Date:   08/05/2007

Text:   Acts 11:19-30

Title:   River of Grace

Theme: When the Gospel of Jesus Christ arrives in our lives, we are compelled to respond in obedience.

Introduction:

Lately I find myself very much intrigued by the Yellow River in China. This river is also called the Mother River of China, the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. Because of its devastating flooding, it's known as “China's Sorrow” Its total length is about 3,395 miles. Every year it discharges 1.6 billion tons of silt into the Bohai Sea. Due to the large amount of silt it carries, in some portion of this river, it is actually above sea level. I am also intrigued at the origin of this river. It started out as little puddles in a marsh land. From this humble beginning, it become the mighty river we know today.

  In the course of exploring this river, I think of the Christian faith. 2K years ago there was Jesus and his 12 disciples. After his resurrection, there were about 120 faithful followers. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, thousands of new believers were added to the church. From there, it became a mighty river, a river of grace, flowing in all directions. Wherever it went, it will branch out further in that land. Take China as an example. When Robert Morrison went to China in 1807, 200 years ago, there was no known Christian there. One hundred years later, there were 440K Christians. In 1949, there were 700K Christians. But as of 2006, the total is between 17 million (government estimate) to 80 million (private estimate). We are here because we, too, have been touched by this river of grace.

  Both people and the land along the Yellow River are greatly affected by it. It can brings either crops or great devastation. What happens when this river of grace comes to us? What are we to expect when this river of grace, when this gospel comes into our lives?

  This morning, as we continue our study of the book of Acts, we want to discover the truth that as the gospel of Jesus Christ reaches us, our proper response is obedience. Let's take a closer look at the nature of this obedience.

I.   We are to recognize Jesus' Lordship in life.

  In Acts 1:8, “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In our previous studies we learned how the disciples went from Jerusalem to other parts of Judea, then to Samaria. In vs.20 some of them came to Antioch. “But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.”

Antioch is the 3 rd largest city in the Roman Empire. It was a busy commercial city. To its east, it reached the Persia, Palestine and Egypt to its south and Asia Minor to the west. In vs.20 we are also told about the content of what they preached: “Lord Jesus”. Like in other cities, they preached that Jesus is the son of God, he is God, therefore he is the lord of the universe and lord in our lives. The message of this good news is that Jesus is the lord of our lives.

To have Jesus as my Lord means I want to follow him to where he wants me to go. I will do what he wants me to do with my life. I want to let his words show me how to love God and men. I will ask him how to use the material resources he has given me. To have Jesus as my Lord, I will let him take full control of my life. This at times may not be easy for us. It could lead us to a road that is less travelled. But one thing I can tell you: to have Jesus Christ take control of my life is always much better and makes more sense than for me to control my life.

  This message of Jesus'' lordship is very much lacking in today's churches. Our pulpits are full of messages on how to manage money, 6 principles of a happy marriage, 7 ways to handle stress, how to cultivate a positive attitude in all aspects of life. Sometimes we do need to hear these messages, but where is our Lord Jesus in these messages? Or we preach that because Jesus can give us wealth, health and prosperity, therefore we need to come and believe in him. He is the magic genie we need in life.

  No, we don't ask or demand him to come and serve us, give us what we want. Instead we are to love and serve him, do what he wants us to do. We are to let this river of grace take us to where he wants to take us to.

II.    We are to engage in inclusive evangelism .

  The early disciples preached that Jesus is lord. Whom did they preach to? In vs.19, “ Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.” Some of them preached to the Jews only. But in vs.20, “But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.” There are those who also preached to the non-Jews, to the Greeks. What we see here is an inclusive outreach. As a result, at Antioch, the church was composed of both the Jews and non-Jews. Later on, we see the same pattern in other churches, especially the church in Rome. What does it mean to us?

  There are times, a church may need to focus on a particular age or ethnic group. For example, there are churches in Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, NY city and CA focusing on those 30 and under. I also think of churches in Beijing, Shanghai and Wenzhou ministering specifically to the migrant workers from the villages. Their message and style will be quite different from what we are familiar with.

There are also churches that want to break the various ethnic barriers. We want to build multi-ethnic churches, or Asian churches. A church that includes Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese and others. Or a church where the African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics come together to worship.

  Even though the majority of us are of Chinese decent, yet we are just as diverse as can be. In this congregation, we have Chinese grown up in this country, from different provinces in China, from HK, Taiwan, SE Asia, S. America and other parts of the world. We have all come with our unique cultural, education and family background. Sometimes I feel that being a pastor in a church like this is like doing cross cultural ministry without leaving the country. Having said this, it is also good to remind us that we also need to do our best to see how we can reach out to those who are different from us. We're so glad for our non-Chinese friends worshipping here with us. Like I said before, your presence is a constant reminder that our mission is much wider than just one or two ethnic group.

III.   We are to take active steps to respond to the Gospel message.

  In this chapter, we also learn how people responded to this gospel message, this river of grace.

First, in vs.21, “ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” Many believed and turned to the Lord. When they knew who Jesus was, they turned to him. They acknowledge him as the lord in their lives. They turned away from their former way of life, and submitted themselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, they were encouraged. Vs.22, “The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.” When the Jerusalem church, where the apostles heard about what had happened in Antioch, they sent Barnabas to go and check it out. They did not say that since so many had come to know God, then it must be good and we should just leave them alone. No, the apostles were not impressed by the numbers. Numbers does not make it right. In Friday newspaper, it was reported that a church in LA had 400 members. It is a good size church. Why did they make the news? Their minister taught them to use Marijuana as a sacrament. Just because so many people are doing it, does not make it right. The apostles in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch, making sure that their belief and doctrine were correct.

  We learned that Barnabas went and encouraged them. Barnabas is known as the encourager. To encourage means to stand beside someone, to walk with someone during the dark hours in life. To encourage means to urge you to hang in them, not to give up when the storms are raging. An encourager is a caring and compassionate person.

  Each one of us need others to encourage us. It is difficult to be a Christian in an unfriendly work place or family. Life is stressful and hard. Things don't usually go the way we want. Some are trying to survive in this society. We have single parents carrying the sole responsibility of supporting and raising children. There are those who are lonely and full of resentment over a broken marriage or relationship. We're confused about life and work, desperately seeking for new direction. We need someone who can come and walk beside us and not to be preached at. We want someone who understands and accepts us as we are.

  Howard Hendricks said, “An encourager is not impressed by you, but is courageous to ask you hard questions.” Not only do we need to be encouraged, but we also need to encourage those around us. Sometimes our encouragement can be in the form of words, other times by our presence. There is this story about a church elder visiting a newly widowed woman. He was in her house for several hours and said little. Later when the widow shared with friends about the most encouraging moment during her difficult time. She found it most helpful and comforting when the elder came to visit her. He did not speak a word. He was just there for about 4 hours. Do you have someone who can encourage you? Are you an encourager to someone, especially to the new believers around you?

  Thirdly, there was teaching. Barnabas encouraged the new believers there. And there is more. Vs.25-26, “So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.. ” He went and looked for Saul and brought him to Antioch. Paul stayed there for one year. What did he do? He taught them for one year. He taught them God's word as revealed in the OT. He taught of how God wanted his people to live to maintain a loving relationship with Him. Yes, we need lots of encouragement and support when we first come to know Christ. Yet, equally important is to study God's word.

  When we study God's word, we learn how to love God and our neighbors. When we study and obey his words, we become more and more like Jesus Christ.

  Several years ago, my brother initiated the Bible Teaching Ministry in China. Its his desire to see that by 2011, half of the Chinese 2,862 counties, will have at least one or more churches that will actively teach the Bible.

Not only do churches in China need to teach and learn God's word, Chinese churches in HK, Taiwan and US also need to teach and study God's word. Adult SS attendance is low in most churches. Bible study in Fellowships and small groups have taken the place of SS. However, in many of the Bible studies, it's no longer study but sharing of individual's opinions on the Bible. We all need to ask ourselves the following hard questions: Am I seriously studying God's word by attending SS, or other Bible study groups? When we study God's word in our fellowship or small groups, are we serious in preparation or just a time for people to air out their opinions on certain passages? For Bible study leaders, do we know the proper way to lead a study?

  Yes, encouragement is very important, so is the study and obedience of the Word.

  What happened when the new believers at Antioch were being cared for and taught God's word? what happened when they were obedient to God's word? In vs.26b, “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” Christian means those who follow Christ. The early believers up to this point had been called the followers of the way, the disciples. And now for the first time they were called followers of Christ, or little Christ. Do we see what was happening there? When the believers listened and obeyed God's word, their lives were transformed. Others noticed that change too. People around them noticed that they talked and lived differently. When others saw their life-style, they were like Jesus Christ, so they called them Christians. And this name stayed with the followers of Jesus Christ to this day.

  The challenge before us is to be students of God's word. When we study the Word, we are also obedient to what we have learned. As we obey God's word, we become more and more like Jesus Christ. We don't tell others we are Christians, but rather when others see how we live, how we love each other, they will call us Christians: Christ followers.

IV.   We are to manifest our faith in generous giving.

  In vs.27 we learned that the church at Antioch was told that there would be a famine in Palestine. So what was their response? Vs.29, “ So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.” We noticed that when the new believers were told about the coming famine, they responded generously. They gave according to what they had. The ones with more money gave more, and the ones with less money gave less. The important thing is that they responded to the need by giving their monetary resources. They had plenty of reasons not to give. It was a far away land. They didn't know much about financial giving. They needed money for themselves. Instead, we are simply told that each gave according to what they had.

  Do we see what is happening here? A person's faith in Jesus Christ is confirmed, manifested by how one uses his material resources. Faith and generosity go hand in hand. In the rich young man's story, Jesus told him to sell all he had and then come and follow him. In the story of Zacheaus' conversion, he returned money to those he had extorted from. We learn from the book of James that faith and helping the poor go hand in hand, they can't be separated.

  Yes, there are many philanthropists in the world. Not all generous people are Christians, but Christians must be generous to those in genuine need. Not just individual believers are to be generous in helping the poor, the Christian communities, including this one, are to be generous as well. We are to look beyond the 4 walls of this church. We are to look at the poor and needy ones in this city and ask what can we do to help. We are to look beyond this country and recognize the poverty and need in some African nations where women and children bear the blunt of the AIDS epidemic. As a church we need to ask what small part we can do to eliminate poverty in other parts of the world. We often thank God for the many material resources he has entrusted to this church. I am deeply convicted that the more we have, the greater is our responsibility toward the needy ones in this and other countries.

  We are glad to see our children raise $1099 to help buy shoes for the Uganda children. We are glad to see our adults give generously to help purchase school supplies for needy children attending the JFK Elementary school. You see, the one clear demonstration of our faith in Jesus is seen in our helping those in need.

Conclusion:

  The Yellow River is both the Mother River, and at the same time the River of Sorrow. It nurtures and also brings devastation to a nation. Every few years there would be some great flooding along its bank. It is said that every 100 years, it would change its course bringing great destruction. But this river of grace is different. When it comes into our lives, it will usher in God's love, holiness and integrity.

  In God's providence, this River of Grace has come and touched each one of us here. This love and grace will compel us to turn to him and receive him as our Lord. It will bring comfort and encouragement to us and enable us to study and obey His words. As our lives are transformed through obedience to Him, it will also be manifested in our care and love for those around us.

The believers in Antioch did not call themselves Christians. When people around them saw their changed lives, they called them followers of Christ, or little Christ. Dear brothers and sisters, it is my prayer and desire that when we go home this afternoon, when we socialize with others after the service, when we go to school or work tomorrow, our friends, colleagues and family members will see our love for God and for man. So that, without our telling them we are Christians, they will call us Christians, followers of Christ.