The sermon by Trent Moody discusses the spread and establishment of the Gospel, focusing on the early church's experience of persecution and how it catalyzed evangelism. Using Acts 11:19-26 as the primary text, the speaker emphasizes the role of adversity in God's plan, where persecution scattered believers, leading them to preach the Gospel in new regions. Barnabas, known as the 'Son of Encouragement,' was sent to Antioch to support and encourage the new believers, demonstrating the importance of grace-filled guidance in nurturing young Christians. The sermon highlights that the spread of the Gospel is empowered by the 'hand of the Lord,' making it clear that divine intervention is crucial for the success of evangelistic efforts. The speaker also challenges listeners to evaluate their own response to trials and to prioritize the proclamation of the Gospel for the glory of Jesus Christ, rather than personal comfort or success. Additionally, the sermon underscores the necessity of consistent doctrinal teaching for the establishment of the church and the preparation for further missionary work.

Thank you, brother. Acts chapter 11, we will be picking up in verse 19, reading down through verse 26, Acts 11, 19. Thus says the Word of the Lord. 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 to the Jews only. 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.

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 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. 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. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord. And then Barnabas departed for Tarshish to seek Saul, 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. Let us pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you O Lord for the Word of God before us and Lord we now come as your people with ready ears and a heart desiring Lord to hear your word. Lord would you instruct us and teach us today and correct us where we need to be corrected. Lord would you rebuke us if need be.

Instruct us Lord in the ways that you would have us to walk in righteousness. And Lord we pray that your word would go forth and that the name of Jesus Christ our Lord would be glorified and we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. This morning I want to speak with you as you see there in your outline about God's ways of spreading and establishing the gospel then and now.

I believe that we can learn some things from this narrative passage of Scripture that that we are reading and that we're understanding and seeing that took place in the early church. And one of the challenges though of teaching through a narrative book is trying to discern, and to discern what is given to us to emulate and what is simply given to us as a historical account of what did happen, not necessarily what we should grab a hold to and copy. But the Bible tells us this, and this is where I want to hang my hat and I want to just grab a hold of and I want you to do the same as well. The Bible tells us in 2nd Timothy 316 all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. And so I hope to proceed from this truth and may the Lord use his word to teach us doctrine, to reprove us in areas of disobedience that we may have, to correct us where we have been wrong in our thinking, and also to instruct us in how we should move forward in obedience, in righteousness, so that we will be truly thoroughly equipped for every good work.

You know, every church has its weaknesses, every church has its strengths, and one of the things that I so desire in not only in my own life but in this congregation is that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. That we would be a church that desires to be obedient to God in every area, not just in those that we find to be easiest for us to be obedient in, but to those that actually challenge us to to be out of our comfort zones and to do those things that God has called us to do. And so what we have here in this text is a passage that is really jam-packed full of fascinating history and what I believe to be very helpful instruction for us today as Hope Baptist Church in understanding God's ways of spreading and establishing the gospel, not only what we see took place here but also what God desires to do now in this church and in this community and also around the world. But we begin with a statement that actually leads us back to chapter 8. You notice in verse 19 he says, now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen.

So please turn back with me to chapter 8 and let's just pick up and I'll explain why here in just a moment. In chapter 8 verse 1 the Bible says, Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles and devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul he made havoc of the church entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." And so we begin with this thought and I want to help us to understand that where we pick up in Acts 11 19 is actually taking us back to Acts chapter 8 and showing us something that God is doing and did do during this time period.

The story of Philip was not just one story of those who went somewhere and preached. And then we get also the story of Saul's conversion, and we also in this time frame get the story of Cornelius' conversion, which we just came off of. So I want us to kind of go back and recognize that what God was doing was multiple things at the same time. Wow, did you know that? God was doing multiple things all at the same time, but when you're writing these things out in a narrative passage, it's hard to put all of those things in line immediately.

So he brings us forward and then kind of takes us back and he brings us forward and takes us back and he gives us this starting point here that it was at the time of this great persecution that arose because of Stephen that God used that time of persecution that we're going to see to do something great not only in Jerusalem but also in other areas. And so we actually are not the center of God's plan. Did you know that? What is happening here this morning is not the only thing happening. God is actually working in churches all around our area, he's working in churches around the state and in multiple states and also around the world.

That's kind of the picture and the idea of what we're getting here. God's doing multiple miraculous wonderful things bringing dead people to life all over the world this morning. Isn't that wonderful? We're not the center of the universe believe it or not. I hate to bust somebody's bubble here this morning.

We're not it. Guess what little children, you're not it. It's actually God. God and what he is doing is the center of the universe. It is all what he is doing.

So it is also amazing to me, and this is really our first point that I want to look at in verse 19, that the Lord used persecution in the life of the church to spread and establish the gospel. We read that in verse 19, now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch, preaching the word to no one, but to the Jews only. It seems that history teaches us over and over again that the greatest catalyst of evangelism in the life of the church and evangelistic activity is actually something that we would never have considered and that is persecution and That persecution is important to understand that this persecution is not happenstance It's not just what the devil is doing. It's not just what those who hate God are doing, but it's actually what God is doing. So it's not happenstance, but it's providence.

God in His wisdom uses persecution for the purpose of glorifying himself and building the church. It seems so counterproductive and counterintuitive, but God's ways are higher than our ways. God's wisdom is greater than our wisdom. And in fact, the foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of man. And so God in his wisdom and in his all-knowing providence and how he works, he actually uses that thing, and we sang about it this morning, he actually uses that thing that we dread to accomplish some of his greatest purposes and plans.

So proof of this is found all over the scriptures. You can find it from literally the book of Genesis through the book of Revelation. That God uses persecution to accomplish his purposes. We find that in 1 Peter 1, you can turn with me there. We've preached through 1 Peter so I won't spend too much time here but in 1 Peter 1 I want to read for you beginning with verse 1, Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion.

There he is. These are people who had been scattered because of persecution. God uses it. These were dispersed from Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, and they were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." and then Peter goes into this litany of blessings, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wait a minute, he's writing to those who are being persecuted and yet he is praising God for what he is doing in the midst of that dispersion because of the persecution.

And he goes down just a little bit further and he says this in verse 6, in this you greatly rejoice, speaking about knowing the power of God and salvation, in this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials. If need be. In God's economy there are times in our life maybe individually and also as a church and a local church and a larger universal church, there are times of need in the life of the church for temptations and persecutions and for trials. Now you may ask why? What is the purpose of this?

Well Peter answers this question for us and he says this in verse 7, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ whom having not seen you love though now you do not see him yet believing you rejoice with joy and expressible and full of glory receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your soul So we see here in Peter and again all over the scriptures we see that God uses trials and persecutions in your life individually and also in the life of the church as a whole to bring about the genuineness of our faith and also the spread and the establishment of the gospel not only in this church in our community but throughout the entirety of the world. So when we see these things we should actually have a response to them. I was listening to a great sermon this week a friend sent me regarding, he was preaching in the book of James and he's speaking about how we count it all joy when we fall into various trials.

And you think what in the world is that about? You need to understand the purpose of the trial. And when we look at this, we see God gives us a glimpse of the purpose of the persecution that he brought about against the church. And the purpose of that persecution was to drive them out of Jerusalem and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, but it was greater than even that. The persecution was for the glory of Jesus Christ.

You notice that they went everywhere and yes they preach so that people would be saved from their sins. But if you'll notice, it says that they preached the Lord Jesus. They went everywhere proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and they were bringing glory to God. And that was one of the main purposes of that persecution. Because brothers and sisters listen, when we are persecuted and yet persevere and we continue to proclaim the very message that gets us persecuted, Jesus Christ is glorified.

And that's what God was doing in this instance as he was driving his people out of Jerusalem. This persecution again is not only one type of trial that the believer faces in his life to move him or remove from him what God sees as a hindrance to his plan for the gospel, but persecution is any kind of trouble and distress that you experience. It's affliction that causes pressure. It's a grievous affliction or distress. It's the idea of being crushed.

Remember what Paul was doing? He says in chapter 8 that he was wreaking havoc of the church. It's this picture of a wild boar let loose in a young vineyard. And he's rooting up everything. It's this driving out of people and tearing up what was being planted.

And even though The enemies of God thought that they were accomplishing some great feat and stamping out the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What God was actually doing was scattering the seed to the wind and causing it to grow all over the world. That's what our God does. He takes the plans of the enemies of what they think they're going to do against the church and he uses it to accomplish his great purposes. And so this persecution as I was thinking about this there was a few things that I was considering regarding persecution and its purposes and I just wrote down a few things that I was thinking about, and it is this, persecution, it purges from us earthly entanglements.

Have you ever felt like your roots are getting really entrenched into this world? Well no, you don't feel that way until it's taken away from you. When you experience something that you were actually holding onto really tightly and it was removed, then you begin to feel how much you were entangled with the things of this world whether it be materialism or love of pleasure or whatever it may be God can snatch those things out of you and his goal is to snatch those things out of you because remember it's about the genuineness of your faith not the extent of your pleasure. God is after something and he was after something in the early church and it was bringing this thing about to accomplish a great and glorifying purpose. Persecution also purifies our faith.

I've mentioned that already in 1 Peter 1 verse 6. Next, persecution strengthens believers resolve which is very unusual because believers you would think and the enemy would think that when you persecute them that they would lay down they would be quiet that they would look for self-preservation but Romans 5 tells us and not only that but we also glory in tribulation Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. Persecution strengthens our resolve to continue even through life's most difficult trials and to continue to proclaim that message that got us in the trouble in the first place. It is really otherworldly. Persecution next often scatters believers from their comfort zone and sometimes from their very dwelling places.

We've seen this again throughout history and I think it's something that maybe the church has missed in some ways is there's a great scattering of peoples all around the world right now probably unlike the number ever before. And Now I think the world is using that for nefarious reasons. I think there's bad reasons that they're doing that but they're doing it nonetheless and we have to acknowledge God's sovereignty over it and I believe that there is a tremendous opportunity if we will see it for the advancement of the gospel and I'm not giving credence to the illegalness of it or how it's so illegal that of the things that are going on but also using that opportunity to say hey this is happening therefore gospel truth needs to be proclaimed to every soul. Persecution also energizes God's people to evangelize. Again it's otherworldly that this is what happens, but when a believer is persecuted, they are faced with the fact that everything on this earth is temporal, but the gospel is eternal.

Believers see persecution as not some reason to hide or to be quiet, but they actually see persecution and trials as opportunities to take the gospel to new places. So God's people throughout history have always been the recipients of persecutions and trials and trials it seems are God's go-to plan for purifying the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and to strengthen his people for energizing them to take the Word of God to the world and he uses these things in a glorious way and he establishes his gospel and he spreads it through persecution. But I don't want to hang out there too long. In the last part of verse 19 and 21, we see this. The Lord uses his word in the mouth of his people to spread and establish the gospel.

We read this, preaching the word to no one but to the Jews only, 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. Now these scattered believers went everywhere preaching. Stop just a moment and don't read over that too fast. These persecuted believers went everywhere preaching the Lord Jesus. Personalize that just for a moment.

What would you do if you were scattered out of your home, out of your community, and out of your state because of persecution that is a result of your belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. How would you respond to that? Well I did some self-examination this week considering how would I respond to that? What would be my first thought? What would be my goal as I went?

It would be you know I would be thinking about protecting my family, putting them in a place that is secure and safe. I would be thinking about procuring work. I would be thinking all kinds of things that I should be thinking about as well. I'm not saying we neglected those things, but what the scripture points out here is that as a result of the persecution, One of their main objectives was to preach the Word of God. They were to preach the Lord Jesus Christ.

They were going everywhere doing this. They didn't leave their Christianity at home. They didn't stop off preaching or proclaiming the Lord Jesus because of persecution but it actually enlivened them and gave them zeal to continue to do what God had called them to do. And I want to challenge us in that area to think of, and perhaps this is revealing, how much entanglement do we have to the world that if it was taken away the things of the world, if it was pulled away from us, what would be our objective as we go? Would we really prioritize, hey I need to speak to this guy on the side of the road as I'm walking down the road or as I'm traveling and I'm stopping.

Would I prioritize this man needs to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. You see the Lord uses his word in the mouth of his people. Now I want to bring some clarity to this passage just for a moment. The Bible says preaching the word to no one but to the Jews only and then also the last part of that preaching the Lord Jesus.

I do not want you to hear that word preaching and to assume that what that means is preachers in the formal sense of the word, elders, evangelists as we're called in Ephesians chapter 4. I don't want you to hear that word. I want you to understand something that what God is speaking about here and the word preaching here it means to evangelize, it's to proclaim the good news, it literally means to tell the good news it's not what I'm doing here this morning but it's what you many of you do as you're going to work and as you're going along your way and as your own vacation and wherever you are, that's really what it's speaking about. It is speaking about God's people taking God's Word to a lost world. You can't get off the hook.

I'm so thankful for this church because we do have many here who take this seriously and on a regular basis that they do share the gospel with those that they come in contact with. They actually they have an eye to it. They're looking for it. They're looking for opportunities to share the gospel, but I want to say something that I hope that all of us can say amen to, excel still more. Do not be satisfied that we have a number of brothers in this church and sisters in this church who tell the gospel to people on a regular basis.

The command brothers and sisters is that we will all tell the gospel as we go. And for you mothers that may be the extent and the limitation of your own children. It may be the lady in the checkout aisle at the grocery store. It is within the bounds of where God has you during your day. Not only does it take place in the midst of great persecution when you're having to leave your home because of that, but it is for all of us at all times to have an eye.

And listen, it's not simply our great concern for the lost, although we do have great concern for the lost. I want to give you a different perspective, one that you may already have but you may not, I want you to realize that us evangelizing and proclaiming the good news more than it being about the salvation of the lost, it is about the glory of Jesus Christ. A great king came to this earth and laid down his life for our sins and rose again the third day. And that great King deserves to have his name proclaimed throughout all the world. Whether the people believe it or not matters not.

It matters that Jesus Christ's name is above every name. That his name goes forth. That we proclaim it because He is who He said He was. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He has come to set the captive free. That is a great benefit is it not of us proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ that those captives would be set free and that they too would become proclaimers of the Lord Jesus Christ and that they too would take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

And so as we evangelize and as we go about let us proclaim the greatness of our God, remembering that God has determined to put this treasure in earthen vessels, this gospel, and he wants all of his earthen vessels to proclaim and to spread and to establish the gospel in all the world. That is our duty brothers and sisters but you must remember this next point ultimately. The third thing ultimately the spread and establishment of the gospel is impossible, impossible apart from the hand of the Lord, empowering the message, the messenger, and the hearer. That's a big line. Read it.

It's on your notes. That's why I put it there. That's what is ultimately we must understand that all of our efforts, all of our activity are impossible to accomplish the task apart from the hand of the Lord. And He says in verse 21, and the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Don't miss this.

We can do all that we can do with zeal and passion and have the best laid out plans, But if the hand of the Lord is not with us, then it will all be for naught. It will not accomplish its intended end if God does not bless the work in which we put our hand to. Part of that blessing is because we are living in obedience to Him. We are wanting to be obedient to the word of God as we proclaim, and then ultimately, it is God's sovereign will when He puts His hand upon an activity of us proclaiming the gospel. And you've all experienced this.

Sometimes you proclaim the gospel to somebody, you share the gospel, you speak the gospel with someone, and they receive it as if their ears were wide open, and they grab a hold of it, and they love it, and they say, Thank you, I've never heard this before. And then other times you speak it and they you might as well be talking to that wall right there. They just want to get out of there. What's the difference? It's the same message.

It's the same messenger. God must do something. He must do something to the hearer. By the power of his hand, he has to open the ears. He has to give life to the dead.

He has to give eyes that see to the blind. He has to give understanding to those who are so dense to understand that the King of glory has come to rescue them. And that's something only God can do. So don't think for a moment that we could just go out as we will next week and we can knock on doors and put door hangers and we can just say hey you need to come to church hey We want you to believe in the Lord Jesus when we have not spent time on our faces before God, begging God that His hand would go with us. It will be all for naught unless God goes with us, unless His hand be upon us.

That's what took place here. It was not simply that they tried to stir up the hand of the Lord. We actually see it kind of as an explanation of what had happened. These people were praying. They were asking God to do His work.

We see that throughout the book of Acts. We know the boldness that they had. We understand the power that they had. Jesus Christ in Acts 1-8, He's told them that He was going to give them power when the Holy Spirit came. And here is a demonstration of that power.

It was not something... It was unusual, but it was not something here we have no explanation of them speaking in tongues or doing a miracle. Although it is a miracle when someone gets saved. It was just men and women, specifically men listed here, that as they went, they were proclaiming and telling the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it says, and the hand of the Lord was with them." What does this mean?

What does it mean that the hand of God, the hand of the Lord, would go with them? Because without it, it cannot be done. We do not need more wisdom of man. We need what we need is power from God. John Gill says, and the hand of the Lord was with them not only his hand of Providence which brought them fither and protected them and his hand of love and grace and mercy which was upon them and supplied them with gifts and grace and everything necessary for them and his hand of wisdom which guided and directed them but his hand of power the same with the arm of the Lord which when revealed and made bare the report of the gospel is believed." Did you hear that?

That's what makes the difference. When the hand of the Lord and the arm of the Lord are revealed and made bare the gospel is believed." He goes on, but if that is not put forth or efficacious grace is not extended, no work done, none are brought to believe or are converted. Ministers labor in vain and spend their strength for nothing. But this was not the case here. It was otherwise with these preachers, though they had traveled many miles and were coming to strange places they were not left of God nor without success.

The power of God attended their ministry so that the gospel preached by them came not in word only but also in power and the power unto salvation. That is what we need. We must call out for the power of God upon our preaching and our proclaiming of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the hand of the Lord. It just means the power and strength of God.

It means the authority of God. It means the control and the possession of God. Throughout all of the scriptures you read this term, and I'm going to list some for you here. I want to read some of these passages to you and it speaks about the hand of God and I want us to remember that the hand of the Lord can be for us but it can also be against us. Throughout the scripture you'll find that and I believe I counted correctly more often than not the Bible speaks about the hand of the Lord against people.

But first I want to begin with his hand for us because that's more encouraging. Let's read about that. In Psalm 17, I have called upon you for you will hear me, O God, incline your ear to me and hear my speech. Show your marvelous loving kindness by your right hand. O you who save those who trust in you from those who rise up against them." This is the hand of God.

This is what the psalmist was asking for. Lord, show your marvelous loving kindness by your right hand, by your power, by your strength. Show this. Joshua 4.24. Joshua says this, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty that you may fear the Lord your God forever." That's what Joshua prayed.

In 1 Kings we read, then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah and he girded up his loins and he ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. This is not just Elijah was in great shape and he could run a marathon this was the hand of the Lord. The power of God came upon Elijah to where he outrun he outran a chariot to become to get before where Ahab was. Ezra is spoken of. This Ezra came up from Babylon and he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given, the king granted him all his request according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.

This is showing that when God's hand is upon you, no earthly power can hinder you. You remember in the book of Revelation, I open a door and no one can shut it. That's what we're talking about here. When God opens the door, He latches it open and nothing will shut that door except the hand of God to shut the door. So brothers and sisters, in one sense as we go, we go as invincible when the hand of God is upon what we're doing.

We need not fear, we need not worry did I say the exact right thing. We need to pray God go with us. God may your hand be upon us. May it be upon the preaching and the proclaiming and the telling of the gospel. I could go on and on.

There's multiple cases here regarding the hand of the Lord in Proverbs 21. It speaks about the hand of the Lord on a king's heart a king's heart and he'll turn it wherever he wants to. It speaks about it in Isaiah about the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants. In Luke we mentioned this it mentions about John the Baptist What kind of child will this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Would anybody deny that the hand of God was with John even though he went through such difficulties. Yet the power of John's ministry was evident because of the hand of the Lord upon him. I don't want to go through all the punishments because of time because there's some really good stuff that I want to get to. But I want you to understand in different places we see it. I'm gonna read one in the book of Acts where it speaks about the hand of the Lord was upon.

It was upon this man who was trying to hinder Paul from proclaiming the gospel and Paul said the hand of the Lord is upon you and you shall be blind and not see the sun for a time but I want you to notice the result of this and immediately a dark mist fell on him and he went around seeking someone to lead it by the hand and then the procounsel believed when he saw what had been done being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. So even when God's hand is upon someone that is an enemy of the cross, when God's hand is upon them for curses, it actually works at the same time to be upon another of God's elect for a blessing. And it brought this procounsel to the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know though that the hand of the Lord was with these people? Well, we see the result of what happened.

What took place? He says a great number believed. I want you to understand that no one believes apart from the hand of the Lord. You didn't believe apart from the hand of the Lord, Nor will anyone else in this room believe apart from the hand of the Lord. In Acts 13 48 one of the most clear statements on this is this, now when the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

This was the hand of the Lord upon the word of the Lord to bring a dead man to make him a child of the Lord. He brought them from death unto life and not only that but this, they turn to the Lord the Bible says. This means that they turn from their former belief and turn to the Lord. It carries with it the idea both of repentance and conversion. We know that repentance basically just it means in the simplest form to you're going this way you turn around and you go the other way.

Well conversion is spoken of in that same light is in this sense they turned to the Lord whatever it was they were following probably if the because these were Greek-speaking Jews because they were following after righteousness found in the law, they turned to the Lord and they found what we sang about, grace. They found that righteousness is by faith through grace in Jesus Christ alone. And they rejected righteousness that is found in the law because there is no finding justification in keeping the law. And they turned to the Lord. Matthew Henry says they turned to the Lord Jesus and he became all in all to them.

Can I just stop and ask you a question? Has Jesus Christ become all in all to you? You may be here and you may have regularly been in this church and been under the preaching of this church and the ministry of this church and think man because I'm here that is proof that I have turned to the Lord and yet your heart may be full of all sorts of disobedience and wickedness but you have this outward moral facade that you've put on and you're like the the Pharisees who who go to the tombs and they paint them white, but inside it's full of dead men's bones. Is Jesus Christ your all in all? One way I think that this was proved is because when they lost all, Jesus was still there all.

They turned to the Lord. Matthew Henry continues, this was the work of conversion wrought upon them and it must be wrought upon every one of us as well. It was the fruit of their faith. All that sincerely believe will turn to the Lord. For whatever we profess or pretend we do not really believe the gospel listen to what he says no matter what we profess what we say with your mouth whatever you pretend whatever you do in your body you do not really believe the gospel if we do not embrace Christ offered to us in the gospel.

Have you fully embraced Have you fully embraced Christ? That if you were to lose all you would still possess everything. What else does God do to spread and establish his gospel in the world? Number four, the Lord uses a son of encouragement. A son of encouragement to spread and establish the gospel.

Look with me in verse 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 and when he came he had seen the grace of God he was glad and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart, they should continue with the Lord. So the news of this glorious great awakening, if you will, was taking place. A revival of revivals that they had hardly seen since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. And here they are in the land and in the city of Antioch.

And many, a great number of people were believing they were what were they believe they were believing Christians who told of the good news of Jesus Christ there really there were no pastors there that I know of. There were no apostles there. They were still in Jerusalem. But God was doing a work through Christians telling other people about the gospel of Jesus Christ, telling the good news, and it was spreading. This word came up to the ears of those in Jerusalem.

Who's in Jerusalem? Well the Apostles are in Jerusalem. What's going on in Antioch? Way over there in that city, one of the third most prominent cities in all of the Roman Empire. What's going on up there?

It was so notable that in the third largest and populous city of the Roman Empire that it actually caught traction enough that people were sending news back to Jerusalem and saying something vastly unusual is taking place up there and many people are coming to the Lord. So it goes and what do they do? They do what most responsible people do and responsible elders would do. We need to figure out what's going on. I can tell you right now, if Scott and I heard that there was some revival taking place, something big major happening just a little ways over and we hear about people coming to the Lord, they're turning to the Lord, they're not singing all the praise music for six hours, They're actually turning from their sin to the Lord.

There's a difference. If we heard that, we would most likely be in our vehicles driving there to figure out what is going on. Well that's what happened here. The Apostles sent Barnabas. They sent this man to go and to see what was going on.

I find it so informative for us that the apostles sent the son of encouragement to go to this new church. What does a new church need more than anything? They need encouragement. Remember that the name Barnabas is actually a nickname given to him by the apostles. His name is Joseph, or Joseph, yet they called him Barnabas.

They sent a son of encouragement to this new church because I believe Barnabas was a man with grace-filled eyes. What do I mean by that? I mean he was a man who had the eyes to see the grace of God working in the lives of people. You know some people all they can see is what's wrong with the situation. These are, well building inspectors are that way, that's a personal problem that I have, don't worry about it.

They can be that way, all they walk in they don't go, man look at the craftsmanship, That is amazing. No, you missed a hurricane strap over there. What is that? They start pointing the things that are wrong. Well, that's not what the church needed.

This is a brand new, like a baby church that had just been formed. God and his gospel were having rule and reign amongst all these young believers and they were coming together. You think they didn't have problems? You think they were just instantly fully sanctified? I'm still not and we're still not.

We've been going at this for a long time Scott. You've been going at longer than I've been alive. Think about this and yet what they sent they did not send a man who went up there to point out all the things wrong with them. They sent a man whose nickname was Son of Encouragement. Because of anything they knew that this man was going to go up there, he had grace filled eyes, he could see it says, when he came and had seen the grace of God he was able to look and to see in the midst and in the lives of these people God had been there the hand of the Lord had been there I see it because they had turned to the Lord they had believed the gospel and it was proven in their turning.

And he was encouraged. You know what, what else does a son of encouragement do? But encourage. That's what it says next. Look at what he says in verse 22.

And when he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them. That's what a son of encouragement does. That's why he has the nickname. By the way, what would your nickname be? Son or daughter of discouragement?

That's not a spiritual gift by the way. When the oil of the Holy Spirit is causing a great fire, do you come? And as they used to say in Old Southern Baptist Church, the cold water committee shows up sometimes. Just starts dumping cold water on the fire that God is building. Doesn't put it out though.

God's doing a great work. They send to them the Son of Encouragement. We are told that Barnabas did this, he encouraged those new believers. This is what a son of encouragement does. And what did he encourage them in?

He didn't overlook everything that was wrong, So I didn't want to paint a wrong picture of Barnabas but he did do something that was encouraging them or exhorting them or comforting them in such a way that caused them to continue and persevere and to progress in their faith. A true son of encouragement does those things and look at what he did. He encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. You can imagine in a great time of persecution, you can imagine in a city of the Roman Empire that was full of all sorts of debauchery and all sorts of wickedness that these young converts would need some encouragement. It means this, the purpose of heart, it's not just an emotional zeal that fades out after a little while.

What he's trying to help them to understand is, it was a thoughtful resolve and design to continue in what God had called them to when they heard the gospel. It encompasses your thoughts, your reasonings, your understanding, your will, your judgment, and yes your affections, and your love. So we need to understand that our walk with the Lord is not based simply upon our feelings although walking with the Lord will give you great feelings of affection and love towards God and towards one another. But this was deeper than that. It was a thoughtful resolve to continue and literally to cling to the Lord.

It means to stay at a place to remain or continue to adhere to and persevere. What else do young Christians need to hear than that? Sometimes older Christians will look at younger Christians and think don't worry that'll wear off. They see their zeal, they see their happiness, you'll get over it. God help us.

Help us to be a Barnabas, to be a son of encouragement, to come along and say yes you need to be zealous for the things of the Lord. Hey and continue with firm thoughtful resolve. Continue in the things of the Lord. Steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Remain faithful to what he has called you to and remember what he has called you out of.

And again this is not apart from the grace of God, this is because of the grace of God. What God began by faith through grace, He does not complete through simply the arm of the flesh. This is the work of the grace of God in the heart of a believer. But it does involve your mind, it involves your will, it involves you being thoughtful and being purposeful that I am going to walk the walk with the Lord and it is God by his Spirit helping us to continue in the grace of God. It was not mindless.

It was not this unbiblical idea of letting go and letting God and seeing what happens but rather it was clinging to God. This truth needed to be taught to these young believers. They needed to be encouraged in this. They needed to be exhorted to continue in the faith which was begun. And that's what Barnabas did.

When commentator notes that the preacher or the proclaimers here had had seen the grace of God, Barnabas had seen it and he had rejoiced at it. How often do we rejoice when there is a when we see the grace of God? How many of us had the mindset of, well let's wait and see. Let's see if this thing sticks. Let's see if this was real.

You know I find in the New Testament that so often the Apostles and the disciples and the others who were preaching when they saw people turn to the Lord they didn't go about and only worry about is this real let's just wait about two years and figure out if they're serious or not. No they rejoiced and were glad and you know what if they fell away and many did because they were not truly believers they did not they did not become Debbie Downers at the beginning. They actually were rejoicing in the work of the Lord. They rejoice to see the grace of God. Do you rejoice to see the grace of God at work?

And if you don't, why not? What is it that hinders you rejoicing when God's grace is at work? I pray that God would give us eyes like Barnabas. Barnabas was a good man. That's the next thing.

Verse 24, listen to the testimony of Barnabas. He was a good man. Our brother back here prayed this morning, there is none good, no not one. Is that a contradiction? Right here we read verse 24, for he was a good man.

We're told as it was quoted in Romans, there is none good, no not one. What made this man good? Well it's the only thing that can make you good. And it's the rest of this verse in verse 24, he was a good man and here's the explanation of that goodness, he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. He wasn't good of his own natural resources.

He didn't pull something up from himself and when he was a little boy he was called a son of encouragement. No, he might have been a son of discouragement then. He might have been a rebellious little boy, I have no idea, we're not told, but all I know is is when the Holy Spirit of God in the arm of the Lord was revealed and poured out upon this man Barnabas, he became a good man who was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. He was a man who did not live unto himself. We've seen him before.

He's a generous man too. Not only was he a good man, he was a generous man. God had worked in his heart and he held all things lightly and said, Lord all that I have is yours and I'll use it for the upbuilding of your kingdom for the good of your people. He was a good man. I'm convinced today that what the church needs is not more celebrity men, nor famous men, nor talented men, nor well-versed and polished men, nor articulate men, nor self-confident men, but rather what the church needs today are good men.

Men who are full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and don't need a title. You see the result of this being full of the Holy Spirit and of faith was something else that we see in verse 25. Let me back up verse 24 also says and a great many people were added to the Lord. If you'll note back up in verse 21, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord, and now as soon as Barnabas gets there and he's encouraging the church, there's something about encouraging the church that with all encouraging with purpose of heart that they should continue with the Lord. I have no doubt but that all of these begin to simply tell the good news of Jesus Christ as well.

And as a result of that we see what happened at the end of verse 24 and a great many people were added to the Lord through the ministry of Barnabas. But I want to show you something else of Barnabas here and that is this. I believe Barnabas was a humble man. I believe he was a good man. I believe he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and I believe that he was a humble man.

Right in the middle, right at the pinnacle, right at the climax of this revival, what does he do? Look at what it says, and many people were added to the Lord. Hey this is a great time to start a ministry in my name. That's what many men would do. Not this man.

This man left. What's that about? He left. Then Barnabas departed. He left one of the greatest revivals mentioned in the New Testament and what did he do?

He left for Tarshish to seek Saul. Where was Saul? Remember Saul had to leave Jerusalem because they were going to kill him and he went on up to his home. He went back to Tarshish. He spent some time there.

He's up there I'm sure being faithful to the Lord and ministering. But here comes Barnabas. I've got to find Paul. Why in the world did he think this? I'm having to put some thought into this and I hope that you'll allow me some leniency here, but it seems to make good sense that Barnabas was a humble man because in the middle of this revival, he leaves and he goes and finds Saul and he does what with him?

He brings him back and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. You know a humble man recognizes the limitations of his giftedness and limitations of his abilities. He understands the limitations of the ministry of which God has given him. Barnabas recognized, I am a son of encouragement and I feel like who would be extremely helpful in this time. We need some good solid doctrinal teaching from Saul.

You know what? Here's the important thing that we need to understand. A big problem in the church today is that too many ministers of the gospel are jealous for their ministry instead of God's ministry. And Barnabas was not a man worried about his fame but rather he was concerned that these new converts were solidly established in the faith. And he understood the extent and the limits of his giftings and he recognized the gifts and his abilities not only of himself but he also noticed them in his other brothers whom he knew would be a tremendous help to those new believers.

And so he does this very unusual thing and he leaves the great revival and he goes get Saul and he brings him back and they spend a whole year there. And so this is the last thing the Lord uses in spreading and establishing the gospel. He uses consistent doctrinal teaching to spread and establish the gospel. The new church that these two men invested so much time in, They were spending themselves for a year for the doctrinal stability of that church. This is God's method of how He spreads the gospel.

You think, well how is that spreading the gospel? They're staying in one place for a year. Well, guess what? Read on. In the book of Acts chapter 13 we see something happening.

This little small, or well this big early church, I should say this young church, in just a couple of chapters were going to be so well established after one year of Paul and Barnabas ministering together to them and encouraging them and grounding them in doctrinal truth that what happens in chapter 13, this church sends Paul and Barnabas out and launch one of the greatest missionary movements of all time. This is the result of God's hand of blessing on those men who faithfully took the gospel, guess who I'm gonna say, those men who were non-apostles and non-elders who faithfully took the gospel as they fled the persecution. Your little brain and my little brain cannot fathom all that God does in his sovereign hand of history. Remember those people who were fleeing persecution through their obedience and their faithfulness to proclaim the gospel, the result of which then sent Paul and Barnabas out as missionaries and they begin to establish churches all over the region and beyond because of their faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ. That's amazing to me.

Don't underestimate one small act of faithfulness in telling one person about Jesus Christ. You have no idea what God may do with that. And in closing, I have six applications. They will basically feed off of the points, so don't worry and if you really want them I'll give them to you later, but I'll just read them. Number one, difficulties of persecutions or trials in your life may be the catalyst that God has determined to advance his kingdom in your life and into the broader world.

Don't run away from persecution and trials. I mean not literally because they did run away from persecution but I mean look at it in the right way. God is working all things according to his purpose. Number two, God wants you to speak the gospel and evangelize the lost, not just preachers of the gospel. Number three, it is only the hand of the Lord that brings success in all of our evangelistic endeavors.

Do not rely on the strength of the flesh. Number four, the church is better served by good men than famous men. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. Number five, seek the advancement of God's kingdom, not your own. And number six, it is through consistent biblical doctrinal teaching that the church is edified and then enabled to plant biblically sound churches throughout the world.

And may God bless the preaching and the hearing of the Word. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we praise you and thank you for your goodness. Lord, you are marvelous beyond words. Your ways are past finding out.

If we did not have the end of the story, we could have never figured it out, Lord. We would have never seen what you were doing through great persecution. But Lord, you have given us the Word of God to show us how your, the mystery of your providence works, to take a great tragedy and a great hardship and bring about one of the greatest revivals of all time. That you would exalt the name of Jesus Christ through difficulty and through faithfulness. Lord I pray also that you would raise up more men like Barnabas, men who were good men because they are full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

And I pray oh God that you would help us to all be faithful and to be diligent and to always have our eye to the task of taking the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone that we meet as you give us opportunity and Lord above all that the hand your hand would be with us and we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.