1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:06,400 Please have a seat today. Well, good morning, church 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:08,640 family. For those of you who don't know 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:15,080 me, my name is Fred Kai, and together with my wife Julia, Oh, 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:15,920 she's not here right now. OK. 5 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,880 And our four children, Jonathan, Karis, Chloe and Timothy. 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,440 We live in Japan as missionaries. 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:30,960 And so we are currently on our stateside assignment and it's 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,640 our time of rest from the field. And so it's been a wonderful 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,840 privilege just to to have been here for the past several months 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,960 just to have worship with you guys and fellowship with you 11 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,920 all. And it's an awesome privilege 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,840 today to bring the word of God, Bring a message from the word of 13 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,120 God today. So if you have a copy of God's 14 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,280 Word, please open it up to Acts chapter 12 and 13. 15 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,880 I'll read the text and then I'll open this up in the word of 16 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:14,880 prayer from Acts chapter 12, starting with verse 24 to 13. 17 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:22,200 Three, the word of Lord says. But the word of God increased 18 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:27,680 and multiplied, and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem 19 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,320 when they had completed their service, bringing with them 20 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:36,880 John, whose other name was Mark. Now there were in the church at 21 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,760 Antioch prophets and teachers Barnabas, Simeon who is called 22 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:47,000 Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manayan, a lifelong friend of 23 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:52,200 Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. They were worshipping the Lord 24 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,400 and fasting, when they were wishing the Lord in fasting. 25 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,880 Excuse me? The Holy Spirit said, set apart 26 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,960 for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called 27 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,840 them. Then after fasting and praying, 28 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,240 they laid their hands on them and set them off. 29 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:21,280 Let's pray. Heavenly Father God, thank you 30 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:27,360 for your holy word. Thank you that your church is 31 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,160 built on the foundation of your holy word. 32 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,400 Then when Peter said to Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of 33 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:42,880 God, you said on this rock, on Peter's confession, I will build 34 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,960 my church. So Lord, thank you for your word 35 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,080 today. I pray, Lord, that it would be 36 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,680 beneficial for us to hear. Lord, may your Holy Spirit move 37 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,360 among us just like it did in the early church, and tell us how we 38 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,880 ought to live as a church for your glory among the nations. 39 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:11,280 In Christ's name we pray, Amen. So we are jumping straight into 40 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,000 the middle of the book of Acts today. 41 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,520 Acts is written by Luke as a second volume to the Gospel of 42 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:24,800 Luke and if you read it before you might know that it's about 43 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:30,200 the apostles ministry after Jesus resurrection and through 44 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,720 that through their work establishing and the spreading 45 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,000 of the early church. So here's the the context, the 46 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:45,360 story up until now, roughly, OK, the risen Jesus who has 47 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:51,040 conquered sin and death. He commissions his disciples and 48 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,920 like the victorious king that he is, he sends them out. 49 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:01,240 He says they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea 50 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,800 and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 51 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,120 But they won't do it alone. He promises to give them the 52 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:14,040 Holy Spirit, to be with them and to empower them for that work. 53 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:20,079 And so Peter, in the power of the Holy Spirit, he preaches a 54 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:26,520 sermon in Jerusalem, just as Jesus said, and 3000 people are 55 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:32,040 saved and added to the church, and then the church grows to 56 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,200 5000. They suffer some relatively 57 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,960 minor persecution up until this point, but then Stephen, a 58 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,480 servant of the church is arrested and martyred for 59 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:50,400 preaching the gospel. And then so after that, that 60 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,160 brought about a severe persecution, it broke out 61 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,840 against the church in Jerusalem. And that persecution scatters 62 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:02,680 the church throughout Judea and Samaria, just as Jesus said. 63 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,840 And then Saul, one of the main persecutors who approved it, 64 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:13,000 says he approved of Stevens execution. 65 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:18,760 He gets knocked off his horse and he gets blinded by Jesus on 66 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,400 his way to Damascus to persecute more Christians. 67 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,080 And so Saul, he is blind as a bat. 68 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,960 He gets saved. His physical, his physical eyes 69 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,320 and his spiritual eyes get opened and Jesus commissions him 70 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:40,360 to take the gospel to the Gentiles, IE to the ends of the 71 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:47,080 earth, just as Jesus said. And so Saul immediately starts 72 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:48,640 preaching the gospel where he is. 73 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:55,040 And the once persecutor gets persecuted, Saul partners up 74 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,960 with another faithful disciple named Barnabas. 75 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,760 And Barnabas takes Saul to Antioch in Syria, where they 76 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,280 are, where there are Christians and a church is established 77 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:09,880 there. And it is there because 78 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,040 Christians escape there after Stevens martyrdom. 79 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:17,480 OK, so this is where we are today in this text. 80 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:23,400 Barnabas and Saul are members and leaders serving in this 81 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,080 church in Antioch. All right, so let's start with 82 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,800 the exposition of text and then I'll leave that into application 83 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:37,760 starting with verse 24 of chapter 12, which says, but the 84 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,880 Lord but the word of God increased and multiplied. 85 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,480 So I want you to notice the word but in the beginning of this 86 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,080 verse, but indicates a contrast to something, right? 87 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,560 In spite of something, in spite of this, the word of God 88 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:00,480 increased and multiplied. In spite of what? 89 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,600 Well, just before this we saw that Herod had killed James the 90 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,880 apostle. He's the second martyr in the 91 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,760 book of Acts, but he's the first apostle to get killed. 92 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,760 And then he puts Peter in prison and puts him on death row too. 93 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:25,080 It says that in verse one that Herod laid violent hands on 94 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:30,560 those who belong to the church. And then you come to a verse 95 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:38,920 like verse 24 and you ask how, how, how can the word of God 96 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,840 increase and multiply in this hostile environment? 97 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:50,760 It's like saying vegetables and crops are flourishing in Death 98 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:58,840 Valley. I'll tell you how God, there's 99 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:03,520 no other explanation. It is God who takes Saul from a 100 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,040 persecutor of the church to turn him into a missionary of the 101 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,280 church. It is God who breaks Peter out 102 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,760 of maximum security prison on death row. 103 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,360 It is God who strikes Herod dead for stealing glory from God. 104 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,680 And it's God who can make His word increase and multiply under 105 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:34,320 severe persecution. Verse 25 and Barnabas and Saul 106 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,799 returned from Jerusalem and when they had completed their 107 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:42,640 service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark. 108 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:49,080 It's a little bit of context. Barnabas and Saul just came back 109 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,480 from kind of a short term mission trip. 110 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,320 There was a great famine throughout the Roman Empire and 111 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,720 the Church of Antioch sent relief, most likely money to the 112 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,400 church in Jerusalem. So they sent Barnabas and Saul 113 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,640 to bring them this aid. They complete their mission and 114 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,720 bring back with them John Mark to Antioch. 115 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,960 And this John Mark would later continue to go on mission with 116 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:21,560 Paul and Barnabas. OK, next verse one. 117 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,920 Now that we're in the church in Antioch, prophets and teachers, 118 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,480 Barnabas Simeon, who is called Naguer, Lucchius of Cyrene, 119 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:40,040 Manayan, a lifelong friend of Tere the Tetrarch and Saul, we 120 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,840 see that in this church there were prophets and teachers and 121 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:45,880 among them are Barnabas and Saul. 122 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:51,720 So Barnabas and Saul are, are active members and active 123 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:57,120 leaders in this local church. And besides them, we we don't 124 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:01,040 really know much about the other brothers mentioned except that 125 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:04,720 they kind of seem to come from diverse backgrounds. 126 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,400 So look here after Barnabas. The first one mentioned is 127 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:16,920 Simeon, who is called Niger. You can probably guess what his 128 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,920 skin color is. Before it became a derogatory 129 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:25,200 term, Niger simply just meant dark or black. 130 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,560 OK, this is kind of like the word Negro in Spanish. 131 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,080 He was probably of African origin according to 132 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,800 commentaries. And then there's Lucius of 133 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,400 Cyrene. Cyrene is modern day Libya in 134 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:45,840 North Africa. Next is an interesting one. 135 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:53,120 Manayan, A lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch, the same 136 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,280 Herod who beheaded John the Baptist. 137 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:01,000 Can't imagine what people might say. 138 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:07,040 You have a member, a leader of your church who was associated 139 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:14,120 with an enemy of Jesus, and we should say, yes, that's what the 140 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:19,720 Gospel does. Who he is now is not who he was. 141 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:25,400 Praise Jesus. Let's not forgot about, let's 142 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,240 not forget about Saul, right? He was a scholar, trained under 143 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:33,840 the law, a Pharisee of Pharisees, a former persecutor 144 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:38,240 of the church who approved of the killing of Stephen. 145 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:47,800 And then there's Barnabas. He seemed to be a wealthy man in 146 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,240 Acts chapter 4. He had a field and he sold it 147 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:52,960 and gave all the money to the church. 148 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:00,920 So you have two Africans, a friend of a corrupt king, a 149 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,440 former persecutor, and a wealthy man. 150 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:11,880 What diversity? This is not man made mandated 151 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,800 DEI. This is gospel. 152 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:21,520 God brought DEI. It doesn't matter who you are, 153 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:26,000 doesn't matter who you were, the gospel can save anyone. 154 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:34,680 Period. Verse 2A while they were 155 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:36,800 worshipping the Lord and fasting. 156 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,760 I want to, I want you to notice the two present participle verbs 157 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,240 in the sentence worshipping and fasting. 158 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:48,280 OK. This shows us that these 159 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,760 disciplines were a a normal part of their life in the church. 160 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,240 The word worshipping here is only used two other times in the 161 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,360 Greek. According to the Greek lexicon, 162 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:05,520 it means to perform religious rites to render formal service. 163 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,480 In other words, this is their normal corporate gathering 164 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:12,800 church service, just like we're doing today. 165 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:20,240 And they were fasting. There's no indication that they 166 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,880 were fasting for some special occasion. 167 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,440 It is also in the present participle OK. 168 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,880 That means that it was a it was as normal for them to fast 169 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,160 corporately as it was normal for them to gather for Sunday 170 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,360 worship. And fasting usually includes 171 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,000 prayer. They go hand in hand and that's 172 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,680 as later shown in in verse three that they were praying, fasting 173 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,360 and praying. So while the church was 174 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,040 practicing the normal disciplines of the corporate 175 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,920 gathered body, something incredible happened. 176 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:06,320 Verse 2B, the Holy Spirit said, let me just camp here for a bit 177 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,120 because it's easy to gloss over these words, right? 178 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:18,960 Can we just be just utterly amazed for a moment that God the 179 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:24,120 Holy Spirit would speak? We don't know how He spoke. 180 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:29,520 Was it an audible voice or a voice in everyone's head? 181 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:35,680 Was it a voice from heaven, or did He speak through a person? 182 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:42,000 Was it a strong, commanding voice, or was it a low, gentle 183 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,920 voice? We don't know because it doesn't 184 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,920 say. But He spoke and that's just 185 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,880 simply amazing. I would have loved to have been 186 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:58,520 there to hear the voice of God. What did he say? 187 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:04,280 He said set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work 188 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,360 to which I have called them earlier. 189 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,920 We saw in verse one, right, the list of prophets and teachers in 190 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,320 the Antioch church. These are likely their church 191 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:22,600 leaders, qualified elders of the church, among whom are Barnabas 192 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:28,920 and Saul. So the Holy Spirit chooses elder 193 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:32,200 qualified men to send as missionaries. 194 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,240 And it's not like they were always this way. 195 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,080 Barnabas and Saul, right? They weren't elder qualified 196 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,880 when they got saved. We know Barnabas got saved near 197 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,800 the beginning of the early church in Acts 4 when he sold 198 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:48,360 his field and gave his money to the church. 199 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,840 That was something like 17 to 18 years ago. 200 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,320 And then Saul was saved on the Damascus Rd. some 13 years ago. 201 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:05,800 So 13 and 17 years of being in the church, serving in the 202 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,200 church, being transplanted to new churches because of 203 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:13,800 persecution, and then moving to Antioch together to serve there 204 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,840 because there was a need, and then becoming elders of that 205 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:22,440 church. Sure, you can say, well, Saul 206 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,080 was called by Jesus to be a missionary when he was saved in 207 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:25,800 Acts 9. So. 208 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,280 So that was what God was going to do all along, right? 209 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:36,320 But why did God have to wait so long, over a decade, almost 2 210 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,600 decades before sending him out, before sending them both out? 211 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:48,160 Because spiritual maturity and raising up leaders takes time. 212 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:55,800 To be sure, I do believe God could make someone qualified to 213 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,040 lead in an instant if you wanted to. 214 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:05,520 But more often than not God raises up people slowly, takes 215 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:10,119 his time. Verse 3, the last verse. 216 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,319 Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them 217 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:22,440 and sent them off. Then, meaning after hearing the 218 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,520 Holy Spirit's Commission and then what did they do? 219 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:28,520 They fasted and prayed some more. 220 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,640 I'm inclined to think that the church was praying and 221 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,800 considering what the Holy Spirit told them to do, probably 222 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:44,800 praying for Barnabas and Saul. Now they have a more of a focus 223 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,560 of their fasting and praying and they laid their hands on them. 224 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,960 They laid their hands on them. We don't see much of the laying 225 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:58,120 on of hands today, but you know, maybe except in the case of 226 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:01,760 ordaining a pastor or before someone goes on missions, just 227 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,840 like in this passage. What? 228 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,160 What does it mean though? Well, it's a symbolic act. 229 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,240 Just like baptism and Lord's Supper are symbols pointing to 230 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:17,240 something, laying on of hands is a symbol for the church. 231 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:21,880 There are many instances of the laying on of hands in the Bible 232 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,240 with many different meanings, many different meanings. 233 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:28,840 Not just this one that I'm about to share, but in this case, the 234 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,560 Antioch churches, the Antioch church laying their hands on 235 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,880 Barnabas and Saul. It's like the church is saying, 236 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,400 we support you, Barnabas and Saul. 237 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,520 We send you out to do what the Lord has called you to do. 238 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:50,840 Our hands are on you physically and in spirit after you leave 239 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,760 this place to care for you and whatever needs come your way. 240 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:02,280 We commit to do our part for you in the Lord as you do yours for 241 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,920 the Lord. In other words, we will be your 242 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:11,440 home and ascending church. Application. 243 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,520 I have 7 points of exhortation. I know same style as Pastor 244 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,120 Matt. That's how you know I was raised 245 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:24,880 in this church. Application #1 The blood of 246 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:26,840 martyrs is the seed of the church. 247 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,320 The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. 248 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,880 This quote is attributed to an early church father in the 2nd 249 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:42,920 century named Tertullian. In the first 3 centuries of 250 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:48,440 church history, during which a Tertullian lived, was marked by 251 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:53,560 severe persecution. Christians were fed alive to 252 00:19:53,560 --> 00:20:00,480 lions, they were beaten, they were whipped, sawn in half, put 253 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,160 to death by the sword, and burned at the stake. 254 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:11,640 The Roman emperor Nero used to tie Christians to a pole, dip 255 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:13,840 them in oil and set them on fire. 256 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,800 And use them as St. lights at night. 257 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:25,240 And you may think that things have changed since then, but in 258 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,360 the country where we used to live, I won't name it here, but 259 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:32,040 you can ask me afterwards. When the church was very young, 260 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:37,960 some 70 years ago, the church and Christian institutions were 261 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,000 banned and closed by the government. 262 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:47,440 All missionaries were expelled, pastors and believers were 263 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:52,960 arrested and imprisoned without trial, or they were sent to 264 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:59,720 labor camps to work as slaves. Some were tortured, publicly 265 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:06,280 humiliated and executed. Others were forced to renounce 266 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:10,920 their faith. The remaining Christians went 267 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,360 underground in secret House churches. 268 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,680 A lot of that is happening again today as we speak. 269 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,600 We heard of Christians in Nigeria this year alone, over 270 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:29,160 7000 have been killed. They are systematically being 271 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:37,240 killed in Nigeria. And you might be, you look at 272 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:42,400 this and you might be tempted to think, wow, that's got to be the 273 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,040 end of the church, right? That's got to set Christianity 274 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:53,040 back years, decades. But those persecutors of the 275 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,680 church never read the book of Acts. 276 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:03,280 They don't know church history. They thought they could blow out 277 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:08,840 the fire of the gospel, but the harder they blew, the faster the 278 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:13,520 fire spread. For 2000 years, history has been 279 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:18,080 filled with martyrs whose blood soaked the soil to fertilize the 280 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:23,400 seed of the gospel. God's Word cannot be stopped. 281 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:27,440 Amen. So I pray you be encouraged, 282 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,320 Christian, no matter how hard it may be to stand up for your 283 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:39,680 faith, no matter what risk your job, your academic grades, or 284 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:46,560 even your life, when you stand firm for the gospel, God's Word 285 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:51,040 will not return empty. No sacrifice for Christ will be 286 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,880 unseen. Not a hair on your head will 287 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,240 perish, and not one drop of blood will be wasted. 288 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:07,440 Application #2 Ministry is a team effort and an opportunity 289 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,680 to disciple others to come alongside us. 290 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:17,720 We saw this with Barnabas and Saul taking John Mark along with 291 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,120 them. You know that Angel saying a 292 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:24,200 cord of three strands is not easily broken, right? 293 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,800 That's from Ecclesiastes. This verse usually is used to 294 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,760 refer to our need for community or used to emphasize a strong 295 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,440 marriage right where the three strands being God, the husband 296 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,800 and the wife. It is also true when we seek to 297 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:45,360 serve God in the church. This example, we see this 298 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:47,760 example throughout the whole New Testament. 299 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,040 Jesus ministered with 12 disciples. 300 00:23:53,240 --> 00:24:00,680 He sent 72 out on mission, 2 by 2, Even Barnabas and Saul, they 301 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,960 were already seasoned leaders of the church. 302 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:05,920 They bring along John Marked to go with them. 303 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,080 When we serve together with others and bring them along, it 304 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,360 models what discipleship and community looks like. 305 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:19,360 It's an opportunity to pour into someone or be poured into by 306 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:24,160 someone, all while serving the needs of the body. 307 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:29,360 So brothers, next time you go out on a church errand, take 308 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:34,320 another brother with you. Sisters, next time you go and 309 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,760 meet a friend to share the gospel with them, take another 310 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:43,200 sister with you. God has given you your brothers 311 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,320 and sisters to you to serve him together. 312 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,520 Partnering together is also one of our strong values as a as a 313 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,920 missionary team in Japan. We don't we don't do ministry 314 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,320 alone if we can help it. We always try to bring other 315 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:04,360 people along with us, whether it's a teammate or a local 316 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:08,040 Japanese Christian. It's an opportunity to say, hey, 317 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,760 I need your help. I think we can do this Better 318 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:13,720 Together than if I was just by myself. 319 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,120 I'm trying to befriend this guy to share the gospel with him, so 320 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:19,640 let's try to be friends with him together. 321 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:28,440 Point #3 A healthy church has a plurality of elders. 322 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,080 A healthy church has a plurality of leaders and elders. 323 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:40,080 And for us at CSPC, well, no, I guess not CSP up this day. 324 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,360 But the point is, this point is especially important as we are 325 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:47,760 forming a new church together. We live in a day and age when 326 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:49,400 there are many different flavors of church. 327 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,800 Some churches only have one leader or pastor. 328 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:59,840 Some have multiple leaders at multiple levels and some believe 329 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,280 it or not, have no leaders whatsoever. 330 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,960 And yet again and again, the example in the Bible that we see 331 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,120 is that the local church has a plurality of elders. 332 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,360 This is not just one of many church model. 333 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:21,920 I believe this is the consistent model in the early church as we 334 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,280 see here in the Antioch church. They have 5 leaders listed. 335 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,920 Perhaps God wants us to see what a healthy model of a church 336 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,680 looks like. There are many reasons for 337 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:39,040 having a plurality of elders. Here are the reasons that are 338 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,920 most important. Most important according to 9 339 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:46,160 Marks, which is a ministry that's a big proponent of the 340 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,480 plurality of elders listed. A. 341 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:56,120 Through EA Biblical accountability, the elders help 342 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:59,840 to keep and maintain. The elders help to keep the main 343 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:04,800 teaching pastor in check to live, teach and lead faithfully. 344 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:11,120 They keep any one elder from abuse of power lording over the 345 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:15,000 congregation. B Shared wisdom. 346 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,680 Instead of just one man's thoughts and decisions, multiple 347 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,400 counselors add to the wisdom to make the most important 348 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:27,640 decisions in the church. C Balance and gifts. 349 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,480 No one man has all the gifts necessary to build up the 350 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,360 church. Multiple lead, multiple elders, 351 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:38,160 bring multiple giftings to the table to compliment the pastors. 352 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:44,320 D Burden sharing. One man cannot effectively 353 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,360 shoulder all the burdens of shepherding needy sheep. 354 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,680 He will be stretched and pulled in all directions and people 355 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:59,480 will fall through the cracks. Many hands make light work E. 356 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,520 It sets an example for the church. 357 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,480 It shows that the work of ministry is not just for the 358 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,480 elite or just those who are being paid or have gone to 359 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:18,040 seminary, lay elders, those who are not being paid by the church 360 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:22,000 or have an Mdiv. They set an example of spiritual 361 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,760 maturity for people who work ordinary jobs just like they do. 362 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:37,680 Application #4 The gospel saves indiscriminately, so we preach 363 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,360 it indiscriminately. The gospel saves 364 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,280 indiscriminately, so we preach it indiscriminately. 365 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,120 In the book Compelling the Compelling Community by Mark 366 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:53,280 Dever and Jamie Jamie Dunlop, they make the case that that if 367 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,320 the church community is not supernatural, it doesn't work. 368 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:04,560 OK by work they mean fulfill God's plans for community. 369 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:07,720 So then what's God's plan for community? 370 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:15,640 And it's this to display the manifold wisdom of God according 371 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:21,320 to Ephesians 310. Meaning if we gather for and if 372 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:28,760 what unites us are man centered reasons like race, like culture 373 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:35,480 or ethnicity or socio and economic status or common 374 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:41,440 interest, that tends to, not always, but it tends to show the 375 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,080 world. That is not the power of the 376 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,880 gospel that unites us, it's our human preferences. 377 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:53,400 It's our human wisdom on display, not God's manifold 378 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,840 wisdom. But if it's the gospel that 379 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:03,600 unites us, then God's wisdom is glorified and on display in the 380 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:08,640 local church. There's no other reason why this 381 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,800 community is gathered than because they are all saved by 382 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:17,360 Jesus. So what does that mean for us 383 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,240 practically? Well, no. 384 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,920 No drastic change in the church is necessary, I think. 385 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,120 But it starts with you, individual Christian. 386 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:32,600 Simply preach the gospel indiscriminately as God gives 387 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:38,280 you the opportunity. Maybe God leads you to share 388 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,800 with that Indian Co worker of yours. 389 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:44,720 Maybe you need to reach out to your white classmate who sit 390 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:49,520 next to you. Maybe God put your Hispanic 391 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:54,920 neighbor on your heart. When we preach the gospel to 392 00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:00,440 whosoever, then we show the world that it's the power of God 393 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:08,520 that saves and not human wisdom. 5 Corporate fasting and prayer 394 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:13,280 are a normal part of worship. Corporate fasting and prayer is 395 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:18,360 a normal part of worship. Fasting often feels like a lost 396 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,800 discipline, doesn't it? Especially in in American church 397 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,560 today. But Jesus expected his disciples 398 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,880 to fast when when Jesus taught about it on the Sermon on the 399 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:35,920 Mount in Matthew 6, he says when you fast, when you fast, not if 400 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:40,240 you fast. But more important that than 401 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,840 that we should fast is why we should fast. 402 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,120 We fast to say in essence we desire God. 403 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,440 We need God more than we desire or need food. 404 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,080 We're saying that we're saying what Jesus said when he fasted. 405 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:03,440 Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that 406 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:09,760 comes from the mouth of God. Fasting is 1 means of grace to 407 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:14,200 draw near to God. We see in the church in Antioch 408 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:18,360 that the whole church was fasting together during 409 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,080 corporate worship, regular worship service. 410 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,960 Now, how often did they fast? Was it once a week, once a 411 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:30,040 month, once a year? How long did they fast? 412 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:31,960 Was it just a meal or for several days? 413 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,240 You know it doesn't, it doesn't say. 414 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:37,400 So I think it's up to each church and each individual 415 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,560 Christian to decide. But our church practice it 416 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:42,400 corporately once a year on Good Friday. 417 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:47,120 So I encourage you, brothers and sisters, follow in the biblical 418 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:52,280 example set for you, if you are physically able, participate in 419 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:56,440 corporate fasting and make it a regular discipline in your life 420 00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:59,640 to seek the face of God through fasting. 421 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:06,760 Number six, God calls out qualified people for specific 422 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,520 work through the church. God calls out qualified people 423 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:13,120 for specific work through the church. 424 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,560 So if the Holy Spirit was indeed audible at at the church in 425 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:21,880 Antioch and throughout the the early church is not the typical 426 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:26,120 pattern today. Just because someone claims that 427 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,760 God said something to them doesn't mean it's true. 428 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,880 Just ask any girl who was told by a guy, God called me to marry 429 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:39,440 you. So how does God speak today? 430 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,400 Well, after the biblical Canon was finished, God primarily 431 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,960 speaks through his word, the Bible. 432 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:52,760 OK, and through the Holy Spirit, working through the church, 433 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,920 through the leaders and elders, through the congregation, 434 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:05,760 applying His Word to your life. This is especially true when in 435 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:10,000 a calling to ministry. If so, it's your job church to 436 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:15,199 assess who is qualified for ministry, whether an elder, a 437 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:21,239 Deacon, or a missionary. You are the one to watch 438 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:26,320 carefully over their lives and say, we can see her doing this 439 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:28,080 overseas among an unreached people group. 440 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:33,639 We can see him shepherd our church because we've watched him 441 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:39,199 shepherd his own family. Church, you are God's training 442 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:42,440 ground to raise up leaders, servants, and missionaries. 443 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,600 You are God's eyes to discern whether a brother or sister is 444 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:52,280 qualified to serve. And you are God's mouthpiece to 445 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:59,360 call out qualified people for Christian ministry #7 Last 446 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,920 point. A healthy church sends out and 447 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:08,560 supports their own missionaries. The healthy Church sends out and 448 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,880 supports their own missionaries. You know, Julia and I are are 449 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,360 usually called by people as IMB missionaries. 450 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,680 So you have a you have an IMB missionary who's speaking at 451 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:19,800 church today. OK. 452 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,480 And that's not wrong to say. And when we go to other 453 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,320 churches, they say we have IMB missionaries. 454 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,320 Friend Julia here. That's not wrong to say. 455 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,200 We are technically officially employed by the IMB. 456 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:37,120 But we also firmly believe that it's ultimately not the sending 457 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,760 organization that sends out missionaries, It's the local 458 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,400 church. It's the local church because 459 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:48,760 God's primary vehicle to reach the nation's with the gospel is 460 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:53,560 the local church. Let me read you the full context 461 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,520 of the verse I referenced earlier about the manifold 462 00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:04,320 wisdom of God from Ephesians 37 to 11, says Paul says of this 463 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,880 gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's 464 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:12,240 grace, which was given to me by the working of His power to me, 465 00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:14,520 though I am the very least of all the Saints. 466 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:19,080 This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable 467 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,680 riches of Christ and to bring to life for everyone what is the 468 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:26,960 plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all 469 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:33,160 things, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of 470 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:37,400 God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in 471 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,600 the heavenly places. This was according to the 472 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:44,920 eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our 473 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:50,320 Lord. So God's manifold, multifaceted, 474 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:57,440 like a sparkling diamond wisdom in the gospel is made known to 475 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:00,960 the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through His 476 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:06,360 Bride, the Church. And this has always been part of 477 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:14,080 God's plan from eternity's past. So church, you have an amazing, 478 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:19,400 you have an amazing privilege and role to raise up, send out 479 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,920 and continually support missionaries like us. 480 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:30,280 It's God's plan, His plan A, to use you as the means to reach 481 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:35,480 the nations with the gospel. So be encouraged and be 482 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:38,160 challenged. Brothers and sisters, let's 483 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:38,400 pray.