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The Early Church, Part 3 of 3

Rod Williams (Handout: Free All-Expenses Paid Ticket Around The World (Not valid if you don't intend to preach the gospel)

We're going to be talking about the the passion of the early church to preach the gospel. We'll also be talking about the travels of Paul as he spread the gospel.

What are some of the things you bring with you when you travel away from home?

  • Money
  • Toothbrush
  • Bible
  • Snacks
  • Map

All those things are important. What are some different modes of transportation?

  • Feet
  • Automobiles
  • Train
  • Bus
  • Airplane
  • Bicycle
  • Motorcycle
  • Boat

What are some ways we have to communicate?

  • Phone
  • Email
  • Paper
  • Texting
  • Prayer
  • Facsimile
  • Telegram
  • Word-of-mouth

The reason I did that is that all of these things will tie into the Bible study and correlate with the map of Paul's travels.

So far, Larry has talked about the early church in the Old Testament, and Jonathan backed it up with the Book of Acts and the New Testament.

Now I want everyone to close their eyes and say out loud at the same time, "I am a disciple of Jesus Christ."

In the Great Commission, what did Jesus tell us to do?

Matthew 28:19
  1. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

What does the next verse say?

Matthew 28:20
  1. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

So that's what the disciples were taught to do: "Teach them what I've taught you." Now let's look in the book of Acts how the disciples carried out that commandment:

Acts 1:1-8
  1. The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
  2. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
  3. To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
  4. And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
  5. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
  6. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
  7. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
  8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Jerusalem is where disciples spent a lot of time teaching, early on. And where did they mostly go when they did that teaching?

  • House-to-house
  • Synagogues and Temples

They spent a lot of time trying to reach out to the Jews. You would think that the Jews would be happy to receive the message. They were God's chosen people, were they not? But they had the most trouble from the religious people: the Pharisees and the Saducees. But Paul had a chance to share the gospel with the Gentiles, also.

There are five positions in the church:

Ephesians 4:11-12
  1. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
  2. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

God gave all these to some, for the perfecting of the saints. God didn't give them so that people could say "Look at how holy I am." It was for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

We mentioned a lot of ways to travel and communicate, but do you think the disciples of the early church had cars and airplanes and email and cellphones? No, they probably spent a lot of time walking. Sometimes it took days or even months to get from place to place. They didn't have the opportunities that we have today. But look at what they were able to accomplish? Didn't Jesus say, "greater works shall ye do?"

How many people believe that it's not our responsibility to directly share the gospel?

Acts 6:1-8
  1. And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
  2. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
  3. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
  4. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
  5. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
  6. Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
  7. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
  8. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

So now they had this issue where the widows were neglected, and they said, "It's not for us to wait on tables." But notice how they empowered other people. They prayed first, then said "Choose among yourselves."

Most of the New Testament talks about Paul doing a lot of the work. Paul was born around 10 A.D. to a family in Tarsus. His original name was Saul, and he was renamed Paul after he became a Christian.

Acts 8:1-3
  1. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
  2. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
  3. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

So this guy Saul was a pretty rough guy. It's kind-of ironic that God would choose the guy who is going around persecuting Christans and speak to him. There are many Sauls out there in the world. Let's say this group was to take a field-trip to the roughest prison in the whole world. How many of us would feel comfortable in that environment? I wouldn't.

Acts 9:1-6
  1. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
  2. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
  3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
  4. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
  5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
  6. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

So here it is; Paul is on his way. Not only was he on his way; Paul asked for permission to do what he was doing. He asked permission to go to the synagogues to catch these people. How did he know he'd find them in the synagogues? There were spies who came back and told what they saw.

So Paul was to be converted. But who was this individual who was chosen to talk to Saul? Ananias. And did he say, "Oh, thank you Lord! I've been waiting to talk to this guy!" No, he was making excuses, trying to get out of it. What do you think about Ananias? What do you think about the attitude he had once God told him what he had to do? He did it, but maybe with reservations. God knows our situation, and his will is going to happen regardless of the way we feel about it.

They were first called Christians in Antioch, which is a city of Syria. Why weren't they called Christians in Jerusalem? Because most of the ones in Jerusalem were Jews. But Antioch was a new area.

Acts 11:19-30
  1. Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
  2. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the LORD Jesus.
  3. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
  4. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
  5. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
  6. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
  7. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
  8. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
  9. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
  10. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
  11. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
  12. Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

There was a persecution, a scattering of the church. But they were preaching the word only to the Jews when that was taking place. That's why Saul knew to go to Damascus, because that's where the Jews were. But even though Paul traveled as far away as Antioch, he maintained good communications with the church. How do we know? Because the tidings of these things came to the church in Jerusalem.

Now let's move past Antioch to Lystra and Iconium. In this area, you had a lot of Paganism going on. These areas were Roman territories; they were strategic to the Roman military. So Paul stopped in this area with Barnabas and established churches. Later on, they returned to reconfirm them, and make sure they hadn't fallen off the mark.

Acts 14:21-23
  1. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
  2. Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
  3. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

So we think it's great that God was establishing things everywhere, but there's not a church ever established that was left alone afterwards. The disciples did all this without any of the modern conveniences we listed at the beginning of the study. What could they have done if they did have cars and planes and email and texting? They might have done a lot more. Or they might have been like us: here's me and Paul texting each other from the same room.

We read about the works of Paul, and sometimes forget about Peter and the rest who mostly stayed in Jerusalem. But then there was a situation where some of the Jews said that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised, and that started the council in Jerusalem.

Acts 15:1-7
  1. And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
  2. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
  3. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
  4. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
  5. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
  6. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
  7. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Acts 15:12-24
  1. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
  2. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
  3. Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
  4. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
  5. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
  6. That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
  7. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
  8. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
  9. But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
  10. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
  11. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
  12. And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
  13. Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

So after all that, they said, "Hey, we didn't say that." So they wrote letters. When I write letters, someone takes it on a car or a helo and takes it out. But when they wrote letters, they had to send someone on foot or horseback to deliver them. Communication was harder back then, but with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

How many of us believe that we make a difference to someone every day?

Acts 17:5-6
  1. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
  2. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

These were the Jews. These were the ones whom the disciples were trying to reach.

In that period of history, the Romans had a ruler named Claudius who kicked the Jews out of Rome. Can you imagine how mad they must have been?

These people "turned the world upside-down." They had an impact. They changed people's lives.

Paul was on the go all the time. His suitcase stayed packed, right? He stayed in the nicest hotels, didn't he? Nope. He built tents and worked for a living.

Acts 28:22-31
  1. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
  2. And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
  3. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
  4. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
  5. Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
  6. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
  7. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
  8. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
  9. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
  10. Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Wow. He said, "Hey, Jews, you don't want to hear it? The Gentiles will." And then he spent two whole years in his own hired house preaching the kingdom of God.

But wherever Paul went, he preached the gospel. And that's what we should do. God gave us all these examples of the early church so that we'd have no excuse. No matter what situation you find yourselves in, God can use it to preach the gospel.

When Paul got converted, he never saw Jesus, but he taught the things of Jesus. So I'd encourage us to focus on the Early Church and what they did. As I did the research, I was blown away by the sacrifices, the obstacles, th persecutions, and the accomplishments.