Expanding Tables, Encouraging Hearts.

We are continuing our series in Acts. Last summer we started Acts. If you weren't here, you can go listen to all of those on our podcast. But we call this our set apart summer, where we take the summers to say, what does it look like for us to live set apart and fully devoted?

You'll find different resources at the welcome table. We have a whole piece of paper that you can take that walks you through info. Where do I start? How do I read scripture? What does that look like? We also have things like praying every single day, ending your night and praying the examine and gratitude and all of those things. Really all of that is ways for us to say, what does it look like for us to follow Jesus every day of our lives?

Today, we get another glimpse into the early church in Acts. Last week, Sean brought a message that I didn't get to hear because I've been traveling. I trust it was an amazing word and God moved and it was incredible. So if I repeat things he said, we're just going to say the Lord said we have to hear it again.

God is expanding the table

We're picking it up in Acts chapter 11.

The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, You went into the house of the uncircumcised men and ate with them. Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened. I was in the city of Joppa praying and in a trance, I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth and beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice telling me, Get up, Peter, kill and eat. I replied, Surely not, Lord. Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth. The voice spoke from heaven a second time. Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. Right then, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, Send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord said: John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God saying, So then God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.

Acts 11:1-18

There is a lot going on in this passage. Peter had received not just that certain things that were seen as unclean are now clean, but he's expanding the table. He's expanding what he's doing. And so Peter, because he ate with a Gentile, someone that would have been seen as unclean and wasn't Jewish at the time, he's not met with this great applause by people like, oh, you welcomed someone in, you helped someone find relationship with Jesus. Instead, he is met with criticism. There's no encouragement. There's no pat on the back. There's this criticism. And so we're picking up in the beginning of Acts chapter 11, where he's kind of retelling what happened in Acts chapter 10, because he's trying to defend himself and be like, but this is what the Lord told me to do.

The first thing that I want to talk about today is just this. God is making it clear through this story that he is expanding the table. He is making it clear that he wants us to be people that welcome all people into relationship with him. It starts here though in the city of Joppa. And I want to talk about a few things here with both Peter and with Joppa that I think we need to pay attention to.

You see, when we start following Jesus and start reading these stories in scripture, it can be a lot to take in. And let me tell you, as someone that has been reading the Bible for a while now, someone that even now has degrees in the Bible, I still read things and I'm like, what is happening here? Like these are wild stories. And there's always more to study. There are always clues to pay attention to when you dig a little deeper.

One of the things that I want to talk about here is that the Lord gave him this vision and spoke three times. Now just at a glance, you might be like, all right, the Lord's repeating himself. Well, first, sometimes I may be a little embarrassed, like how many times someone might talk about something you already told them. I told you to do the dishes. I'm here. And sometimes that's how God interacts with us, where it's like he's telling us, do this, do this, do this. And sometimes it takes us a while to actually go and do it.

If that's you today and you've been there, I just want you to take a deep breath in and just let it out and to receive the forgiveness and the grace. Because if God has something that he wants you to do that you have not yet done, he's going to keep speaking. He's going to keep appearing to you. He's going to keep revealing it to you. He might even send other people to reveal that to you. And we can continue to lean in and listen, but we don't have to carry that shame because even Peter needed some reminders.

But there's also something significant with three times. Peter was one of Jesus' disciples. Before the crucifixion, Jesus said Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crows. And that's what happened. Peter denied Christ three times.

Another significant thing we see with Peter is in John 21, after Jesus was raised back to life, he sits with Peter and asks him the same question three times. Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Jesus is saying, don't worry. If you don't get it the first time, here comes a second. If you don't get it the second time, here's the third. That's how much God cared about him, cared about him understanding his identity and that he loved him. Jesus continues to ask him three times and says, Feed my sheep. Take care of my sheep. Follow me.

So when Peter is hearing this vision three times, it's probably like, oh, three times. That's significant. This is how God's speaking to me here in this moment. It's almost as if God is reminding Peter and encouraging him. Peter, I trust you. Peter, I'm still speaking to you. Peter, I'm now doing a new thing in you. Through this stream Peter has, all of a sudden there is going to be scattering and more people coming to know Jesus through Peter. Peter who denied him three times, who received this new identity in him three times, and now this new dream that is going to shake up what the church looks like forever.

Joppa and its significance

I want to talk about Joppa. The city of Joppa is not just a random city. When cities are named, it's really fun to look in and see what's happening there. Joppa is now modern-day Tel Aviv. Joppa was a port city. Port cities were close to water. They were places where people were coming and going often. They were places where you were exchanging goods. They were places where people of influence were coming to get educated. We see so much of that in our own city of Madison. It's a place that people come from far and move to. This is a city of influence. This is a city of different cultures being represented. It's a crossroads.

Joppa was a port city, but it's not really just a simple coincidence when we think that this vision came from Joppa because Joppa is also mentioned when we hear the story of Jonah. So it's the same city where Jonah ran from God's call to preach to the people in Nineveh who were at the time seen as evil, sinful people. And now Peter in the same city is getting this vision to go and to preach to the Gentiles where at that time they were seen as the sinful, broken, out of reach people.

You see that God has this plan to redeem and to restore and to bring all people into relationship with him and to expand his kingdom from Old Testament to New. We see that happening and this is one of those moments where it's like Jonah in the same city that he ran and was like, I don't want to do what you're telling me to do. Peter's getting this vision but Peter's now saying yes and he's doing it and he's living it out.

The last thing I want to talk about is that the word Joppa means beautiful. How incredible is that? The city where Peter is being told to go preach to the Gentiles and other Christians are like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Those people, they're unclean. Those people, they're different from us. God is saying, there's beauty here. When we expand the table, when we come together with all that we are, there's beauty in that. Joppa is this turning point that moves on to Antioch.

God empowers the scattered

Now we're going to talk about how God is expanding the table and then empowering those who had been scattered.

Now those who had been scattered by persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. 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. During this time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, one of them named Agabus, who stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. The disciples each, according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. They sent their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:19-30

Those who had been scattered by persecution when Stephen was killed traveled, spreading the word, and made it all the way to Antioch. Now we're going to talk about what God was doing at the church in Antioch. It happened as a result of Stephen being persecuted, stoned, and killed, and the church being persecuted and then spread out. It was through that persecution that the gospel expanded.

People had to make a choice in those moments. I don't want to be persecuted. I don't want to be pushed out. This isn't it. But I can either sit here and dwell in this, or I can say, God, where's next? Where am I going? What do you have for me? Who do you have for me? That's what we see happening. In Acts chapter 8 it says a great persecution broke out against the church. Saul began to destroy the church, but those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Saul then was converted and his name changed to Paul. And now we're about to read how Paul came back and discipled this church that was planted by those that he persecuted. Talk about a redemptive story. Talk about God using someone who at one point was so far from him, so broken that nobody would have ever listened to. Now it's his voice that is going to disciple and pour into them.

There's so many ways you can think about that. If I was Saul, there's a different type of courage it takes to go back and face those that you have hurt. There's a different type of courage to go before those that you know. I'm the reason that you're broken. I'm the reason that these things happen. These are those moments where you're like, only God can do this. Only God can restore and unify in this type of way.

Antioch is no longer just the church as revival among the Jewish people, but it's now this multi-ethnic movement where God is reaching all the nations. He's reaching all the people. Antioch is where we see the table that God's expanding is set. Antioch was a port city along one of the rivers feeding into the Mediterranean Sea. It was a major Roman trade route, a major city of influence. It was already multi-ethnic and multicultural. Home to the Greeks, the Romans, the Africans. It was a melting pot of people. And this is where the church is planted. This is where the church is first referred to as Christians.

Expanding tables, not just opening eyes

What does this look like for us to live in this way? What does it look like for us to be about tables? Not only are we just having eyes to see and appreciate people that are not the same. But what does it look like for us to actually enter into relationship with those people? Because there's a difference.

Not only in Peter's dream was he like, wow, my eyes were open to see God loves all people. But then in response, he said, so now I'm going to love all people and I'm going to use every space that I can to welcome them in. Because if we're honest, a lot of times it can be easier to just sit by people that look like us, that think like us. It's more comfortable. Sometimes it's more enjoyable when you go out to dinner with people that like the same foods as you.

It's these practical things that sometimes we don't think about that stop us from engaging with people that are different than us. Sometimes it can be the simplest things like the foods we eat. But the table was expanded and they continued to lean into that as a church. Joppa was a beautiful city because it's not only where eyes were opened, but where practically Peter expanded the table and the Christians began to live that out.

We live in Madison, which can be a very transient city. It's a city where probably most of us live in apartments or on leases. It's moving season in Madison. What I want us to get here is there's a difference between Peter just opening his eyes and saying, wow, God loves all people. So now I'm just going to tell everybody, God loves you. God loves you. God loves you. That's really nice.

But Peter then was like, no, I'm going to show you that. And the same that we're going to see when we start to talk about Saul, or Paul, and Barnabas is that they weren't just like, wow, God's moving in Antioch. That's amazing. I'm going to pray for them. They uprooted their lives and they showed up and they went. Not because they were feeling like it, but because they heard that God was moving. There was a need and they went.

There's a difference when someone says, I hope you have a good move. We know, right? It's kind of like, that's sweet. Thank you. But there's a difference when that person shows up and they help you lift the heavy dresser and they help you lift the last box that's full of all the stuff that you're like, what even is this? There is a difference between someone saying, I hope the move goes well, and someone that shows up and makes sure that move goes well. This is what the church is supposed to look like.

Yes, we can say, wow, God, we're so happy that you love us and you love other people, and we're going to tell other people that you love them. But we're also going to show up and we're going to make sure that they experience that love. We're not just going to stay distant, but we're going to step in close to where people need Jesus.

Generosity and encouragement

Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians in Antioch. This is incredible what we're reading here. Barnabas heard, and not only did he respond, but he went back and he's like, nope, you're coming with me. I'm bringing a friend.

For those of you that maybe you're here today and you're like, I need encouragement. I am praying and believing that God is going to send you people. You are so seen and so cared for that God wants to send people at just the right time to give you that courage. To be encouraged means to give courage. God literally disrupted their lives to be like, these people need to be encouraged and you're going to go.

In order for people to receive encouragement, there also has to be people willing to give it. That's the both and of how are we people where yes, when I'm in need, I'm going to receive, but we're also looking for ways to give. Because that's the beauty of being in a family and a part of the body of Christ. We're not independent individuals, but we are interdependent on one another and of course on the Lord first. We're supporting each other. We're following through with these types of things. We're giving that courage.

Just last week, I had one of those moments where I was sitting and it was getting late at night, which is never good to process all your thoughts and all your worries and anxieties. Not a good time. But I was having one of those moments where I had some overwhelming things happening and I was like, God, like, I just feel so alone in this right now. And I feel so defeated in this right now.

And then all of a sudden I see on my desk, my phone's like lighting up and I had a friend calling me at like 9:30 at night. I was just like, Hey, I was just thinking of you. And I felt like I needed to call and see how you're doing. And you just experience those moments and you like, Oh my God. Does that. Where you receive the courage that you need in the moment. And so I share that to say like, what does it look like for us to be people that are generous in the way that we pick up the phone and we call, that we're generous in the way that we invite people to our tables, that we're generous in the way that we share kind words and words of encouragement, because what we see here is that there is a generosity that is kind of leading to this revival and this gospel being spread.

There is a generosity that is kind of leading to this revival and this gospel being spread. One, we see like the generosity going all the way back to like Stephen who's laying down his life for the sake of the gospel to be scattered.

But I want to talk about Barnabas a little bit more today because we always hear about Barnabas as this encourager, as this son of encouragement. And we first hear about him in Acts chapter 2 when he sells one of his fields. But what I love about it is he sells his fields because it says he heard about a need and then he sold his field to provide. He heard about a need and he sold his field to provide. So he's generous, yes, in his finances.

But then we also see like later that he uses his voice to stand up for Paul. Because when Paul gave his life to Jesus, everyone around him was like, I don't know about this guy. And rightfully so, because this guy had been persecuting Christians. And Barnabas used his voice to stand up for him. He was generous in the way that he advocated for people.

And then we see here where he's generous with his time, not waiting until he feels like we don't read that it's like Barnabas and sometimes it happens like this, but in this case, like Barnabas wasn't sitting around and all of a sudden like he felt called to go. He heard about it and he went, which is a reminder to us that sometimes God might put something on your heart that he needs you to respond to right away and it might not have time for you to wait till you feel like it, but to respond anyways.

God invites us to share what we have. He invites us to be people that are living generously in the way that we give, in the way that we encourage. But that sharing goes beyond just our finances. It goes in the way that we enter into relationship with one another. Are we willing to look and see and respond to the people that God is encouraging us to invite to the table?

The power of words and encouragement

From Joppa to Antioch, there is this story of the gospel that is breaking boundaries. The gospel that is going farther because there is a people that is coming together and they're sharing what they have. They're sharing their finances and resources with one another. They're sharing their time with one another. They're sharing their food with one another. They're inviting people to the table.

God is sending reminder after reminder after reminder to say, hey, I see you. I see you. I see you. And I'm sending people. And guess what? I'm also sending you to people. There are people sitting around you that you don't even know what your words could mean to them.

I work during the week right now as a therapist. I have my therapist hat on during the days and then my church hat other hours. There are some things that you're like, I feel so confident that I can do that. And then every now and then you have one of those moments that you're like, I might throw up a little bit because I have to do this. I had to lead a group therapy class for elementary kids. I love kids. But this was new for me. And I don't know what I'm walking into. I was like, oh, no. This is the moment we fail.

I just didn't want to do it. I was like, I don't want to do this, but I have to do this. So we're going to do it. Not only was it great, but we were talking about using our words. The whole lesson was about not being a bully. I was talking about the power of your voice and your words. So we ended with encouraging one another.

One of the little kids looks up to me. And he goes, you're the best teacher I've ever had in the entire world. In that moment, I'm like, the Lord sent you from heaven to encourage me today. Because I needed to be reminded that I'm seen. I know I'm not the best teacher in the world, but in that moment to hear those words, I needed that to give me the strength.

You just never know how your words are going to impact someone. Your words matter in the way that we encourage one another because we know that following Jesus is not always easy. Sometimes following Jesus and going after the promises that he had will lead us to more persecution. But it will always lead us to his presence.

One of the ways that we continue to draw closer to his presence is in the body of Christ, with each other, pointing us back to him again and again and again. So here's what I want to do as we close. Jesus used his words to encourage people, to empower people. Jesus was sending people in the early church to encourage and empower people. And so we're going to take a minute and I'm going to invite us to just say, Lord, the people around me, is there a way that you have for me to encourage them right now? And then we're going to take a few minutes and we're going to turn to the people next to us and we're going to share a word of encouragement.

If you're like, I don't even know how to hear from God, it can be as simple as just saying, you're loved. You're held. You're seen. God wants you to know today that you're loved, that you're held, that you're seen. God is speaking to each and every one of us today, whether we can always recognize it or not. I believe that he wants to use our voice to encourage one another, to empower one another, to continue to endure as we follow Jesus.