Title Antioch Church / Acts 11:19-26
Content 敾?1:19-26, Ephesians 4:2-6
; According to the Bible, the church in Antioch was founded by the believers scattered all over the country due to the great persecution that occurred after the first coming of the Holy Spirit. They were saints of great faith, full of the Holy Spirit, full of love, and full of zeal. The Antioch Church established by these saints had several important characteristics.
; It is the devotion of the nameless saints.
At that time, starting with the martyrdom of Stephen, a great wind of persecution blew in Jerusalem. To avoid this, believers were scattered in all directions. However, despite these scattered people, they preached the gospel wherever they went. One of them is Antioch, which appears in today's text.
Some of them, Cyprus and Cyrene, came to Antioch and also spoke to Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.
The hand of the Lord was with them, and many believed and turned to the Lord. 11:20-21
Who were these people? Aren't they the people who were scattered everywhere because of Stephen's martyrdom? Even though they saw Stephen being stoned to death as a result of persecution for believing in Jesus, and even though they could not live in their own hometown and were being chased, even though they were people who might be caught at any time, they preached the Lord Jesus wherever they were. that it was done. The courage and faith to preach the Lord Jesus came from the faith of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The church was planted in Antioch by these full people.
; What's even more surprising, however, is that they are not known by name. Many names appear in history. Even now, many people are struggling to obtain this name and honor. But God knows that behind the truly great work, there have been countless anonymous people who have done things invisibly. Rather, the light of the gospel has come to us today because there were numerous Christian workers who silently performed the Lord's work without a name or light.
; A man filled with the Holy Spirit--He was not my name, my honor, or me, but only those who exalt the name of the Lord. A person who is filled with the Holy Spirit is 'I and the world have nowhere to go, only the Lord who has redeemed us is seen.' A person filled with the Holy Spirit is a person who can return in the evening to set the master's table again in the evening and confess, 'I am a useless servant' (Luke 17:10) despite having worked hard all day. Augustine said. “We must all be fingers that point to Christ.”
; There were great leaders like Barnabas.
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith... 11:24
It is not easy to find people who receive praise like Barnabas, even in the Bible. The saying that Barnabas was a good man (a man of wisdom and virtue), a man full of the Holy Spirit (a man with a fervent zeal), and a man full of faith (a man of clear conviction), Barnabas was a beautiful Christian who was harmonious in character and faith. is telling
; This balance of faith that Barnabas had is the image of a believer that we should also set as an example today. Those who have zeal but are not recognized because of lack of virtue, those who have virtue but go back and forth because of lack of confidence, who have confidence but are cold-hearted because of lack of zeal. But Barnabas was a man of beautiful and harmonious faith before God and man.
; It was only here that the name Christian was born.
Until then, Christians were called 'the Nazarene heresy'. However, in the eyes of the world, the people of this Antioch church had something different. Changes occurred when anyone entered this church, and despite the different living conditions and social backgrounds, there was always something in common.
① He is full of the Holy Spirit and is zealous for anything
② Life is clean and reliable.
③ Always share a life of love with each other.
④ Always speaking of Christ and exalting Christ.
Therefore, the people around them who kept watching it made a new nickname for this group, and that was 'Christians'. A 'Christian' is one who belongs to Christ, one who exalts Christ, one who speaks of Christ, one who is full of Christ. "Christian", this is an honorable name. "Christian" is a beautiful and honorable name that has firmly defended the path of faith amid the harsh persecution, heresy, and world winds of 2000 years of persecution. This name originated from the Antioch Church.
; The first missionaries were sent (13:1-3)
&n嘲junyamrit? It was the first church built in a foreign land. Although it was a church centered on Gentiles, its zeal surpassed that of the Jerusalem church. Rather, it was the church that helped the Jerusalem church by donating money when its mother church, the Jerusalem Church, was in great difficulty due to a famine. This is the first record of one church helping another. Isn't it amazing the spirit, the thought, and the practice that made it happen when no one thought of it? These days, when we are moving towards church selfishness, local churchism, and my church firstism, isn't this a model for all of us? When all members of the church are focused on their individuality, this is a truly beautiful image.
It was a church that not only helped Jerusalem, the mother church, but also worked hard to plant the church. As soon as their church conditions improved and stabilized, they wanted to spread the gospel to other regions. This is because the original mission of the church is to spread the gospel. It is a comparison with the current churches that are focused only on growing my church and decorating my church.
; If we look at the history of our Antioch church, we set up a new church about once every five years, following the example of the Antioch church in the book of Acts. It is a very proud tradition of the Church. In the past 28 years of history, we have pioneered and established 10 churches or institutions.
Yeonggwang Church in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do, Hoecheon Church in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do,
Eoun Church in Hwaseong-e, Gyeonggi-do,
Pyeonggang Church in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do,
Samdong Church in Namhae, Gyeongsang-do,
Antioch House of Love in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do
Saesun Church in Hannam-dong, Seoul,
Pyeonggang Church in the Philippines,
Cho Jung-gu Memorial Hall in Fiji,
The 25th Anniversary Church in Makasa, Indonesia, there are 10 churches like this.
All of this was accomplished through your prayers, love, zeal, and donations. It is something to be proud of and grateful for. This is also in keeping with the tradition of the church at Antioch in the book of Acts.bsp;
It was a group of people who firmly witnessed the gospel in spite of persecution and suffering and dedicated themselves only to the glory of the Lord, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and faith and served the church with joy. This holy group was given the beautiful name "Christians".
; Today, I pray in the name of the Lord that we, Antioch Church, will become true Christians who glorify God with the faith and life worthy of that name, realizing that we have a mission and responsibility to inherit and protect this beautiful name.