Lechem Panim #172 “The Son of Encouragement” (Acts 11:22-30) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim! Last week we saw in Acts chapter 11 how the Gospel was brought to the city of Antioch by some Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene, who come and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the Hellenists there. And there is a great spiritual harvest as many of those Hellenists turn in faith to Jesus Christ. And it says in…

Acts 11:22 (ESV)— 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

Why Barnabas?— Now you will remember Barnabas from chapter 4, in which he sold a piece of property and donated all the proceeds from that sale to meet the needs of the poor. He was the one Ananias and Sapphira were trying to appear as good as. And he truly was a good man because of how sold out he was to Jesus; and because of that God was able to use him in some amazing ways. He was used by God to be an influence on the Jerusalem Church on Paul’s behalf, helping them to accept him (Acts 9:27). He was also a leading teacher in the Church and demonstrated love, a gentle spirit, generosity, and (perhaps most importantly) encouragement. The name Barnabas (which remember had been given to him by the apostles) literally means “son of encouragement.” And it was likely because of this chief defining characteristic in his life that the apostles sent him as their representative. They knew they couldn’t send someone who was rigid and legalistic. No, they needed someone who knew how to show others the love of Christ.

From $1,000 Bill to Quarters— [Fred Craddock, who taught at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, once {said it best when he} said: “To give my life for Christ appears glorious. To pour myself out for others ... to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom — I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table — ‘Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.’ But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, ‘Get lost.’ Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.”]
    And it was this type of conversion that made the ministry of Barnabas so powerful. Everywhere he went he had a handful of quarters ready to hand out. And in addition to this, he also had the spiritual discernment to recognize how God was moving and how to respond (which we will see in a minute). But he was also the perfect choice because he was a Cypriot Jew (4:36-37) and would therefore be perceived as one of them rather than at outsider. All of these things combined to make him the perfect man for the job. And we see it in the very next verse. It says…

Acts 11:23a (ESV)— 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad,

He Rejoiced— Now not all Jews would have been glad. Some would have been extraordinarily displeased. But not Barnabas. He rejoiced at this new outpouring of the grace of God. It didn’t matter what race these people were. He was simply thrilled to be witnessing the hand of God at work. And (like always) he was eager to encourage them. And so it says in…

Acts 11:23a-24 (ESV)— and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

Growing Too Fast— Now at this point the church in Antioch is running into a problem; it’s growing too fast. Would that every church might have that problem. But it was a real problem. And Barnabas suddenly finds himself overwhelmed with converts. And he knows he needs help. And so it says in…

Acts 11:25 (ESV)— 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

Looking for Saul— And this was not easy, because several years had passed since Saul had fled to his home in Tarsus (Acts 9:30). Philippians 3:8 reveals that Saul had apparently been disinherited because of faith and forced to leave his home in Jerusalem. And at this point he was very difficult to find. It says Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And that phrase “to look for” (Anazēteō in Greek) actually suggests a laborious search; one that is very difficult. Now eventually Barnabas catches up with Saul. It says…

Acts 11:26a (ESV)— 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.

Saul Teaching Gentiles— Now I would have loved to get to sit under their teaching. And think about it; I mean Saul (a Pharisee of Pharisees; a man who had formerly despised gentiles and who persecuted all the followers of Christ he could) is now ministering to gentiles and helping to disciple gentile Christians! Once again, God has an awesome sense of humor. Now once again, keep in mind that these gentiles knew very little (if any) scripture. They weren’t like the Jews (many of whom could quote massage chunks if not the whole Old Testament by memory). No, they had to be taught the very basics. And Saul and Barnabas are therefore introducing these new believers to much of what you and I first learned in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School or Awanas; the very basics. But the basics (as we said before) were enough to churn up a mighty moving of the hand of God. And we see that in what follows. Luke adds here what might seem at first glance to be only nice little fact to have tucked away in a footnote somewhere. He says in…

Acts 11:26b (ESV)— And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

“Christian”— Now this term “Christian” literally means “of the party of Christ”. And it was a term of derision and scorn. That is why Peter wrote in…

1 Peter 4:16 (ESV)— 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

A Badge of Honor— And that is what these early believers did. They glorified God in that name. They took that name and they owned it, even wearing it as a badge of honor. It interesting; the historian Eusebius, in writing about the Christian martyr Sanctus, said that Sanctus, when being questioned by his torturers, gave them a simple answer: “I am a Christian”. He bore that name with pride. Now what this title Christian also reveals to us is that in addition to being a badge of honor, it also showed that these early believers were starting to have an identity apart from other Jews (cf. also 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16). Now at this point in the history of the Church there is an interesting turn of events. It says in…

Acts 11:27-28 (ESV)— 27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).

Famines— And this was during the years A.D. 41-45. Just as Agabus predicted, severe famines inflicted Israel. And there were several ancient writers such as Tacitus (Annals XI.43), Josephus (Antiquities XX.ii.5), and Suetonius (Claudius 18) who attest to this.

The Test of a Movement— Now when evaluating a new Christian movement (or perhaps a specific church like this one here in Antioch), one of the first things to always look for is whether or not the people are demonstrating the same love and compassion for people that Jesus Himself demonstrated. Because if not; if that movement (or church) is more focused on programs than it is on people; or on causes rather than on actually meeting the needs of the lost and needy, look somewhere else; because that movement or church has nothing to do with Christ. But the church here in Antioch (even at this early stage) passed this test with flying colors, because it says in…

Acts 11:29-30 (ESV)— 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Everyone Gave To The Max— Now this is amazing because normally when a church takes an offering on behalf of a special mission, rarely will every person in the Church give. And even on the rare occasions where that happens, people rarely give until it hurts. Yet here, the members of the church in Antioch (the text says every one) took a look at their finances and evaluated how much they could possibly give and then gave according to that amount (and even then may have pushed the envelope on that a little). There’s no talk of percentages or bumping up their tithe a tad; there’s simply the picture of every Christian saying (by God’s grace) “I see a need and I’m going to do as much as I possibly can to meet that need.” And you know, that ought to lead us to ask what needs there might be in our area that we have not yet thought of. Coronavirus has put a lot of things on hold; unfortunately not poverty, hunger, addiction, or any of the many other things afflicting society and culture today. And that is why more than ever the world needs us to be the Church; to be people like Barnabas, Saul, and these early Christians; to be the very hands and feet of Christ.

Given to Give— Every week my kids have chapel at their Christian school. And on many of the mornings they have chapel, we will put a dollar in their backpacks for them to put in the offering plate. And when that offering plate comes to them, they proudly put it in, feeling like they made their contribution. But let me ask you, where did that bill ultimately come from? From us. We gave those bills to them so that they could experience the joy of contributing to a mission we in fact were supporting. But sometimes we as adults forget that in a similar way, what has been given to us from God is not meant for us either. God has entrusted to us the talents and means He always intended us to use to invest in the lives of others. The question is, “Are we doing so?” Is my Christian walk all about what Christ has done FOR us; or is it also about what Christ has done THROUGH us? Let us be a body of believers that gives faithfully our talents, our time, and our means to meet the needs of a lost and needy world. Let’s do so. Amen.