Acts 11:25

He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added unto the Lord. Then Barnabas departed to Tarsus to seek Saul. When he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. It came to pass that for a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught many people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

In those days, prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch, and one of them, named Agabus, stood up. He signified by the Spirit that there would be a great dearth, or famine, throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. The disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren who dwelt in Judea. They did this and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Let's pray. Father, as we look into Your Word this morning, I ask that You would continue to teach us and instruct us. You promised that You would not leave us orphans, but that You would give us the Spirit of truth, who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. So, Holy Spirit, we pray this morning that You would do just that, that You would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds as we study to show ourselves approved. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

We finished last week with verse 24 of Acts chapter 11, but I thought it a good thing to revisit this verse, especially since today is Father's Day. We read of Barnabas that he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. A lot of times, when we think of "good" in the context of the Bible, we think of morally pure or righteous on some sort of spiritual level. Yet the word used here, translated as "good" in the original language, means that he was of a good disposition, that he was agreeable. When it comes right down to it, Barnabas was just a good guy—an all-around good guy. He was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith.

Now, we're not told in the Scriptures whether or not Barnabas was a father, but we certainly need dads like this in our day, do we not? Spirit-filled, faith-filled, good men.

I had the opportunity this week on Tuesday night to go along with a friend of mine to a maximum-security youth correction facility in Chino. In fact, it's the most secure facility for youth here in the state of California. We went there to do an outreach, an evangelism outreach. My friend Victor spoke there, and about 50 guys, ages 17 to 25 years old, were gathered. There are about 500 people in this facility, and 60% of them are sex offenders. Many of them come from backgrounds where they had lousy examples in their fathers. Talking with some of them, I learned that some of their dads were drug dealers, pimps, or gangbangers. Others had nothing to do with them. They had lousy examples in their fathers.

We are in a time in our nation where we most certainly need fathers who are good men, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. The example and the counsel of godly fathers is extremely important in the raising of children. In fact, the breakdown of society begins with the breakdown of the home and of the family. We have seen the breakdown of society in our nation over the last number of years.

Interestingly, every year on the third Sunday of June, we celebrate fatherhood and fathers. We have been doing so for now 101 years in our nation. I thought it important this morning to look at the Scriptures for just a moment before we get more fully into Acts chapter 11 and consider what the Scriptures have to say in the form of a charge to fathers.

Today is my first Father's Day as a dad. It was a real blessing this morning during worship in the first service to actually sit in the lobby and feed my son. Andrea showed up, and he hadn't eaten yet. So, I sat on the couch out there and fed Ethan during worship in the first service. It was just such a blessing.

But I've got to be honest with you. Prior to Andrea getting pregnant with Ethan and Ethan being born, I was scared to death of being a father. In fact, being the senior pastor of this church was much less of an issue to me than becoming a dad.

I was much more concerned about becoming a dad. I would look around at the examples we have in this fellowship, and to be very honest, we have great examples of godly men who are fathers among us. I would look up to these guys, many of you right here this morning, and I would say, "Lord, I have a great example. I just don't know if I can do that." But I'm thankful that God, by His Spirit, enables us to do so.

The charge is given a number of times in the Scriptures as it relates to fathers. In Ephesians 6, verse 4, the apostle directs his attention to dads and says, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Do not provoke your children to anger. A lot of times, when reading that verse, we may think about it in the context of dads stirring up their children, as dads sometimes have a way of doing. I'm sure all the moms here are going, "Yes, they do," especially right before bedtime, stirring them up and getting them all riled up.

It's interesting when you consider this verse and look at the original language. Where it says, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger," the original word can be translated as "do not promote your children to anger." When I read this verse, I often think of it in a different context. By not training your children and bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, you are preparing and promoting your children for possibly standing before God one day for wrath. So, He says, "Fathers, do not promote or provoke your children to wrath, but rather bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

God has created in this world three different institutions for the preparation of righteous living and godly living. The first institution that God created, all the way back in the book of Genesis, was that of the family. He brought Adam and Eve together, made them male and female, and they were joined together. The two became one flesh. He gave them a call, a commission, a command: "Go and be fruitful and multiply." In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 2, God says He hates divorce because He desires that from this union would come a godly heritage and godly offspring. One of the primary reasons that God has instituted marriage is to fulfill this purpose.

The family is to prepare, produce, and raise up godly offspring. However, if that does not take place in the context of the home, God has created a second institution: the church. Through the teaching, instruction, and discipline of the body of Christ, children can also be reared in righteous living and prepared for a godly life. Yet, if that is not available, and if the family is broken down and the church is broken down, God has also instituted the government. The government is there to execute righteous judgment here on earth and hopefully to guide people toward righteous living.

If a person is not corrected by the family or by the church, or if he does not understand or learn righteousness through the forms of government, he will one day face wrath. He will stand before God for judgment. Therefore, the exhortation of God in Ephesians chapter 6 is extremely important: Bring your children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

The wisest man who ever lived, beside our Lord Jesus Christ, Solomon, said in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way that he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it." In all of his wisdom, Solomon emphasized the importance of training a child in the right way. What is that training? It is the same training that Paul speaks of in Ephesians chapter 6: to discipline and instruct your children in the way of the Lord. This responsibility falls primarily on the fathers, as they are the priests of the household.

It is extremely important to train your children in the way of the Scriptures and to disciple them. The word "discipline" is also significant. Solomon mentions this in Proverbs 23:13, where he says, "Do not withhold discipline from your child." Just this week, my wife and I have begun teaching our son, who is only eight months old, the word "no." It is fascinating to watch as we seek to instruct him in this word, instilling in him self-control even at a young age. It is not easy, is it? I was sitting at our kitchen table,

I was working on the computer, typing up some stuff, while Ethan was in his little walker. He cruises around on our hardwood floors in his walker real quick. He scoots up next to the table and grabs the power cord for the computer. I said, "Ethan, no." He looked up at me with those cute little eyes and that precious little smile. Let me tell you, my son smiles at everybody. He smiles really big, and then he kind of looks back and grabs it again. Not knowing any better, I said, "Ethan, no." So, he grabbed it again, and I took his little hand and tapped it. He looked at me like, "What in the world was that?"

The following day, he was on the floor, scooting around. He's not crawling yet, but he rolls and scoots. He made his way to the TV stand and started grabbing the cords. Andrea said, "Ethan, no." He looked over, smiled, and held out his hand, then touched the TV stand, as if to ask, "Can I touch this? Is this okay?"

Discipline is important. The Bible says, "Do not withhold discipline from a child." This has actually been a hot topic this week in our nation. Perhaps you saw in the tabloids and on the TV news that there is a well-known mom who was photographed disciplining and spanking her child. There were all kinds of commentators on these news shows saying, "Oh, you're not supposed to spank your children. Don't spank your children."

But I want you to notice what God says in Proverbs 23, verse 13, when He says, "Do not withhold discipline from a child." He doesn't say to put them on time out, which may be good, but notice what He says: "If you strike him with the rod, he will not die." In another place, Solomon says to go ahead and strike with the rod and not spare for his tears. Some will look at that and say, "No, you're not supposed to spank your child," following the advice of Dr. Spock or whoever. That's man's wisdom. But God's wisdom says to discipline your children and strike with the rod; he will not die.

We are to discipline out of love, with the purpose and intent to correct, and not out of anger. If you are tempted to discipline your children out of anger, the Scriptures make it very clear that you should withdraw and not discipline in that state.

But the discipline, the correction, is still there nonetheless, and it is a display of love. In Proverbs 13, verse 24, Solomon says, "Whoever spares the rod hates his son." We are told in our society today that if you spank your child, it is a form of hate and not love. That's not true. The Scriptures say, "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." In another translation, it says, "He who loves him disciplines early," even at eight months old, beginning that correction.

Why? Well, the Proverbs say, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of the child, and the rod of correction drives it far from him." Ask my mom. There was foolishness bound in my heart. She and my dad exercised the rod of correction. I didn't enjoy it at the time. In fact, that's what Hebrews chapter 12 says: "No correction or discipline is enjoyable for the time, but it ultimately yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness." Hebrews 12 also says that "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines." Our God is our Father, and He, as our example, disciplines us because He loves us.

When you read through the Scriptures, both Old Testament and New, you find that God's punishment is always for the purpose of purification. If you're taking notes, you may want to write that down: God's punishment is always for the purpose of purification, and our discipline of our children should be for the purpose of correction. We should not spare; we should not withhold such discipline because in not disciplining, you may be promoting your children unto the anger of the Lord, raising them in such a way that they are abiding under, one day, His wrath.

It is far better to receive the discipline, the chastisement of an earthly father or God here and now than to stand before Him one day for His judgment. Amen? The charge from the Scriptures to you and I as fathers today is that we would train up our children in the way that they should go, that we should discipline and instruct them in the way of the Lord. If we do so, we are told that when they are older, they will not depart from it.

It has been a real blessing to see this actually played out in a very real way recently. A few weeks ago, I received in the mail a letter from Jordan Kinney.

Jordan Kinney is Pastor Pat's son, and he is my age. In this letter, Jordan was asking my wife and me to support him as he goes on a missions trip to the Philippines. To most of you, this may seem like a big deal, as many people go on missions trips. However, you may not know Jordan Kinney. For many years, Pastor Pat watched as his son, from a young age, began to walk away from the Lord. He wanted nothing to do with the Lord, rebelled against everything the Lord had to say, and rebelled against everything his parents had to say. He got into all kinds of trouble.

Recently, though, God has done a powerful work in Jordan's life. Now he is going on a mission trip this summer to the Philippines and is helping with the men's ministry at his church. Why? Because God's word is true: "Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Sometimes, the seeds of the word of God take a while to germinate. It can take the fire of trials to break them open and cause that seed to take root. Perhaps you are sowing the word of God into your children right now, and it seems like things are just getting worse, like water on an oil fire. But God's word is true.

The charge and exhortation from the scriptures is clear: fathers, bring up your children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Train them in the way they should go. Do not withhold discipline from them, for whoever withholds discipline is not loving. You may say, "Well, you're just a young whippersnapper; your son is only eight months old." You're right; I know very little. The only thing I know is what the scriptures say, and I am so thankful that God has given us instruction in how to live in this area. Amen?

So, fathers, I would like to pray for you this morning because our nation is in dire need of dads who are good men, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith, who obey what the scriptures say. Let's pray.

Father, we do, on this Father's Day, pray for the fathers in our fellowship. Lord, we certainly give thanks for You, our heavenly Father, but also for the earthly fathers You have given us. Some of them may not have been the best examples, yet, Lord, You have allowed them to be in our lives for a purpose. But, Lord...

This morning, there are many dads here in our fellowship. I pray, Lord, that You would pour out a blessing upon them, that You would give them strength to be men of integrity in their workplace and godly men in their home environment. Lord, give us wisdom. Help us to understand how we are to exercise discipline in the right way, how we are to train our children, and how we can be good examples. Father, would You pour out Your Spirit upon the men in our fellowship to be good dads, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith, that we might see a transformation in our nation. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads. We, as dads, appreciate your prayers, ladies. For those of you who are maybe fathers but no longer have your children in the home, we greatly appreciate your prayer and your example.

Continuing on here in Acts chapter 11, we read that when Barnabas had gone up to Antioch, this man who was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith, there were many people added to the Lord. Barnabas' evangelistic endeavor there in Antioch produced great fruit, and as a result, Barnabas wanted to make sure that these new believers, these fresh converts, did not become orphans or remain unlearned, remaining babes in Christ.

We are told in the next verse, in verse 25 of Acts chapter 11, that he departed to Tarsus to seek for Saul. Barnabas left Antioch, where all these new believers were congregating and gathering together as the body of Christ, and he went away for at least a few days to travel up to Tarsus. Tarsus was about 85 miles away from Antioch, and he went seeking for a man by the name of Saul.

Now you'll remember Saul was that man who was persecuting the church in Acts chapter 8 and also in Acts chapter 9. But he came to faith; he was converted on the road to Damascus and transformed. A short time after that, he went down to Jerusalem, but all the church in the city of Jerusalem were fearful of him. We read in Acts chapter 9, verse 26, that when Saul came to Jerusalem, he wanted to join himself to the disciples, but they were afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple. They shunned him.

They rejected him. They said, "No, we don't want anything to do with him. He's persecuted the church. This has got to be a trick." But in verse 27 of Acts chapter 9, it says, "But Barnabas took him." Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord, the way he had spoken to him, and how he preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

Notice that Barnabas took a step of faith. He went where no one else would go. Everybody else was afraid of Saul, but Barnabas stepped out. He took Saul and brought him before the disciples there in Jerusalem. He spoke out and said, "This guy is a follower of Christ. He's a believer now. Yes, he was a persecutor of the church, but he has been transformed."

Now, here again, we see that Barnabas goes up to Tarsus to bring Saul back because the church had sent Paul to Tarsus at the end of Acts chapter 9. There were a lot of people who wanted to kill Saul early on in his ministry. The church said, "Well, you know what? We might as well just send him back to his home, back to Tarsus, and everything will quiet down." And it did.

But now, at this point, when Gentiles are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, Barnabas says, "I need Saul of Tarsus." The scriptures don't say this, but I believe that Barnabas, although he was a man of God and had a Jewish background from the tribe of Levi, did not have the same understanding and exercise of the Old Testament scriptures as Saul of Tarsus.

As we will see when we go through the rest of the book of Acts and into the epistles of the New Testament, Saul had an understanding of the scriptures like nobody in the early church. He knew the Word of God, knew how to use the Word of God, and knew how to instruct and disciple the body of Christ. So, Barnabas went looking for Saul and brought him back to Antioch after he had found him, as noted in verse 26.

It came to pass that the whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught many people, and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. One of Jesus' departing commands, as he was getting ready to leave his disciples and ascend into heaven, was to go into all the world and make disciples. Matthew 28, verse 19 says, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father."

And of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them, Jesus said, "All things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Jesus' parting words to His disciples were to go and make disciples, teaching and instructing those disciples.

The early church at Antioch, led by Saul and Barnabas, was a church that was being taught. They were making disciples. Sadly, in the modern church, there is often a greater focus on making converts than on making disciples. It is very important to bring people to Christ and have them converted, but you can't just leave them there. They are babes in Christ and need to be raised up and taught. Saul and Barnabas focused on this equipping and teaching. As a result, we read that the believers, the disciples in Antioch, began to be called Christians—followers of Christ. The non-believers in the city of Antioch looked at these followers of Jesus of Nazareth and said, "They are different. They are Christians."

What was it that had changed? What was it that was different? I believe it had a lot to do with the fact that Saul and Barnabas were teaching the church. They weren't just making converts; they were making disciples.

My wife is currently taking an online sociology class to finish up her RN. On Friday night, she was doing some of her classwork and asked me to read through one of the things she was posting on an online forum that all the students had to access. I read through it and thought, "That's a kind of weird worldview that you're presenting there." I asked her, "Where is this from?" She explained that the assignment required them to read three different articles, these essays, and then discuss the whole situation. I asked if I could read those articles, and as I started to go through them, I quickly found that they had a very slanted worldview.

As I continued reading, I looked at the posts that the students were placing on the forum. I saw that this slanted worldview was not only presented in the articles, but every one of these students was just spewing out exactly what they had read from that passage. It struck me that the education they were receiving was more indoctrination than true learning.

than instruction. Telling them what to think and not how to think is typically the way our educational system operates here in America today. This is what you should think; this is the worldview we want you to have. We don't tell people how to think things through and how to logically come to a good conclusion about a matter. We simply say, "No, this is what you should think."

The interesting worldview being presented is that our system of capitalism here in America is evil and wrong. As I read between the lines of what was being said, I thought, "Well, that's a very interesting concept." Someone has thrown out a conjecture, some sort of truth or theory. Let's think about that. However, every single one of the students posting on this forum responded with, "Yep, absolutely. Thumbs up. Wrong, bad, we should change everything."

That is someone's perspective, but is it true? These are things that need to be thought through. It may well be true; I don't really care, but it should at least be considered.

All that to say, there are many churches in the modern-day Christian world that are indoctrinating people, simply giving forth things that they should know or should say, instead of teaching how to live. It has been said many times from this pulpit, by myself and other pastors and teachers from our church and others, that we are here to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Our desire is that you would be raised up, that you would not simply know what the Bible says but also how to apply it to your life.

Yes, it's important that you know what it says and how to interpret it, but how do you apply it? How do you take the knowledge that has come and turn it into wisdom in your life, rather than just accumulating knowledge?

If you would turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 3, the Apostle Paul's parting words to Timothy are very interesting to me in a passage that you've probably read before and maybe even memorized. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 14, Paul says to Timothy, "But you continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known..."

The Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise and lead to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Now, notice this: the verses you probably know. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for all good works.

Paul says to Timothy, "Hold fast to the word of God. Continue in the things that you have been instructed." Why? Because it has been inspired by God. It's God-breathed. God's word is useful, and He gives four things that God's word is useful for.

First, God's word is profitable for doctrine. That is, it is able to tell us what is right and what is wrong. It establishes the plumb line, showing us the way we ought to live: this is the way, walk in it. God's word serves as doctrine in the sense that it is the foundation upon which our lives are built.

Not only is God's word useful for showing us the way to walk, but the second thing He says is that God's word is useful for reproof. The word "reproof" means to reprove or to expose. God's word says, "This is the way, walk in it," and it exposes when I am going the wrong way. It reproves me, showing that my life is in opposition to the life that God has called me to. So, God's word is useful to show us the right direction and to indicate when we are moving in the wrong direction.

Thirdly, it is useful for correction. It corrects me and brings me back in line with the right direction that God desires me to walk in. Fourthly, it is useful and profitable for instruction in righteousness. This means it is sufficient to show me how to continue walking in the right direction.

In summary, God's word is useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. When we put all of these things together, we are told in verse 17 that the man of God or woman of God may be complete, perfect, or mature. The man of God or the woman of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped, or ready.

For every good work that God has called us to, the Bible says that God has prepared good works that you and I should walk in them before the foundation of the world, as stated in Ephesians chapter 2. How can I be equipped to do those things? The Word of God is essential, and that's why we are committed to teaching it line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, going verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the entirety of the Word of God. We believe that the Word of God transforms lives. It shows people the right way to walk, reveals when they are walking in opposition to that right way, brings them back to the right way, and keeps them there.

Notice what Paul says to Timothy in chapter 4, verse 1. He says, "I charge you therefore, because of this, I charge you before God and Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word." Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season to do what? To do just what the Word of God does: reprove, rebuke, and exhort. And notice this, with all long-suffering and teaching, or with all patience and doctrine.

We are told in Acts chapter 11, verse 26, that Saul and Barnabas were there in Antioch teaching the church for a year. This kind of instruction does not happen overnight. It takes time. Discipleship is a labor. It takes time. It's like farming. Some of you here this morning have gardens, and you understand this idea: before you can plant your squash, tomatoes, green beans, or whatever it may be, you need to prepare the ground. You have to go and remove all the rocks, break up the fallowed ground, and ensure that it is amended correctly and has the nutrients it needs to grow.

Once you have prepared the ground, you can go and plant the seeds, but it doesn't stop there, does it? You don't just plant the seeds and say, "All right, see you later." You have to make sure that you weed your garden, water your garden, and tend to your plants so that one day you may receive a fruitful harvest. But it takes time. Discipleship takes time as well, and it requires those who will come alongside and tend to the flock of God. Saul and Barnabas were there in Antioch for a year pastoring the church. Ultimately, we will see as we continue through the book of Acts.

There were about five pastors overseeing the fellowship in Antioch. They were together ministering to the flock of God and tending to the body of Christ so that it would grow and be fruitful. Their work paid off because we are told that the disciples, these learners, were first called Christians at Antioch. The word "Christian" is only used three times in the entire Bible: twice in the book of Acts and once in Peter's letters. The body of Christ, the disciples, the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, began to be called Christians, meaning followers of Christ. A change had taken place, and this change occurred because they taught faithfully the word of God to those believers.

This idea of teaching and instructing to produce fruit is found throughout the Scriptures. In Psalm 71:17, the psalmist says, "O God, you have taught me from my youth, and here to I have declared your wondrous works." How do we prepare someone to declare the wondrous works of God and to praise His name? We teach them from their youth. In Psalm 119:102, David states, "I have not departed from your judgments; I have walked in a righteous path." Why? Because you have taught me.

In Proverbs 4:11, Solomon says, "I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths." How does someone walk in right paths? They need to be taught the word of wisdom, the Scriptures. Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 5:2. At the end of that message, in Matthew 7:29, the people who heard Him teach were astonished because He taught as one who had authority. The multitudes heard Jesus teach in Matthew 13:54, and they were astonished.

Jesus taught them in their synagogues, in the open air, on the mountaintops, in the temple, from house to house, on the roads as they walked, and from boats on the Sea of Galilee. He taught them with words, with parables, with miracles, and by His example. Jesus was always teaching His disciples.

Before He ascended into heaven, He said, "You teach others also." The apostles taught others, and then they instructed those others to teach as well, just as Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2: "Commit these words unto faithful men who will be able to teach others also." The teaching of God's Word is important, and it produces fruit.

They were called Christians. There are over 300,000 Christian churches in America today. Many people in our nation associate with a church and, therefore, are identified as Christians. When Gallup, Barna, Rasmussen, or any of these polling agencies call them, they find that 75% of Americans say, "We're Christians." However, my question is, are these people called Christians merely because they associate with or identify with a body that calls itself a Christian church? Does the unbelieving world look at them and say, "That's a Christian"?

This leads us to wonder, what is a Christian? Is it someone who has a Not of This World t-shirt or bumper sticker? Is it someone who goes to Calvary Chapel, Emanuel Faith, or another church identified as a Christian church? What set these people apart in the city of Antioch? Clearly, there was a difference between the average individual in Antioch and those who were called Christians. No doubt, they were separate in the way they lived.

In a sense, they did not indulge in the Greco-Roman practices of the day. You probably would not find them at the theaters, watching the gladiators, or at the Temple of Diana. You likely would not find them mixed up in various orgies and wicked practices of the people. They were separate, and the people said, "That's a Christian."

This causes me to ask a question for myself, and perhaps you would ask yourself this question today as well: Am I different from an unbeliever? When people look at me, do they see a Christian?

At my conduct, hear my speech. Are we different? Do I react the same way when I'm cut off or put down? Ephesians 4:26 says, "Be angry and sin not. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath." Do I engage in the same dirty jokes as they do for a cheap laugh? Ephesians 4:29 states, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of building up the hearers."

Do I take things that are not mine from my employer? Oh, everybody takes this or that, right? Well, the scripture says in Ephesians 4:28, "Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that has need."

Do I cover up my misgivings and my mistakes with little lies and half-truths? Ephesians 4:25 says, "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth to his neighbor, for we are members of one another." Do I hold anger in my heart and plan revenge against those who have wronged me? Ephesians 4:31 instructs, "Let all bitterness and clamor and wrath and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."

Do I display love, the love of God, towards people in my life, even my enemies? Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another."

I know that these are hard questions, and they cannot simply be answered by my strength or my determination, as if I’m going to love this person or I’m going to speak the truth or I’m going to do this. But as a follower of Jesus Christ, the scriptures reveal that you and I have become new creations. The Bible says that you and I now have the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live the way that God has called us to live.

Peter said it this way in 2 Peter 1:3, "God has given you everything that pertains to life and godliness." I read that this way: God has given me everything I need to live this life in a godly manner. He has empowered me. He has empowered you by His Holy Spirit to do the things that are pleasing to Him.

Here's the problem: Many Christians in America today don't know what is pleasing to God. They have the power of the Holy Spirit evident in their hearts.

To do what is pleasing to God, we must first understand what is pleasing to Him. Where do we find this knowledge? In the Word of God. You will never know what is pleasing to God, even though that is the very reason you and I have been created. Revelation 4:11 says we were made to be pleasing to Him. God has enabled us with the power to be pleasing to Him, and He has shown us in His Word how we can achieve this. This is why the teaching and study of God's Word is so essential in our lives.

The study of God's Word does not just take place on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. It is something that you and I must determine to engage in daily, reading God's Word to show ourselves approved. You might say, "I don't understand it. I don't know how to observe and interpret it." That's okay; we will teach you. That is what we aim to do in our school of discipleship, whether through our inductive Bible study class or even in course two, lesson three, where we discuss devotional Bible study. We will teach you how to pull from the Scriptures: What do the Scriptures tell me to believe? What do the Scriptures tell me to do? How can I do it? The answer is by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The church, the gathering of disciples, was first called Christians at Antioch. Notice that they were not called Calvinists, Arminianists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptists, Southern Baptists, Independent Baptists, Reformed Baptists, Lutherans, Wesleyans, or Calvary Chapelites. They were simply called Christians, which means "followers of Christ." People identified the life of Christ and recognized that this individual lived as He did. They looked at this person and said, "Wow, that person lives like He lived. They are a follower of Christ." It was clearly evident, and their lives were transformed.

This transformation is revealed in the next section of Scripture, where it says in verse 27, "And in those days there came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch, and there stood up one named Agabus." We will see this man again later on in chapter 20. Agabus signified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. I know there will be someone who comes up to me afterward and says, "Hey, listen, all the prophets..."

Were until John the Baptist. How come we see Agabus as a prophet? Well, God had clearly called and anointed certain people in the New Testament with a prophetic gift to be able to give forth what is going to happen. A word of knowledge, a prophecy, was given by Agabus. We'll see the same thing happen in Acts chapter 21, where he says that Saul, or Paul, is going to end up being arrested, bound, and taken to Rome.

However, the kind of prophet that we see in the Old Testament is not evident in the church today. I have had people tell me before, "I am a prophet of God." My little antenna goes up at that point. If someone says to me, "I'm a prophet of God," I will say, "Okay, will you submit yourself to the test of a prophet in Deuteronomy?" Well, what's that? Deuteronomy says that if you give forth a prophecy and you espouse to be a prophet, then I am to test your prophecy and see if the things that you say are true. If they are not, we take you outside and kill you. You know what they generally say? "I am not a prophet." No, you're not.

But there are those who are gifted at times to speak forth a word of prophecy in the area of forth-telling. There are also New Testament prophets who give forth the word of God. Agabus was one such man who came to Antioch from Jerusalem, and he signified by the Spirit that there was going to come a famine.

Well, these people who had been taught the Scriptures, these disciples who had become Christ-like in their character, what did they do? In verse 29, it says, "Then the disciples," underline that in your Bibles, "every man according to his ability," circle that, "determined," put a big star over that one, "to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt at Judea," which they also did. Underline that word "did" three times.

There are four things that I want to look at just before we finish about giving. A follower of Jesus who becomes a disciple of Jesus becomes a giving individual because God is a giver. Now, I want to preface this this morning as we finish up by saying, I am not asking you for money. I'm not. As we go line upon line and precept upon precept...

Through the Word of God, we come to passages that deal with giving. I know as Americans this is an issue that people, a lot of times, don't like to hear about because there have been some excesses within churches where they have forced the issue of giving. They have given the Word of God a tainted view by many in America today.

But notice what we read about giving here in this discipled church in Antioch. Number one, the giving was done first and foremost by the disciples, as stated in verse 29. It was the followers of Christ, the disciples, who gave. Secondly, they gave every man according to his ability or according to his substance. Out of the proportion of what they had, they gave. Some had very little and could give very little. Some had nothing and gave nothing. Some had a lot and gave much. But the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to give. They made a decision ahead of time that they were going to give.

This is an important aspect of giving in the New Testament: we must make a decision ahead of time. You see, if you don't decide beforehand—before you receive your check, before you come to church, whatever it may be—if you don't decide ahead of time, you probably will not give. If I just went through and paid all my bills without thinking about giving to God, at the end of the day, I guarantee you, I would say, "I don't have any money to give." But it comes as a decision beforehand.

In fact, in my household, for my family, as soon as I get paid, that's the very first thing that comes out. We make a decision that we're going to give this much as unto the Lord in whatever way He directs. They determined to send relief to the brothers that were in Judea, which they did, as stated in verse 30.

There’s an old saying you’ve probably heard before: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There are a lot of people who say, "Well, I really had planned to give. If I win the lottery, I’ll give." Yet, every man determined according to their ability to give, and they fulfilled their duty. They did give, and they sent it by the hand of the elders, specifically by the hand of Saul and Barnabas, to Jerusalem to provide for the needs of the body of Christ.

There are a number of places in the New Testament that deal with giving, and we don't have any time to explore them all.

Today, we will go through Acts chapter 11. Paul discusses this in 1 and 2 Timothy, as well as in 1 and 2 Corinthians. He also speaks to it in Philippians and a number of other places in Scripture.

Just one thing, and we'll finish with this. In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 1, Paul says, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, I have given order to the churches of Galatia; even so, I give order to you in Corinth." In verse 2, he outlines the when, who, how, what, and why of giving, all in one verse.

He states that on the first day of the week, every one of you should lay something aside, in proportion to what the Lord has prospered you with. The purpose of this is so that there be no gathering when he comes. He emphasizes that on the first day of the week, you should set aside a time to receive an offering. Each of you is to lay something aside as unto the Lord, just as they did in the Old Testament, and you are to give in proportion to what you have.

You may say, "Well, I'm not able to give much." That's okay. I'm not going to look at it, and nobody next to you is going to judge you. We won't pull it up on the computer and say, "You took how long of a vacation?" It's between you and Jesus. The Scriptures make it very clear that we do not give out of constraint. We don't twist your arm or put a thermometer up here to show how close we are to our goal. It is in your hands with God.

Again, I'm not saying this because we're running out of money. In fact, God has been very gracious and has blessed our church abundantly. Our board recently had a budget review mid-year, and we are ahead of our projected budget for 2009. That is amazing, especially considering we are in the midst of a great economic downturn in our nation. I know several pastors of Calvary Chapels who are 40% below their budget for the year.

God has greatly blessed us, and it is phenomenal to see how the Lord works. This is a very giving church, not just monetarily, but also in terms of your time. We have over 150 people in this church who are serving every single week in children's ministry, the cleaning crew, nursing homes, as ushers, greeters, sound technicians, worship teams, security, and many other roles.

God is doing a great work. Why? I believe it is directly related to the teaching of God's Word as we see in Acts chapter 11. Amen?

Let's stand and thank the Lord. Father, what great grace you've given to us. Lord, thank you for giving us your Word and teaching us how we are to live. Lord, that we would know what is righteous and what is not. That we would be able to clearly see our lives in light of what your Word says. Lord, you have given us the power by your Spirit and from your Word to walk pleasing to you.

I pray for my brothers and sisters here this morning as we depart that you would fill us to overflowing with your Spirit. Help us to be good men and women—agreeable, pleasant, joyful. Help us to be men and women who are full of your Spirit and full of faith, shining brightly in a dark world.

Lord, I pray once again for the fathers of our fellowship that you would fill them and equip them, that they would be bright, shining examples. And Lord, wherever we go, may people know that we are followers of Christ, not because we have a not-of-this-world sticker, but because we display you.

Praise you, we thank you, in Jesus' name. Amen.