The Guidepost that Changed the World (Acts 11:19-30)
Rev. Kwang-Su Ryu
“19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 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. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.”
Introduction
Until now, I thought our World Missions Convention theme song was okay but listening to this year’s theme song through the choir, I think it is a good song. This year, we had the most participants and disciples from overseas for a conference. Because of that, I think there are many disciples that God has prepared. And I was able to confirm that. In order to fulfill this, we need to keep two things in mind. I will explain one in today’s sermon and the next in our next sermon. Whoever you are, when you are a child of God, you want to evangelize but we don’t know how to. The problem is that we don’t know how to do that even though we are within the economy of light. We need to confirm this within the Bible. This is very important and accurate. All of our remnants, they want to succeed and do world evangelism but it is not taking place. Why is that? For those it did work, how did they do it? The Antioch Church had the guidepost that changed the world. We need to look back at ourselves and reflect.
Verses 19-30 - They were scattered through the persecution of Stephen. The church that they gathered together was the Antioch Church. Then, we need to confirm Acts 11:1-18*. It is a passage that we know well. This was where the works that changed the age took place there. Before that, Paul went to the house of Cornelius and shared the gospel, and the Holy Spirit came upon that house and Paul. I am sure that house hosted Peter but after that, a problem arose within the church. That is legalism. There is legalism and there in the law that you shouldn’t be with Gentiles. This was what they rose with. Does that make sense? If you are not careful you will live your walk of faith with these things - with the things of the past, your thoughts, the things we know, and the things we like. We need to discard this so that we can see the gospel and the important things. If you can’t discard legalism, then you can’t know the gospel and what sin is. The Jewish people kept every letter of the law but they blocked the gospel. This was so scary for them to do and this caused their children and next generations to be killed by the world. This was the time where God changed the lamp stand. That was the Antioch Church and there, God sent Paul. The first of the two things that we must do, change the bartizan. From a young age, Joseph was different from his brothers because he had a different bartizan that was not from his family. From a young age, all of the important things came to Joseph from God. His brothers lived their entire lives being beaten by the world and left. One day, it is not the problem of her son but her entire nation of Israel could die. It was Jochebed. Jochebed changed the bartizan. She sent her son to the palace to save her entire nation. This was astounding. Moses couldn’t enjoy this until the age of 80 even though he had the sure covenant. This was because he was holding onto his old bartizan. That was why he was chased out to the Midian. Moses changed his bartizan on Mount Horeb. He changed his bartizan and works started to take place. The people who helped him was Elder Jethro and Rahab. You need to think about what bartizans you need to change. How come I am the only one without a son? Is that thought right? Is that prayer right? Hannah prayed her entire life for a son but she didn’t receive any answers. But one day, Hannah changed her bartizan. It is not the problem of a son but she prayed that if God grants her a son, she will offer it as a Nazarite. This means that she will raise a Nazarite that had nothing to do with her family. God didn’t just open doors for her but He began His great works. Our missionaries and those who are commissioning out missionaries need to remember this. All of our pastors and elders, I give thanksgiving to you. Because of your help, we are able to have peace and do our work in peace. We need to do our ministry before God.
One day, while David was a shepherd, he changed this. While he was a shepherd, he changed his bartizan as you can see in Psalms 78. Daniel and his three friends, and even Esther, they already knew as they were taken as captives. This is our remnant bartizan. You must remember this. He was sitting in a successful position and a great place but that didn’t matter. He knew why they were taken as captives. The king had his eyes gouged out and he was killed. He resolved within his heart to change the bartizan. He knew why they were taken as captives. The temple of Jerusalem was burnt. Thankfully with God’s plan, he was placed as a high official. If we don’t change our bartizans then we will be in trouble. He would’ve just enjoyed his high position and died in that way. He changed his bartizan and changed it to the things of God. He resolved within his heart. How great answers he received were tremendous. Even though Daniel’s three friends knew that they would be put to death. This extent, we need to change our bartizan. The Lord will rescue us and it is okay even if the Lord does not. This was what they confessed. They resolved to not bow down to the idol. Even though Daniel knew that the decree was signed by the king, he prayed in thanksgiving anyways. When you look at Esther, she knew that she would perish but she confessed that if she perished then she would perish. Her cousin said something amazing. When I look at these people, I realize that they have their bartizans properly. When she became queen, Mordecai told Esther not to tell anyone that she was a Jew. When the time was right, Mordecai told Esther to tell people. When our church and fields have hardships, we know that this is why God has called us. Mordecai was an amazing person and told Esther that if she kept her mouth silent then God would use another hand to save the nation but your household would perish. At that time, Esther replied, if she perished then she would perish, and asked him to pray for her. Change your bartizan. What bartizan are we talking about? From here, we need to start. We are already saved, God is our Triune God, and He is our watchtower. What kind of bartizan do we need to make?
The disciples gathered together and said something unimportant. John the Baptist was a great leader and taught his disciples how to pray so they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. We may not see Jesus’ expression but He was not pleased with their question. Then, at that time, Jesus taught them the Lord’s prayer. This was the prayer that Jesus taught. Jesus told them that all they needed was their daily bread and to forgive others. Then, Jesus said, He prayed for God’s kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”). Once again, He said not to ask for this or that. Just in case they didn’t understand, Jesus said to them in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” This is the bartizan. You need to know what Jesus meant. Just in case, they didn’t understand, Jesus said, what is evangelism as He sent them out to evangelize? Jesus said in Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ” and Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The Pharisees were criticizing and persecuting Jesus, He replied to them, “Do you not know how I drive out demons?” Then, Jesus said that if there is a strongman in your house, you cannot take what you need from your house. You need to first bind the strongman. He was using the example of a thief. If Satan is taking over your home, then how can you overcome Him? When Satan is bound and the Holy Spirit come, then kingdom of God has come. Jesus said again and at that time, for 40 days. He made them bartizans. Acts 1:3 “To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” - I realized this when I prayed. The 7 bartizans of God that never change, I was able to find that. I had 3 concentrations. We need to go and not stand still. The 7 journeys. 25 hours and God’s kingdom. The answers come, the 3 settings. I was able to see this. You might receive it differently. What is more important, the eternal bartizan. God’s 7 guideposts. What is that? The 3 eternal answers. Make that into a bartizan through prayer. Then, works will come. If hardships come, then that is even better.
*Acts 11:1-18 “1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ 8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Main message: "After the persecution that arose over Stephen" -> Three answers
1. The Answer of Re-creation
What kind of answers came? Three answers came. The answer of recreation. This is astounding. The real church was raised, the Antioch Church. The answer of recreation came, the death of Stephen. The Pharisees thought that his death would be the end of it but for God, works began when you die. Here, we saw the birth of the Antioch Church. They were going as conquerors not as being people who were being chased out. This was because they had the bartizan. Remnants, don’t fear and go out as bartizans. What happens if problems come? You have to go find problems. Go into hardships intentionally. Go into the crises. There, give the answers. This is because you have the bartizan. You have the bartizan where you can fight. Completely change your bartizan. Only one person understood this, that was Paul. That is why before he went to Rome, he boldly spoke about God’s kingdom in Acts 19.
Paul said something important. This was what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” Paul said this in his letter to Corinth. At that time, healing and power were all revealed. Break down the strongholds already inside of us with the bartizan of Christ and the word of God. Then, God will raise up the bartizan. It doesn’t work well so that is why we need to have the 3 concentrations. Then, the 3 settings will come and we can enjoy the 3 answers. We head out with this. Persecution becomes the way to live. They captured and killed all of the apostles and arrested Peter. Don’t be afraid. No one can change God’s plan. From that point on, the Antioch Church gathered and prayed all night long. Two things arose. First, God sent His angels to shake up that jail. God sent His angel to take the life of Herod. When we die, God will send us His angels to take us to heaven. What is happening here? The work of recreation took place.
2. Unprecedented Answers
This is the second answer. This never happened before. Why is that? It was an extreme situation where they were killed but doors of evangelism and missions opened. The hand of God’s grace came upon them. What is more amazing, Paul went there. Barnabas goes looking for him. It was a miracle. It was an unprecedented incident. Who was Paul? He was a Pharisee and an educated man. He had a renowned background of education and family. He was from a great region and given a citizenship of Rome. He was broken by God. He knelt before the gospel. He went to the Antioch Church. It was an uproar. All of the world was facing a famine but only the Antioch Church was enjoying the economy of light. This was because they needed to do world missions. Remember that. If we make the bartizan then God makes the work of recreation. We can do this anywhere. By the work of recreation and unprecedented grace. Through the bartizan and through the unprecedented answer.
3.The Answer that Transcends Time and Space
This bartizan brings work that transcends time and space. For the first time, they commissioned out the first missionaries. This is amazing. If you look at the names of the missionaries, it is amazing. The fact that they had multi-ethnic people was amazing. The fact that Paul was among them was amazing. Even Herod’s brother was there. God gave the answer that transcended time and space for them to reach to all nations.
Acts 13:1-4 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.” - They gained the sure answer that the Holy Spirit wanted to give them. Our missionaries don’t rush but only go when you get the sure answer. I continued to wait in terms of the construction of our church when the permits did not come out. Why must we build this temple? Why must we wait? I continued to pray about that and I received three answers. The 5,000 tribes, the 3 courtyards, and the age of the 3-day weekend. I gained assurance from that word. After that, we got the permits. Transcending time and space, and our prayers transcend time and space. People don’t know what prayer is. We are praying but it is spreading spiritually. We try to block COVID because it will spread throughout the whole world. Disasters spread throughout the whole world. That is why we send our missionaries to shine the light. In other words, you just have to be there and shine the light. They thought that the doors were being blocked. They went to Macedonia. If doors are blocked for us, don’t be discouraged. Wait inside of prayer. It will become an amazing answer, to Macedonia. The doors to world evangelism will open. I will go to Rome. That is it. This all happened in Antioch. When we serve the church and do mission work, then that is not an expense. Because of the Antioch Church, you and I received salvation. This is amazing.
Conclusion: Three things to confirm
1) Who is your Master? -> The Triune God. You are His servant.
All of our missionaries and all of us here, we must confirm three things. When we do a festival, there is a host. There is someone who owns that. Who is our master? It is the Triune God. We are servants of this Triune God. Always remember that. We are serving the Triune God of this festival. If we received the answers of Mt. Calvary, Mt. Olives, and Mark’s Upper Room, then that is it. It belongs to us. The owner doesn’t need a salary because the company is his. This festival is God’s. If the 7-7-7 answers come to us, then we don’t need anything else. We need our own plans if we don’t have answers. These things are bound to come to us. If we have an unprecedented answer, the answer of recreation, and the answer of transcending time and space is all we need. God is our master. Confirm this. Watch what God does. If we don’t believe in God, then just do what you want to do. Use your brain as much as you want and worry about your future. That is right for you. This is because you have not received salvation. If you are saved by God, then you will need to do what God wants.
2) You are watchmen -> 24 - three concentrations, 25 - three settings, and eternity - three answers
Who are you? You are not just a servant, you are a watchman. You are a watchman of 24, 25, and eternity.
3) The ambassadors of Christ - the ambassadors of the King, the Prophet, and the Priest (1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”)
Confirm this. You are an ambassador. Ambassador of the King, ambassador for the priest, prophet, and king. You are the ambassadors of Christ. Peter said something more surely. We are the king and we are the royal priesthood. That is right. We are evangelists and the representatives. If you sent a delegate of a king, then you are also killing the king. You are the special people who shine the marvelous light. Some missionaries of Korea were killed when preaching the gospel. Some missionaries who helped those in crises and were killed. Some missionaries came to Korea, fell ill, and died. But their children came and did missions in Korea. Missions are not for nothing. But their missionaries’ children came back to Korea. That is astounding. They raised churches and mission hospitals. Due to their church, I was able to go to that church. Missionary McKenzie was supposed to go to Vanuatu first, that was not mere coincidence. That is why God’s power is different from us. When I first planted our church, I said let us quickly acknowledge that we can’t do it. But if we do it with God’s method, then God will do it. We don’t need anything else but we need to become a church that proclaims the gospel the most. That happened that way. Those things will happen through you. May we hold onto the eternal bartizan through this Missions Sunday.
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