. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:12.240 But what's happening here is this is referring to real conversion. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:14.559 Real conversion. 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:18.319 Okay, real conversion has twin sisters. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:23.519 Okay, there's repentance and there's faith. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:30.640 And in this passage, you see um many of them who believed their faith turned to the Lord. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.240 That's repentance. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:42.880 So they didn't just get the nickname because they were um Christ came from their lips, but they also got the nickname Christians because they saw lives transformed by Jesus. 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:44.960 And that was happening a lot. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:50.319 And listen, not many things in this world can preach as loudly as a changed life. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:58.480 One of the biggest, most shiny, most neon billboards for Jesus is a life transformed in the name of Jesus. 00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.759 There were conversions happening. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:05.279 And this was actually a supernatural thing that was happening from the Lord. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:10.400 Okay, conversion is a natural response to a supernatural act of God in you. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:15.039 Because before conversion, there is something called regeneration. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:20.160 Okay, anyone who is truly converted first has to be born again or regenerated. 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:22.480 Okay, and you and I are helpless in this. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.640 God does this. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:28.160 This goes all the way back to the garden with Adam and Eve. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:33.599 It's not a cute story about temptation or obeying God, but what happens is it's tragic. 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:36.880 Okay, what they did got you dead. 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.680 Okay, what they did got you dead. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:41.519 You need to be born again. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:46.960 Christianity is not just about tweaking your personality so you can fit into this Christian subculture. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.400 It's about new life or new birth. 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:50.960 Okay? 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:59.920 And what happens in regenerations that the Holy Spirit puts his uh puts his hands on your dead heart and like a defibrillator goes, all right, clear, and then boom. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:01.519 And what happens then? 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:08.799 You are made alive to see the filtiness of your sin and also the necessity and goodness of Jesus. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:14.319 So what happens then is you turn from your sin and you tore you go towards Jesus. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:18.160 So there's a turning from and a turning to. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:20.319 That's repentance and faith. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:27.920 They're two sides of the same coin, and this is what keeps happening over and over and over and over in the church at Antioch. 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:31.279 Now, what is true repentance? 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:31.759 Okay? 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:35.200 True repentance is what I call it, it's a holy U-turn. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:37.200 It's a holy U-turn. 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:44.160 What you're not doing, this is repentance is not cleaning yourself up in order to go to God. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:48.960 Repentance is going to God in your filth and trusting that He can clean your heart and your mind. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:54.720 Okay, we shouldn't think of repentance as something that we should do before we come to God. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:24:00.480 Okay, there's people who try to get in shape before they join a CrossFit class, lest they be embarrassed. 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:03.279 Or people who take a shower before they take a bath. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:07.680 That's not what that's an erroneous way of thinking of repentance. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:12.960 It's the very act of coming to God and trusting that He can clean our hearts and our minds. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:18.480 So Charles Spurgeon calls it the twin sister of faith. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:23.440 And it's not just feeling bad, it's literally turning away. 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:32.000 2 Corinthians 7.10 puts it like this for godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:36.079 Whereas worldly grief produces death. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:45.920 So this is a changed mind about God, a changed mind about yourself, a changed mind about sin, a changed mind about righteousness. 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:53.200 So repentance is uh uh is heartfelt sorrow for your sin, renouncing your sin, and a commitment to forsake your sin. 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:54.240 That's repentance. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:58.480 Now, on the other side of the coin, there is there is saving faith. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:10.319 Saving faith is just you're personally, whenever you have saving faith, it is you're personally trusting that Jesus has the forgiveness of sins and he is Lord and He can give you eternal life. 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:11.440 Okay? 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:13.599 That's that's saving faith. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:18.400 Now to trust him, you need three things, and I'll be quick on these three things. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:22.240 Number one, you need to knowledge of who he is. 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:26.880 In order to trust someone, you need to know who they are. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:27.759 Right? 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:41.680 So if you are a young parent and you're at Sugarland Town, Sugarland Mall, I don't even remember what it's called, first colony mall, and you get a text message that your babysitter canceled, and you go, Oh man, my babysitter canceled. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:45.519 What if some random man goes, I'll watch your kids? 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:47.839 What's wrong with that? 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:49.759 You don't know them. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:56.559 In order to trust, okay, you you need, in order to trust someone, you need to have knowledge of that person. 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:00.559 Listen, the higher the stakes are, the more you need to know them. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:07.839 So if some 18-year-old knocks on my door and it's like, hey, uh uh, can I cur, can I cut your grass for money? 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:10.400 Can I cut your I live in an apartment, so it doesn't work. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:15.440 Um can I wash your car um for for like 10 bucks? 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.279 I guess, sure. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:17.920 Okay. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:26.000 But if I get wrongly accused of murder, and I'm at Denise with my friends, like, oh man, I got accused of murder. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:29.359 And some guy things like, oh, I'll be your lawyer. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:31.519 No, the stakes are too high. 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:32.480 I don't know you. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:39.039 The higher the stakes are, the more you have to have knowledge and trust, or you have knowledge and identity and character. 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:45.519 So you're not coming to saving faith if you believe that Jesus is just a nice guy who taught cool stuff. 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:50.480 Saving faith includes the knowledge of who Jesus is and why he died. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.000 You need knowledge. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:54.960 Well, listen, knowledge itself is not enough. 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:58.559 There are demons shaking in their boots because they have the knowledge. 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:00.559 They have that knowledge, they know who he is. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:03.599 So, besides knowledge, you also need agreance. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:05.279 You need agreance. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:10.000 You have to agree that Jesus didn't just say the truth, he is truth. 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:14.000 These are not just opinions he's saying, these are truth. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:18.880 Listen, no one killed Jesus for one of his awesome acts of kindness. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:25.440 So whenever he um filled or he fed an entire stadium with the little kid's lunchables, no one wanted to stab him after that. 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:26.000 Okay? 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:27.759 It's because of what he said. 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:36.319 Okay, and what you need for saving faith, there needs to be agreements of what he talked about when it comes to God, life, sin, death, hell, righteousness. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:39.519 You have to understand these are not opinions, but God talking. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.200 So you need knowledge, you also need agreance. 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:47.200 But again, agreance isn't enough either. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:52.480 Famous atheist podcasters are saying, you know, Sermon of the Mount's actually pretty good. 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:53.599 And I agree with that. 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:55.759 You can find him all over the place. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.559 So knowledge isn't enough, agreance isn't enough. 00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:00.640 What you need is personal trust. 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:02.160 You have to call on him yourself. 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:11.039 You can't relate to him like it's a packed arena, and you're at the very top of the nosebleeds, and the concerts all the way down there, like, okay, well, this is no, no, you have to personally go to him. 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:21.519 Because Romans chapter 10 says this for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord who is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:27.359 Everyone who calls on him will be saved. 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:29.599 Okay, they will be saved. 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:36.240 So they got their nickname, not only because Jesus was coming from their lips, but because transformed lives were happening. 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:37.839 That's the progression of this text. 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:41.279 It's it's lips, it's lives, it's also hands. 00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:48.880 So they got the nickname because they were turning, people were turning from idolatry and turning to the one Lord, Jesus. 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:56.319 And lastly, what's obvious and familiar about these believers that wore into the nickname, okay? 00:28:56.559 --> 00:28:59.519 They saw crisis as an opportunity to show compassion. 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:02.720 They saw crisis as an opportunity to show compassion. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:04.480 Look at verses 27 to 30. 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:20.720 Now, in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and one of them named Agabas stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over the world. 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:23.200 This took place in the days of Claudius. 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:32.960 So the disciples determined everyone according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:42.000 And they did so, sending it to the leader, to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:51.759 So there's prophets coming up to Antioch and they're saying, Hey, listen, a famine is about to strike, and the church in Jerusalem needs help. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:56.000 So a crisis is about to occur. 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:58.400 And how does the church in Antioch react? 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:03.039 Okay, do they storm over to H E B and stockpile on toilet paper? 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:06.480 Good times, huh? 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:10.240 Boy, good times. 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:15.599 Um no, instead of moving inward, the Bible says they determined to give. 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:18.400