"A Simple Presentation into The Book of ACTS" - Chapter 11, Part 2 - Bro. John "Ernie" Perez

Continue on this journey with us as Bro. Ernie breaks down ACTS Ch. 11, Part 2 - get your notebooks and pens ready!

The turning point in Acts isn’t a miracle or a prison break, it’s a sentence: “God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” That realization reshapes everything, and we walk through Acts 11:19-30 to see how the early church moves from a mostly Jewish mission into a widening gospel meant for the whole world. If you’ve ever wondered how Christianity became more than a Jerusalem movement, Antioch is where the story accelerates.

We read the passage, then zoom out to the bigger Bible thread that holds it together. You’ll hear us connect “whosoever” salvation across key Scriptures like Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13, John 1:14, and John 3:16, along with God’s promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed. The goal is simple clarity: calling on the Lord is not making up our own version of Jesus, but responding to the Jesus revealed in Scripture and preached in Acts.

From there, we get practical. We talk about why Barnabas is sent, why he goes to find Saul, and why “Christians” is first used in Antioch. We also draw a sharp line between evangelism and revival, and we challenge ourselves on the purpose of the Holy Ghost: power to be witnesses, from our city to the uttermost parts of the earth. If you want an Acts Bible study that stays straightforward while still going deep, this conversation will meet you there.

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Transcript

Welcome And Table Introductions

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Thank you so much for joining me on the journey for the minute. Welcome to Simple Stoppership and Fields. I'm your host, Sister Diana. So glad to have you joining us today. I know we've got some new listeners out there, Brother Ernie, that are joining us on this journey of a simple presentation on the book of Acts. And so they've been saying really good things. One of the sisters, I'm gonna point her out because I was so proud of her, Sister Amy, says she was mowing acres the other day and just listening to two, three parts of the acts, and so and she was really uplifted by it. So praise God. Keep listening, sister, keep listening because it's good stuff. It's good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Jesus does the uplifting.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

He does, doesn't he?

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Give him the glory.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

He's so awesome. He's so awesome. So we're around the table again. We're gonna continue this study. We got Sister Audia here.

unknown 1:25

Good morning.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Sister Patty. Hello. Brother Ernie's on the end.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Yes, I am.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

All right, sister Ann. Good morning. And back in the back in the class is Sister Helen, Sister Sandy, and Sister Joyce. All right. So good to have you each here with us as we continue this journey. And I'm going to turn it over to you, Brother Ernie, to start the class.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Well, it's uh it's my joy to delve into the word of God. It's called a simple presentation on purpose. We're making it as simple as we can. And I hope you enjoy the word of God. So, what we're going to do is read through our verses, and then we're going to go back a second time and then work our way through them, and I will give you my simple commentary. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

We're currently on chapter 11, part two.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Chapter 11, part two, we'll be reading verses 19 through 30. All right, here we go.

Reading Acts 11:19-30 Aloud

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Now, they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenix and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch, and there stood up one of them named Agabas, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren, which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Alright, so let's back up to where we began reading. And I'm going to read a little bit of 18 here. I should have said 18 through 30, I apologize. Alright, so we're going to read 18 and just dwell on that for a moment.

Verse 18 And Gentile Repentance

SPEAKER_01 4:52

For as let me see, when they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, then, hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. That's the launching pad for verses 19 through 30. So let's look at this. Paul had given his testimony. Oh I'm sorry. I'm a little scatterbrained. Give me a moment. We must not overlook the progressive revelation of God's plan for salvation. Luke makes this concept clear. It's revealed in the story he has written through the book of Acts. In our past

Whosoever Salvation Through Scripture Promises

SPEAKER_01 5:40

readings in John, the Gospel of St. John verses 1.14, we see laid out the primary mission of Christ foundational from the beginning. That hasn't changed, but in the book of Acts, it's being understood. And we're seeing what kind of growth has been prompted in the church. In the book of Acts, John, verses 1, 1 through 14, we read that Jesus was the word that was in the beginning, that was life, that was the light, that came to give power to become the sons or the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. So there was purpose in the coming of the word of God, in Jesus' coming to earth. That purpose is being lived out in the book of Acts. We're seeing it demonstrated. We're seeing it taught in parables in the gospel, but demonstrated in the book of Acts, not in the form of a parable, not in illustrations, but we're seeing the brass tacks. Now the them in John 1.14. So let's look at John 1.14. The Gospel of St. John chapter 1 and verse 14. All right. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So the them in John 1.14 is also the whosoever in Joel 2, 32, and in Acts 2 and 21. So we've already read these scriptures multiple times. Joel prophesies about the last days and the coming of the Spirit of God. And Peter in Acts 2 tells the people who are listening on the day of Pentecost this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. So see, this is no parable. This is a fulfillment. And it's also from Romans 10 and 13. So let's look at Romans 10 and 13. I got Romans 13. Let me get Romans 10. Romans 10. There we go. And verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. In Acts chapter 2, we're seeing how they call upon the name of the Lord. It doesn't mean that you can make a Jesus after your own concept. But we call on Jesus as the scripture has taught us, correct?

unknown 8:59

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

All right, so here we see the fulfillment of a prophetic promise that was made to Abraham. Genesis 12, 1 through 3. Remember, God said to Abraham, In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. That promise is reiterated in Genesis 15, verses 4 and 5, and Genesis 22, 15 through 18. And of course, we would never want to overlook everybody's favorite scripture. It seems like this is the one scripture that everyone who believes in Jesus has memorized in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 3, verse 16. Almost everybody I've ever known who's had any experience with Jesus can quote this verse. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. So whosoever believeth in him, it's important then that we believe in the Jesus of the Scripture, not the Jesus we make up in our minds. After hearing the full story of the gospel, the story of the Apostle Peter's experience preaching the gospel in the home of Cornelius, they that were of the circumcision were left with only one conclusion. Looking again in Acts eleven. And going to verse 18. When they heard this, remember, Peter was making an explanation of what he was doing in the home of Gentiles. They called him on the carpet for it. And he had to tell them the story that happened in Acts 10, how Cornelius and his whole cotton-picking house full, we don't know how many that was, just many of them, believed and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and baptized in the name of Jesus. And when that story was told, verse 18 says, When they heard these things, they held their peace. They brought them there to call them on the carpet. But hearing the testimony of Peter, who said, And I took these six Jewish brethren with me. So it was not the mouth of two or three witnesses, it was twice the amount of witnesses needed. When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Why is that so important? Well, so far, the gospel isn't preached to only Jews until Cornelius' house, with the exception of Samaria and one Ethiopian eunuch. It still was not going out to the whole world.

Holy Ghost Power To Be Witnesses

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Now, look at Isaiah with me. Isaiah forty-nine. Isaiah forty-nine, and we're going to look at verse six. And here in the middle of the prophecy, and he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee, this is prophetic about the Christ, I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Isn't that what Jesus gave them for instructions in Acts 1? You'll receive the Holy Ghost for what reason? Well, you're going to speak in tongues when you do, but the reason wasn't for you to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is the obvious byproduct of being filled with the Holy Ghost. But you're filled with the Holy Ghost so that you will have power to be a witness for Christ. In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth, the purpose for being baptized in the Holy Ghost is to give us power to make us an effective testimony for Jesus Christ. I thank the Lord for all the reasons that we can go another day on for speaking in other tongues, but it's first to give us power to be witnesses for Christ. And if we're not being a witness for him, why are we saying we love him? If we're not being a witness for him, why are we saying we believe in him? If we're not approaching people on the behalf of Christ to let them know we can pray with you, we can pray for you, we want to tell you how to be saved. If we're not doing that, why did we receive the Holy Ghost? We didn't receive the Holy Ghost so we could go home speaking tongues and twiddle our thumbs, but so that we would have power to be witnesses. That was a prophecy that is being fulfilled in the book of Acts, and we're watching it unfold in Acts 8 with the Samarians and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 10 with Cornelius and his household. And we're going to see it explode from here like never before. But in Acts 1, even though it was prophesied to them, they didn't get it. In Acts 2, even though they were preaching the gospel and seeing miracles, they didn't get it. Throughout their struggles, Acts 4, 5, and 6 and 7, it didn't dawn on them yet. Acts chapter 8, they begin to see it in Samaria. And the Ethiopian eunuch doesn't move them. Hey, let's go to Ethiopia and preach the gospel to these people. No. To them, it's some sort of anomaly, evidently. Luke doesn't give it any any more attention.

Antioch Breakthrough And Barnabas Sent

SPEAKER_01 15:49

All right, so now going back to Acts 11 and giving you the commentary of what we've read, uh, we'll look again at Acts 19, 20, and 21. Now, they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenix and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none but the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Now let me tell you something. This was not revival. This was successful evangelism. Revival is when we take that which is suffering, weak, dying, dead, and revive it and bring it back to life and fruition. We used to put up big signs. We're having revival. And oh gosh, mama, we were in revivals that lasted six weeks. And people went to church seven nights a week, and occasionally they took off on a Saturday night. And the pastor would say, This is your day to do your laundry, go shopping, do the errands you need to do, because while we're in revival, we need you here. And revival was to not only encourage the saints, but also they brought in as many visitors as they could to encourage them to come to Christ. But it revival begins at encouraging the saints. And the saints go out and witness to unbelievers and bring them in. So as the saints are being revived, unbelievers see the move of God within the congregation, and they hear the preaching of the word and they come under conviction. And I don't know how many times we were in the altar for hours. Yeah. And we had some great times when we were dating. Revival was considered a date.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah. I know it's not like clubbing, I'll promise you. It was a whole different scheme of dating for me.

unknown 18:27

It was better.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

But it was way better.

Evangelism Versus Revival And The Grecians

SPEAKER_01 18:30

So in verse 19, here is Luke's confirmation that the believing Jews had been preaching the gospel everywhere they went. They scattered from Jerusalem, right? But only to the Jews. The end of verse 19. That there were people who, because of the persecution that arose about Stephen, who traveled as far as they left, they went to Phoenix and Cyprus. And note Cyprus is where Barnabas is from. Went to Cyprus and Antioch preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. They did not yet comprehend the prophecy from Isaiah. But they were going to see it unfold. Now, so they were preaching the gospel everywhere. Antioch, which is in Pisidia, is now modern day Turkey, and a large group of Grecians. Who were the Grecians? Grecians are the Jews that were influenced greatly by the Greek culture, so much to the point that they studied the Septuagint, which was a Greek translation of the Old Testament. They didn't abandon it.