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Christy Acts 11:19-26 17 July 2016 19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Your brother and sister are standing side by side in a room. You obviously know them both, but you have one word to indicate to a stranger which one you’re talking about. What’s your one word? Probably “he” or “she.” Maybe “taller” or “shorter.” You definitely would not say “nice” or “smart” or “funny.” You use the most identifiable feature you can. There are only two genders, and yes, there are two. If two people are clearly different genders, it’s an instant identifier every time. When comparing two things, “bigger” and “smaller” work very well. You identify people and things all the time. You don’t describe a person in a crowd by saying, “she’s my neighbor and she likes to read”; you say, “Oh, she’s the redhead.” You don’t ask your son for the screwdriver that you used to open up the timer for the board game that one time; you say “Bring me the smaller one, will you?” We don’t beat around the bush when we identify people and things. We go for the most precise description that only fits one, and a description that’s readily understandable. Now suppose people do know who you are. They’ve interacted with you before, so they’re familiar with your typical behavior and patterns of speech. There’s no need to identify you by what you’re wearing or how tall you are. So what one word would they say, not to indicate you, but to characterize you? Nice? Genuine? Lackadaisical? Stubborn? Unpolished? The point of language and words is to communicate ideas, to capture a concept with one simple utterance. And as Acts 11:26 says, “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” See, “Jew” was starting to become something different, as it is today. Jew was still one group and Gentile was another group. But Gentiles were joining the church in Antioch. This is discussed in Ephesians as a mystery: that Gentiles and Jews are coheirs together. So what one name could be used for Jews and Gentiles who believe the same thing, that Jesus was the promised Messiah and died and rose again for the salvation of all people? Hmm, what’s the most obvious characteristic to identify this group of people? They’re those Christ-y people – hey, how about “Christians”? And the text says “they were called Christians.” At the very least, that leaves open the possibility that they did not make up this name for themselves. Could it be that outsiders saw various aspects of their behavior and the most concise description that came to them was “those Christ-like people”? Could it be that the first evangelists, “some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene,” were deemed Christ-like and that is how they were described by those who would soon become Gentile converts? 19 “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.” Does that sound Christy? In Matthew 8, people begged Jesus to leave the region of the Gadarenes after a demon He drove out of a man caused some pigs to go over a cliff and drown. “Scattered by persecution,” if you will. So He left. In Matthew 9 He’s in a different town showing His power to heal and to forgive sins. Every time He had to leave one place, He went to the next place to teach. Those are also the instructions He gave His apostles when He sent them out two by two. 20 “Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” Does that sound Christy? How about John 4, when Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman? They were at a well in a town called Sychar. Jesus told her that everyone who drinks that well water would be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water Jesus gives will never thirst, because that water wells up to eternal life. Does that qualify as telling the good news about the Lord Jesus? And when the Samaritan woman mentioned the Messiah, He said, “I am He.” 23 “When he [Barnabas] arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Does that sound Christy, remaining true to the Lord with all your heart? Can you think of a time when Jesus was not true to the Lord? What did Jesus do that God would never do? Let’s see, Jesus lived according to all God’s commandments. He showed compassion to the sick, the poor, and the suffering. He corrected those who were in error. He never deviated from His mission, which was to live a perfect life and die in the place of those whose lives were full of sin, including me. So was Jesus true to the Lord with all his heart? Of course. He was the Lord! 25 “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.” So these Christians were well-learned in Christianity. Does that sound Christy? Did Jesus know the history of God’s plan of salvation? Of course He did; that’s why He quoted Moses and the prophets. Did Jesus know what God expected of those who would follow Him? He knew well enough to speak with authority about the corruption of God’s Law that had taken place at the hands of the religious leaders. He knew enough to pinpoint precise moments when Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled. He knew enough to shun the ideas of some, that the Messiah was coming to make Israel a great nation again, a world power, even though that meant He would be going to the cross. Yes, Christ was well-learned in Christianity. And when these people of Antioch kept acting in ways that seemed to resemble that Jesus Christ guy who had lived a few years ago, they were called Christians. And that’s when the word came into existence. What one word would they say about you? What if there was an app on Facebook that allowed all your friends anonymously to post the one word they think captures you best? I’m not sure I would even want to know. Maybe it would be mean or boring or angry or even unchristian. You’ve probably heard the quotation attributed to Mohandas Gandhi: “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” What’s that in one word? Hypocrite. We take pride in the names and titles we are given. You probably know someone who is named after his father or mother or grandparent. You probably know someone who took her husband’s name when she married him. You probably know someone who needs other people to know that he’s a doctor. But sometimes we don’t feel like we’re living up to our title or name. A sports player who costs his team the game might wonder, “Why am I even the captain?” Maybe you get promoted at work to some fancy title with supervisor or specialist in it. But you’re not sure you deserve that title. Do we deserve the title Christian? Being associated with Christ means being associated with a great deal of accomplishment, after all. John 1 says “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. Through Him all things were made. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” Do we deserve to be associated with an eternal, almighty being? Can we perform miracles? Toward the end of John it says “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book.” Should we really be named after the Son of God? Are we worthy of being associated with Christ, Who singlehandedly won salvation for mankind by giving up His righteous life for the unrighteous? Why should our names or titles sound anything like someone who rose from the dead to seal the salvation He won for you and me? Those are very good questions. Here’s God’s answer: it doesn’t matter if you’re worthy or not because in love I predestined you to be adopted as My sons through Jesus Christ. “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:15-17). Now our lives are separated from Jesus’ life by a lot more years than the Christians in Antioch. And they say that biblical literacy is at an all-time low. We can’t always expect people to associate the things we do and say with Christ if they don’t know who He is. But Jesus knows who His brothers and sisters are. God knows who His children are. Take pride in the name Christian because it’s not about you; it’s about Christ. Remain true to the Lord with all your hearts. You’re not going to look exactly like Christ; that would be perfection. And it was His perfection and His death that saved you. But make it so that when Jesus describes you, you’re not the tall one or the one in the dark shirt, but the Christian. And in the next life you will be even more Christy. You also will rise from the dead to live forever in perfect harmony with the Father’s will. Lastly, I skipped one verse: 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. As you have clearly heard, being Christy means spreading the gospel. There are a million ways to do that, as individuals and as a church. But remember that the Lord’s hand is with you. That’s what you’re trying to show. That’s what makes you Christy.