*REBROADCAST* THEY WERE CALLED CHRISTIANS | ACTS 11:26

[Music] welcome to the harlem church of christ virtual services leading our services will be minister of music brother terrell johnson scripture reading by brother lenny smith communion by brother daryl vaughn prayer by brother marico turner contribution by brother ariel hampton and the located evangelist for the harlem church of christ dr oj shabazz now to begin our weekly virtual services [Music] [Music] well good sunday morning to you uh the church of christ in harlem and to all of our virtual visitors and friends we are certainly grateful to our merciful father in heaven to be back before you this is uh segueing into the summer of 2021 and we are elated that god has provided us with this opportunity to give him honor and to give him glory listen in just about an hour we are going to be at the church of christ in harlem 338 linux avenue new york city new york for our in-person worship services we now have resumed our in-person services we're going into our third consecutive sunday it's been a pleasure to see all of god's people but we will continue to provide this virtual format particularly with those of you who are our tenured uh senior members of the church of christ in harlem we are mindful that many are still self-quarantined uh in guarding your health and rightly so and so we are pre-uh disposed to continue to provide this format for you happy to be here today happy that you're here today let's come on right now and join brother jerrell johnson our minister of music to the church of christ in harlem as he leads us in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs brother jarrell [Music] all my triumphs all my kids i can tell them to my lord and heal my burdens bear through the pain and the strain only jesus brings me hope through all my trials [Music] i'm on my knees on my knees bowed in prayer i take all my trials to god and gently lay them there cause a he still he's still here [Music] dries my teeth only jesus gives me strength through all my trios [Music] my shoulders down and fills me with despair [Music] but jesus knows [Music] mercy shows only jesus lifts me up through all my childs only jesus gives me hope through all my tribes i yours and only jesus gives me strength through all my [Music] own amen and all of god's people said amen we thank you brother derelict it is our privilege to do every first day of the week for the very enthusiastic way in which you provide this leadership format and lead those who are in their respective spaces in singing psalms and praises to the god of eternal salvation listen in the early church when they came together a central focal point of that assembly was the word of god and the word of god was revered and it is my good fortune to read the word of god into your hearing on this morning i'm going to ask you to secure your personal copy of god's inspired word and come with me to the 11th chapter of the acts of the apostles and if you'll meet me at verse 26 i'm gonna read just one verse i'll read a little bit more of this context as we segue into uh into the presentation of this morning's message but for this uh scripture reading i'm gonna read acts 11 and verse 26 and when he had found him he brought him onto 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 let me place a special emphasis on the part b clause of verse 26 where the bible reads and the disciples were called christians first in antioch this morning it's going to be my privilege to bring to you a sermonic presentation in the form of a topical lesson and i've chosen to entitled it they were called christians they were called christians of course extrapolated from acts chapter 11 and verse 26 so saith the lord so say we this then is the reading of the holy word of god listen clear your voices let's uh sing more psalms in hymns and spiritual songs as we glorify god who certainly loves us and we declare that we love him brother jarrell [Music] time is filled with swift transition sitting on on earth and a moo shall stain i said to be home some things he turned on everybody hold to god's unchanging man everybody hold you here's a hat hold on to my god's unchanging a hand hold on a hole to his hand hold on the guard's unchanging land you gotta build your home some things he turned on everybody hold to god's unchanging hand i said trust in him who will not leave you yeah said whatsoever he is neighboring oh my lord if by earthly friends for sake i'm still more still more closely to him cling [Music] to your home some things eat turn on everybody hold two guys i'm changing a hand i said when your journey is completed [Music] too god's unchanging and you gotta be your hopes on things he turned all everybody hold to god's unchanging ahead everybody [Music] [Music] everybody hold to god's unchanging hands amen and all of god's people said amen as we do each lord today i don't think that i have command a vocabulary to impress upon you the paramount importance of a christian one who was in covenant relationship with the god of eternal salvation to be complicit to be obedient and to be con compliant when it comes to the observation of the lord's supper i would commend to you that our god is a god of memorial there were many many feast days that were instituted by god under the old covenant specifically targeted as a time of reflection and remembrance for something paramount god had done for them in their covenant relationship and under the new testament dispensation we observe this memorial supper upon the first day of every week listen i don't have to give you all the intimate details brother daryl vaughn from the church of christ in harlem does more than an adequate job and he's going to come right now and give us instructions in our observance of the lord's [Music] supper good morning and greetings to you members of the harlem church of christ and our visitors that are along with us this morning i'm brother daryl and vaughn and it is my honor and privilege to lead you through the communion portion of our service let us be reminded that our god is awesome and he has done things for us we could never dare to do for ourselves and that he has sent his son jesus the christ to die for our sins the hebrew writer writes in hebrews chapter 9 verses 13 and 14 he says these words if the blood of bulls and of goats the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth toward the to the purifying of the flesh how much more to the blood of christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to god purge your conscience or your way of being from dead works to serve the living god i'm so thankful that we have been washed in the blood of jesus there is power in the blood of jesus power to heal power to forgive power to set free this morning if you're set free say i am set free because of the blood of jesus christ and so we are able to say that we no longer live after those unfruitful works but instead all those dead works instead we live and we serve the living god and we are so thankful that jesus christ loved us so much that he gave his life on a cruel rugged cross to die for the sins of both you and i somebody ought to be grateful this morning i also want to remind you that this is a celebration this is a time to thank god thank god for the fact that jesus came and he died for our sin thank god for the fact that he could see your sins well before you ever existed and so there was a plan to be made that you would be free from your sin through the sacrifice of jesus the christ so today i want you to rid your minds of any distractions i also want you to gather every person in your household if you have not done so make sure that you are focused during this time of worship so that you will be able to partake in this memorial feast i pray you have your emblems with you i pray you have your bible with you you have been following along thus far in the word of god pray that you have your unleavened bread and also your fruit of the vine next i want you to turn with me to first corinthians chapter 11 verses 23 through 30 that we may partake paul says for i received of the lord that which also i delivered unto you that the lord jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he break it and said these words take eat this is my body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me let us now take a moment to bless the unleavened bread our father who art in heaven there's nobody greater than you father we want to say thank you as we humbly participate in this portion of service being reminded that jesus died on the cross for our sins we thank you o god for loving us enough to sin him as a living sacrifice in jesus name we pray amen let us partake after the same manner also he took the cup when he has sup saying this cup is the new testament in my blood this do ye as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do show the lord's death to he come wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the lord but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the lord's body for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep let us bless the cup our god in heaven we want to say thank you for the power of the blood of jesus the power to save the power to heal the power to set free the power to forgive we thank you for we are reminded that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission in the precious name of jesus bless this cup and bless our minds and bless our hearts bless our souls and our spirits to be receptive of the fact that you loved us so much that you sent jesus to christ for our to die for our sins in jesus name we pray amen let us partake and the people of god shouted man amen and amen he is an awesome god he is worthy to be praised and we are thankful that we stand forgiven because of the sacrifice of jesus christ in jesus name may he continue to keep you may he continue to bless you and bless you real good amen while we're going through this time of remembrance this time of reflection remember the lord said do this in remembrance of me i'm going to ask brother jerrell if he would come and give us yet another selection as we reflect on the tremendous sacrifice made by our lord and savior jesus christ that has permitted us a restoration in our fellowship between earth and heaven come now brother jerrell and lead us in song [Music] down at the cross where my savior died down where falkland came from sin i cried oh there to my heart was the blood [Music] glory to his name we sing in glory read to his name precious name we sing in glory read to his name oh there to my heart was the blood applied with singing god glory to his name said i am so what directly saved from sanji just so sweetly abides within [Music] cross where he took me and we're singing too say that he's his name precious name we're singing glory to to his name precious name oh there too my heart was the blood of light oh we too hear his name we sing and glory read to his name precious name we sing in glory to his name precious name oh there to [Music] his name well harlem it is now contribution time amen amen and amen each portion each part each segment of these five items that we have identified collectively making up first day of the week corporate worship are equal in importance one is no more important than the other all of them have their own divine significance as is the case with this first day of the week contribution i invite now brother ariel hampton to come and to provide us instruction on the contribution brother ariel [Music] good morning church we've come to that part of the worship known as contribution the bible reads in second corinthians chapter nine verses six through eight but this i say he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully every man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for god loveth a cheerful giver let us now go to god in prayer to give thanks over the contribution heavenly father we're thankful for this day that you've blessed us with we ask that what we give back is given to the upbuilding and furtherment of your kingdom father we ask for special prayers for those who have intent in their heart but are unable to give at this time father please bless us all as you see fit in jesus name we pray amen for contribution we have the website listed below www harlem give we also have zell and we have the p.o box reference let the church say amen god bless amen sir thank you very much uh for giving us instruction uh brother hampton is very uh carefully in a meticulous way given us the paypal reference the zell reference and also the post office box through which uh you can give your contribution i'm mindful of the fact that since we have assumed uh uh resumed rather in person worship that many of you are giving your contributions physically at the in-person services but today we provided continued methodology through which you can give your contribution uh while you are away from us well harlem it's prayer time time for us to lift our voices toward the majestic throne of god almighty you know prayer is an honor prayer is a privilege and i would suggest to you that prayer is the only means of communication that we have between us and the god of our salvation just now brother marico turner will come and direct my heart direct your heart before the throne of god in prayer [Music] well great morning to you all harlem church of christ family we are so elated to be back with you all today all of our visitors thank you all so much for worshiping with us today you could have been anywhere else but you chose to be with us today and we are so excited for that so we just want to say thank you for worshiping with us right now and if you're excited about today i mean especially you know we have made it through another week and we are at the beginning of the week another sunday where we get to worship our father give him some praise give him some honor give him some glory why don't you type hallelu hallelujah or or type amen right now in that chat box right there all right and whatever you do make sure you do press share share this service with your friends your family members so that we can continue to get the word out there and let people know that they're that we are out here and we are praying for everyone so before we go to speak to our father let's go ahead and clear our minds let's open our hearts and become receptive as we go to pray to our lord and savior let us pray gracious and almighty heavenly father we come to you father in the name of jesus just thanking you for another day thank you for lying us down to rest last night and thank you for waking us up to see your sunshine this morning we thank you father for all the love that you've shown us father you've been so gracious to us you've been so good to us father right now father we like to ask for forgiveness of our sins father we know that we have done things father god uh consciously and subconsciously father that that are not pleasing to your sight but we come to ask for forgiveness and we say thank you for your forgiveness each and every time father we mess up you seem to wipe that slate clean and find it fit to give us another chance and we are so grateful and just we just want to worship you by saying thank you father thank you for that forgiveness right now father i want to come and pray for my harlem church of christ family and all the leaders father god all the wonderful people of our church lord ask you to keep them safe we ask we ask father god that you continue to bless us father that you continue to watch over as father god as we go here and there near and far father god and as we move back into our our sunday in in-person service father god i ask that you continue to watch over as father god keep us safe keep us healthy father god i ask father god that you wrap your loving arms and your spirit around his father god and just give us that shield of protection that we need so that we all may stay healthy father i ask right now father god that you just bless our visitors right now who are blessed who are who are worshiping with us right now father god we'd like to ask you father god just to continue to bless them father god and if there's anyone amongst them right now and anyone amongst us right now father that does not know you we ask father god that they pick up your inspired word father god called the bible and that they get to know you and your son jesus so that they can develop a closer relationship with you father we thank you for that we'd like to pray for our fantastic leader brother o.j shabbas father god thank you for getting him back to us safely father god from his travels from uh uh throughout the midwest to cincinnati and back to new york father we're so grateful that you gave him traveling grace and mercy father god we ask father god to continue to bless his life father god continue to bless his family father god continue to bless his health father god continue to bless him hearing their father god as he moves and he works father god he works tirelessly father god to continue to deliver your word and we say thank you for him father god thank you for allowing him to continue to be such a blessing to us all and to continue to lead us in such a way that he does father god we ask right now father that you just continue to protect the people of this planet right now father god is we are moving towards a a greater days and better days ahead of us father god because we know just a year ago father god around this time things were still shaky things were still uncertain father god but you protected us through it all and we just want to say thank you in the name of jesus father god we thank you we ask father god that you continue to bless the children of this earth father god that you continue to bless the doctors and the governors and the and the president the vice president the people that make decisions on on our behalf father god as we continue to move forward father god and and look to live a better way of life we just want to count it all joy right now and give you the honor the glory the praise and the mighty name of jesus we say thank you lord thank you we love you so much and we can't get enough of you in jesus holy name we do pray amen amen and amen everybody have a fantastic day god bless you all all of god's people smiled go on and smile it won't hurt and nobody's there to see you i know go on and smile and say amen amen and amen thank you brother turner for praying for me for praying for your brothers and sisters in harlem and for the many other aspects that you have uh inculcated into your prayer what a privilege what an honor and we thank god that he's willing to hear our voices well it's going to be my good fortune on today to bring you a topical lesson i've already referenced it as they were called christians i'd like to dig into that and i hope that you will find this message motivational encouraging illuminating thought provoking but more than anything i pray god that you will use this lesson to introspect and to make sure that our calling and our election is sure grab your bibles one more time come on with brother minister as we prepare to study from acts chapter 11 and verse 26 they were called christians in the event that you're just joining us i'd like to uh reference this context once again i'm going to augment the reading that i did earlier in the virtual format i'm going to read from acts chapter 11 this time i'll commence in verse 22 and terminate at verse 26 you'll notice i'll play special emphasis on verse 26 part b as we allude to uh our topical presentation for this morning in the acts of the apostles chapter 11 i'm going to commence in verse 22 and this is the way it reads in the king james 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 was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the lord for he was a good man and full of the holy ghost and of faith and much people was added unto the lord then departed barnabas to tarsus for to seek saul and when he had found him he brought him onto 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 let me reference again the part b clause verse 26 where the bible reads and the disciples were called christians first and antioch i want to use for subject this morning they were called christians they were called christians the context of acts chapter 11 in my mind is a dynamic context it's dynamic because it represents almost an early continuum of the explosive growth of the new testament church of course you will remember beginning on the first pentecost after the resurrection of jesus in a.d 33 where the jews saw something that they had never seen before the descending of the holy spirit and subsequently the establishment of the church of christ there on the first pentecost after the resurrection of jesus in a.d 33 as we segue through luke's account of the acts of the apostles this profound historical record we see that there was unquestionably explosive growth even here in the 11th chapter of the acts of the apostles we have another snapshot of the explosive growth of the early church i further wanted to target acts chapter 11 because i want to point up the fact that the events of acts chapter 11 predates the uh three or perhaps even four missionary journeys of the apostle paul barnabas titus and others who went about preaching jesus and him crucified in the first century and establishing congregations of the body of our lord and savior jesus christ those of you that are bible readers are aware that luke is a very detailed historian and he gives us a very clear historical record of these missionary journeys that were enjoyed by the apostle paul the first one recorded in acts 13 4 all the way to acts 15 35. a second missionary journey was enjoined by the apostle paul and others recorded in acts 15 36 all the way to acts chapter 18 and verse 22. a third missionary journey in acts 18 23 all the way or rather yes 18 23 all the way through chapter 21 and verse 17. and how could we forget the time in which the apostle paul demands to plead his case before caesar in rome and therefore he makes a mission trip to rome recorded in acts 27 1 all the way to acts 28 16. i take the time to point this up because i want you to see that there is a historical record of tremendous explosive growth in the early church that predates the missionary journeys uh held by the apostle paul and others in the latter part of the first century it is a time of dynamic discipleship well the gospel is being preached it's being defended and men and women are being converted to our lord and savior jesus christ about the time of this context in acts chapter 11 the gospel had primarily been preached by this group to the jews they had been scattered abroad right after the persecution of stephen but the interesting thing ladies and gentlemen is that after the persecution of stephen and the disbursement of the jews they went everywhere preaching about the messiah they had spread the gospel among the jews in phineasia and in cyprus and finally they make their way all the way down to antioch when the brethren in jerusalem heard of the phenomenal success of the preaching of the gospel and what was going on in and around antioch they were predisposed to send barnabas barnabas goes down to antioch engages the preaching and the teaching of the gospel and then determined that he would depart and go to tarsus to find saul he does so brings saul back to antioch and the text says in 11 26 that for a whole year they met with the church much people were taught and then there is the dynamic observation made that they were called christians first in antioch now i want you to know that there is some method to the madness uh the church in jerusalem sent barnabas because in part barnabas was very fluid in the greek language that was spoken in and about the region of antioch i want to further suggest to you that the rationale for barnabas departing from antioch and going and finding saul in tarsus and bringing him down to antioch is because the apostle paul also was very very proficient in the greek language spoken in and around antioch and in addition it was determined that paul could do a more effective job in uh defending the gospel of jesus christ into the ears of the many philosophers that had encamped around antioch but what i want you to see is that as a result of all that was going on there was an explosion of conversion and growth that took place it was so explosive that it caught attention and there was a designation attached to these brethren that had never been used before the text very carefully says that they will call christians first in antioch now ladies and gentlemen i'm mindful of the fact that as you matriculate your way through the bible there are a number of designations used to identify those who are in new testament covenant with the god of eternal salvation they are often referenced as brethren matthew 28 and verse 8 they are referenced as brothers in first corinthians 5 11. at times the women are referred to as sisters first timothy chapter 5 and verse 2 and if you look analytically at first timothy 5 2 part b you would see that there were also spiritual mothers often the scriptures would refer to them as people of god yes there were a number of other designations that had been previously attached to those who are in covenant relationship with god at times we were referenced as the kingdom matthew 16 19 the church the ecclesia the called out matthew 16 18 the body of jesus christ you know kind of manifesting its functionality and its joint participation first corinthians 12 12 to 25 the household of god showing relationship between those who are in covenant with god ephesians 2 19 we are often referenced as priests first peter 2 9 a peculiar people uh first peter chapter 2 and verse 9. i i'm just uh i'm articulating this because i want you to know that i'm very much in touch with the fact that there are any number of designations that god has used to reference those who are in covenant relationship but brothers and sisters ladies and gentlemen for the first time on record here in acts 11 26 they were called christians now i want to suggest to you that prior to this time the jews never referred to themselves who were in covenant relationship in new testament time as christians they more often than not associated the notion of being nazarenes or people of the way and the notion of the way was often used by jews to uh use as a designation for those that were in covenant relationship with god almighty but on this particular occasion they were called christians now i'm mindful that there is a there are rather a number of assertions a number of uh conjectures and suppositions which are fancy pretty words for the notion of guessing as to where the designation came from uh there are those that ascribe to the school of thought that it was divinely appointed and of course barnabas and saul later known as the apostle paul by divine uh instruction came forth with the designation christian and henceforth they were known as christians that's one position held by some as to how they came to be known as christians there are also those who take the school of thought that the designation was an invention of the gentiles either by way of the roman court or by those who inhabited the region of antioch still others there are still there are others who thought that it was uh a dynamic designation assigned to the jews by gentiles in general i just don't know ladies and gentlemen that how or rather whom it was that advance the notion that they will call christians is the most significant point that it is the most significant lesson one thing that is categorically undeniable irrespective of your view of how they came to be called or whom it was that called them christians one thing that is categorically undeniable is that from acts 11 26 following they began to be known as christians something was experienced something was seen something happened that made individuals began to reference them as christians followers believers disciples of the messiah jesus christ yes they were called christians i'm going to take this position relative to pure new testament christianity and when i talk about pure new testament christianity i'm not talking about denominational christianity or non-denominational christianity or sectarian christian i'm talking about pure new testament christianity whatever it was that caused them to be recognized as christians stands to reason would be enough for one to be recognized as a christian today when we look at this context i'd like to suggest to you that there were two or three very obvious very evident things that's inextricably connected to the notion of their being known as uh christians acts 11 26 they assembled with the church it's right there in the context they assembled with the church barnabas and saul when they got to antioch joined in to the assembling or the gathering together of the church now i want to be true to the context and i want to suggest to you from a historical perspective that all by all probability this reference to the church has reference to those who were meeting in houses in that day and time i want you to remember that in the backdrop of this there is a dispersion or scattering of the christians as a result of the persecution of stephen and so many of them have began to meet in their houses notwithstanding barnabas and saul assembled with the church that this is a manifestation that the early church as a designation of christianity believed in corporate assembly they believed in coming together to give honor and glory to god acts 11 23 also states they taught much people therefore teaching went along with the designation of being a christian christians assembled and christians taught as a result of the process of assembly and teaching it lands with the conversion of much people who were disciples and so much discipleship is being enjoyed by those that were called christians so let me suggest three things to you very quickly number one they had a foundation and their foundation was the doctrine number two they had an inextricable focus and their focus was discipleship and as a result of their foundation and their focus they developed an uncanny faithfulness to this duty of holding on to christiological teaching holding on to christology holding on to messianic teaching holding on to the doctrine as their fundamental foundation and the doctrine focused them toward discipleship and as a result when folks stood back and saw and witnessed and experienced that they called them followers of christ they were disciples of christ they were learners of christ because of their foundation the doctrine the focus discipleship which resulted in a faithfulness to be complicit and compliant in these continuous duties and that was to engage in sound doctrine and the conversion of men and women which resulted in making disciples listen let me suggest to you the irrespective of what people tell you today doctrine is important when i was reference doctrine i'm using the greek word dedicated which means teaching don't let anyone try to convince you that you can believe anything you want to believe that it doesn't matter you can believe what you choose to believe i can choose to believe what i choose to believe we all believe in the same god and we're all going to end up in the same heaven no ma'am no sir doctrine undeniably uncategorically uh is important it is critical let me tell you something you cannot know something that you refuse to learn and so one more second timothy 2 15 study to show thyself approved unto god a workman that needed not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth we must employ some john 5 39 where the bible says search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life for these are they which testify of me in the governmental structure of the government organization and development of the local church when you look at context like uh second timothy chapter four and verse three and titus chapter 1 there is a special emphasis placed on sound doctrine that word psalm sound comes from a greek word that literally means wholesome wholesome doctrine and so the doctrine does matter and those who were called christians they who were called christians recognized the paramount importance of doctrine and even those who looked on those who stood by those who joined in in calling them christians in antioch no doubt associated their fellowship and their discipleship to the doctrine or the teachings that they engaged in so yes ma'am yes sir doctrine is important teaching is important wholesome doctrine is important wholesome teaching is important it's an earmark of one who is called a christian let me ask you are you a christian are you dedicated to wholesome teaching i'm not just talking about teaching or one's private interpretation but wholesome teaching teaching that is complicit and compliant to the word way and will of our lord and savior jesus christ and so doctrine that was their foundation and i want to suggest to you that doctrine has been the thing that has held the church of christ together and identified as the body of jesus christ for over 2000 years we must never abdicate wholesome teaching we must never bail ship on the truths of god and when we get through with all of our arguing and debating and apologetic gymnastics we must land with the same truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth there's another earmark they called them christians why because they engaged in discipleship the text says midway uh verse 26 of acts chapter 11 that much people were taught much people would talk they continued a whole year and during that year much people were taught therefore they had a focus and that focus was on teaching the doctrine that they had learned watch this now with the express intent of producing disciples a learner a follower amen someone who is converted by the doctrinal teaching the wholesome truth that's being taught by the apostles and these brethren let me tell you something discipleship is at the core of the work and ministry of the local church one of the unpredictable uh impre impregnable earmarks of christianity is discipleship if you look analytically and closely at matthew 28 19 and 20 the import the emphasis of this context is on discipleship go ye therefore and make disciples of men that's that's the real thrust of matthew 28 make disciples of christ not disciples or preachers disciples of christ not disciples of elders disciples of christ not disciples of charismatic leaders but disciples of christ not disciples of tenured members but disciples of christ they were called christians and one of the reasons why they were called christians is because they took the doctrine focused on teaching others and the process resulted in disciples uh that's the import of matthew 28 19 and 20 i said a few weeks back when i was doing the series on worship that worship is that which goes up from man to god whereas ministry is that which in a sense comes down from god to us from god to us is the instruction to go and make disciples of me and they were called christians the doctrine they were called christians discipleship let me ask you something are you a christian are you one who holds to wholesome doctrine are you a christian are you one who believes in discipleship when is the last time you taught somebody the way from earth to glory what is the last time you showed men and women the way out of darkness into the marvelous light they were called christians are you a christian do you believe in leading men and women out of the murky maya of sin and degradation do you believe in leading men and women through the doctrinal teachings that were handed down from the messiah that can allow us to enjoy reconciliation to the friendship of god almighty they were called christians and that's all we ought to seek to be today i don't want to be a denominational christian i don't want to be a non-denominational christian i don't want to be a hyphenated christian i just want to be a christian i just want to be a disciple of our lord and savior jesus christ a follower a learner someone who holds on to the truth and the teaching the doctrine handed down from god through christ through the holy spirit through the first century apostles and other inspired men recorded upon the pages of inspiration they were called christians can someone call you a christian today and the accusation hold can someone accuse you of being a christian can they see can they detect do they witness anything about your life that would suggest to them that they should be predisposed to call you a christian they were called christians because of their foundation because of their focus and they had an uncanny faithfulness to hold on to the notion of assembling together and teaching and all of that resulted in discipleship you know often throughout uh this this time in this period where we've gone through the coronavirus pandemic and this surge and this concerted effort to maintain uh uh connectivity between members of the body of jesus christ and while we were not uh meeting in person as we were accustomed for all these many many uh hundreds of years and i want to suggest to you that it occurred to me that we cannot afford to put so much emphasis on christian connectivity that we step away from the things that really identify us as christians which means we must do more than worship we must do more than come together in a public assembly we must do more i'm not suggesting that we should not worship place more than enough emphasis on the need and the command and the deservings of it but the undeniable fact of the matter is what identifies us as christians is our going a step further in engaging in discipleship help somebody else lead somebody else don't let those that you love and meet day by day see you in that celestial city and say yeah i met you day by day but you never mention him to me no i'm going to teach i'm going to assemble i'm going to engage with all my power to lead men and women to become disciples of our lord and savior jesus christ they were called christians can you be called a christian they were called christians they assembled they were called christians they taught much people they were called christians it resulted in discipleship now what about us are we christians are we pure new testament christians they were called christians first at antioch and i'm persuaded it was because of what they saw in them and i pray god they can see it in me and see it in you if you're not a new testament christian would you hear the word romans 10 17 would you be willing to believe the word of god not me not a man but the word of god romans 10 17 so then faith cometh by hearing hearing by the word of god would you believe it hebrews 11 6 but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to god must believe that he is that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him would you be willing to be so impacted by the doctrine that you're willing to repent of past sins acts 17 30 the time of this ignorance god went at but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent would you be willing to confess with your mouth that i believe jesus christ is the son of god that confession must be made with the mouth romans 10 9-10 before other people matthew 10 32-33 acts 8 37 part b by apostolic example the ethiopian eunuch made that grand confession i believe jesus christ is the son of god and based on that we will lead you into that path of discipleship where you are baptized and you become a disciple of christ matthew 28 19 and 20 and that baptism is for the remission of your passions acts 2 38 where the lord only the lord will add you to the church acts 2 47 and that church is the church of christ romans chapter 16 and verse 16. they were called christians what about you i pray you'll reflect upon this message and until we meet again i pray that the god of eternal salvation will bless all of you and that he'll bless you real good [Music] in order for one to be saved one must first hear the gospel of christ romans 10 17 believe it hebrews 11 6 repent acts 17 30 confess christ acts 8 37 and be baptized for the remission of sins acts 238 for any questions regarding this message or anything that you've seen today feel free to reach out to us at w www.theharlemchurchofc.com and we'd be happy to be of service and all of god's people said a man are you a christian are you a christian that is the uh thematic thrust of this message today it's interesting how uh they had certainly a foundation which is doctrine they had a focus which was discipleship and all that they did really stood upon the messianic teachings of the master from galilee they were very very faithful and dedicated and devoted to the notion of discipleship and to a great extent this is what pure new testament christianity is all about they were called christians can someone call you a christian and be successful at the uh the accusation that you are a christian i hope that you've enjoyed the message on today uh excited in just a few minutes to begin our in-person service at 338 linux avenue and again at 12 p.m we will have a second service in person at the church of christ in harlem new york city new york until we meet again may the god of our eternal salvation smile on you may he bless you and may he bless you real good thank you [Music] thank you for joining us today we pray that something was said that might empower and encourage you for the week to come and we look forward to seeing you for our wednesday night bible study and again for next week's harlem church of christ virtual service [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Harlem Church of Christ

Views: 88

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: HARLEM CHURCH OF CHRIST, CHURCH OF CHRIST, NEW YORK CITY, DR OLU SHABAZZ, CHRISTIANITY, CHRISTIAN

Id: Et_O5hljkdg

Length: 61min 16sec (3676 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021