Thank God, It still Works

by Dr. Don Sisk

It has been my privilege for the past thirty years to visit with and minister in some great churches. Recently, as I was involved in teaching a modular course on missions, I was attracted to the beginning of the church at Antioch. As I observed the things that made Antioch the great church that it was, I was suddenly made aware of the fact that there are many churches today that are being established in the same way that the church at Antioch was established.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said unto his disciples, “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 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

The church at Jerusalem grew very rapidly. Tens of thousands of people were saved. However, the Christians remained centralized in Jerusalem. It was not until God allowed the persecution of the church to come that the fulfillment of Acts 1:8 began to be unveiled. In Acts 8:4 the Bible says, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word.” The Bible says that they went throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. This is the fulfillment of Acts 1:8.

As they began to be dispersed, these relatively new believers had a burning heart to tell others about Jesus. At first they only preached to other Jews; however, in Acts 11:20 the Bible says, “And some of them (speaking of the dispersed disciples from Jerusalem) were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.” These disciples ventured out and began to preach the Gospel to other ethnic groups. Before, they had been very ethnocentric, preaching only to the Jews, but now they began to preach to the Gentiles, and the Bible says “And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” As these early believers realized that Jesus died not only for the Jewish people but also for the sins of the whole world, they were excited when they found that many of the Gentiles also believed this message of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church at Jerusalem, having heard about the conversion of the Gentiles, sent a man by the name of Barnabas to minister unto them. When Barnabas came to Antioch and saw the great things that God was doing, he rejoiced in the Lord. He stayed in Antioch and the Bible says that he exhorted the new believers by teaching and encouraging them. However, as the work grew, Barnabas realized that there was a need for more help in the ministry; thus, he sought out a person that he had mentored by the name of Saul of Tarsus. The Bible tells us that Saul and Barnabas taught the people at Antioch for one whole year.

Great churches are being established through spontaneous, evangelistic efforts. When people are saved, they fall in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of what Christ has done for them and their love for Him, they are compelled to tell others the story of redemption. This kind of evangelism is contagious. Those who are won to the Lord by people who are totally sold out to God soon take on the characteristics of those who won them to the Lord. The Antioch church was so well taught and so matured in the Lord that the city of Antioch took notice of these believers and they tacked a name on them. The Bible says, “And the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” The name Christian was not a popular name. In the minds of the people who called them Christians, the name Christian was probably used as a derogatory term. In essence they were saying, “These folks act just like Christ.” Antioch was not a godly city. It was a large metropolitan area and a center of ethnic diversity. There were people living in Antioch from all over the world. It was a very wicked city, and as these people looked at the disciples they called them Christians.

After having been taught by men like Barnabas and Saul, the church at Antioch had a great interest in the spiritual needs of the people in Antioch as well as their physical needs. When they heard about a famine in Jerusalem and the suffering of the Jewish Christians there, they were moved to do something to alleviate their pain. The Bible tells us that “. . . the disciples, every man, according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea.” Is that not wonderful? These Gentile believers had a great concern for their Jewish brethren back in Jerusalem and they took up an offering. Evidently, they were very generous in their giving. They sent this offering back to Jerusalem to help the Jewish believers in their time of great need.

In Acts 13 the Bible tells us in verse 2, “As they (the leaders of the church at Antioch) ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” Not only were they concerned about the physical needs of the believers in Jerusalem but God, the Holy Spirit, worked in such a way in the church at Antioch that they realized that this great message of salvation by grace through faith must be preached to the entire world. During a time of prayer and fasting and worshiping God, the Holy Spirit revealed to them that they needed to send two of their leaders, Barnabas and Saul, to the regions beyond. The Bible tells us in verse 3, “And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” Barnabas and Saul became missionaries sent by the church at Antioch. This began a process that is continuing to this very day.

What makes a great church? A church is not great simply because of the number of people that gather. A church is not great because of the beautiful edifices that may be constructed. A church is not necessarily great because of a reputation that it might have in a community or in a country. A church is great because it manifests the very heart of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was concerned about people. Certainly he was concerned about the souls of men, women, boys and girls as He said, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.” Jesus was interested not only in the souls of men but also in the whole man. He was interested in their physical needs! He was interested in their emotional needs! He ministered to people.

Churches are great when they do what Jesus did while He was here on the face of the earth. Thank God, He is still building great churches all around the world just as He did at Antioch.

Someone has well said, “Rather than judging our churches by how many they bring in, it may be better that we would judge our churches by how many they are sending out.” A church is not measured by its seating capacity but by its sending capacity. The world is lost and dying and going to Hell. We must not simply congregate. We must be dispersed to take the message to this lost and dying world.