Well good morning everyone. Good to sing those songs together, such good meaning. I was thinking about that song more about Jesus and that's really why we're here, why we meet together. So we're going to talk about this morning is God's plan for the church and how it is that he would have us to operate, what we'd be doing, how we should be doing it. 

I think Acts 11 lays that out for us very clearly in this second half. Last week we saw in the first 18 verses that God's plan for the church included Jew and Gentile, that salvation was for every man who would believe, and we saw God break down the prejudices of the Jewish believers and show them clearly that his intention was now to bring salvation to the Gentiles and the Jews through faith in Christ. 

And I want to just emphasize again what a difficult thing this was for them to grasp at the time, how much they wanted to resist this idea and cling to the doctrine that men must become Jews in order to enter the covenant blessings of God. What we are seeing in the founding of the church and the going forth of the gospel is a new covenant, a new covenant which Jesus instituted at the Last Supper and sealed with his blood on the cross. 

And many changes came with that new covenant. I'd like to just take a moment and look at a couple prophecies in the Old Testament that point to this new covenant. If you turn first to Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel chapter 36, this is a promise of what would come with the institution of the new covenant. In verse 26, it says, "...I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them." 

God describes promises here, an internal work, a recreation in the new covenant. Now turn over to Jeremiah 31 also. Jeremiah 31 at verse 31, again a promise made to Israel. "...Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more." 

Now in context, these verses speak of a covenant made with Israel, a promise that is yet to be fulfilled and will ultimately be fulfilled in Israel when she turns to her Messiah and believes. However, there is a pre-fillment of these promises in the church, because Jesus instituted the new covenant in His first coming. 

And the author of Hebrews makes it clear that this new covenant and these promises are in effect in the church age. Listen to Hebrews 8.6. He writes, "...but now he has obtained," talking of Jesus, "...he has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant," that's speaking of the Law of Moses, "...for if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." 

And he goes on to quote that passage we just read in Jeremiah 31, and at verse 13, listen to what he says. "...in that," he says, "...a new covenant he has made the first obsolete." Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. 

Here we see the problem, the misunderstanding of the Jewish believers, and especially some who had not come to Christ and were troubling the churches such as in the region of Galatia. They did not understand that in his coming, in instituting the new covenant in his blood, Jesus had made the first obsolete. The Law covenant of Moses was no longer applicable, no longer in effect, and so things were going to be different. 

God had a different way of relating to his people. He had a different way of reaching the world and bringing men to himself, including offering salvation to the Gentiles completely apart from the works of the Law. So now in the church age, the dietary and ceremonial restrictions were lifted. The sacrificial system was fulfilled by Jesus on the cross and made obsolete, and the new moons and Sabbaths and festivals would be no more. 

And now the church was commissioned as individual believers to go out into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, offering salvation through faith alone in what Jesus had accomplished on the cross. It was a new age, it was a new time, a new covenant. And what we see in Acts 11 is the disciples really beginning to work this out in their hearts and minds and put it into effect. 

So in the first part of the chapter, we saw the truth that Jesus died for every man, and salvation was available for every man by hearing the message about Jesus and turning and placing his faith in Jesus alone. Now in the second half of the chapter, we're going to talk about a topic that I believe is of utmost importance for us to understand in the church today, in 2018 in Winchester, Wisconsin. A subject that is very near and dear to my heart and that I have a great passion for understanding and applying according to the truth of God's Word. 

And that subject is God's plan for the church in terms of why it is we are here, what it is we are to be doing, and how we are to be doing it. In this, I find a tremendous and wonderful simplicity. A simplicity that's perfectly exampled by the early church here in the book of Acts. And what I want for Living Hope Church is to think and believe and act on these terms of simplicity, a complete and total focus on Jesus Christ in everything we do and why we do it. 

So we're going to see some principles which I believe lay out a clear path for us concerning God's plan for the church. Let's look at our text in verse 19, please. Acts 11, 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. 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. 

Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus 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 at Antioch. And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch, and 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. 

Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." 

I've given you four points on your outline. First we're going to look at evangelism. Second, encouragement. Third, education. And fourth, edification. 

Well the first principle that we see in God's plan for the church is evangelism. Nothing could be more clear in the Scriptures, in Jesus' own words, his commands to his men, than the purpose of evangelism by the church in the world. In John 17, Jesus explains that this is the very purpose for which we are left in this world, that we are here for the express purpose that the world may know that He is the Christ. 

The Great Commission was given to the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples, to preach the gospel to every creature. Paul's writings explain clearly that the driving purpose, perhaps the sole purpose of his life in ministry, was to preach Jesus Christ crucified, to expound, to explain, to preach the gospel. And really everything we do in the church should work to this end. 

Our gatherings, meetings, Bible study, fellowship, prayer, preaching, and worship are all geared towards building up, growing us in Christ, in order to equip us to then go out into the world and preach the gospel to the lost. Our relationships, our interactions, and social times with people are all meant to give us opportunities to love men as God loves men, and to bring them to the truth, to the good news of the gospel, to lead them to faith in Christ. 

God creates these opportunities. He orchestrates these circumstances, as we will see in a moment in our text, and we are full-time missionaries abroad, or working at our job at the local place of business, our interactions, our relationships, our words and actions should all be geared toward bringing men to Christ. Evangelism is at the center of the church and its purpose in this world. 

We are ambassadors for Christ, Paul said. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We are here to persuade men to come to God by the preaching of Christ and His glorious gospel. So I would make this salient point here at this time in our message, that anything that hinders, distracts, or somehow takes away from this central focus and purpose is something that we should not have in the church. 

We can do a lot of great things, fun things, wonderful things, minister to people, entertain people, feed people, meet their felt needs in endless ways. But my friends, as Spurgeon said, if you're going to give a man a sandwich, you had better wrap it in a tract. Doing all the nice things in the world and not telling men the truth is futility, and it's purposelessness. 

I hear all the time of these mission trips, we're going to go to this third world country, this place of suffering, and we're going to take some of the young people so that they can experience this, and we're going to help them dig a well, or we're going to help them build a house, or whatever. And you ask about evangelism, preaching, teaching, handing out tracts. Where is the mission part of this mission? And there's none. Or you might have a conversation with a believer about outreach events at their church, and you ask them if they're making the gospel clear. 

Is someone making sure that everyone, every man, woman, and child who comes to your program is getting the truth clearly presented in the way of the gospel of Jesus Christ? And they talk about how many they have coming, what a great ministry it is, how they really have to be careful not to offend. I ask again, where is the ministry part of this ministry? What is the point of all the programs? If the gospel gets lost, if the church becomes all about pizza parties, and games, and numbers, and showing people how fun Jesus is, and how fun we are, and the great programs that we offer, then what exactly is the point? 

Because I'm pretty sure that the point in the early church was preaching the gospel. That the focus of the local gathering of believers was to teach and equip them to go out and do the work of ministry. And their ministry consisted not of community projects or fundraisers for a new gym to entertain the little Hellenist children, but of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is what we see in our text. 

Look at verse 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. 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. 

We see a summary statement in verse 19 of all that we studied back in chapter 7 and 8, how God had moved his people out of Judea and into the surrounding areas, allowing a great persecution, led by Saul of Tarsus, to scatter the believers. And we see that these men went out to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they were preaching the Word everywhere they went. It says at first to the Jews only, you see they did not understand God's plan yet. 

But verse 20 brings us an amazing statement. Some of these men were from Cyprus and Cyrene, they had grown up in Gentile areas with Gentiles, and they were led to preach to the Hellenists, to the Gentiles as well. And what did they preach? They preached the Lord Jesus. This was going on in an organic way, not by the command of the central church in Jerusalem, in fact they didn't even know about it. 

But individual believers were so filled with the Spirit, so full of faith, so excited about the truth of the Gospel that they wanted to bring it to anyone who would listen, and to offer this good news message to everyone. And the amazing part is that the Gentiles were receiving, that is, believing the Gospel. They were turning to faith in Jesus, and apparently in large numbers. And verse 21 tells us that this was by the hand of the Lord, it was God's power accomplishing this work through them with His blessing. It says they believed, and they turned to the Lord. 

This was genuine salvation of Gentiles, and not just a few. So God was working ahead of the church in Jerusalem, as He was also working on the hearts and minds of the Jews as we see with Peter and Cornelius. And all of this revolved around God's will and plan for the church to evangelize the world. 

Well, next we see that God's plan for the church includes encouragement. Look at verse 22 of our text. 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 faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord." 

Now, I'm not sure what the church in Jerusalem thought at this point. They were still working through these things, and the report is that the Gentiles are being saved in droves up in Antioch. I mean, they were still trying to swallow the idea of Cornelius and his household and how Peter had gone in there and preached the gospel, and they'd all been saved, and the Holy Spirit had fallen on them just as it had with the Jews. 

And now they hear that they're coming by the hundreds, maybe thousands, up in Antioch. So I'm not sure exactly what their purpose was in sending Barnabas, perhaps to check out what was going on, to set things in order, set their minds at ease, or at least help them process all of this. But I know what God's purpose was in sending this great man of faith, and that was encouragement. 

Remember, Barnabas was the man who was able to break the ice for Paul with the apostles when they would not accept him. His very name means son of encouragement. He was the man to go up there and help out this fledgling church and to encourage these Gentiles in the faith. And that's exactly what he did. 

Notice what he encouraged them to do in verse 23. It says, when he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad. And he encouraged them all that with purpose of heart, they should continue with the Lord. Let me ask you, what do new believers need? What do we all need? How do we need to be encouraged? 

We need to be encouraged to continue with the Lord. No matter what our struggle, no matter what our question or our fear or doubt, the answer is the Lord. The answer is His Word. The answer is to continue with Him, to abide in Him. And this is just what Barnabas told them to do. He was glad. He saw the grace of God extended to the Gentiles. He saw that they had turned to the Lord and believed and received salvation. 

He praised God and he encouraged them, exhorted them to continue with the Lord. Don't go off into some other thing. Don't be distracted. Don't put your faith somewhere else. Just continue with the Lord, seeking to know Him through the Word, through teaching. Trust Him. Abide in Him. Believe Him. Continue with the Lord. 

This is the message that we all need as believers, continually. Encouragement to continue with the Lord. And notice that Barnabas was a spiritual man. He was walking in the Spirit. He was full of faith. This was good and godly advice that he gave. And also notice that at the end of this, the point of this encouragement was again fruit, evangelism. It says, a great number was added, many more believed because the believers were continuing with the Lord. 

That's what we need to do as well. One day at a time. Just continue. That's what the word abide means. Abide in Jesus. Continue with the Lord. 

Well, next we come to a key point in our text, I think the highlight of our text, education in verse 25. Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus 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 at Antioch. 

Verse 26 is so crucial. It's so full of instruction and meaning for us, my brothers and sisters. Because you see, things are happening at Antioch. God is doing amazing work in this city. It was the third largest city in the world. It was a place of great prosperity and trade and importance in the Roman world. And it was also a tremendous place of debauchery and sin as well. 

And God chose to found the first Gentile church here and to bring many, many people out of that dark paganism into the glorious light of Christ into the church. But you can imagine that Barnabas must have had his hands full. All these people were coming to faith, being added to the number in that city. He couldn't handle it all. He needed help. So he went looking for Paul. 

And the wording here indicates that he had a great difficulty finding him. You can imagine that Paul had been preaching Christ wherever he went and probably was being kicked along out of every city that he went into. And so it says that Barnabas had to search diligently to find him. But when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. 

And what was it that they did? What is God's plan for the church according to these verses? What important principle do we learn in verse 26? It says, for a whole year, they assembled all those myriads of new believers together and they taught them. They taught them. 

God's plan for the church, my friends, is teaching. Now I use the word education because it started with an E. But I certainly don't necessarily mean higher education like university or seminary. If a man is trained in the Bible and God's word, then that is profitable. That is good. 

But so much of education in our time is useless or perhaps, worse yet, contrary to equipping a man to minister the gospel. It reminds me of the public school system. They teach reading and writing and arithmetic every day. But when a student spends 14 or 15 years now, as they get them in diapers if they can, from pre-K to graduation in that system, what is he educated in? Not so much reading, writing, and arithmetic, but a philosophy, a way of thinking. 

And I'm afraid it's similar in most seminaries. They may study the Bible, some more, some less. But at the end of those years, what is a man really educated in? It's a system, a philosophy, more so than the word of God. And yet so many are so enamored with education in the church. 

What are men coming out of theological training, by and large, educated in? In the ways of the world, in psychology and counseling and church growth methods and how to preach a good, entertaining, moving sermon. Educated in what? I have a lot of education, several degrees, certifications, even some seminary. But my friends, none of that has helped me in the ministry. In meeting the goals and objectives of God for the church, my role, none of that has helped me in my commission. 

It is the study of God's Word that prepares a man to minister. And that is what he needs. God's plan for the church is teaching. But that teaching is the Word of God to equip and prepare the saints to go out and preach the gospel. And that's exactly what Paul and Barnabas did in Antioch, continually, for the course of their ministry. 

Just as Paul later did in Ephesus for three years and everywhere else he went, Paul taught the people. He taught them the Word of God. Turn over to Acts 20 with me, verse 26. This is what Paul said about his ministry in Ephesus. Acts chapter 20, verse 26, therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 

Why is Paul able to declare that he is innocent of the blood of all men? For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. 

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 

So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. What did Paul do for three years, night and day with tears? He warned them. He taught them. He declared to them the whole counsel of God. 

He taught them the Word, the revelation that he had received of God about Jesus the Christ. He did not teach them a class or two on Greek philosophy, on world religion, or the latest, greatest methods of counseling techniques and how to win friends and influence people. He taught them the Word of God. 

And that's what he did with Barnabas back in Antioch. Teaching, preaching, the whole counsel of God. This is God's plan for the church, the local church, the gathering of believers, is for teaching. Oh, that we could get that truth, and nail that down, that that's the purpose, that's why we're here, is teaching. 

Sunday morning is not primarily for evangelism. Sunday morning is for teaching, for preaching, for worship, for the building up of the body of Christ. And Bible studies are for, listen to me now, Bible study. A good portion of the church today sets Sunday morning aside for the seekers. Not offending, entertaining, and ministering to the lost and their felt needs. 

And then they spend their midweek small groups studying books written by men. Let me ask you, my brothers and sisters, where is the teaching? Where is the expounding of the Word of God? Where is thus saith the Lord? Where is the time, time spent digging, agonizing to know the truth and understand it according to God's Word, to know Jesus Christ? 

Give me a man who will preach the Word of God from the pulpit. Work through the book, verse by verse, line upon line, precept upon precept, and do his level best to say what God says, and exhort the body to believe God and to obey Him. To do it God's way in every part and every facet of life and thinking and action, to trust God and depend on Him, and look to Jesus, and Jesus only. 

Turn over to 1 Corinthians 1 with me, please. I'd like for you to listen to Paul's words concerning his ministry. 1 Corinthians 1.18. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? 

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling block. To the Greeks, foolishness. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and wisdom of God. 

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise, according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. 

And the base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. In order that, here's the point, my friends, in order that no flesh should glory in His presence, but of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 

That as it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. And I, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 

Now, does the man teach the Word of God? Is the Bible, is Jesus the focus of the church, of the meetings? Is teaching the centerpiece and means of equipping the saints? This is what we must ask about a church, and we must ask it because here we see this principle, this example in the early church, God's plan for the local church is teaching to equip and to build and to produce fruit. 

And we see that fruit in our last point this morning, edification. Look at verse 27, please. And in these days, prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them named Agabus stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. 

Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." 

Well God brought a warning to the church about a famine that was going to come, and it did come. We read about the poverty in the church in Jerusalem in several places in the Scripture. We read about Paul's great desire to help them there. We read about the generosity of the saints in all the Gentile regions and how they gave some out of their own poverty to help to minister to the saints in Jerusalem and how Paul brought that gift to them in their time of need. 

You see, my friends, the teaching of the Word of God consistently, continually will produce fruit in the lives of believers. Here we have two people groups, Jew and Gentile, who all their lives have utterly hated and despised one another. But when the Gospel came to Antioch, when these precious people heard the Gospel and turned to the Lord in faith, it fundamentally changed them, who they were. 

And when Paul and Barnabas faithfully, diligently taught the Word of God, encouraged, exhorted, directed, and taught the people, they grew. They became mature. They were filled with love, agape love, by the Holy Spirit who lived in them. They were going out and preaching Christ, and many were being added to the number. Many were turning to the Lord. This was fruit. 

But also we see the fruit of love, agape love, toward the brethren, toward the Jews. And when a need arose, they anxiously met it. And each one gave according to his ability, willingly, as he purposed in his own heart. And they sent that gift of money to those brothers in need so that the Gospel could continue. 

Are you seeing God's plan for the church here? In this wonderful text, in this wonderful historical example of this church in Antioch, the first Gentile church. Do you see how God intends to work out His will to bring the good news to every creature? Do you see the simplicity of these principles of evangelism, of encouragement, of teaching and education, and of edification, love expressed to one another? 

And that it is God in His way, by these means, who is empowering the church, who's creating opportunities and saving lost men and conforming believers to the likeness of Christ as we believe Him, as we trust Him, as we abide in Him. As Vance Havner said, we don't need something new. We need something so old it'd be new if anyone would try it. We need to abide in Him and His words abide in us, for without Him we can do nothing. 

But with Him, we can do everything. He does it through us. He accomplishes His will through us as we trust Him, as we believe Him, and as we obey Him. And that's what we see in the early church. My friends, please heed the message of these words before us this morning. See God's plan for the church, and have a renewed commitment to His plan for the church, and just trust Him. Believe Him, and obey Him, for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of Christ. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we're so thankful that You've recorded these words and preserved them for us in this book, that You've given us an example of how You began building the church, the first Gentile church in Antioch, and thank You for these principles that we can study and learn and know and believe and apply, even in our church today. 

Help us to trust You and believe You, not to waver, but just to continue in the Lord. It's in His name we pray, amen.