Sermon for May 29th, 2016

Acts 11:19-30

19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. 20But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. 22News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; 24for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”

27At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius. 29The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea; 30this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

First Church: First Called Christians

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so I'm reminded of the story about the little boy who was walking one Sunday morning from Sunday School to the worship service. As they were walking down the long hallway to the sanctuary, the young boy saw a giant plaque with a long list of names on it, and so he asked his father what it was, and what all those names meant.

The father told his son, "those are the names of people from our church who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country." Confused, the boy said, "Ultimate sacrifice? What does that mean?"

Choosing his words more carefully this time, the father tried again: "Well, son, they're the names of brave young men and women who gave up their lives in the last war." The boy's eyes grew wider, but still he was confused. "Gave up their lives? What does that mean?"

This time, deciding to be more blunt, the father said, "They're the names of church members who died in the service." At this, the boy froze in place, refusing to go any further. Fearfully, he looked up at his father and said, "Which service, Dad...the 9:00 or the 11:00?"

Much like those brave Americans we celebrate every year on Memorial day, who gave their lives in service to a higher ideal, so too were the earliest Christians familiar with sacrifice and martyrdom. Today's scripture passage begins with the first time of persecution in the life of the first church.

I think it's difficult today to put ourselves in their shoes, particularly because of the freedom we enjoy in our country to worship...or not to worship...in whatever way we like.

But although Churches and Christians in America are far from being "persecuted," we do face our share of troubles, challenges, and opportunities. So I think there's still much to learn from the example of the first church in Acts, and the first people (as we read to today) to be called "Christians."

So what's going on here? As I count it, there are about five different things happening, in sequential order, in today's passage. I know, some of you are thinking, "But Pastor Neal, you said last week that sermons should only have three points because that's about as high as you can count." No need to worry--We're still keeping it all on the fingers of one hand.

In verse 19, we read that "those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews." 20But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.

In times of trouble, we have a very human tendency to do one of two things: We can either dig in, buckle down, and circle the wagons--in other words, move to protect ourselves from what is threatening us. Or, we can spread out, diversify, and evolve, adapting to what is threatening us.

The first is what I call the turtle approach--a turtle pulls into his shell and shuts everything out. The second is what I call the cockroach approach--kill one and they just multiply. Try to eradicate them with a spray, and eventually they evolve an immunity to the spray.

When the disciples in the Book of Acts encounter persecution, their first instinct is to circle the wagons. They talk to no one except their fellow Jews. Some of them, as we've seen in previous passages, try the turtle approach of shutting out the gentiles and the hellentists. But eventually, they go the way of the cockroach, and they spread out across the mediterranean, evolving and adapting out of their native Jewish practices into something quite new and different. And in Antioch, that new thing finally gets a name. More on that later.

So the first thing we learn from today's passage is diversification. When the church and Christians are in danger, we're at our best not when we defend and protect, but rather when we diversify and adapt. When the church in Acts finally makes this move, we read in verse 21 that "The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord."

The next thing is collaboration. One of the greatest and most productive partnerships in the New Testament is born in this passage, in verses 22-25: News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.

Saul and Barnabas will go on many adventures, crossing many miles of land and sea in the book of Acts as they spread the gospel together. But who are they? Barnabas comes from Jerusalem. In fact, he is sent by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem to see what's going on in Antioch. This implies that he is a trusted part of the "old guard," the original Jewish followers of Jesus. He is sent to be the voice of experience and wisdom. Saul (also known as Paul), by contrast, is the rookie. Remember just a few weeks ago, we heard his conversion story, how he went from persecuting the church to becoming its newest convert.

• Collaboration. Barnabas and Saul. Intergenerational mentoring.
• Branding. Christians. Takes patience (a year) and process to establish a reputation. Met. Taught. Called.
• Assessment and Action. These two go hand in hand, can't have one without the other. Sometimes assessment of situation comes directly via the spirit, and sometimes via wise discernment, observation. Action is "each according to ability" everyone has their part, and yet two are delegated to represent the whole.