The Gospel Is For All

Well, good to see everyone in the house of the Lord, faithful saints of God, guests with us and other visitors. We're just so glad that you are here and we just ask that God touches our life this morning as we look to his word. We have been studying from the book of Acts and I want to read two verses from there and then I want to read a a passage from Ephesians chapter 2. So Acts 18, Acts 2 and verse 39 and then from Ephesians chapter 2. Acts 18 very familiar. We've already read it a few times in this series.

It says, "But you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Then from Acts 2:39, we read this, "For the promise is unto you, it's to your children, to all that are aar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." And then finally from Ephesians chapter 2 beginning at verse 11, Paul writes, "Wherefore remember that ye being in past time past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision and the flesh made by hands.

That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and has broken down the middle wall a partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the emnity, even in the law of commandments contained in ordinances.

For to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God and one body by the cross, having slain the immity thereby, and came and preached peace to you, which were a far off, and to them that were nigh. Our current series, we've been studying some apostolic distinctives in the book of Acts. And for those that haven't been here, we looked at the commission of the church to go into all the world and preach the gospel. We looked at the Pentecostal birth of the church, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

But we didn't stop there. We looked through the book of Acts at the way the Holy Ghost led and guided and directed and and empowered people. We looked at the miracles, the wonders, the signs that were wrought by the early church. We looked at some methods of the church and how it grew, the prayerfulness of the church. And then last week, brother Carden uh taught on the authority of the church through the name of Jesus, how it was used in the book of acts. So today, I want to look at how the early church filled that commission.

We studied the commission in detail in our first lesson, but we want to look how the gospel spread throughout the book of Acts. And as we studied in our first lesson, the modern church, we today have that same commission. It has not changed. She still expects us to go into our world and preach the gospel to every creature. And so I think this lesson should encourage us in that endeavor that this is what we need to do because we want to be a book of acts church.

Before he had ascended, Jesus had commissioned his disciples with these words in Mark 16:15. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That would seem to be a difficult task, especially for some Galileans that were fishermen and probably never before they met Jesus got far beyond the lake where they fished and the little area that they lived in and they're being told go into all the world and preach the gospel.

That had to seem like a very big thing and which probably wouldn't have happened or couldn't have happened until the empowerment by the Holy Ghost. In fact, we look at we look at these people. We look at Peter's cursing and denial of Jesus at his trial is just one example. And sometimes we focus on that. But Matthew 26 tells us when Jesus was crucified or being crucified, then all the disciples forsake him and fled. So these are the men that were going to take the gospel to the whole world. Those that were fled and went into hiding.

However, God never asks us to do what he will not empower us to do. Aren't you thankful for that? I mean he doesn't throw something big out there and say you do this and then walk away and say let's just see how they do. No, he is there to help us. Jesus commissioned his disciples but he did not leave them without the means to fulfill that commission. And that was what happened at Pentecost and that promise that you would receive power when the Holy Ghost came upon you. And with that power you would become witnesses.

And so the book of Acts lights up the scene as these and others begin to follow the Lord as fully regenerated believers full of the Holy Ghost. Suddenly their lives are difference and and fulfilling prophecy and preaching and and praying and doing all those things. So one Acts 18 is really a synopsis of the way the gospel would spread is cataloged through the book of Acts and it was really a road map that uh Luke uses to tell us what the book of Acts is going to be.

And so this lesson is we're going to look at these events to see how the gospel reached the uttermost parts of the earth. Now, here's what we know. True revival, when God begins to move, it is never, if you will, pretty. Sometimes it's messy. Sometimes things happen. When a church really becomes stirred to reach the lost, it's going to rearrange the lives of the saints. Suddenly all our our habits and our normal routine just kind of gets upended. It's going to attack strongholds of sin. It's going to disrupt the the status quo.

And sometimes it even changes the makeup of a congregation. And so what we're comfortable with, you know, those comfortable with the way we've always done it and how we've always been. And those who view the church as a social gathering of old friends are are going to fail to experience the revival that God intends. He wants to stir us up. We often look at the back book of Acts church as a pattern for a revival church. And it is. We definitely see that.

However, I think if we look at a more than just a quick reading of it, uh the book of Acts, we will discover that yes, it was in some ways a messy affair. It wasn't exactly just smooth sailing all the way through. And Acts tells of the spread of the gospel. And as a historian, Luke does an admiral job of of giving us all the facts. And what we see in Acts is the gospel spreading on multiple fronts. Now, it didn't always look like a unit moving together in lock step. We're all heading toward this.

But what we do see that it was always moving forward nonetheless. And we can identify when you read the book of Acts, there are at least three prongs or three areas of advancement of the gospel. The first is very obvious. It's the spread of the good news throughout Jerusalem because that's where the church started and it began there. Excuse me. The second is the mis ministry of Peter and that takes up about through about Acts chapter 10 as we look at the ministry of of Peter and the things that he did.

It unlocked the doors to the king of the kingdom to the Jews, the Samaritans and ultimately the Gentiles. And then that third and arguably most significant was the spread of the gospel by the Hellenists, a group that Paul would would be eventually included in. And so there's no way in the scope of one lesson, I think, to do justice to all of that, but we're going to try to do enough justice to where we'll understand what was happening.

We're going to look at some of the highlights of the apostolic methods that we defined the growth of the early church uh that we did before. And as we do, we need to glean what it means to have revival in any generation. I believe God wants us to have revival. I believe he wants to see souls saved. He wants to see the church grow. That is our duty to help that. And we're going to see how they did it in the book of Acts. That the church began in Jerusalem is beyond dispute. We know that's where Pentecost started.

And we studied the importance of Pentecost. As we said a few Sundays ago, that day began with 120 people in an upper room. And by the day's end, we're told there were added to them about 3,000 souls. That's a revival. And I'm sure as a revival that was messy to all of a sudden go from 120 people to have 3,000. Now, what do we do? How are we going to handle this? A revival. But here's what we know. The revival did not stop after that first day.

In Acts chapter 2 and verse 47, it said, "The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." So that 3,000 was day one. And daily God was adding to the church. And the first five chapters of Acts tell us much of the story of these early days in the church. And so, let's look at that. The first thing that becomes apparent when we look at the spread of the gospel in Jerusalem is the power of preaching. Something about the word of God when it goes forth. It will ch touch lives and it will change lives.

Peter's message at Pentecost, we already mentioned it was a catalyst for 3,000 souls being saved. But it didn't stop there. He preached again on Solomon's porch in the temple after healing the lame manuh that stirred up the city in in Acts chapter 3. And and although the religious elite castigate him and and the results speak for themselves because in Acts 4:4 it says, "How be it many of them which heard the word believed and the number of men was about 5,000." So we had three on day one. A couple chapters later, we've got five more.

Now you're up to eight plus whatever was being added daily. And we don't know those numbers. But I mean, you got a church 8 10,000 people. Who knows? Peter's preaching to the council. Now, that may not have won a whole lot of souls. They weren't really impressed with it, but they could not deny God's power working through the apostles. And so, they placed them in prison. And then when they let them go, they said, "Go and don't talk anymore about this one." God delivered them. And they went right back in Acts chapter 5 spreading the message.

There's something about the power of the word of God. It said in Acts 5:42, "And daily in the temple, in every house, they cease not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ proclaiming the good news. He rose again and talking about his power." Every revival will be marked by the preaching of the word of God. Let me repeat that. Every revival will be marked by the preaching of the word of God. We have to have preaching.

We have to have a declaration that we know the king of kings and lord of lords and that he died for our sins but he rose again and he poured out his spirit upon us. Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 1:21. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. I love singerations. I don't know that we call them that anymore. I like when we get together concert whatever you want to call it. hearing hearing music and but it takes preaching to touch our life and it will move in in life and touch us.

He goes on to explain in Romans 10, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then he asked the question, how then shall they call on him and who they not believed? How they shall believe in him and whom they have not heard? And how are they going to hear without a preacher? So book of acts preaching. You want revival, we need preaching. Not only that, but prayer. They continued in Acts 2:42 in prayers. Now, we spent an entire lesson on that, so a quick recap is all that's necessary today. We'll look at Acts 3:1.

It said, "Peter and John went up together into the temple for an hour of prayer." So, they were heading for prayer. In Acts 4:24, it said they lifted up their voice to God with one accord. So, they were praying. So powerful was that prayer. Luke said, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken and they were assembled together. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness. Prayer is also a key to revival. A prayerless revival is an impossibility. It's not going to happen. We have to seek God.

God's injunction way back in 2 Chronicles has never changed. If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land. Was also marked by miracles, signs and wonders. Hand in hand with the preaching and with the praying was the working of miracles. Again, brother Carden taught a lesson on that in in the book of Acts.

the miracles and the wonders and sign and apostolic revival has a hallmark of the miraculous workings of God. The notable miracle, if you will, of the healing of the lay man sparked controversy among those that did not believe, but it res it brought revival among the people. And the apostles prayer in Acts four was this. And now, Lord, behold, grant unto thy servants that with boldness we may speak thy word. That's the preaching.

And by stretching forth your hand, God, to heal, that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child, Jesus. God answered their prayer because in Acts five it said, "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.

In so much they brought forth a sick into the streets they laid them on beds and couches that least the passing of the shadow of Peter might overshadow them." Okay came mult multitude out of the cities round about Jerusalem bringing sick folks condemn which were vexed with unclean spirits and they were healed everyone. Apostolic revival will bring the miraculous. So preaching and prayer, miracles, God working among us. But also, and we don't like to talk about this one.

We already mentioned in in in Acts chapter 5, the apostles were placed in prison. At the end of the chapter, we read that they were beaten. They went through persecution. Later in Acts 12, we find now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church and he killed James, the brother of John with a sword and and and we see persecution in the early church. Now, we don't like to talk about that one, but it did a couple of things. First, it made the apostles more determined than ever to stand for truth.

I'm thankful that, you know, when things come against the truth, we don't back down. We become more determined. But second, it began to scatter many of them for Jerusalem, allowing them to spread the gospel to other areas. They realize, well, we maybe we shouldn't just stay here. Let's take it somewhere else. True revival may bring persecution. Often it does. As Satan's strongholds are assaulted, he attacks those proclaiming truth. But here's what I know. When the enemy attacks, it's because he is being threatened.

And the promise we have is greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Aren't you thankful for that? God will be with us. And after Herod killed James, the brother of John, the Apostle James, James the Elder, the brother of Jesus, became the leader of the Jerusalem church. And so, we're looking at this growth of the church in Jerusalem. The story of the Jerusalem church largely stops at this point in Luke's history, but obviously revival continued.

Now the unique thing about the Jerusalem church that it was made up almost exclusively of Jews and many continued their Jewish traditions while still believing in Jesus the Messiah. And so it was a unique situation in a unique period of time. They were still going to the temple every day like they typically would. They were still taking part with all the sacrifices and they were taking part and with all the traditions and all the things that the Jews did.

The amazing thing is that God worked through the church in Jerusalem as much as he did anywhere else. He never condemned them for continuing in their Jewish practices even though they had received the Holy Ghost and now had their faith in Jesus Christ. But here's what else we know. They did not God did not reject the Gentiles for not following the Jewish law. was looking at brother Norris's book that he, as he said, shamelessly promoted the last uh month in our Wednesday night services.

He referenced several times in that he he wrote this, "The New Testament is pretty clear in forbidding Gentile Christians from adopting Jewish practices or adopting Jewish feast days." So, the Gentiles were told, "You don't need to do that. Don't be a you're not a Jew. Don't take over those feast. don't be taking over those practices. But equally, Paul never condemned the Jews from continuing those practices so long as they didn't require it of others. Indeed, Paul himself obser observed some of those Jewish rituals.

And we read in the book of Acts, it's it's not real clear. But if you understand the Jewish history, you understand that he took probably a Nazerite vow even after his conversions. But here's what we know. God's church is big enough for anybody that will serve him in truth.

And if we're not careful, we'll get hung up on different ways of how they have church and how we have church and this person and the styles of music they have and what one congregation says, "Well, this okay," and another one condemns and says, "Well, we don't do that." And you know what? God's word tells us what sin is. It's pretty plain. There's several lists you want to go through and look for them that tells us these things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

and cultural dictates may change, but that should never break fellowship for disagreements that are not sin. And under James leadership, here's what we see. The church continued to grow even though they were continuing to live in that Jewish lifestyle into the thousands. The report James gave Paul in Acts 21 is this verse 20. Thou seeest brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe. And then he says this, and they are all zealous of the law. So they're still living like Jews did in the Old Testament.

They're still following all those things, but yet they believe in Jesus Christ. Paul never condemned them for that. And so this was the church in Jerusalem, a very big church, very large obviously thousands that are believing, but really focused on continuing to live in Judaism and to follow Jesus Christ as their Messiah. And so they didn't get far beyond Jerusalem because they stayed there close to the temple where they could take part in those. Secondly is the ministry of Peter. No figure was so prominent in the early church as that of Peter.

We've already quoted several passages referring to his anointed preaching as working in miracles. Uh again in Acts 18 we have this synopsis that you're going to be witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea Samaria the uttermost part of the earth. This road mapap if you will is the path that Peter followed in opening the doors to the kingdom. Jesus had told Peter he said I'm going to give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whosoever what you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

And so it seems that Peter was given the privilege and responsibility to unlock the gospel for all people. So let's look briefly at how he did this. Since we studied Pentecost a few weeks ago, we we only need to recall it was Peter that preached the first sermon. It was Peter that stood with the other 12, but begin to speak and and and preach to those Jews that were there. It was here he set forth the plan of salvation in the clearest possible terms.

In Acts 2:38, he said, "Repent, be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remissions of sin, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Thus, Jerusalem became the first door, if you will, unlocked by Peter for the gospel. And that was specifically to the Jews. In fact, Luke tells us in Acts 2:5, there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. That's who was present at Pentecost. So it took place in Jerusalem, but many of them had come to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost.

And so it affected all of Judea, the the land around Jerusalem. Many Jews were in that city for that day. And so Peter included them in his message in Acts 2:14. He said, "You men of Judea and all that dwell at Jerusalem." So in one swipe, he was taking care of the first group that Jesus talked about. Be this known unto you and hearken to my words. The next stop for Peter was in Samaria. The Samaritans claimed to be part of Israel, but the Jews really didn't accept them very much as so.

They were uh Jews that when they went into captivity in the Old Testament, they were allowed to settle back in the land, but those conquering nations would also send other people to live with them. And they intermarried and so they weren't pure Jews in the Jews site and they so they kind of they didn't really care for them. In fact, they treated them as dogs from what we read in the Bible. But the gospel knows no ethnic backgrounds. Did not matter. It was Philip that first preached the gospel there. But the door really wasn't fully opened.

And so the apostles heard that the Samaria had received the word of God by Philip's preaching. And they were being baptized in Jesus' name. They had faith in Jesus, but the Holy Ghost had not come upon them yet. And so the Bible tells us who when when Peter and John were come down, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he had fallen on none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And so when Peter and John laid their hands on them, they received the Holy Ghost. So Peter is responsible.

I'm doing exactly what Jesus said in Jerusalem and all Judea and now Samaria. And then it said unto the uttermost part of the world. The church was looking more diverse. We had Jews and we had some that were part Jews. But God wasn't finished yet. He had said to go to the uttermost part. What did that mean? Perhaps to the Jewish Peter only meant Jews that have been scattered throughout the nations. Well, we'll take this gospel. We'll tell all the Jews all around the world that have left Jerusalem.

All the diaspora, all those that are somewhere else, we'll go and tell them about Jesus, the Messiah had come. And so it really took God doing some arm twisting by way of a vision to get Peter into the house of Cornelius. And I'm not really sure we can appreciate Peter's trepidation as he goes in Cornelius's house. In fact, Peter said to them, you know, it's unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come into one of another nation. I shouldn't be here. Y'all are Gentiles. I'm a Jew. It's not I I shouldn't even be here.

It's unlawful for me to do that. But then he said, 'But God showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. What are you going to do, Peter? I shouldn't be here. I've been brought up this way all my life. I've been told I shouldn't have anything to do with these people. And suddenly God tells me, "This is what I want you to do." And even more surprising was Peter was when the Holy Ghost fell on him. He was shaken to his core. The only response he get, he he was astonished.

It said, "They of the circumcision." And so these Jews that were following covenant with the with God through the Jewish nation and believing doing all those things, they were astonished as many as came with Peter. What? Because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak in tongues and magnify God. Can you imagine trip heading back to Jerusalem, leaving those Gentiles behind, and it's just Peter and these Jews that he knew he was in trouble.

He'd been given the keys and he just unlocked the door to the Gentiles. And you know what? It was trouble. When Peter was come to Jerusalem, they of the circumcision, those that were in covenant with God, those Jews, contended with him, saying, "You went into men of uncircumcised and you ate with them." Said earlier, revival sometimes messy. When God begins saving those that we really didn't expect or that we despise, it might rock our little world, church.

God reaches out to people, we say, "Whoa, what are they doing here?" The Jews were comfortable with the salvation of other Jews. They were kind of cooly receptive to that of the Samaritans. But when it was Gentiles, they're contending. They're fighting about it. Now, wait a minute. You've gone too far. But here's what we know. Peter had the ultimate defense. He just blamed it on God. Don't blame me. As I began to speak to them, the Holy Ghost fell on them. He said in Acts 11, as on us up at the beginning beginning.

Then I remembered the word of the Lord and how that he said John and baptized with water, you're going to be baptized with the Holy Ghost. So since God gave them the same gift as he did us who believed on the Lord Christ, what was I that I could withstand God? I think what he was saying is what are you that you can withstand God too either? So the lesson to be learned from Peter's ministry is that this gospel is for whosoever will. If there's going to be revival, it can't be on the focus group that we want to reach. It's for everyone.

It's for the rich, the poor, the black, the white, red, yellow, liberal, conservative, male, female, Republican, Democrat, young, old, any other category you want to make. It's for them. As Peter would later write in second Peter 3:9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. He's talking about the second coming, but I think he probably was including there the coming of the Holy Ghost. This is that which was promised by the prophet Joel as some count slackness. He's longsuffering to usward.

He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You don't know Jesus, you can come to him today. There are no restrictions. We're not going to say, "Well, we don't want you here." No. Repent. Come to God. The door is wide open. Now, it's interesting. It's shortly after the events of Cornelius's house that this persecution began by Herod that we talked about. Having killed the Apostle James, Herod put Peter in prison. We know that prayer was made and he was he was delivered.

Uh but there there's an obscure phrase there. We know he goes to the house of John Mark. He knocks on the door. Roa doesn't want to let him in because, you know, she was either too excited or just couldn't believe or didn't know what to think. We're praying for Peter. He's in jail and he's standing outside the door and this doesn't make sense. And she goes and tells the other people, "Hey, he he he's out there." No, he's not. We're praying for him. Finally, he lets him in. And and here's what we read in Acts 12:17.

Said, "Go show these things unto James and to the brethren." So go tell James who was now the leader in the church there that we mentioned in Jerusalem. Go and tell them. And then it says, "And he departed and went into another place." What place? We don't know. History doesn't say. The book of Acts doesn't say. He does come back to Jerusalem for the first council, but then he evidently leaves again. We don't know exactly where he went. Uh history and and there are some things that try to place him in different areas.

Um, no doubt he continued to preach the gospel. Paul mentions that Peter traveled with his wife probably evangelizing and when Paul made his final trip to Jerusalem years later, Peter was not there. This great man had used the keys to the kingdom to open the door to all people and then he he seems to have just kind of slipped into obscurity, his ministry being eclipsed by that of a newcomer. I think we see another key to revival here. God will use whom he chooses and for the purposes he chooses. Peter set the church on the right trajectory.

He opened the doors. He did what Jesus asked him to do. And Paul becomes its greatest missionary. What that tells me is we all need to find our place in God's scheme of things, but also that we need to be content to minister where God has put us and placed us. It's not about a competition. It's about doing our part and then letting God have the glory. And that is the key to true revival. And that brings us to this third group. There is a verse not found in our Bible, so maybe it's not a verse, but it's often quoted as one.

God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform. I've heard a guy that he he told me he was an atheist and did not believe in God at all. And I bantered back and forth of him many times at work talking about different things. And one time I was telling him about something that a miracle that had happened. And he said, "God works in mysterious ways as wonders to perform and you don't even believe in God." Actually, that's a paraphrase probably from Matthew Henry's commentary. But the book of Acts shows us this concept is true.

We've seen we've seen two of the three prongs in the gospel message. the Jerusalem church and then eventually under James and the great revival there and then the ministry of Peter which takes the gospel. I said earlier the most significant were probably the Helenists. Now who were they? Helenist were a term applied to the New Test in the New Testament to Greekeaking Jews and sometimes gentiles. But it was more than just the fact that they spoke Greek. They had really kind of bought into the Greek culture. So they lived in Greek cities.

They lived among other Greeks. They spoke Greek. They did not speak the the language of the Hebrew or the Ara Aramaic. Uh so when they would go to Jerusalem or to somewhere else, they could not go into the Jewish temples so much because they wouldn't understand the language. And so they started their own synagogues. These are the synagogues that Paul often went to when he would go from town to town. And Luke picks up their story really in a couple of starts and spurts. He mentions it a couple times and kind of goes away from it.

and then comes back and and gets back to it. In Acts 6:1, we hear very familiar story. This is when the disciples were murmuring against the Grecians, against the Hebrews because the widows were being neglected in the food that was being distributed. The Grecians were the Hellenists. This group often did not go to the temple, as we said, because they couldn't understand the language.

They had their own synagogues and some in Jerusalem, some other places where they worshiped in in the Greek language and they were probably looked down upon by the Hebrews that were following the law very strictly and the Jews that were living there. And when the widows begin to complain, they that were slided, the apostles had a plan. He said, "Look out, seven men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom appoint over this business." What they said is interesting. He said, "Look out.

Look ye out among you." So you all take care of this problem. You handle it. Look around yourself. The seven men appointed were all hellist. This is that messy revival was already causing some divisions among the saints. The Jews, they're going to do what they want to do. You get you some hellist and you take care of this this problem. Some of you that believe that way. One of the chosen men, of course, was Stephen. The Bible says he was full of faith and of power and did great wonders and miracles among the people.

And as his fame spread, so did his contempt for him among the Jews. So it really wasn't the Hellenists or others that did not like him. It was Jews. And so they accused him before the high priest. Acts 7 records Steven's defense, the longest sermon in the book of Acts. Ultimately, when he gets to the end, he begins to decry the temple. He said, "God doesn't live in houses made of by human hands." He was speaking directly to those Jews. He's not living in your temple. He lives in us.

And to the Jews who centered their life around the temple, that was blasphemy. And so that's really the reason they stoned him. Oh, you're claiming, you know, you're you're speaking against the temple and this is this is where the spirit of God dwells. He said, "No, the spirit of God dwells in us." And that event caused the Hellenist to begin to leave Jerusalem and it began to spread the gospel outside of Judea. And what looked to become a setback was an opportunity to further the gospel.

There's a couple other men that that surface in this story. We mentioned we didn't read the group, but of those seven men, there was one named Phillip. And it was Philillip that begin to evangelize him. He went to Samaria, no doubt, because that's where Peter had to come to see what was going on. And from there he met the Ethiopian unic who would take the the gospel down into the con continent of Africa. And then he was carried by the spirit to Zotus. And then Philip continued preaching the gospel until he came to Cesaria.

And Philip's preaching of the gospel was a new development. The spreading of the message beyond Jerusalem and beyond Judea and beyond to just Jews. Again the Hellenists are figuring large in the spread of the gospel. And although he never really claimed for himself the title of Helenus, Paul did speak Greek. He was raised outside of Jerusalem in a Greek culture and so he would fit that description, although he no doubt knew Aramaic as well. He was proud of his Jewishness and he always sought the salvation of Jews first.

However, God's call to him was for the Gentiles and his ministry was almost exclusively among other Greeks. Acts nine records his conversion. No doubt one of the most significant determined events of the early church. And although we know little of Paul's early ministry, Barnabas eventually seeks him out. He goes to Tarsus where Paul was from to seek him. And he found finds him brings him to Antioch. And they a whole year they assembled the church and they taught people and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Although God had brought a lot of traumatic moments and and the birth of the church in Jerusalem, it really begins to wayne from the spotlight in the book of Acts. Not only did the town harbor Jews who wanted to destroy Christianity, but it was home to some Christians who wanted to push the law of Moses onto the Gentiles. And so by the end of Acts, much of the focus by then was shifting away from Jerusalem toward Antioch and to other points of this great Gentile revival. And about halfway through Acts, the light shines on Antioch.

This church consisted of Henistic Jews and Gentile converts. And and it is there that Paul develops as a minister within this church of mixed ethnicities after Barnabas brings him there. Just as no one expected to find anything great to come out of Nazareth, I think few would have expected Antioch to launch a world revival. However, this church hosted men who prayed and fasted seeking the Lord. Perhaps the Jews in Jerusalem believed that Jesus was looked upon as just, you know, this was the Messiah. But in Antioch, a new designation developed.

The Jews in in Jerusalem were still Jews that happened to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. But in Antioch, the believers were first called Christians. They were no longer looked at, you're a bunch of Jews that just see Jesus as Messiah. You're just followers of Jesus Christ. You're not following Judaism. You're not following that path. You're just following Jesus. They had no previous connection with Judaism. Yet, they embraced this religion, not as Jew Jews, but as Christians. And so, they were changing the trajectory of the gospel.

They put this into real practice when they sent out Paul and Barnabas to to do ministry and to do evangelism. Let's just look at a couple advantages of that church. Number one, multiple ethnicities. The greatest revival seems to be happening in churches that are opening their doors to all people. A church with multiple cultures tends to be more likely to invest in evangelizing to all people. Be careful we don't just focus on those we want to see saved. Diversity of leadership. God gave the church a five-fold ministry.

We know Barnabas modeled this in spirit when he brought Saul to Antioch and helped him there. Come, we need someone to teach. We need some prophets. We need some people to come in here and help. We know that there were many of those in Antioch that Bible talked about in Acts six that were prophets and teachers and preachers, those kind of things. You know, some question why so many ministers sometime in a big church? Why are they not God has a plan for a diverse ministry that will help each church?

They had a spiritual hunger rather than to be satisfied and established with their walk with God. They were seeking to obey God's voice and willing to send out those. They were a generous giving church. In fact, when they heard Jerusalem was suffering, they took an offering and gave it to to Saul and Barnabas so that they could take it to Jerusalem. Saul and Barnabas did that. And while they were there, they saw John Mark. And now we see leadership development. They brought him back.

His mother was a great leader in the Jerusalem church, probably a church meeting in her house. But John needed room to grow on his own. And so Barnabas takes him back with them. And of course, we know that Paul and Barnabas were sent to go and to preach. Too many people, I think, if we're not careful, we get a call from God and feel immediately we need to go into full-time. Let's let's get out and do something. But sometimes the law of high harvest requires time for fruit to ripen. We look at Paul. He spent several years there in Antioch.

He submitted himself in a local church. Even though God had great things for him. And when the spirit finally did call him out, he stepped out to pursue a wider ministry. What I'm saying is God will lead us and guide us and direct us. He's always done that. You think of David. He was anointed king. He was very young, but they already had a king. He had to wait for his day. He had to continue in sometimes terrible circumstances. He could have said, "I'm the rightful king.

I've been anointed." But he said, "No, until God moves Saul out of the way, King Saul. I'm just going to wait." I think that's one thing we need to learn for revival. Learn to wait. not hesitate, but wait until God says, "Now's the time to move. Now's the time to do things." Each of us needs that lifech changing event to share the gospel. We need the power of the Holy Ghost. Peter had to have it. Day of Pentecost gave it to him. Paul, Saul at the time had to have it when he saw the light on the road to Damascus.

But by putting ourselves squarely in the work of the Lord and letting his power touch us, he will open doors of opportunity. The text we read in Ephesians shows us what Paul learned about spreading the gospel. I find it interesting the words he used in Peter's prophetic words in Acts 2:39. He said that to those Jews present that the promise of the Holy Ghost was to you to your children and all that are a far off.

Now given his later hesitencancy with Cornelius I I doubt Peter understood the meaning of his own words at that time God was anointing him putting words in his mouth. He gave the plan of salvation and he said this is so great. This is for you. It's for your children and even them that are a far off as many as the Lord of God shall call. I don't know who he was thinking at, but God knew what he was saying because several years later, Paul would use those same words to refer to Gentiles.

I want to read that text once again from Ephesians 2:1, but I'm going to insert Gentiles in places. Wherefore remember that in times past being Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision, in other words, Gentiles who were not in covenant relationship with God as the Jews were by that which is called the circumcision or those Jews that were in covenant with God. That at that time you were without Christ. You were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.

You were strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in this world. But now in Christ, ye who were sometimes, listen what he says, far off, the ones Peter was talking about, the Gentiles, you Gentiles are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both both what? Both Jews and Gentiles one. And he's broken down the middle wall of partition between us. any division that was there. He's broken it down between you Jews and your Gentiles.

He has made both one and hath broken down this wall between us Jews and Gentiles, having abolished in his flesh the immnity. So he took care of the hatred between the Jews and the Gentiles, even the commandments that are contained in ordinances to make in himself of both Jews and Gentiles one new man. So making peace that he might reconcile both Jews and Gentiles unto God into one body, the church by the cross, having slain the enmity thereof, and came and preached peace to you which were far off, Gentiles, and to them that are nigh.

I'm thankful this gospel is for everyone. Some of the last words of our Bible, Revelation 22:17, the spirit and the bride say, "Come." And him that heareth say, "Come." And let him that is a thirst come. And then he said, "And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." I'm thankful it did not exclude anyone. Here's what we know. The book of Acts had revival because they understood or maybe I should say they came to understand the gospel is for everyone. And then I have to ask the question, can we do anything less?

Let's share it. It's for everyone. You don't know Jesus, you can know him before you leave this place today. We're not going to hold you back. We're going to invite you. Come. Come. Let's stand. Why don't you just lift a hand and ask God to help us with that?

Lord, help us, I pray, to get the same vision that those in the book of Acts had to not limit what you can do to any group of people, any area, but to say this gospel, this church, we want to see souls saved, and we don't care where they come from, who they are, that you will touch and give a revival like they had in the book of Acts in Jesus name. Jesus name. Amen.