Go back to Acts chapter 11. Acts chapter 11 and let's look at
verse 25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus
for to seek Saul. 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."
First in Antioch. That word is in here three times
in the Bible. Three times. Christians. In 2003,
I purchased a retail store. And it was part of a lesson studio. And I ran that store for five
years before I realized everybody's buying on the internet. Let's
shut it down. But a man came in and I recognized
him. I didn't know his name. I didn't
know him that well, but he'd been in before. And he was shopping
for a guitar. And he was sitting there trying
out different guitars. I was trying to help him. And
at that moment in time, my sister, Hannah, worked with me at the
store. She helped me run the counter.
And it was just the three of us in the room, and the guy,
he was just sitting there real quietly, just strumming that
guitar, listening to it, and he looked at us and he said,
are y'all Christians? He said, y'all look like good
Christian people. And it caught me off guard. You know, people say things and
you don't know, you really don't know how to respond. You know, are you all Christians?
Well, and what came out of my mouth
was, well, what do you mean by that? And I asked him, what do you
believe a Christian is? We then had a pretty big conversation
which led him to not buy anything from me that day. He thought,
I'll just take my business elsewhere, you know. But I thought if that's
the definition, what I asked him was, what do you believe
a Christian is? And here's what he said. He said,
well, a Christian is a person who tries to live right and he tries to do right by others,
which meant, are you going to give me a deal? And he gives his heart to Jesus
and he quits his sinning. That's what he told me. Tries
to live right, do right by others. He gives his heart to Jesus and
he quits his sinning. And I thought, if that is the
definition of a Christian, then no, I'm not a Christian. Not
in the way you're describing it. Now I do have a desire to
do right by others. I really do. I have a huge desire
to be fair and honest. I really do. I do have a desire to live right. I want to pay my bills. I want
to abide by the laws of the land. I really do. But I did not give
my heart to Jesus. He reached in and he took it
out and then he crushed it to powder and then he put in a heart
of flesh, one that loves God and one that loves his people.
But he did it all. There was a change there, but
he did it. And I have yet to quit sinning one day of my life. So far, I have yet to quit sinning
one day of my life. My only hope is that Jesus Christ
paid for all the sins that I am currently committing. The ones
that I wish I did not have, but I just do. The ones that I really
wish I did not commit, but I cannot help it. I just do. This world
has changed the word Christian into something that I cannot
identify with. I just cannot identify with it.
But here is the message that I want to deliver to us tonight.
This is what I hope the Lord will impress on us. The other Sunday night we had
a baptism here. And even though religion has
ruined baptism, I mean ruined it, they've made it something
it's not, focusing on the ceremony instead of the Christ. Even though
they've ruined it, we should never shy away from it or be
ashamed of it, ever. It's an ordinance that God gave
to us. And even though Catholicism has absolutely defiled the Lord's
table, I mean they've defiled it. We should never be ashamed
of it. We should never shy away what
He has given to us. He gave it to us. The us. And even though this world has
flat ruined the name Christian. I mean they've ruined the name
Christian. We should never be ashamed of
it. or shy away from it because he has given his name to us. That's his name. Sorry, choked up. That's his name. Alright now, your last name is Moody, right?
What should her last name be? Jeremiah 23 says, His name shall
be called the Lord our righteousness. Well, what about her name? His
bride. What should she be called? We're
going to call her the Lord our righteousness. That's what Jeremiah
33 says. He has given us His name. Yes, I am a Christian. I'm a Christian. That sounds
so strange in today's world, but I am a Christian. I'm a Christian. Now, what do
I mean by that? What do I mean by that? What
is a Christian, a true Christian? Well, Paul wrote a letter to
some people who were from a city called Corinth. What were those
people called? Corinthians. And then he wrote
a letter to some people who were born in a city called Galatia. What were those people called?
Galatians. And then he wrote a letter to
some people who lived in a city called Ephesus. And they were
called Ephesians. And the people in Philippi were
called Philippians. and the people in Colossae were
called Colossians, and the people in Thessalonica were called Thessalonians. They were called that, they were
each individually called that because they were from, they were of, they were born in, they lived
in, the name that they were called by, right? Why is he called an
Ephesian and why is he called a Thessalonian? It's because
he was born in Ephesus and he was born in Thessalonica. A true Christian is a person
who comes from. It's a person who is of. It's a person who was born in
and lives in Christ. That's a true Christian. Where
are you going to find a Colossian? In Colossae. Where are you going
to find a Christian? In Christ. In Christ. What is a Christian? It's a person
who is born of the Spirit of God into Christ and he lives
and he moves and he has his being in Christ. May I remember that
when somebody asks me next time, are you a Christian? Yes, I am. I live and I move and I have
my being in Christ alone. Now the title of this message
is, What is a Christian? But the next question I have
is, am I a Christian? That guy asked my sister and
myself, are you all Christians? I want to know the answer to
that. Am I a Christian? Am I in Christ? The text that I read for you
just a minute ago describes a Christian. All right? It just perfectly
describes a Christian. So all I want to do is read down
through it and just acknowledge what it's saying and hopefully
we'll all be given some comfort that we are of Jesus Christ. All right? It starts, we ended
last time we were in Acts at the end of verse 18. The end
of verse 18 says, talking about some particular people, And it says they were granted
repentance unto life. Life, birth, born, life. Every true Christian, it says
they were granted repentance unto life. Repentance means a
changed mind. Every true Christian has a new
mind and a new heart on the things of God and salvation. the things of God and salvation.
Every sinner on earth is self-centered. Every person born into the world
is a sinner. And every person is born self-centered. And his thoughts on God and his
thoughts on salvation are self-centered. Won't I accept God? Won't I let
God save me? They're self-centered. But a
true Christian is Christ-centered. A true Christian is Christ-centered. And what I want to know is, has
God changed my mind and my heart on these things? Does it all
center on Christ? Here we are in worship, opening
up the Word of God, and here I by God's grace speak. Is all the focus on Christ? Is
it all centered on Christ? Is that me? That's what a true
Christian is. Verse 19 says, Now they which were scattered
abroad, true Christians are scattered abroad. They're scattered abroad. Isaiah wrote, though the number
of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant
shall be saved. A remnant. Go with me over to
Matthew 26. Matthew 26, look at verse 31. Then saith Jesus unto them, All
ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written,
I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall
be scattered abroad. Scattered abroad. They won't
find fellowship in Christ with the mainstream of where they
are. They just won't find it. They will not find it. They won't
find the majority giving all the glory to Christ for all things. That fellowship, that precious
fellowship will be scattered abroad. Do you not find that
to be true? That precious fellowship in Christ is scattered abroad. It's just the way it is for true
Christians. Scattered abroad. Go back with me over to Acts
chapter 11. Verse 19 says, Now they which were scattered abroad
upon the persecution True Christians are persecuted. They are a persecuted people. For what? What for? Verse 19
says, preaching the Word. Look, it says, they which were
scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen. What
was Stephen persecuted for? Preaching the Word. Traveled
as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the Word. to none but unto the Jews only."
True Christians preach God's Word. That fellowship that you
find scattered abroad from place to place, do you know what you
expect to hear when you get there? God's Word. God's Word. They hold to God's Word. Christ alone, Scriptures alone. That's why we can go to Brother
Tom Hardings and we know that man is going to open up the Word
of God and he's going to preach the Word of God. And then we
can go down to Orlando, Florida and know that man is going to
open the Word of God and he's going to preach the Word of God.
He's not going to grab one verse of Scripture and then set that
to the side and then give whatever he wants to say for the next
45 minutes. He is going to preach God's Word, Christ alone and
Scriptures alone. Well, you know, I know that the
Word says this, but there's a guy who has written a really good
book that says, No. Nope. By God's grace, His true
Christians preach and believe the Word of God alone. Alright,
what are they preaching in God's Word that is so offensive to
people that they're persecuted for it? Verse 20 says, 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." True Christians preach the Lord Jesus with heavy emphasis
on the word Lord, God, Jehovah. They preach the High King of
Heaven. Call His name Emmanuel because
God is with us. Call His name Jesus because He
shall save His people, those that are of Him, those that are
born into Him, put in Him. He shall save everyone from his
sins, every single one. They don't preach gentle Jesus,
meek and mild. They preach, I looked and lo,
a lamb stood on the top of Mount Zion. A victorious lamb. And we don't sing this song and
we probably never will, but it says, victory in the Lord Jesus. My Savior forever. He sought me and He bought me
with His redeeming blood. He loved me before I ever knew
Him. And all my love is due Him, because
He plunged me to victory beneath His cleansing flood." How could
anybody be persecuted for preaching that? It's not like the man is
standing up saying, now y'all listen to me. How could anybody be persecuted
for preaching that? True Christians are. They just
are. Verse 20 says, Some of them were
men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch,
spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand
of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned
unto the Lord. True Christians believe God and
turn to the Lord. They believe God and they turn
to the Lord. Why? Why do they believe and
why do they turn? Is it because they make better
decisions than the rest of the world? Something special in them that
others don't have? The reason is because the hand
of the Lord is with them. That's the reason. What is God's
hand doing? Drawing them unto Himself. Causing them to believe and causing
them to turn to Christ. We know this verse, but let's
read it. Go to Proverbs 21. Man, I love this verse. What
comfort is in this verse? Proverbs 21 verse 1 says, The
king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of water
He turneth it, whithersoever he will. What maketh me to differ? You know, we believe and we turn
to the Lord. What maketh me to differ? The
hand of the Lord does. Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned. The hand of the Lord. Go back
over to Acts 11. Verse 22 says, 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,
who when he came and had seen the grace of God." True Christians
have received God's grace. They have received God's grace
and they know it. They know it. They are just beggars
who have been given the free gift of Jesus Christ. And that's
it. They know it. Saved by grace. Christ alone. Scriptures alone. Grace alone. Grace alone. Amazing grace. How sweet the
sound. Saved a wretch like me. Did you
earn it? No, not one bit. Did you deserve
it? No, not one bit. Let me ask you this. Do you deserve
it now? Oh, I didn't deserve it then.
Alright, well do you deserve it now? No, not one bit. It's amazing grace. I am what
I am by the grace of God. Verse 23 says, "...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." True Christians
cleave to Jesus Christ with purpose of heart. Do you know that? I mean mental and heart purpose. Purpose of heart. I have one
purpose in this life and that is to cleave to Christ. That is my purpose. To cleave
to Christ and to tell my family and to tell my loved ones and
to tell everybody who will listen to cleave to Christ. Cleave to
Christ. That's all I need. That is all
I need. I don't need to get rich. I really
don't. I don't need to become known,
and I don't need to live this life to the fullest. I do not
need to live this life to the fullest. What I need to do is
cleave to Jesus Christ. That's as full as life can get,
I'll tell you that. Verse 23 says, "...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. For he," that's Barnabas, "...was
a good man." True Christians are good men and women. Oh no, we're not. Not me. I'm vile and I'm wicked. and I'm wretched and I'm sinful." No. God wrote it down right here
in verse 24. He was a good man. Well, He may have been, but not
me. I'll never be. You know what
God said? Don't you call unclean what I
have made clean. That is amazing, isn't it? He said, Paul wrote, you're washed. You are sanctified. John said,
beloved, right now are we the sons of God. As he is, so are we. Is that not amazing? But I will tell you this, true
Christians will say, I do believe God's Word. I do, I believe that.
I believe He washed me in the blood of Christ. I believe that
I am sanctified and clean, and in God's eyes, in Christ, as
long as I'm in Christ, I believe I'm holy. I really do. I do believe
God's Word on that, but if there's anything good in me, It's only
Christ in me. That's it. It's only His Spirit
in me. Verse 24 says that Barnabas was
a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. If there's any faith in here,
it's the faith of Christ in here. That's it. Verse 24 says, And
much people was added to the Lord. True Christians are added
to the Lord. They are not those who have given
themselves. They are those who are added
to. Verse 25 says, Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus
for to seek Saul. 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." True Christians
assemble themselves with the church. They have been given a heart.
to assemble themselves with God's church. They have been given a heart
to identify themselves with God's gospel and God's people in spite
of the persecution. They assemble, as for me and
my house, by God's grace we will serve the Lord. I believe that he's given us
a heart for that. I truly was so glad to get here
tonight. Today has been a crazy day. You
have no idea. We walked in and told you a little
bit. We didn't tell you the half of it. Today has been a crazy
day. It didn't get crazy until we
got home. And I've been tired. I told Hannah
right before this, I need a cup of coffee, but that's going to
keep me up all night. But God has helped me right now. And
as soon as I got here, I was honestly so glad to say, let's
go to the house of the Lord. Let's go worship God. I believe
God has given us a heart for this. To assemble together with
God's people, verse 26 says, 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. By God's grace, I want to be
called a Christian. I want to be a Christian. I want
this to be a house of Christians, those that God loves and has
given His name to. It would be wonderful, wouldn't
it? All right, let's stand together.