The Wilderness Within Us
Lonesome Dove
"All America lies at the end of the wilderness road, and our past is not a dead past, but still lives in us. Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers".
BOSTON
“The Big One”
EFFECTIVE EVAGELISTS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.
Acts 11:19–30 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. [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.
Summary of the new chapter of the Jesus movement so far. We see two things:
a. Opposition sent them on mission.
b. They preached to people far away.
c. They preached to people far off.
Be like men of Cyprus and Cyrene.
BARNABAS
Acts 11:20–21 Cyprus and Cyrene evangelize Antioch.
Acts 11:22–26 Barnabas strengthens Antioch and recruits Saul.
Acts 13:1–3 Lucius and Barnabas appear in Antioch’s sending leadership.
SIMON OF CYRENE
Luke 23:26“And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene… and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.”
LUCIUS OF CYPRUS
Acts 13:1–3 “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene…”
01. They have COURAGE.
02. They CROSS CULTURES.
03. They are CONNECTED.
Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity, p. 20
“The basis for successful conversionist movements is growth through social networks, through a structure of direct and intimate interpersonal attachments.”
Rodney Stark, summarized from The Rise of Christianity, p. 18
“Attachments lie at the heart of conversion and therefore…conversion tends to proceed along social networks formed by interpersonal attachments.”
Rodney Stark
“Conversion to new, deviant religious groups occurs when…people have or develop stronger attachments to members of the group than they have to nonmembers.”
When people are more connected to new Christian friends than other friends they tend to become Christians. When non-Christian people are better connected to followers of Jesus than those without faith, God uses that to help find Jesus. Jesus often reaches people through friendly people who follow Jesus.
In The Tipping Point, sociologist Malcolm Gladwell talks about the law fo the few–meaning a small group of influential people cause movements to grow. He calls these people Connectors. They know people across multiple circles, and because they move between worlds, ideas move with them. Gladwell says:
Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point
“There are a small number of people in any group, in any community who knows many more people than the average people knows…They make the phone calls, they are connected to the different worlds and they make a big difference.”
BUILDING NEW FRIENDSHIP ADVANCED JESUS’ KINGDOM FORCEFULLY ON EARTH.
These are traits of evangelistic Christians that God uses to forcefully advance His Kingdom.
ARE YOU LIKE THIS?
It takes courage.. Push yourself this week Do you believe in demons?
It takes crossing cultures. Who is just different enough than you that you wouldn’t try to cross into friendship or connection?
It takes connections. Do you know all your neighbors? Lindsey owns the block. IMPORTANT→ Who do you wish was here?
IF YOU ARE A HARDCORE REGULAR INVITER I really want you to own the 930 and 11. All of us can grow must this, and if you become one switch. If you’re new at this, it really does help to move. But if you’re very experienced evangelist I want you at these two service times because they are the most likely to be inevitable.
GOD IS THE GREATEST EVANGELIST.
Acts 11:21-24 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. [22] The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. [23] When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, [24] for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
V.1 The hand of the Lord was with them = A great number…believed…turned.
Without God’s hand on our efforts, no one will get saved! Notice in Luke’s phrasing, God’s hand is doing the grabbing and heart-changing. If God’s hand does not open the heart, man’s hand will never reach for Christ. Grace does not assist the willing; grace makes the unwilling willing. That’s because sinners do not wake himself from death; God speaks, and dead men live.
Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Matthew 16:18 I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Skyler before I moved “Without a prayer team you shouldn’t plant a church”
Prayer for your ONE 🔔@1pm The reason is evangelism isn’t dependent primarily on strategy but on God’s sovereignty. Unless God opens their hearts no one will get saved.
They celebrate salvation! This is why should celebrate. If you’re in a small group, I want you guys to celebrate who is getting saved through you. If you haven’t baptized anyone in the group, I want you guys to pray thanks for the evangelism of the church and take a minute to pray for your “ones” together.
SOME CHURCHES MAKE AN OUTSIZED IMPACT.
Acts 11:25–30 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, [26] 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. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. [27] Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. [28] And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). [29] So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. [30] And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 13:1–3 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. [2] While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” [3] Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
The church of Antich didn’t merely participate in the Great Commission; it helped accelerate it. This church punched far above its weight in the mission of Jesus. Becoming a launch pad for all the churches in the Roman Empire. That’s how Antioch will be remembered. As the church that planted all the other ones.
I don’t think it’s any accident that Luke notes this is where they first started getting called “Christians”. Deep in all believer’s spiritual DNA a is a sacrificial mindset for the mission of Jesus that leverages ones life to plant new churches and reach people who haven’t been reached.
ANTIOCH:
01. Raised up new and fresh leaders. 11:25
02. Taught new people until their guts came out. 11:26
03. Listened to the Holy Spirit’s unique leading. 11:28
04. Gave radically to the Church. 11:29
05. Had a habit of missional sending 11:30
06. Raised up an crazy number of diverse leaders. 13:1
07. Followed the Holy Spirit’s leading into mission. 13:2
08. Sent some of their best leaders to start new churches. 13:3
CHURCH-FLATION
-Today’s pastors have to put in 4x the effort to produce Christians ¼ as committed as their counterparts in the 80’s! I can prove it.
-In the 80’s you’d have a 300 person church and yet a $1 million budget and a full scale church building because people tithed and today they only tip God.
-The average American Christian family only attends 1 time a month where if you reached a family in the 80’s it was assumed church was weekly. “The old regular was weekly. The new regular is ‘we come when soccer, sickness, lake weekends, brunch, travel ball, family birthdays, and emotional weather permit.’
In the 1980s, a family joined a church and you basically had them. They were there Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, potluck night, work day, revival night, and some mysterious committee meeting where men in short-sleeve button-ups argued about carpet color in the name of the Lord.
Today, a family “joins” your church and what they mean is, “We emotionally prefer your livestream over the other ones.”
Back then, if someone missed church for three weeks, people assumed they were dead, backslidden, or trapped under farm equipment.
Today, someone misses three weeks and then says, “We’ve actually been super connected.”
Connected to what? The sermon clips? The Instagram story? The idea of community?
IF YOU ARE TOO BIG TO SERVE YOU ARE TOO SMALL TO LEAD.
→ Who is the most important leader in the book of Acts? Notice that no one said Barnabas.
Barnabas after this point will always be listed after Paul. He is one of the most important figures in Acts, but no one would think of him that way, they only remember Paul even to this day. Yet he is easily the most strategically important leader in the entire book. Why? Barnabas shows us that spiritual leadership is not proven by being in the spotlight, but by how gladly you serve the mission behind the scenes. By rolling up your sleeves.
He sells property.
He advocates for Saul.
He strengthens Antioch.
He recruits help.
He sends and gets sent.
Barnabas is never too important to do what needs to be done.
And that is why he becomes so important to the story. Because in the kingdom of Jesus, if you are too big to serve, you are too small to lead.
Randy Deal–we affectionately call him uncle Randy–is never preaches on a stage, but he is easily going to be remembered as maybe THE key figure in the mission of Phoenix. Empowering hundreds of church planters. Also willing to help you with very basic needs. Setting up for events. Praying for dying people. He truly is the real deal.