Sunday Sermon
sunday 31st May 2009
Acts 11v19-30
What makes a Christian?
Last week we saw the church in Jerusalem begin to rejoice in God over the fact that salvation was for the Gentiles also.
The Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles just as He was in the beginning on the Jews.
This week we see that more and more Gentiles now begin to follow Jesus. So much so that the group can no longer be considered a Jewish sect, they are called a new name: Christian.
Intro:
1) How did the name Christian come about? first called Christians in Antioch v26.
How things happened:
a. there is the ongoing witnessing of the believers v19-21.
Luke seems to back track the story a little tracing this witnessing to the time following Stephens murder.
Many of the early followers still only tell other Jews about Jesus, but some begin to tell Gentiles. Other followers of Jesus could not keep the good news to themselves!
There is great success and many come to believe, many from a none Jewish background.
Antioch was a major city (3rd largest in Roman empire). Comparable to Rome in wealth, power, population, corruption etc
Estimated that about 300 to 500 thousand lived there.
(now called Antakya, town in Turkey pop’n about 40,000).
b. then the apostles give their seal of approval through Barnabas, who along with Saul stay in Antioch teaching v22-26. And there they are called Christian.
Note:
There is no word about this name being their choice. Seems that it was a given name.
Simply means followers of Christ! When people looked at them, that is what they noticed, they were followers of Jesus!
The challenge for us today, who designate ourselves Christians is this: are we followers of Jesus? Is it obvious to the world that we are Christians?
2)how do you become a Christian?
V 21, the people heard the message they believed it and started to follow Jesus.
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a. you listen to the message.
Preachers pass on knowledge. Evangelists pass on knowledge.
The knowledge is “good news about the Lord Jesus/ preaching the Lord Jesus” v20.
The news is God loves you and wants to forgive your sins and give you life.
All that Jesus said and did is the proof of this.
b. then you decide what you are going to do with the knowledge.
Are you going to believe it. Believe that this knowledge is true and real.
That the whole story of Jesus Christ is real, true.
Or are you going to reject this knowledge.
The power of choice is yours! And what a frightening power it is.
c. then you follow Jesus if you believe the knowledge passed onto you.
V21 the people “turned to the Lord”.
You become a disciple by turning to the Lord. That is you set your mind on Him to learn from him. You become a student or an apprentice of the Lord. That’s what the 12 originals disciples did, they attached themselves to Jesus to learn from him. Simple!
3) what then do you do?
V23, they were to be committed to Him continually.
a. keep on being committed to Jesus.
Barnabas told the people who had become disciples to keep at it!
Turning to Jesus is to be a continual occurrence, not just a one off.
A disciple has enlisted in a lifetime of learning from the Master.
It is only as we continue in the Lord that we are disciples.
There is no such thing as a disciple who has made it! Qualified, graduated from class.
Why? Because being a disciple is not just about learning the facts and figures of theology, but about living it out in practice!
So as long as we are living we are called to listen, learn, grow and work it all out in the field of life.
So in V29, we see they were still disciples. They never moved from being a disciples to being a Christian, in the sense of a qualification.
b. evidence of being a disciple must be seen:
27-30 evidence of this new groups commitment: giving.
These early disciples were told of a upcoming need so they adjusted their life appropriately as they could. “each according to his ability” v29.
Ultimately our discipleship will be seen in our giving to others. In terms of time, respect, prayers, love, service, money etc.
sunday evening 31st may 2009
Col 1v24-2v5
1)Pauls great aim: His aim is to present the church perfect.
In these verse we are given an insight into Pauls aim.
Which is v28-29, “present everyone perfect in Christ”
Where did Paul get this aim? From God! This is God’s aim for the church, that we would be perfect in his sight v22, through reconciliation.
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We are working towards perfection.
Our aim is to be perfection.
Now what does this mean? “present everyone Perfect in Christ Jesus”?
Obviously this side of eternity it is not talking about sinlessness.
Rather it means completeness, or maturity.
We are to aim to grow up into the complete Christian. The total Christian, lacking nothing.
Mature in the faith, displaying all the fruit of the Spirit.
This is not beyond any of us.
The bible does not tell us to be holy, to put aside sin, to work out our salvation etc for fun!
This is something we have to do.
We are to grow from immaturity to maturity.
· The word Present is also worth considering a moment:
The sacrifice was presented before God in the OT, for His acceptance, as a gift of thanksgiving or whatever.
That is how we are to live, as living sacrifices, presenting ourselves to God each day for his help and blessing.
2) How does he go about his aim?
Serves the church:
a. In carrying out his service he has to suffer for the church v24.
He suffers for the cause!
Let’s not worry too much about the meaning of “what is lacking...”, in case we miss the point, we can see the wood for the trees.
The point is Paul suffered for the cause!!
b. By serving the church, he knows he has been commissioned with a special task – v25.
He presents the word of truth, “to fulfil the word of God”. That is he is to make the word of God understood, fully known.
It was a mystery that he has been given the task to explain. How?
c. By proclaiming, teaching and admonishing v28.
Paul is no one trick pony!
He is called to present the word to the church in all its fullness. He suffers in that task, and he does all he can to present it: preaching, explaining, and using the word to discipline.
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Service always involves suffering.
Whatever God calls us to there is this element of suffering in it. That goes right back to the call of the gospel in the first place. We are called to sacrifice all that we love for Christ’s sake and to love him first.
Yet we need to remember that the cost of none-commitment is far greater than the cost of commitment!
The cost of none service is equally far greater than the cost of service!
3) Teaching what? V25-27
We have looked at Pauls aim, we have seen how he seeks to fulfil that aim by serving the church in suffering for her and presenting to her the Word of God in all its fullness.
Now we ask what specifically was the Word Paul taught?
The word of God in all its fullness ... Christ in you the hope of glory v27, We proclaim Him.
Pauls does his task of serving the church by proclaiming Jesus and in Him the hope of glory!
Paul lived to present Christ to the church, that the church might be presented to God!
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Count Nicolas von Zinzendorf (founder of the Moravian movement) “I have one passion only: it is He! It is He!”
“Christ in you the hope of glory” – do we know this Salvation?
Is He your personal Lord, have you experienced Him.
Salvation is an intensely personal thing, we must know him, love him.
He must be our all in all.
Knowing and loving Him will lead us on towards maturity, perfection.
Knowing and loving Him will make our service a delight, not a law.
