SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). God changes lives (vs 1)
(2). God’s general call to service (vs 1-3)
(3). God’s specific call to service (vs 2)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
• In ancient Roman mythology, Janus was the god of beginnings and transitions.
• He was usually depicted as having two faces looking at opposite ways,
• One towards the past and the other towards the future.
• From his name we have in the English language Janus-words,
• They are words with two meanings that seem to contradict each other.
• Examples of Janus words are:
• CLEAVE:
• To divide by or as if by a cutting blow or to cling firmly.
• DUST:
• To make free of dust or to sprinkle with fine particles.
• OVERLOOK:
• To look past, to miss or to look over: INSPECT
• WEATHER:
• To endure or to erode.
• TRIP:
• To dance, skip or caper with light quick steps or to stumble.
• OVERSIGHT:
• Watchful and responsible care or an inadvertent omission or error.
• BUCKLE:
• To fasten or to bend and then break.
• CHUFFED:
• When you’re chuffed, you can be either pleased or displeased.
• FAST:
• To move quickly (as in "running fast") or not moving (as in "stuck fast").
• TRANSITION: I think as we start a New Year,
• I would like to apply those examples of Janus words to our Church fellowship,
• e.g., CLEAVE:
• I hope we can say that in 2022 we will ‘cling firmly.’
• Or in application deepen our fellowship, friendship with each other!
• DUST:
• To make free of dust or to sprinkle with fine particles.
• The gathering of dust is an idiom meaning,
• ‘To be unused or forgotten, especially for a long period of time.’
• I hope we can say that in 2022 that our baptistry will not fit that description!
• OVERLOOK:
• I am going for the positive meaning, which is INSPECT,
• Inspect the Christian faith and respond accordingly.
• It was Jim Elliot the American Christian missionary & martyr who said,
• “Wherever you are - be all there.”
• And if this gospel, faith, book is true then it deserves everything!
• WEATHER:
• To endure or to erode.
• In 2022 you don’t have to endure Church; you are allowed to actually enjoy it!
• But I would suggest that the attitude you bring along with you when you enter the building,
• Will determine your experience while you are in the building!
• TRIP:
• To dance, skip or caper with light quick steps or to stumble.
• One of the four meanings of the word trip is,
• ‘A device that activates or disconnects a mechanism, circuit, etc.’
• God calls us all to be switched on, and to walk in the light,
• So that we do not spiritually stumble!
• OVERSIGHT:
• Watchful.
• That we will show care for one another,
• This is the responsibility of all the believers and not just the leaders,
• In fact, members looking after members is always the best support a person can have.
• BUCKLE:
• To fasten,
• We live in an age of false teaching, Biblical heresy,
• Sadly, you can find it in a few minutes on YouTube or stations like God TV.
• May God give us discernment to buckle down to the historic Christian faith.
• CHUFFED:
• I hope in 2022 we will all be chuffed, be pleased to be here, to meet together
• God is in the place how should we ever leave disappointed?
• FAST:
• I hope we will move forward i.e., make progress love to see us grow.
• Grow numerically as folks come to faith,
• Grow deeper personally in our walk with God.
• Grow stronger in love as we enjoy fellowship together.
• So, as we start a New Year, I hope those few Janus words might encourage us,
• To look back and also to look forward.
• Quote: Hymn, “We’ll praise him for all that is past, and trust him for all that’s to come.’
Ill:
• The Danish existentialist philosopher Soren Kierkegaard,
• My favourite philosopher, once said,
“Most people don’t understand that while life must be understood backward, it can only be lived forward.”
• We are looking back at the early Church in the book of Acts,
• To understand and to learn, but this is more than a history lesson.
• The principles and the lessons we can discover are very much applicable for today.
Note:
• Chapter 13 marks a turning point in the book of Acts.
• Three factors demonstrate the shift that takes place.
• FIRST: New Incentive.
• The spread of the gospel in the earlier chapters was often the result of persecution.
• Now it becomes the result of a program, missions.
• Over the years, in Church and in the workplace,
• You will have heard quotes like this one regarding the importance of planning!
• Quote: “If you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail.”
• Quote: I like what Richard Cushing said,
• “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”
• In the book of Acts, the next stage of Church growth,
• Is the result of a planned program of missions.
• SECOND: New Focus.
• As this evangelism spreads to the Gentiles the focus passes from Peter to Paul.
• With Peter, the emphasis was on the Jewish church in Jerusalem and Judea.
• With Saul/Paul, the focus is the spread of the entire church throughout the Roman world.
• In chapters 13&14,
• We will read about what we call Paul & Barnabas’ first “missionary Journey”.
• In fact, Antioch will act as the starting point,
• For all three of the Paul’s missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire.
• (chapters. 13,15 & 18)
• THIRD: New Centre.
• The base of operations also changes in chapter 13,
• It moves from Jerusalem in Judea to “Antioch” of Syria.
• It is what Winston Churchill would have called, “One of the hinges of history.”
• The reason the change is necessary was,
• Jerusalem was largely a Jewish city, with Judaism the dominant faith.
• And so, the Church there was made up almost entirely of Jewish converts.
• By contrast,
• Antioch is a multi-ethnic Gentile city, that is full of different religions & faiths,
• And the Church there is made-up almost entirely of Gentiles.
So, this shift from Jerusalem to Antioch,
• Will allow the third phase of the great commission to take place,
• Cats your minds back to Acts chapter 1 verse 8.
• Where Jesus said to his disciples,
"You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you,
and you will be witnesses of me..."
Then Jesus outlined geographically how that witness would continue,
“Beginning in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and finally unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”
• In Chapter 13 we are at the beginning of that last phase of outreach,
• The gospel is going out into the rest of the earth.
The call of the Holy Spirit. (vs 1-3):
ill:
• Dr. Donald Carr was a missionary to Persia.
• He was part of The Church Missionary Society (CMS)
• He was asked how he got the call to serve the Lord as a missionary in Persia.
• His reply was short & simple,
• “I had no call to stay at home, but I had the command to go.”
• TRANSITION: In these chapters from the book of Acts,
• We will see how God calls some individuals to go and others to stay.
(1). God Changes Lives (vs 1)
“Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.”
Ill:
• It is said (tongue-in-cheek),
• That there are three classes of people in each local church
• Those who make things happen
• Those who watch things happen
• Those who are left wondering what happened
• TRANSITION: Well in this Church at Antioch,
• We are told of those who made things happen.
• Note: this is much more than just a list of names!
• It is a great insight into the Church at Antioch.
Let’s look quickly at the people mentioned:
• Barnabas who was a Jew from the island of Cyprus.
• We read about him earlier in our studies in chapter 4 (book of Acts).
• Simeon also had the name Niger,
• Which, according to the experts, was “a Latin term meaning ‘black-skinned.”’
• Lucius was from Cyrene, which was west of Egypt on the coast of Africa.
• His name was Greek, so he was possibly a Gentile.
• Manaen was a member of high society,
• Having grown up with Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee.
• And then there’s Saul with his impressive education and rabbinical training.
• Soon he would be known by another name, Paul the apostle.
What a mix:
• A Cyprian Jew, a black man, a Gentile, an aristocrat, and a rabbi,
• (Sounds like the cast for a bad joke)
• But this was the cosmopolitan leadership team for this Church!
• They were racially integrated,
• i.e., Jews, Gentiles, Africans, Romans, Greeks.
• They were people from various environments:
• i.e., Religious backgrounds, Political backgrounds,
• Social backgrounds, and Economic backgrounds
NOTE:
• Antioch was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire (after Rome & Alexandria),
• And some estimate that its population was about 500,000
• There was a great multiplicity of cultures.
• Many languages were spoken, as traders, travellers, and full-time residents interacted.
Ill:
• When Seleucus Nicator built the city of Antioch,
• He deliberately built dividing walls within the city,
• Historians say he did it to separate people of different backgrounds from each other.
• For the sake of keeping peace and order in a city,
• With such a diversity of ethnicity, cultures, and religions,
• Walls were built to fence off the various groups from one another.
• Jews lived in their quarter, Greeks in theirs, Romans in theirs etc.
• TRANSITION: I love the fact that this Church knocked those walls down,
• Walls divide but relationships build people together.
• The gospel overrides all race & social barriers and sees all people as equal!
• This Church was able to say to the city of Antioch, “This Gospel is for you,”
• And if someone replied, “How do you know it is for me?”
• The answer was simple and visible,
• “Just look at the make-up of our Church and leadership!”
• And with such a diversity of back-grounds,
• The Church were able to reach out to the varied population in Antioch.
• Consequently, the church body had become a model of diversity within unity,
• A microcosm of God’s upcoming worldwide, multicultural ministry.
• Now note that this is the mother church of Gentile Christianity.
• This is the first church to witness to the Gentiles in its own city.
• So, our Gentile roots are very much found in this chapter of the book of Acts.
(2). God’s General Call to Service (vs 1-3)
• Verse 1a: “Now in the church at Antioch...”
• So, in my understanding this is the whole Church together!
“While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”
• Verse 3:
• “So, after they…” (again I would suggest this is the whole Church together),
• “…had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off”
Now all Christians are called to serve God in the local Church,
• That is clear from so many other New Testament passages,
• e.g., The Church is described as a body, made up of many parts all fulfilling many roles.
• (1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 15–20)
Ill:
• I went to a football match on Wednesday evening,
• To see Coventry City, lose 1-0 to Millwall.
• There were 18,500 in attendance watching 22 individuals do all the work!
• TRANSITION: Too many Churches are like that,
• A few people doing the work while the majority looks on.
• Now all Christians are called to serve God in the local Church,
• And maybe as a new year unfolds that can be a challenge to you.
• How can I get more involved and serve Christ in my local Church?
Notice two kinds of service are brought to our attention.
• “In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:” (vs 1)
• Notice those words are plural, these were more than a one-man band.
• This was a well taught church.
PROPHETS:
• Without a completed New Testament.
• It was difficult to discern God’s will and mind on certain issues.
• We struggle today to know God’s will and plan for our lives,
• And we have a completely New Testament.
• The prophet provided special guidance from the Lord as needed.
• But 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 29.
• Reminds us that the prophets’ words were subject to the leader’s approval.
TEACHERS:
• The teacher would explain the Old Testament scriptures and teach general principles,
• To feed the soul and build up the believers in their faith.
• (2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 16-17)
• Christianity is a taught religion.
• The Church comes together to learn together,
• And outwork that teaching by serving together.
(3). God’s Specific Call to Service (vs 2)
• We see this detailed calling illustrated in verse 2:
• “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”
Notice: WHEN the call of the Holy Spirit took place:
• It happened when, “they were worshipping (or ministering).”
• The word means “Priestly activity” or “Service”.
• From my experience and understanding of the call of God in a person’s life,
• Happens most of all when a person is already active in Christian ministry/service.
• Quote: Saying, “Easier to steer a moving car, than a parked car.”
• If we are not already to talking about Jesus to those we encounter here,
• Why would God call us to talk to people elsewhere in the world?
• If we are not involved in our Church at home,
• Why would God call us to a Church somewhere else?
Notice also WHO they were serving,
• Not just to the congregation, the other believers,
• First and foremost, they did what they did for the Lord!
• It sounds obvious but always remember that,
• True service involves a right attitude as well as right actions.
• We need the balance of activity with focus!
Notice also WHAT we do and do not know (vs 1-3).
• That we don’t know, and we are not told exactly how the Holy Spirit,
• Led the congregation to set apart the two leaders for missions,
• It may have been a word from the prophets,
• It may have been some other way; we just do not know.
BUT WE DO KNOW TWO THINGS:
(1). God’s plan was selective.
• This call to missionary work wasn’t for everyone, just Barnabas and Saul.
• Not all 5 men were called to mission, only two of them.
• Only two were called to go!
• While the other teachers and prophets and the rest of the Church remained.
• Their mission field was on their doorstep.
• They were called to evangelise Antioch.
As a side…
• That God calls some but not all to what we call ‘full-time’ service,
• (Of course, in one sense every Christian is in full-time ministry),
• But leaving a secular job to spend your time in Christian ministry,
• Was and is selective & specific and not for every Christian.
• This passage confirms the idea that God has a plan for each of our lives.
• Each one of us is called to trust him and get involved serving him,
• So that we can discover the plan that he has for us!
(2). God’s plan was specific: “The work”.
• “The work” refers to “The ends of the earth”.
• God’s original and unchanging plan for this early Church and the Church universal.
• Until we are promoted to glory (die) or the Lord returns,
• We must always think world!
• Our major emphasis might be Park Gate,
• Our major emphasis might be this local area or county or even our country.
• But to be Biblical we must always think world!
Notice also…
• HOW we discover God’s guidance.
• (here is both a human and divine side to God’s guidance.
The human side to God’s guidance (vs 2).
• Is to actively get involved,
• i.e., To, “Worship or minister” - “Priestly activity” or “Service”.
• To try things and see what you are good at and what you like.
The divine side to God’s guidance (vs 3) “So after they had fasted and prayed,”
• Twice fasting is mentioned and both times it is not alone,
• It is linked with worship (vs 2) and prayer (vs 3).
• Fasting is a negative action (abstaining from food),
• For the sake of a positive action (worship, service & prayer).
• These are spiritual disciples that mark us out as meaning business with God,
The church fasted and prayed for at least two reasons:
(1).
• They wanted to test and affirm God’s call to Barnabas and Saul.
• They did not take the calling at face-value,
• But rather prayed it through seeking confirmation this was God’s will.
(2).
• They also prayed and fasted for the Church as a whole,
• It was an opportunity for the Church to seek God,
• And find out how they were going to support these missionaries.
Note: Verse 3:
• “They placed their hands on them and sent them off” (vs 3)
• These simple words reveal to us that this church was mature.
• Immaturity thinks about itself, and says, hold on to these people we need them here,
• But maturity recognises that God’s will was and is best.
• No Church wants to lose their best workers, their best teachers, their best leaders,
• But often that is who God calls to the mission field,
• And the Church at Antioch is an example to us on how to let them go.
Obviously for the believers at Antioch this would also be a huge challenge:
• They too would also have to trust God to take up the slack in leadership,
• And replace these men with other gifted teachers and prophets.
• They did not know the hymn, but they too would have to…
• Quote: Hymn, “…praise him for all that is past, and trust him for all that’s to come.’
Quote:
• Corrie ten Boom (author, speaker, Holocaust survivor)
• “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
• As we start a New Year as individuals and collectively as a Church,
• May that be our experience.
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=c1EGPoT0GWnHNmwMz0PYNsCQE4kgbQqf
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/tNzvMk6d3eM
