"A Simple Presentation into The Book of ACTS" - Chapter 11, Part 3 - Bro. John "Ernie" Perez

Thank you for joining us on this journey with Bro. Ernie deeper into the Book of ACTS - Get your notebooks ready!

The moment the early church admits “God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life,” everything changes. We sit around the table and walk through Acts 11:18-30, watching the gospel move from a familiar circle into a widening world, and we slow down long enough to ask what that means for our witness today.

We talk about the Holy Ghost as power to be witnesses, not just a spiritual milestone, and why you do not need to be a Bible scholar to tell someone what Jesus has done in your life. From Jerusalem’s questions about Peter to the scattered believers preaching as they travel, Acts 11 gives a clear picture of progressive revelation and a church learning to obey Jesus’ call to reach beyond old categories. We also dig into key cross references, including John 1 and Romans 10, and why you cannot interpret “call upon the name of the Lord” in a way that contradicts the pattern lived out across the Book of Acts.

Antioch becomes the center of gravity as Barnabas arrives, sees the grace of God, and exhorts believers to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. We discuss unity, holy living, and the daily discipline of being a credible Christian witness, then we tackle prophecy and ministry gifts with honesty: prophets are servants, not celebrities, and pressure to perform can push people toward manufacturing what God never said.

We close with Agabus’ famine prophecy and the church’s practical response: generous relief given according to ability, sent through Barnabas and Saul, setting the stage for what comes next in Acts. If this Acts Bible study helps you, subscribe, share the show, and leave a review, then tell us what topic you want us to study next.

Ways to Give at https://m3mi.org...Thank you for your seed!  :)

Transcript

Welcome To The Table

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Thank you so much for joining me on the journey today. Hey, welcome to Simple Supper Ship and Filter. I'm your host, Sister Diana. Thank you so much for joining us today. We've got everybody around the table and in the back, and we're continuing this journey on the simple presentation of the Book of Acts, Brother Ernie. How you doing? Doing good.

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Had a good lunch, a mighty fit.

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Yeah. Look, don't be dozing off, you know.

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We need some word, but the lady for the Lord. Vegetate.

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Vegetate. There you go. So we got Sister Audia. We got Mama. We got Ann. Hello. We got Sister Sandy. Sister Joyce. All right. And I think Sister Helen stuck out, didn't she? Yeah. Didn't she just eat and leave? Yeah. Something like that. Something like that. Yeah. So we're so excited that you've joined us today. I wanted to, I want to just give a shout out to my sister Amy out there at the Jesus House in Kaufman because she was telling us all about her mowing and a going and a listening to the book of Acts with you. And she was saying, he is just an awesome preacher. And I said, he all right.

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Thank you, Amy. What it is, is we have an awesome savior.

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That's right. That's right. So anyway, we're so thankful to have you today. We're going to continue this study. We're on a simple presentation of the book of Acts on chapter 11, part two, and Brother Ernie's going to take it away.

Why The Holy Ghost Gives Power

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So we will be reading today from verse 18 through verse 30, and we're going to close out this chapter. And I want to remind you before we get started, the Apostle Peter has been called on the carpet for having fellowship in the house of Gentiles, Cornelius. Even though that Cornelius and his household were all repentant, all baptized, all filled with the Holy Ghost, the gospel hadn't really yet gone beyond Judaism. And from Acts chapter 1, when Jesus said, When you receive the Holy Ghost, it'll give you power to be witnesses. And I want you to remember what a joy it is to speak in tongues. And there are reasons and many in the scripture for speaking in tongues, but it wasn't the primary purpose of receiving the Holy Ghost. It is the first really visible byproduct. It really is. And you were baptized in the Holy Ghost to receive power to be witnesses. That's why we receive the Holy Ghost. So we need to take advantage of that. And when we meet people, have a sensitive spirit, Lord, lead me to open hearts that I might offer them. I can, hey, can I pray for you? Can I talk to you about Jesus? You know, Jesus loves you because that's our power. Our power is to be a witness. And for that, you do not have to be a Bible scholar. You can share your experience with Jesus. That's enough to get somebody started. The power of the Lord is done in your life, okay? So now we're going to read verses 18 through 30, and then we're going to come back and read them again bit by bit, and I'll give you my simple commentary, hence the simple presentation.

Reading Acts 11:18-30

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Beginning with verse 18. When they, they is the Jewish brethren who called the Apostle Peter on the carpet, when they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Now, they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phineas 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 to 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 to 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 Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there would 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 hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Gentiles Granted Repentance Unto Life

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So we'll go back now to verse 18, where we began, reminding you the Apostle Peter had to give an account of himself to the Jews in Jerusalem, the elders there, why he was in the home of Cornelius, and how that God had filled everyone with the Holy Ghost. Okay? They were all baptized in the beautiful name of Jesus, and a new work was birthed there at Caesarea. Now it was a work of Gentiles. Verse 18. When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then have God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Their awareness of that God was granting to the Gentiles repentance unto life excited them so much that they glorified God and recognized that this is now happening. So we don't want to overlook the progressive revelation of God's plan. Luke makes sure this concept is revealed in the story, in the narrative that he has written in the book of Acts. And what he's really doing is we've read John

Whosoever Calls On Jesus’ Name

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1, 1 through 14 many times. He is taking everything that is said there, and instead of following the form of a parable, now he's showing how it was lived out. And so if we'll look quickly at John chapter 1, and we won't read all those scriptures, we'll pause at 14, Gospel Saint John chapter 1, and we'll scooch down to verse 14, and we'll read, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. I like that translation that says tabernacled among us. I think that is so appropriate. And we beheld his glory. We saw the glory of the Lord, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. No one else could have this glory, full of grace and truth. So now the mission of the word, remember, the word was in the beginning, and the word was God, and the word was life, and the life that was the light, and was to give power to people to become the sons or the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. And as you read through the book of Acts, you're going to see that Jesus' name is proclaimed over and over and over again. Now, here in John 14, we must believe in his name. Not the picture of Jesus that we paint for ourselves, but believe in Jesus as the scripture has said. Now, the them in John 1:14, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth, who's the them? It's those people that beheld his glory. So you don't see the word them, but there's a them in the concept. That them is also the whosoever that Joel prophesied in Joel chapter 2, verse 32. And Peter quotes in Acts 2 and 21, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And it goes along with Romans, if you want to turn to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 10, and we'll go there to verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, I do want to remind you, the way you see that lived out in the book of Acts is not the way some people cherry pick it out of the book of the Romans and give it to you as though Romans chapter 4, 5, and 6 do not exist. 7, 8, and 9 do not exist. So you don't want to interpret these things outside of the context that is given. Because we saw those who believed on the Lord and called on the Lord in the book of Acts each time those people came to repentance. Those people submitted to water baptism in the name of Jesus. Those people were gloriously filled with the Holy Ghost when they call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. So we can't change that today. And we can't make the book of Acts in opposition to the book of Romans. So if it is, there's a problem with our interpretation, not with the scripture. I think we could all agree on that. So we're going to go back to the book of Acts now again. Acts chapter 11. We're still reading in verse 18. Notice after hearing the full story of the Apostle Peter's experience at the home of Cornelius, they that were of the circumcision. Remember, when Paul talks about those that were of the circumcision, he's talking about a certain group of believers who still follow the teachings of Moses, but they're believing Jesus as their Savior. And they are called the circumcision because they want everyone who comes to Jesus to be circumcised, not understanding that that's no longer a physical necessity. Now, after hearing that full story of all that happened, those elders, apostles, leaders in Jerusalem came to one conclusion. They glorified God and had to recognize the revelation that God is a God also to the Gentiles, and He has granted the Gentiles repentance unto life. And when you read in Genesis, when Abraham is to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, that includes the Gentiles. It's not that the Jews were superior race to the rest of the ethnicities, but they were used as God's conduit to bring his word and the Messiah into the world. And that's a great honor. Don't want to take it from them. But they can't be any more saved than the church. There's only one church, it's Jew, and it's Gentile. Now, let's look at Isaiah. Just to see one of those prophecies, we're going to look at Isaiah chapter 49. And we're just going to pluck one scripture out of the prophecy. So, you know, it's only wisdom for you to go back when you're going over your notes and read the surrounding prophetic words from Isaiah 49. All right, so Isaiah 49, verse 6, the prophecy continues, and he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, that was always going to be, and to restore the preserved of Israel, that was always a promise. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation. This is messianic unto the end of the earth. That's a scripture worth you getting out your study Bibles and finding the parallel scriptures. All right. So now let's go back. We can see that this

Scattered Believers Reach Antioch

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was prophesied in the Old Testament. Now let's go back to Acts 18 and continue with my simple commentary there. Okay. And I hope that uh it blesses you and stirs up your heart to enjoy the word of the Lord and to study it. All right. So now we're gonna read verse 19. Let me see. I'm gonna re 19, 20, and 21. Okay? Now, they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenis 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. Okay, so at verse 19, here is Luke's confirmation that the believing Jews had been preaching the gospel everywhere they went, but only to the Jews. Now we do know that in Acts chapter 8 it went to Samaria. We do know there also that Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, but we don't see the church behaving as though this is some great revelation. They're not understanding yet that Isaiah 49 and 6 is being fulfilled. They're not understanding the promise made to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. They see these mixed-race Jews, the Samaritans coming in, and they got this one Ethiopian. But Luke does not write, oh, and the Ethiopian went back to Ethiopia and won scores and scores of people to the. And possibly he did. But it wasn't great news yet to the church, because as far as they were concerned, the children of Abraham, the nation of Israel, has been redeemed. They haven't understood even the command Jesus gave them in Acts 1, 4 through 8. Ye shall be witnesses unto me. After that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, power to witness Jerusalem, Judea, and to the uttermost parts of the world, and Samaria. So all of that is not really unfolded in their heads yet. But now we're seeing that these Jews went everywhere preaching only to the Jews, and they reached even the city of Antioch, which is in Pisidia, which is now modern-day Turkey. Acts verse 13 and 8, you can see that. A large group of Grecians in Antioch. Jews that were influenced by Greek culture and studied from the Septuagint. We've talked about this a few times. The Grecians among the Jews are Jews who have been greatly impacted by Greek culture, so much to the point that when they study the law of Moses, they study it from the Greek translation of scriptures. That was commissioned by Alexander the Great. That was a condition for him. You won't have to lose your religion, but you will put this in Greek. So the scripture was translated into Greek and called the Septuagint, which is, as we all know, the Greek translation of what we call the Old Testament. These people believed and turned unto the Lord. Now, this was not a revival. This was a great ingathering of souls. Revival is when those who already know the Lord have become weak, discouraged, fallen away, and then the word of the Lord comes to them and revives them. When you look in the Old Testament, how many times the people of the kingdom of Judah turned back to God? They were revived.

Revival Versus Soul Ingathering

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We call revival special services when me and Mama came in the church. Revival. You know, we had revival sometimes seven nights a week, sometimes six weeks at a hit. Sometimes Pastor would say on Saturday night, okay, you're going to have off nights for Saturday, go ahead and do your laundry, go shop and pay your bills. But we need you, if at all possible, to be in the church house as we minister the word of the Lord and praise and worship. Now, when we brought sinners into that, and they learned all about the uh coming of the Lord and to get ready for God, then they became a part of the revival. But it really, the evangelistic campaign was to get them in, but the revival was to encourage the saints of the living God and to build them up in the most holy faith. So when we're praying for revival, we're really saying, God, stir up the church, stir up our hearts, cause us to be re-rooted in the word of the Lord. You know, I'm thinking of Titus, and I think I think it's chapter three, but I might have it wrong, but it's verse 18. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. This is what Paul told the young minister Titus. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration. That's the washing of the water of the word, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. If you're baptized in the Holy Ghost, that's great. But Titus was told you need to keep yourself in the Word of God. You were baptized. Great, you're baptized in the name of Jesus. Keep yourself in the Word of God, that the washing of the water of the Word will take place in your life, and keep being renewed in the Holy Ghost because this journey is a real battle with the kingdom of darkness. And at times we need a renewing.

Barnabas Urges Hearts To Cleave

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All right, so now we're going to read verses 22 and 23. 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. Okay. The news of this evangelistic success in Antioch was well received in Jerusalem and stirred up their hearts. This news was so exciting that the church which was in Jerusalem sent to Antioch the man, the apostle surnamed Barnabas. You remember him from Acts chapter 4? He was the one, his name was Joseph, and he was such an encouragement to the apostles. They changed his name to Barnabas, which means son of encouragement or son of consolation. So he was an effective minister to the apostles and encouraging them and consoling them during times of great persecution. Now, also he's talked about in Acts chapter 9, in verse 27, to recall when the apostle Paul got there to Jerusalem to check out his message with the disciples there, the apostles, he wasn't well received. Because the last time they'd seen him, he was wreaking havoc in the church. Didn't matter. Men, women hauled him away to jail, whatever the punishment was, taxation, uh confiscation property, lashes, or even death, whatever it was. Remember, Stephen was stoned to death for his faith. And Paul, Saul of Tarsus, was there witnessing it, giving his concurrence. Now, this action that's going on in Jerusalem, they decide to send Barnabas. Barnabas, then, was viewed also, in my thinking, as an apostle. How? He was sent to Antioch, just like the twelve were given the assignment. He was given an assignment. Go to Antioch. They need your teaching, they need your ministry. So he was not one of the twelve original apostles. But the Bible doesn't indicate to us that there will only be twelve apostles. Just that to be a member of the 12, to be included in the 12, you had to have seen the Lord Jesus and been with him.

Living As A Careful Witness

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But Barnabas was given an apostolic assignment to go to Antioch. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 5. If you turn there with me. Ephesians 5. And we're going to look at verses 8 through 16. Ephesians chapter 5. Here, this is a predominantly Gentile church, but it is many Jews mixed in. For ye were sometimes darkness, speaking to the Gentile faction. But now are ye light in the Lord, walk as children of the light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. Paul is giving them the kind of exhortation that Barnabas is going to give in Antioch. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Come out from among them and be ye separate, but rather reprove them. Look, if we're not friends with people who don't know Jesus, how are we going to win them to Jesus? But when they go to get drunk, we don't get drunk with them. When they go to participate in anything sinful, hey, you know, we'll see you when you're done. We're always here for you. We can visit another time. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. Let's don't revel in their sins. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. Let me see how far I want to go here. Verse 16. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest. Hey, you're a Christian, but you're on your way to going to sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. He will give you direction, and see that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Listen, we carry the name of Jesus. When, you know, in the Old Testament we think of do not take the name of the Lord in vain, meaning swearing using the name of the Lord. I wouldn't disagree with that, but it's much more than that. Once you take the name of the Lord on your life, you are the only Jesus some people will ever see. Don't take his name on your life in vain. And then intentionally go contrary to what his word teaches. See that you walk circumspectly, being careful that your witness is not destroyed, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil, because people are being lost. We receive power to be witnesses. Here the church in Ephesus is getting some teaching. You're not just here to take up space. The way you live is a testimony. And if we don't understand our life is a testimony, there's no telling how many people that we could have been a witness to that they just never saw Jesus. And I don't believe that's something any of us ever want to say happened in our life. So the believers in Antioch, the Jewish believers were Grecians. They were strong in the faith. And seeing this, Barnabas, who was sent to encourage them, to console them, he is the son of consolation. Barnabas strongly encouraged them to all of them with one heart cleave unto the Lord. How important is unity to the church? And unity doesn't mean we all dress the same, look the same, talk the same. Unity means we all have the same goal to lift up Jesus and to make him the

Prophecy For Edification Not Celebrity

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focus of our life. Okay, so this terminology takes me to First Corinthians. Let's go there. And we're going to read verse three. Chapter 14, verse three. I got the wrong chapter. Hold on. Chapter 14. Now, verse three. All right. So for clarity's sake, I'll start with verse one. Follow after charity. That is the kind of love that God loves us with. And desire spiritual gifts. That's a good thing. But rather, or even more, that you may prophesy. To prophesy is to speak forth the will of God. It may be telling in future, it may not, but it'll always be bringing God's will into the situation. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not to men, but unto God. For no man understandeth him. How be it, in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. Later it will say he edifies himself. It's a good thing to edify yourself. Anytime the Spirit of the Lord moves on you to speak in tongues, you want to edify yourself. Build up yourself in the most holy faith. Then three, verse three, but he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. It doesn't mean they don't tell the future or speak into the life of someone, but the primary function is to speak to men unto edification, to strengthen them in the Lord. Exhortation to encourage them in times of trouble, and comfort to console them in times of sorrow. We, the church, have sometimes misused what is a prophet. Every prophet doesn't always tell the future. To exercise the gift of prophecy, anybody can do. You can encourage one another in the will of God. You can exhort one another in the will of God and comfort one another by virtue of the Holy Ghost moving through you. That means you're prophesying, but it doesn't mean that you're telling the future. It doesn't mean necessarily you're called to the prophetic office. But if you say you're moving in the prophetic, whether it's temporarily or it's a calling you have, somewhere in there you've got to be speaking edification and exhortation and comfort. Prophets are not celebrities. We are servants. We are servants of the Lord and by extension to his people. All right, so now we're going to read again. But let me say this. My personal impression is this. Barnabas functioned both as an apostle and a prophet in Antioch, and later we'll see with the Apostle Paul in his ministry. All right. So we're

Barnabas Brings Saul Into Ministry

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going to look now in Acts 11 again. I'm going to get the hang of this. Acts 11, and we're going to go to verse 24. And we're going to read 24 through 26. Speaking of Barnabas, remember we just left off. He was encouraging people to 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 Sarsus, 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. So in Luke 24, Luke now records that Barnabas was more than a good man, but full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, making sure that we're not building a reputation for Barnabas just on his intellect. This is the Spirit of God moving through him. This goes beyond his personal likes and dislikes. And is he a celebrity? He's full of the Holy Ghost. This is the Spirit of God moving through him and the demonstration of faith through his life. Also, that he was involved in the much people being added unto the Lord. So he was involved not only in teaching, but in evangelism. Now the Greek translation of what we called the Old Testament, right? Is the is the Septuagint. And we read that many believed and turned into the Lord. How powerful is that? All right. Now, Barnabas's success in Antioch inspired him. This looks like Holy Ghost's direction to me, verse 24, to go to Tarsus, find Saul of Tarsus and bring him back to Antioch to exercise his gift and calling. Wow. So Barnabas, who introduced the Apostle Paul to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, goes to get him because I want you, Saul of Tarsus, to exercise your gift in Antioch. You see what's happening? Barnabas is the one who got him accepted by the leaders in Jerusalem. Now he's telling him, you got ministry. And it's needed right here in Antioch. So it's almost as though he's taking Paul under his wings. Well, he still calls Saul of Tarsus, but let's look at 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And we're going to read verses 3 through 9. Paul telling the Corinthian church, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. You see, we have to believe in Jesus as the scripture hath said. And that he was seen of Cephas, who is Simon Peter, then the twelve, then of the twelve. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at went once, pay attention, of whom the greater part remain unto this present. But some are fallen asleep. In other words, we can get some of them fellows to come talk to you if you need it. But there are people alive today who saw the resurrected Christ. They saw him crucified. They know he was buried, they saw the empty tomb, and they had fellowship with him. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen of me also as one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles. He didn't say I'm not an apostle. What he is saying is my assignment among the apostles is the least of all assignments. Isn't that amazing? He viewed himself with that much humility. That I'm not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. So Saul says to himself, by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, I'm sorry, Barnabas says, I gotta go get Saul of Tarsus. And I gotta bring him here to minister. Even though Saul was a very effective witness, many people had been afraid of him in Jerusalem. That's why Barnabas took him and introduced him to the apostles. And in Acts 9, 26 through 30, you see that. And that from there on Saul is going in and out with the apostles where they go to minister. And his ministry has such power and such demonstration of grace. And of course, there's a group of Jews who can't stand it and they want to kill him. So the apostles say, what you need to get out of here. Go home to Tarsus for a while. Cool, you jets. That doesn't mean he stopped ministering. That means we don't want him assassinated. Now, together Saul of Tarsus and Barnabas and the whole church in Antioch continued in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship as recorded in Acts 2.42. So now both Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus are

Why They Were Called Christians

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listed among the prophets in Antioch, the prophets and the teachers. So the job of an apostle is also teaching and prophesying. And then they're just carrying on the legacy that was established in Acts chapter 2. You wanted to turn there. In Acts chapter 2, looking at verse 42, after these thousands of people have been saved, verse 42 says, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Oh, they were getting taught all the time. Doctrine just means teaching. And fellowship. How do you have discipleship if you don't get together? And encourage one another in the word of God. And in breaking of bread and in prayers, they actually enjoyed one another's company. Shared a meal. While they honed in on the word of God, just off the top of my head, you should go back and read Deuteronomy chapter 6, the first nine verses. Because it tells us, it lays out for Israel how they need to live in order to ensure there is a legacy left for God to their descendants. That's Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 1 through 9. That'd be a great place to go and read about that. So here in Antioch is where the followers of this way were first called Christians. They're called followers of the way in Acts 9 and 2. Here, though, they're called Christians for the very first time. It means Christ-like. And scholars believe that this moniker, this name, was given to the disciples of Jesus by non-believers as a derogatory term. Now we're going to read verse 27 through 29.

Agabus Warns Of Famine Relief

SPEAKER_00 41:12

We're going to try to get here just as quickly as we can and wrap this up. Okay, we're in Acts chapter 11, and we're going to read 27 through 39. I'm sorry, through 30. Acts 27. Acts 11, 27 through 30. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. Well, they sent prophets up there to minister, and there stood up one of them named Agabas, and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dearth or drought throughout the world. This was prophecy about the future. Antioch had the uh Agabus had that gift, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. So during this time, prophets from Jerusalem came to help minister in Antioch, to lend their expertise. A particular prophet named Agabus also in the spirit gave a prophetic utterance about a drought that was coming throughout the Roman Empire. This drought came to pass during the reign of Claudius Caesar, and the church was able to get ready for it, so they could help out their brothers and sisters in Judea. Historians think Agabus gave this prophecy sometime between A.D. 43 and 44, and the date that it was fulfilled is from 45 to 48. Now, when the disciples in Antioch heard this prophecy, every man, according to his ability, decided they would send relief to the church in Jerusalem. Be careful when you get moved in the excitement to give an offering. Go ahead and give, but let Jesus speak to you. Every man gave according to his ability. You need to have a conviction that you're giving what you really can, what God really wants, so that you can be a joyful giver and not regret what you've given. Never want to do that. Finally, verse 30. This was accomplished by the Apostle Paul or Saul and Barnabas around A.D. 45 and 46 before they began their first missionary journey. As recorded in Acts 12 and in Acts 13. Acts 12 and 25. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they Had fulfilled their ministry and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. And then Acts 13:1 through 4. Now there were in the church that was in Antioch certain prophets and teachers. And we know Saul was an apostle, and Barnabas was sent as an apostle and a prophet. And Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Menaeon, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me with Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, they departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

Prophetic Pressure And Real Growth

SPEAKER_00 45:00

And that ends our lesson for today. And we'll be back with our next lesson, we'll be in Acts 12. And we'll try to break that up also into two lessons. And we'll see you then. So when you get through studying this lesson and going over your notes in it, and you know, read the scriptures thoroughly. See what's around all the scriptures that you look up. And then get into Acts chapter 12, and we'll be ready for our next class. Thank you for your time and attention. I'm having great fun going through the book of Acts in a simple presentation.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

What a great word. What a great word. Well, Acts could just go on forever, couldn't it? It's just there's so much in there that, you know, you need when you especially when you start talking about the prophetic and how it works. And I think sometimes our interpretation of what prophecy is is a little tainted, you know.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

In our culture, right, we we have we have been unfair to apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers many times and made them celebrities. That's not fair to them. We're counting on them for the Holy Ghost to work through them and to see God. And you can't expect any man of God or woman of God to never err. Otherwise, they'd be crucified. They wouldn't be here with us.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

Right. And but you know, sometimes I think sometimes we expect certain prophets and stuff they to have a word from the Lord every single day.

SPEAKER_00 46:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

You know, and that and and I think sometimes they might start feeling pressured that they have to have a word from the Lord every single day.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

And if the Lord doesn't give you a word, you I'm I'm I I remember saying to people, look, you can ask me for a word.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:59

And I may have a word for you, but I can't make one up. Yeah. If I don't have a word for you, that means your answer is someplace else. It doesn't mean God isn't listening.

SPEAKER_01 47:09

Yeah, but I but on the on the other side of it, though, as I'm saying, is what if they don't have that type of discipline to say, I'm sorry, I don't have one.

SPEAKER_00 47:18

Prophets have to grow in grace and in wisdom and knowledge and in their calling, just like anyone else.

SPEAKER_01 47:23

Yeah, but like it sometimes you see, I think some, and this is my personal opinion. Okay. I just think that growing up in a Pentecostal environment, we would oftentimes go see people that came in that you know had gifts of the Spirit and they operated in these gifts of the Spirit. And as years went on, we would find out that they had to turn to to false the falsity of doing things because they no longer had that same relationship with the Lord and their calling wasn't working. So they had to manufacture that.

SPEAKER_00 47:58

We we put too much pressure on them.

SPEAKER_01 48:00

Right. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 48:00

The wrong kind of pressure. Yeah, and that they had to perform, you know, like a the church is always growing, and and and I I like to think that with each generation, yeah, ministers become wiser, more thoughtful, yeah, and more powerful in the Word of God. I know the the people that I have been involved in helping them come along in their ministry, I look forward to them being greater than I ever have been.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

That's every teacher wants the student to excel.

SPEAKER_01 48:32

Yeah, I mean, I get excited if I ask a question that we talked about something last week and they can remember what we talked about. I'm like, yeah, that's good. You know, yes, that's what we're looking for. But then you want to see them use it and step into it. Amen. And that that's what's so cool about it. Yes. So anyway, great lesson. Great lesson. Thank you all for joining us today. Thank you all around the table in the back. And and man, that's just exciting. I mean, I'm excited to see what the Lord has to say next time we're together. So we're gonna end today with our

Slogan And Next Steps

SPEAKER_01 49:02

slogan. If we can hear everybody loud, to go show some love, show some compassion, give mercy, and go be Jesus today. Hey STU family, if you have enjoyed this podcast today, would you please like, follow, and share our podcast link? And we would love to hear your feedback and your podcast topic suggestions. To do that, simply go to our website at www.m3mi.org, scroll to the more tab, and select contact us. Also, if STU has been a blessing to you, you can also go to our website and select Sow a Seed. There are several ways that you can give, whether it's Zel, Venmo, Cash App, or there's an address to send a check or money order. All your gifts are tax deductible, and we thank you so much for sowing your seed with us. I want you to remember this. A wise person once said that a person has given you their time, they have given you their most precious gift because they can never ever get it back. Thank you for sharing this day with me. We love you, we'll see you soon.