The Apostolic Commission

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The Apostolic Commission

• Acts 1119-30

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Acts 1119

• So then those who were scattered because of the
  persecution that occurred in connection with
  Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus
  and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except
  to Jews alone.

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Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch

• Phoenicia was a country about 15 miles wide and
  120 miles long stretching along the northeastern
  Mediterranean coast (modern Lebanon). Its
  important cities were Tyre and Sidon.Cyprus is
  an island in the northeastern Mediterranean, home
  of Barnabas (436).Antioch, the third city of
  the Roman Empire (after Rome and Alexandria) was
  15 miles inland from the northeastern corner of
  the Med. This was the location of the first
  largely Gentile local church, and it was from
  here that Paul launches three missionary journeys
  (131-4 1540 1823).

4
Christians are like manure- If you spread them
around they will do a lot of good, but if you
pile them in one place too long they will start
to stink
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The First Commandment

• God blessed them and God said to them, "Be
  fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and
  subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and
  over the birds of the sky and over every living
  thing that moves on the earth."
• Genesis 128 NASU

6
The Great Commission

• And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All
  authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
  earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all
  the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
  Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching
  them to observe all that I commanded you and lo,
  I am with you always, even to the end of the
  age."
• Matthew 2818-20

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Its not just an evangelistic commission its an
Apostolic commission
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What Does Apostolic Mean?
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Teaching and Training (TNT)

• But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not
  merely hearers who delude themselves.
• For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a
  doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural
  face in a mirror for once he has looked at
  himself and gone away, he has immediately
  forgotten what kind of person he was.
• But one who looks intently at the perfect law,
  the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having
  become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer,
  this man will be blessed in what he does.
• James 122-25

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• These are not suggestions to be considered but
  commands to be obeyed
• Its not just talking the talk,
  but walking the walk!

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Go into All the World! -Jesus
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We Are His Witnesses

• but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
  has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses
  both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
  and even to the remotest part of the earth."
• Acts 18

13
You Are the Salt of the Earth

• "You are the salt of the earth but if the salt
  has become tasteless, how can it be made salty
  again? It is no longer good for anything, except
  to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
• Matthew 513-14

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Salt is used

• To season and bring flavor
• To preserve from putrification and corruption.
• To purify (bad water)
• To melt or soften (ice or hard water)
• To cleanse or heal
• To create thirst

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Colossians 46

• Let your speech always be with grace, as though
  seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you
  should respond to each person.

16
You Are the Light of the World!

• "You are the light of the world. A city set on a
  hill cannot be hidden nor does anyone light a
  lamp and put it under a basket, but on the
  lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
  the house.
• "Let your light shine before men in such a way
  that they may see your good works, and glorify
  your Father who is in heaven.
• Matthew 515-16

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Acts 1120-21

• But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and
  Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to
  the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
• And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a
  large number who believed turned to the Lord.

18
Acts 1122-24

• The news about them reached the ears of the
  church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off
  to Antioch.
• Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of
  God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all
  with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord
  for he was a good man, and full of the Holy
  Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers
  were brought to the Lord.

19
Acts 1125-26

• And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul and when
  he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.
• And for an entire year they met with the church
  and taught considerable numbers and the
  disciples were first called Christians in
  Antioch.

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Our Vision Statement

• Preaching the Gospel,
• Making Disciples,
• Raising Up Leaders, and
• Establishing Churches,
• Until the whole Earth is filled with the Glory of
  the Lord!

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Church Planting

• "the single most effective evangelistic
  methodology under heaven.
• C. Peter Wagner, Church Planting for a Greater
  Harvest (Ventura, Calif. Regal Books, 1990), p.
  11.

22
Acts 1127-28

• Now at this time some prophets came down from
  Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus
  stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that
  there would certainly be a great famine all over
  the world. And this took place in the reign of
  Claudius. (41-54 A.D.)

23
Acts 1129-30

• And in the proportion that any of the disciples
  had means, each of them determined to send a
  contribution for the relief of the brethren
  living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in
  charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.