Part Twenty-Six Acts 11

Acts 11:1-30

Acts 11:1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

Acts 11:2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying,

Acts 11:3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Acts 11:4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying,

Acts 11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me,

Acts 11:6 and when I had fixed my gaze upon it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air.

Acts 11:7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Arise, Peter, kill and eat.’

Acts 11:8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

Acts 11:9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’

Acts 11:10 And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up in the sky.

Acts 11:11 And behold, at that moment three men appeared before the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea.

Acts 11:12 And the Spirit told me to go with them without mis-givings. And these six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

Acts 11:13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

Acts 11:14 and he shall speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

Acts 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us, at the beginning.

Acts 11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Acts 11:17 If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

Acts 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

Acts 11:19 So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made there way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and

Acts 11:19 Antioch, speaking the word to no one except the Jews alone.

Acts 11:20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

Acts 11:22 And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

Acts 11:23 Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;

Acts 11:24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

Acts 11:25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul,

Acts 11:26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers;

Acts 11:26 and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Acts 11:27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

Acts 11:28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world.

Acts 11:28 And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

Acts 11:29 And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

Acts 11:30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

The Gospel is spreading like wild fire!

The Holy Spirit is on the move!

The ministry of Jesus Christ continues to thrive even after His ascension.

It’s time to plant some churches!

Birthing a Church Accountability Realignment Positive Growth Generosity

Accountability (Acts 11:1-18)

Acts 11:1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

Acts 11:2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying,

Those who were circumcised…

took issue with him.

G1252 διακρίνω dee-ak-ree'-no To separate thoroughly, to withdraw from, or oppose; to discriminate or hesitate: - contend, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver.

Acts 11:3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Please explain yourself.

Acts 11:4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying,

Acts 11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me,

Acts 11:6 and when I had fixed my gaze upon it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air.

I didn’t go looking for this, it came looking for me.

Acts 11:7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Arise, Peter, kill and eat.’

Acts 11:8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

Acts 11:9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’

Acts 11:10 And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up in the sky.

Acts 11:11 And behold, at that moment three men appeared before the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea.

Acts 11:12 And the Spirit told me to go with them without mis-givings. And these six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

I didn’t go by myself, I took six other trustworthy witnesses with me.

We all went into the house and guess what happened!

Acts 11:13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

Acts 11:14 and he shall speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

Acts 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us, at the beginning.

God was up to something and the Holy Spirit fell upon them just like it fell on us at the beginning.

Acts 11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

It seems to be lining up with what Jesus said when He was here with us.

Acts 11:17 If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

God is the one who obviously wanted this to take place, so who am I to disagree or try to stop it?

Acts 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

Wow!

This amazing relationship with God is for whosoever will.

Wow!

True forgiveness and abundant life in Messiah is available to the nations?

Wow!

This thing is way bigger than we thought it was!

We’ll need to make sure we have a solid structure of authority and accountability in place.

We’ll need to make sure we send out mature ministers who love people and know the Word.

We’ll need to develop a strong discipleship program to bring others to maturity and service.

We’ll need to intentionally overcome prejudice and the strong traditions of men.

This is so exciting!

Birthing a Church Accountability Realignment Positive Growth Generosity

Realignment (Acts 11:19-21)

Acts 11:19 So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made there way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and

Acts 11:19 Antioch, speaking the word to no one except the Jews alone.

Phoenicia was a costal region directly north of Judea, where the cities of Tyre and Sidon were located.

Tyre

Sidon

From there you could take a ship to the major island of Cyprus, about sixty miles offshore.

You could also continue up the coast to Antioch, which was about 200 miles north of Sidon.

Antioch was a major ancient metropolis.

It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, behind only Alexandria and Rome herself.

Antioch was know for its culture and commerce.

It was filled with pagan worship, greed, pride, arrogance and sexual immorality.

Those that had come back to the region after the death of Stephen went right into the Synagogues to share about Jesus and His teachings.

These men were better equipped to share the gospel with the Jews and answer any questions or concerns they had.

Acts 11:20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Other men were better prepared to share the good news with the Greeks and help them walk out of paganism.

Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

People were embracing the truth of Jesus Christ.

Many Jews were recognizing things that had been added to or taken away from the Word.

They were rethinking the way they had been raised and choosing to agree with the actual Word of God.

It was hard, but extremely liberating.

Many Greeks were receiving the tools they needed to overcome the lies of the devil.

They finally had the instructions, help and power they needed to find victory over the darkness.

It was hard, but extremely liberating.

The church was experiencing a much needed realignment and was positioned for positive growth.

Birthing a Church Accountability Realignment Positive Growth Generosity

Positive Growth (Acts 11:22-26)

Acts 11:22 And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

Acts 11:23 Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;

Acts 11:24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

Barnabas witnessed first hand what was taking place and knew that some mature reinforcements would be needed soon.

He knew that unless some mature believers were committed to poor their lives into these new converts, many of them might return to their old way of life.

Acts 11:25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul,

Acts 11:26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers;

Acts 11:26 and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Talk about reinforcements…

Saul came with Barnabas and began doing life with these new believers.

He answered their questions, trained them in righteous living and helped them become rooted and grounded in the faith.

This is were the people were first called, “Christians.”

G5546 Χριστιανός khris-tee-an-os' From G5547; a Christian, that is, follower of Christ: - Christian.

Wow! Isn’t that awesome?

Birthing a Church Accountability Realignment Positive Growth Generosity

Generosity (Acts 11:27-30)

Acts 11:27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

Let’s take a closer look at this word, “Prophet.”

G4396 προφήτης prof-ay'-tace A foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy an inspired speaker; by extension a poet: - prophet.

Acts 11:28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world.

Acts 11:29 And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

The contribution involved time, talents / abilities and resources.

G1248 διακονία dee-ak-on-ee'-ah From G1249; attendance (as a servant, etc.); aid, service (especially of the Christian teacher, or technically of the diaconate): - minister relief, service (-ing).

They wanted to make sure that everybody would be ready when the famine came.

Acts 11:30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

Given to the elders, because they would know how to best organize and use these amazing gifts.

They would also know how to best prepare for the famine.

G4245 πρεσβύτερος pres-boo'-ter-os Older, a senior; specifically an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the heavenly council) or Christian “presbyter”: - elder, old.

Titus 1:5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

Titus 1:6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.

Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,

Titus 1:8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,

Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Birthing a Church Accountability Realignment Positive Growth Generosity

Amen!