Breaking Out

Study Notes

The Biggest Story:  Moving Out

Acts 11:19‑30; 13:1-3

     In this “biggest story” that God is working out in this world, today, at last, we come personally into the story.  We sometimes think about stories only in the past tense.  But, the “biggest story” we’re talking about isn’t like that. God’s story is going on right now. You’re a part of it.  And, what we’re doing as a church here at Lake is a big part of God’s story too. In fact, I think our part really is a rather thrilling part of God’s story.

     In last week’s message, we focused on Jesus coming into the story – and particularly on why he came.  Do you remember?  Jesus told us in Luke 4 that he had come into this imperfect world to make wrong things right, i.e., to heal what is damaged and diseased, to set free those in bondage, to release those who are oppressed, etc.  And, we looked at what the Bible says happened in the lives of people when they met him, especially of a woman in Luke 7:36-50 who found a completely new life in Christ. 

     As you know, Jesus only ministered for about three years.  Immediately after he died and then rose again, he only had a small group of followers – and his closest disciples were cowering in an upper room afraid they would be found by the authorities and put to death themselves. But, Jesus had said repeatedly that the good news he was bringing would reach all people groups in the world.  He promised that what was small when he was buried in the grave would rise again to reach every tribe, language and nation. But how?

     That’s where we come in.  We see our place in God’s “biggest story” introduced in the Book of Acts.

     When we open the Book of Acts, Jesus has been meeting over a period of 40 days with his disciples after his resurrection had taken place.  According to Acts 1:1-3, Jesus used that time to teach them the most important things they would need to know in order to carry God’s message into this world.  Then, just as he had declared his personal mission statement in Luke 4:16-21, Jesus pronounced a summary of what ours is in Acts 1:8 – “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

     When you put those words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 into the context of the rest of Jesus’s teaching, this is how the good news of Jesus will make it to the whole world:

• Those who believe in Jesus give witness to who Jesus is.
• Others will come to faith in Jesus – and become witnesses.
• All who believe in Jesus enter into the Church and a local church – and grow in Christ there..
• Local churches will send witnesses to plant other churches until all people groups have heard.
• Jesus will return and make all things right.

     And, all this WILL happen.  In Phil. 1:6, Paul said that what God has started in us, he will bring to completion. And Jesus said it more dynamically in Mt 16:18: “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it?”

     The Book of Acts tells how Jesus’s promised building of the church began and how it will reach to the ends of the earth. The first church took root in Jerusalem after the Holy Spirit came in a dramatic new way on Pentecost (which we will remember next weekend). In that church, people learned about Jesus, learned to worship together, and learned to care for one another (cf., Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37).  The new believers went out into Jerusalem and cared for the sick and poor and called others to believe in Jesus.  But they were all Jewish people and they stayed in Jerusalem.  Jesus had said that they were to make disciples of all peoples and were to go into the entire world.  But, it seems that they became quite comfortable with the way things were.

     So, God sent them an unwanted gift – the gift of persecution.  After Stephen, one of the main church leaders, was killed publicly, it became impossible for all the believers to stay in Jerusalem.  Forced out by persecution, church people went to many other nearby towns and, as they did, gave witness to Jesus. But, they only told other Jews about Jesus.  Or – most of them did!

     A few of those Jewish believers, people originally from mostly non-Jewish cities like Cyprus and Cyrene , fled from Jerusalem and went way up to the city of Antioch (now in Turkey) and – well, they did what Jesus asked his followers to do.  See Acts 11:19-20.

Those who had been scattered by the persecution… spread the word only among Jews.  Some of them, however, people from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

     I love this passage.  One of the reasons is that Antioch was a church that reminds me of us here at LAC – or, at least, the kind of church I long for us to be and know we can be.  I think that what happened there will help us to embrace our role in God’s biggest story.  What is so important about what God did in this church?

1. They had a bigger view of who can belong to the family of God – “Some spread the news only among Jews.  Some however… began to speak to Greeks also… (11:19-20)”

     Antioch was the third largest city in the world at that time.  Unlike Jerusalem, it was a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan city.  Like Los Angeles, all kinds of cultures converged upon Antioch.  It did have a Jewish community but they were in the minority.  So, some of the Jewish believers fleeing Jerusalem – with urban backgrounds -- fled to Antioch.  In their enthusiasm for their new‑found life in Jesus, they shared the Gospel, Luke tells us, not only with their Jews ‑‑ but with Gentiles also.  And that was a move which would have been out of keeping with their own cultural norm that told them not have social relationships with such people. 

     Luke tells us that these people were from Cyprus and Cyrene.  That’s significant because it means that unlike the conservative Palestinian Jews who had grown up in Judea, these were men and women used to having relationships with all kinds of people. Different from Peter in Acts 10, they didn't need a divine vision to persuade them that it was O.K. to speak to a Gentile.  They were almost certainly business people in the Roman Empire.  Therefore, they would have been speaking with Gentiles all the time ‑‑ whatever the rabbi may have thought about it.  Think about it? Who would be most like a Gentile in your life?

      But, even they may have been caught off guard by the enormity of the response which their witness to the Gentiles produced. See v. 21: The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.  So, this church in Antioch had great diversity from its very beginnings.

     And, by the time we get to Acts 13:1, we see how diverse the church leadership was too -- In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.

     Barnabas is the only expected type, i.e., a priestly Jewish man.  Simeon’s nickname, Niger (meaning “black”), implies that he was black. Lucius was of Cyrene in Norhtern Africa.  And then there was Manaen, foster brother to Herod Antipas, the one who had executed John the Baptist. And finally, of course, there was Saul ‑‑ the Pharisee and persecutor of the church but now saved by the grace of God.

     So, both in its congregation and in its leadership, the Church in Antioch was what I like to call “God’s unexpected family.”  It wasn’t unexpected to God.  No, God had said this would happen all the way back in Gen. 12:1-4 when he had told Abraham that his line would be a blessing to all people.  But, in our broken and divided world, it was an unexpected to see such diverse people all being in one church family.

     This is what Jesus had said just before he died, i.e., the world will know we belong to him through our love for one another across the world’s divisions.  I am praying that we will continue to grow in becoming what I have seen is a part of our church DNA, that we are held together by our shared faith in Jesus but that we are committed to being like the church in Antioch, with a much bigger view of including all in our church that Jesus includes in his – young and old, all races and ethnicities, all political persuasions – one in Christ.

2. They were united in their commitment to the Lordship of Jesus and the centrality of God’s Word. 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 (11:26).

     Up until this point, the church had been almost exclusively Jewish.  In their world, most people viewed the church as a branch of Judaism.  But, this church in Antioch broke that stereotype.   It's not hard to imagine that the church at Antioch must have been a very different kind of church from the one in Jerusalem.  There were probably more Gentiles there than Jews in the church. Almost certainly, Jews and Gentiles ate together.  Almost certainly, Gentiles were welcomed into the membership of the church without circumcision. They probably sang different hymns.  Perhaps the husbands even sat next to their wives in church ‑‑ which would never have happened in the synagogue.

     What held this “unexpected family” together in a church like Antioch?  We see a part of the answer in that phrase, “first called Christians, i.e., followers of Christ, at Antioch.”  So, it seems that their new identity was that they all followed Jesus Christ as Lord.  That’s what I want us to be known for here at LAC!

     But, it’s clear to me that something else held them together too?  As a church, they would be guided by God’s Word: For a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.  In this we see the necessity of studying the Word of God if we will be a people who live for God and if you will be a person who grows in your faith.  You cannot live for God if you don’t know how God would have you live.  This is why the Apostle Paul told young Timothy “to preach the Word in and out of season (1 Tim 4:2)” – whether people want it or not.  And, this is why, when you come to LAC or bring your friends or children to LAC, you can be sure we will teach the Word of God.  Come, ready to hear it and to obey it.

     The Word of God led the church in Antioch to have some basic missional practices that I want to be true of us too.  Like what?  To some of the priorities you hear at LAC week by week:

3. Ministry both “here” and “there”– When I was candidating at Lake 11 years ago, we had a meeting in which anyone could ask me anything they wanted. One of the questions I remember was – “Which do you emphasize – ministry to our local neighborhood or global missions?”  I remember saying that those are two sides of the same coin.  The church in Antioch shows us that, when we have met Jesus, we simply have to tell those in our vicinity about Jesus and also show them the love of Jesus.  But, when we have heard the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8, we have to send people out to places where people haven’t heard – like they did in 13:1-3.

     A local church will never have an impact in the world, will never become a force for world evangelization, unless it possesses a vigorous passion for communicating the gospel to the community where it is.  If we aren’t concerned for people where we are, we’re not really going to have a concern for people thousands of miles away. Many churches, I'm afraid, want to be like lighthouses.   We want to illumine distant lands but are content to leave the area around their base plunged in darkness.  The Bible calls us to ministry both “here and there”. On the authority of God’s Word, I do the same.

1. Ministries both of evangelism and compassion/justice – In that same meeting 11 years ago, another question someone asked was this: “Which would you emphasize if you became pastor here – evangelism or compassion/ justice?” I remember saying that these two must go together. If we see people as Jesus does, we will care about the whole of their lives and to all that sin has done in them.  We will care about their bodies and souls.  The church in Antioch shows us this too.  They called people to faith in Jesus and, when in 11:27-30 they heard of the famine that was going to come, they reached out with the love of Christ to meet the needs that the famine would bring about. Notice 11:29: “The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea…”  That’s the heart I want us to have here too.  Don’t you?

     All this is to say that, just as the church in Antioch was united in its commitment to the Lordship of Jesus and to the truthfulness and authority of the Scriptures to direct the life of the church, so we will be united in the same ways.

3. They were in touch with and guided by the Spirit of God – While the leaders 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.” So…, they placed their hands on them and sent them off (13:2-3).

     Jesus had said that believers must wait until the Spirit of God came before they went out both to their own neighborhoods and then to the ends of the earth to tall of Jesus and live for Jesus.  And, the Spirit has come.  We see it in the Antioch Church. The grace of God at work led to many believing.  Barnabas, described as being “full of the Holy Spirit” recognizes God’s Spirit at work in 11:23-24.  A man speaking in the power of God’s Spirit tells of a famine that is coming and leads God’s people to reach out to meet the needs of those affected in 11:27. And then, in 13:1-3, the spiritual leadership, while they were worshiping and praying, sense the leading of God’s Spirit to send out their two leading representatives to carry the gospel to those unreached. 

     What we from this point on in Acts is how the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit breaks through all sorts of barriers that had one time seemed impossible. Churches are formed in city after city.  It’s like ever-expanding concentric circles growing and growing until the whole world will be reached.  When the Book of Acts ends, the work will not be complete but launched. 

     And, this is where we come in!  God’s biggest story is still going on.  And what should resound in our ears each week as we gather here at LAC is that we are God’s people with a role to play in what God is doing.  We who are alive and who have heard the Gospel (and been rescued by it) are to come and grow as we study the Word, pray, and worship with others.  Then, we are take the message and love of Jesus to the world – both “here and there”.  We are to do it with the same focus and fervor as we will see the people in Antioch did. 

    The point is not simply that the church has a mission.  It is that God created the church to complete his mission.  That’s why we exist. We see that the power of the Holy Spirit is specifically a power given to do God’s mission.  In the power of God’s Spirit, who are God’s people can move forward in obedience to God into places we would never have visited.  We can discover power to interact with all sorts of people like they did -- Samaritans and Gentiles and immigrants and people in the streets.  Power to love those we would had never have loved.  Power to speak the message of Jesus in ways we otherwise could not. 

  When the book of Acts ends in chapter 28, the story isn’t over.  Like a relay race, the baton is passed on to us – to grab, run with and pass on until God’s biggest story is complete.

     Let us have a Jesus-sized view of who can belong in our church family – one that includes Jew and Gentile, democrat and republican, baby-boomer and millennial all united under the Lordship of Christ and surrendered to the Word of God.  I want us to be led by God’s Spirit to do whatever he would call us to do.  I don't want us to simply be a church where we can come and comfortably do what people in America have always done in church.  We must begin by speaking of Jesus and living out the demands of the gospel in our community.  When we do, we will hear the Spirit of God calling us to set apart some of our own to send where the gospel hasn’t been heard.  That’s what happened in Antioch.  It’s happened here at LAC often over our 125 years.  May it continue to happen until God’s Biggest Story is complete – to his glory.

Chinese Study Notes

最偉大的故事：走出去

徒11：19-30；13:1-3

            今天，在神所掌管的這個“最偉大的故事”之中，我們終於得以親身進入其中。我們常常會用過去時來思考故事。然而，我們所要說的“最偉大的故事”並非如此。神的故事永遠是正在進行時。你也是其中的一部分。我們教會所做的事工也是神的故事之中重要的部分之一。事實上，我認為我們的部分，正是神的故事中最激動人心的那個部分。

            在上周的信息中，我們著重講了耶穌的到來，尤其是祂為何降世為人。你還記得嗎？在路加福音第四章中，耶穌告訴我們，祂來到這個不完美的世界，為要糾正不合神心意的事情，比如醫治一切的破碎與疾病，使捆綁的得自由，使被壓制的得釋放等等。我們來一同看看，在聖經中，當人們遇到耶穌時，發生在他們生命中的故事，尤其是路加福音7:36-50中所記載的一個女人，她在耶穌裏找到了新的生命。

            眾所周知，耶穌僅僅宣教了三年。祂受死之後三天復活。祂只有一小群追隨者，祂最親密的門徒們都退縮害怕，擔心他們自己被當局發現，會被處死。然而，耶穌曾多次說，祂所帶來的好消息，會傳遍世界世上所有的族群之中。祂承諾說，當祂被埋葬在墳墓之時，那看似微弱的福音，會再次興起，觸及每個族群、語言與國家，但是怎樣才能做到如此呢？

            這就是我們參與其中的時候。我們在使徒行傳中所介紹的神的“最偉大的故事”之中看到了自己的位置。

            當我們打開使徒行傳的時候，我們看到，耶穌在復活之後與門徒相處四十天之久。根據徒1:1-3，耶穌利用那段時間教導他們最重要的事情，使他們可以把神的信息帶給世人。然後，正如祂在路加福音4:26-21中所宣告的使命宣言那樣，耶穌在使徒行傳1:8也宣告了我們的使命：“當聖靈降臨在你身上，你們就必得著能力，作我的見證，在耶路撒冷，猶太全地，到撒瑪利亞，直到地極。”

            如果以耶穌其它的教導為背景，來看祂在使徒行傳1:8之中所說的話，你就會看到，下面這幾點就是耶穌的福音傳到地極的方式：

1. 1. 那些相信耶穌的人會見證耶穌是誰
2. 2. 其他人也會來信靠耶穌，為祂作見證
3. 3. 相信耶穌的人都會進入教會，並在基督裏成長
4. 4. 地方教會將差遣見證人，建立教會，直到世上萬族都聽到福音
5. 5. 耶穌會再來，更新世上的一切。

所有這一切都會發生，保羅在腓立比書1：6說，神在我們中間所開始的工作，祂一定

會完成。耶穌在馬太福音16:18中更加形象地解釋了這一點：“我要把我的教會建造在磐石上，陰間的權柄不能勝過他。”

            使徒行傳講述了耶穌開始建造教會的應許，以及祂如何完成這個應許。當聖靈於五旬節降臨之後，第一個教會就開始在耶路撒冷紮根。在那個教會，人們學習了解耶穌、一起敬拜、彼此服事（參考徒2:42-47；4：:32-37）。那些新的信徒進入耶路撒冷，照顧患病的人和貧窮的人，呼召人們相信耶穌。但是他們都是猶太人，都住在耶路撒冷。耶穌說，他們要去，使萬人成為祂的門徒。然而他們似乎對目前的一切都感到舒適與滿足。

            因此，神送給他們一份他們不喜歡的 禮物 ---- 迫害。那時，一間重要教會的領袖司提反被公開殺害，從那以後，所有信徒都無法繼續留在耶路撒冷。由於遭受迫害，信徒們被迫四散到許多附近的城鎮，他們在所到之處見證耶穌。然而他們只是向猶太人見證耶穌，至少大多數人是這樣的！

            有幾個信徒原本來自像居比路和古利奈 等非猶太人居住的城市，此時都從耶路撒冷逃到安提阿（現在的土耳其），他們也遵從了耶穌所指示門徒當行的事（請看徒11:19-20）：

“那些因患難遭四散的門徒，直走到腓尼基，和居比路，並安提阿。他們不向別人講道，只向猶太人講。但內中有居比路和古利奈人，他們到了安提阿，也向希利尼人傳講耶穌。”

我喜歡這段經文。其中一個原因是，安提阿教會使我想起我們教會，至少，我盼望我們教會能成為那樣的教會，我知道我們能夠成為那樣的教會。我想，這其中所發生的一切，都會幫助我們在神偉大的故事之中做好我們的角色。神在這個教會裏所行的事為什麽如此重要？

第一，對於誰應當成為神家裏的成員，他們有著寬廣的眼界 ---- “有些人只向猶太人傳講。還有一些人……向希利尼人傳講……”(11:19-20).

            安提阿當時是世界第三大城市。它與耶路撒冷不同，是一個多元文化的國際大都市，就像洛杉磯一樣，各種文化都匯聚在安提阿。它確實有一個猶太人社區，但是他們是少數族裔。因此，有一些猶太信徒逃離了耶路撒冷，來到安提阿。他們因著自己在耶穌裏的新生命而與人分享福音。路加告訴我們，他們不僅與猶太人分享，也與外邦人分享福音。這是一個不符合他們自己文化標準的舉動。他們的文化告訴他們，不能與外邦人有任何社會關聯。

            路加告訴我們，這些人來自居比路和古奈利。這很重要，因為這意味著他們不像那些生長在猶大的保守的巴勒斯坦猶太人，這些男人和女人都習慣於和各種人打交道。與使徒行傳第十章的彼得不同，他們不需要神勸說他們去和外邦人說話。他們可以算是羅馬帝國的商人，因此他們是一直與外邦人說話的，無論拉比們對此有何想法。想一想，在你的生活中，誰是你的外邦人？

            然而即使是他們，也因著外邦人對他們的見證所產生的巨大回應而感到不安。請看21節：“主與他們同在，信而歸主的人就很多了。”因此，安提阿的這間教會與它最初的時候相比，有了很大的多元性。

            等我們讀到了徒13:1的時候，我們看到教會領袖也各有不同：在安提阿的教會中，有幾位先知和教師，就是巴拿巴，和稱呼尼結的西面，古利奈人路求，與分封之王希律同養的馬念，並掃羅。

            巴拿巴是唯一的一個在預料之內的人----一個屬神的猶太人。西面的昵稱是尼結（意為黑色），說明他是一個非裔。路求是來自北非的古利奈人。還有與分封之王希律同養的馬念。希律就是將施洗約翰斬首的王。最後，當然還有法利賽人和逼迫教會的掃羅，然而因著神的恩典，他蒙了拯救。

            因此，無論是教會的會眾還是領袖，安提阿教會在我們眼裏都屬於神家裏意外的成員。然而在神的眼中卻並非如此。神在創世紀中就已經預言了此事。在12:1-4中，祂告訴亞伯拉罕，他的家族會使萬民蒙福。然而在我們這個破碎與分裂的世界中，看到這樣多元化的族類都聚在一個教會中，是一件令人感覺意外的事情。

            耶穌在祂受死之前曾說，世人會看到，在這分裂的 世界中，我們仍能彼此相愛，他們就能認出我們是祂的門徒來。我為此而禱告，希望我們繼續成長，彼此能夠成為我們教會DNA的一個部分，能藉著在耶穌裏的信心而凝聚在一起，然而我們要繼續致力於像安提阿教會那樣，有著廣博的視角，容納所有的人，包括年輕人和老年人，所有族裔，所有政治觀點的人，在基督裏與他們合而為一。

第二，他們在耶穌的主權之中合而為一，並且專註於神的話語中。“他們足有一年的功夫和教會一同聚集，教訓了許多人。門徒稱為基督徒是從安提阿起首。（11:26）”

            直到那時為止，教會中幾乎全部是猶太人。 在他們的世界裏，大多數人認為，教會只是猶太教的一個分支。 但是，安提阿的教會打破了這種刻板印象。 不難想象，安提阿教會一定是與耶路撒冷教會完全不同的教會。 在那裏，外邦人可能比猶太人還多。 幾乎可以肯定的是，其中的猶太人和外邦人一起吃飯。 也幾乎可以肯定，外邦人在沒有受割禮的情況下受歡迎成為教會的成員。 他們可能唱的是不同的贊美詩。也許，在教堂裏，丈夫們就坐在自己妻子的身邊，這在猶太教堂裏是永遠不會發生的。

            是什麽讓安提阿教會這個“意想不到的家庭”凝聚在一起？我們從下面的話語中可以看到部分答案：“最先被稱為基督徒，即基督的追隨者的，是在安提阿” 。因此他們有一重新的身份，就是他們都信奉耶穌基督為主。我希望我們的教會也以此而為人所知！

            但是，對我來說很清楚，還有其他事情讓他們結合在一起。作為一個教會，他們將

以神的話為引導：巴拿巴和掃羅一整年都與會眾聚集在一起，並教導許多人。 在此我們看到，如果我們想要成為一個為神而活的人，或是一個在信仰中成長的人，那麽學習神的話語就是至關重要的。 如果你不知道神要讓你如何生活，你就不可能為神而活。 這就是為什麽使徒保羅告訴年輕的提摩太“務要傳道！無論得時不得時，（提摩太後書4：2）” 也不管人們是否樂意。 而且，這就是為什麽當你來教會或帶你的朋友或孩子去教會時，你很確信，我們會教導神的話語。來吧，準備好聆聽、並遵從神的話語。

            神的話語引導安提阿的教會，使他們有一些基本的宣教實踐，我希望我們也能這樣做。 就像大家在我們教會每周都能聽到的一些優先事項：

1. A. “這裏”與“那裏”的事工---- 十一年前，當我作為教會牧師候選人時，教會舉行了一次會議，在那個會議中，任何人都可以問我任何他們想要知道的問題。 我記得其中一個問題是， “在當地社區宣教事工與全球宣教事工兩者之間，你更強調哪個方面？”我記得我說，這兩方面是同一枚硬幣的兩面。安提阿教會告訴我們：當我們遇到耶穌時，我們只需要將耶穌告訴我們周圍的人，並向他們顯明耶穌的愛。 但是當我們在使徒行傳1：8中聽到耶穌的話語時，我們必須差派門徒去到人們不曾聽過福音的地方，就像他們在13：1-3所做的那樣。

            一個地方教會如果不積極熱情地在它所在的社區傳播福音，它就永遠不會對世界

產生影響，也不會成為普世傳福音的力量。 如果我們對自己所在地區的人群都不關心，我們就不會對千裏之外的人產生關懷。我擔心，許多教會想要成為燈塔，去照亮遙遠的地方，但卻滿足於自己的基地圍繞在黑暗之中。聖經呼召我們去“這裏或那裏”服事。因著神話語的權威性，我們也要如此行。

1. B. 傳福音和關懷事工 ---- 在十一年前的那次會議中，有人問我另一個問題：“如果你在這裏擔任牧師，在傳福音與關懷事工上，你會強調哪一點？”我記得當時我說，這兩方面必須同時兼顧。 如果我們像耶穌一樣來看待世人，我們就會關心他們整個的生命以及罪對他們的影響。 我們會關心他們的身體和靈魂。 安提阿教會也向我們顯明了這一點。 他們呼籲人們相信耶穌，11：27-30節指出，當他們聽說即將要發生的饑荒時，他們以基督之愛伸出援手，以滿足人們在饑荒中的需要。 註意11:29：“於是門徒定意照各人的力量捐錢，送去供給住在猶太的弟兄......”我希望我們也能擁有這樣的愛心。你是否也希望如此呢？

            所有這一切都告訴我們，正如安提阿的教會那樣，團結一致地委身於耶穌的主權、聖經的真實性和權威性，並以此來指導教會的生活，我們也要以同樣的方式團結起來。

3. 3. 他們被聖靈觸摸並得蒙引導 ---- 當領袖們敬拜主和禁食的時候，聖靈說，要為我分派巴拿巴和掃羅，去作我召他們所作的工。於是禁食禱告，按手在他們頭上，就打發他們去了 （13:2-3）。

            耶穌曾說，信徒們應當等待聖靈的降臨，然後再走出去，向他們的鄰舍、直到地極傳講福音，並為耶穌而活。我們看到，聖靈降臨在了安提阿教會。因著神的恩典，很多人信主。聖經說，巴拿巴被聖靈充滿，大有信心，他看到神的靈在作工（11：23-24）。一個先知藉著聖靈的能力預言饑荒，並引導神的子民幫助那些受災者（11:27）。接著，在13:1-3，大家在敬拜和禱告的時候，得蒙到聖靈的引導，要他們差派兩位領袖去未得之地傳福音。

從使徒行傳的這一點中，我們可以看到，耶穌基督的福音如何藉著聖靈的能力，突破了一切看似不可能的阻礙，在一個又一個的城市中建立起了教會，就像不斷擴大成長的同心圓一樣，一直到達整個世界。在使徒行傳結束之時，這個工作並沒有結束，反而剛剛開始。

            這就是我們開始參與之處！神的最偉大的故事仍在繼續。當我們每周聚集在教會時，我們應當能夠反復聽到這樣的信息：我們是屬神的人，我們在神的事工中有自己的角色。我們這些活著、並且聽過福音的人（也是得蒙救贖的人），要與大家一起學習神的話語、禱告、敬拜，一同成長。然後，我們要將耶穌的信息與神的愛帶到萬民之中。我們要像安提阿的信徒們所做的那樣， 帶著專註與熱心去傳揚神的福音。

關鍵不在於教會有什麽的使命，而在於神創造了教會來完成祂的使命。這就是我們存在的原因。我們看到，聖靈的能力，是專門為著完成神的使命而賜下的。在聖靈的能力中，神的子民可以順服神的呼召，去那未得之地。我們會發現，我們與他們有著一樣的能力，使我們可以與各個族裔的人進行互動 ---- 撒瑪利亞人，外邦人和移民，也包括那些街頭的人，我們會有能力愛那些我們從未愛過的人，會擁有前所未有的能力，來傳講耶穌的信息，當使徒行傳在第28章結束的時候，故事並沒有結束。就像接力賽一樣，接力棒傳遞給了我們，讓我們抓住它，奮力奔跑，再將它傳遞出去，直到神最偉大的故事得以完成。

            讓我們從耶穌的角度來思考，誰應當屬於我們的教會家庭----它包括了猶太人和外邦人，民主黨和共和黨，嬰兒潮和千禧潮，他們都在基督裏合而為一，並遵從神的話語。我希望大家都跟隨聖靈的引導，做祂呼召我們所做的事情。我不希望我們成為這樣一個教會，就是大家僅僅來做禮拜，像其他美國教會一樣，舒舒服服地來聚會。我們必須要開始傳講耶穌，在我們的社區中活出福音所要求的。當我們如此行的時候，我們就會聽到，聖靈呼召我們分別為聖，去到福音沒有到達之地。這就是在安提阿教會所發生的事。在我們教會過去的125年之中，也常常發生這樣的事。願此事持續不斷地發生，直到神偉大的故事得以完成，使祂的名得著榮耀。

榮耀歸給神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師