Elder Dorai Manikam
31-12-2017
Encounter with the vision.
Encounter with the giver of the
vision - the Lord Himself.
“It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and
without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common
sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may
be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have
more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you
receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will
always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to
work for Him on the basis of common sense.”
- Oswald Chambers
The Antioch Church Vision has been
revived. With power.
Keep the gospel central.
Gospel of the Kingdom (Acts 11, 13)
Acts 11New King James Version (NKJV)
Peter Defends God’s
Grace
11 Now the apostles and
brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word
of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem,
those of the circumcision contended with him, 3 saying,
“You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
4 But
Peter explained it to
them in order from the beginning, saying: 5 “I was
in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object
descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it
came to me. 6 When I observed it intently and
considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping
things, and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice
saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But
I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my
mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered me again from
heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ 10 Now
this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11 At
that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been
sent to me from Caesarea. 12 Then the Spirit told
me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied
me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told
us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men
to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, 14 who
will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 And
as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the
beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the
Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If therefore God
gave them the same gift as He
gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I
could withstand God?”
18 When
they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying,
“Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
Barnabas and Saul at
Antioch
19 Now
those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled
as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the
Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus
and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists,
preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the
Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
22 Then
news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent
out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he
came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that
with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For
he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people
were added to the Lord.
25 Then
Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And
when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole
year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the
disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Relief to Judea
27 And
in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Then
one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was
going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the
days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples,
each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren
dwelling in Judea. 30 This they also did, and sent
it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 13New King James Version (NKJV)
13 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain
prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted,
the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to
which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid
hands on them, they sent them away.
Preaching in Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to
Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they
preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.
6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they
found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus,
an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear
the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is
translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the
Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all
fraud, you son of the
devil, you enemy of
all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be
blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around
seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw
what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
At Antioch in Pisidia
13 Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to
Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. 14 But when they departed from Perga, they came
to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat
down. 15 And after the reading of the Law and the
Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of
exhortation for the people, say on.”
16 Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel,
and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our
fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of
Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it. 18 Now for a time of about forty years He put
up with their ways in the wilderness. 19 And when He had destroyed seven nations in
the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.
20 “After that He gave them judges
for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. 21 And afterward they asked for a king; so God
gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty
years. 22 And when He had removed him, He raised up
for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of
Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for
Israel a Savior—Jesus— 24 after John had first preached, before His
coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, he
said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of
whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’
26 “Men and brethren,
sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the
word of this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their
rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets
which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. 28 And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that
He should be put to death. 29 Now when they had fulfilled all that was
written concerning Him, they took Him down
from the tree and laid Him in
a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead. 31 He was seen for many days by those who came
up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. 32 And we declare to you glad tidings—that
promise which was made to the fathers. 33 God has fulfilled this for us their
children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second
Psalm:
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.’
Today I have begotten You.’
34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to
corruption, He has spoken thus:
‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’
35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm:
‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see
corruption.’
36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will
of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren,
that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is
justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken
in the prophets come upon you:
41 ‘Behold, you despisers,
Marvel and perish!
For I work a work in your days,
A work which you will by no means believe,
Though one were to declare it to you.’”
Marvel and perish!
For I work a work in your days,
A work which you will by no means believe,
Though one were to declare it to you.’”
Blessing and Conflict at Antioch
42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the congregation had broken up,
many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who,
speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear
the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they
were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the
things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since
you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we
turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified
the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life
believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the
region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and
prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against
Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet
against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and
with the Holy Spirit.
Share the gospel (Acts 11:19-21)
Acts 11:19-21New
King James Version (NKJV)
Barnabas and Saul at
Antioch
19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose
over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the
word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and
Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching
the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and
a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Ordinary people sharing the gospel.
Personal evangelism.
Now everyone can share.
1) Share.
2) Make disciples.
3) Multiply them.
4) Create a movement.
Make disciples:
-Witnessing
-Caring
-Communion
-Prayer
-Word
-Relationship
-Worship
Take hold of the Vision-Giver.
Passion ignited.
Purpose of God ignited.
Embrace God.
Acts 11:23New
International Version (NIV)
23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he
was glad and encouraged them all to
remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
Acts 11:23New
King James Version (NKJV)
23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and
encouraged them all that with purpose of
heart they should continue with the Lord.
While we embrace the vision, we
cannot fulfil the vision without the Vision-Giver.
Go on keeping yourselves in the love
of God.
Go on into 2018 keeping yourselves
in the love of God.
Go on into 2018 keeping yourselves
in the love of others.
Go on into 2018 keeping yourselves
in the love of the gospel.
Go on into 2018 with the vision.
Go on into 2018 with the Giver of
the vision.
For He will make it work.
