A Christ Like Church — Keith Malcomson

We're going to go to the fourth message in our series on the Antioch Church, and we're looking at it as a picture, a type of God's vision for LCC. I believe in Antioch, and I've thought this for years.

This has been my burden for some years. I preached it before as a singular message that Antioch is or holds a vision for us as a local church. And so we've already, in part one, we looked at Antioch as an evangelistic church.

Then secondly, as a gifted church, and church with dynamic, gifted, God-given ministry. Then third of all that we looked at last week was a culturally diverse church. But here in part four, as we turn to Acts 11, reading from verse 22 to verse 26, I want to go further here to a wonderful message here tonight, a Christ-like church.

Antioch as a Christ-Like Church

Reading from Acts 11, verse 22. 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 would 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 unto Antioch.

And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and I want you to notice the next two sentences, with the church and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

My message here tonight as we go to the Word of God, a Christ-like church. Let's pray together. Father, we love you, we bless you, we submit to you tonight. We can only resist the evil one. We can only resist the lion, the devourer of your saints, O God.

Lord God, when we're submitted to you, when we're under authority, and we do that even in the preaching of the Word tonight, Lord God, we stand here to fight against the adversary, the enemy, O God, that would come, O God, against every member of this body, and even those in line, even those that would, Lord God, watch us later, Lord God, we stand against the evil one, the lion, the serpent, the deceiver, the liar, the opposer, and my God, we do it under the sovereign, Lord God, control of the Lord Jesus Christ.

My God, we want to be Christ-like tonight. We want to be Christians tonight. Lord God, we want to be followers of Christ. We want to be loyal to Christ. We want to be disciples of Christ. And O God, impact our lives tonight.

Lord God, make us a Christ-centered people. Lord God, make us preachers of Christ. Lord God, make us to live out the life of Christ, and let Christ live His life in us and through us. We do want a manifestation of Christ-likeness in this city of Limerick, in this dark, evil, depraved generation.

Lord God, let us as your church be marked with Christ-likeness. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. Praise God. A Christ-like church. Let me read that again, verse 26. And he, when he had found him, that is Barnabas found in Saul, he brought him on to Antioch, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church.

Look at the context of this. And taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. I want you to see here in these first few verses that when Barnabas came to Antioch and seen what God was doing in saving lives, changing lives, he could see the grace of God changing lives, impacting them.

He didn't return to Jerusalem. The apostles sent him. The church of Jerusalem sent him to Antioch. But when he's seen God's grace, when he's seen God moving amongst the Gentiles in an amazing way, pagans, unbelievers, uncircumcised, he didn't return to the apostles.

He didn't return to the mother church, Jerusalem. He didn't return to those that sent him. He didn't send a letter. He didn't send back for advice. What did he do? He didn't go back to the mega revival church in Jerusalem with its 12 apostles.

He didn't do that. What did he do? He, instead of going south or turning his face south, he turned his face north, further than Antioch. Do you know what came into his mind? I need to find Saul of Tarsus.

That rather hot potato that they sent back to Tarsus, that hot potato that was too hot for the 12 apostles and the entire Jerusalem church, Barnabas went looking for this man who no one had seen in about six years.

Not back to the apostles to say, what do I do now? But he went looking for this lone preacher, not an apostle at this stage, this isolated preacher who had gone back to his hometown. So he goes looking 80 miles to the north to Tarsus.

And do you know what was in the heart of Barnabas? No ministry is complete in itself. No real God-given preacher with any wisdom or any sense thinks he's an island or thinks that he has everything in himself.

You don't. And the more grace that's upon you, the more ability, the more gifting, the more wisdom, the more you recognize other giftings, other callings, and the need for other ministries. You actually realize that.

You understand what ministry is about. Show me a ministry that needs no one else. That is a bankrupt ministry. It's a very narrow ministry. But Barnabas wasn't. He had a large heart. He had a large vision.

And you know what? When he seen God move amongst the Gentiles, he said, I need Saul. You know why? Saul had a calling on his life. To preach the Word of God to the Gentiles. To reach the Gentile nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's why he went and got him. And he returned then with Saul. And Saul began to assist him for one year. We're told here that once they got back there, once he had found Saul, once he had convinced him, you need to come to Antioch.

And they returned together. They started ministry. Let me just remind you before I go into my four points here about a Christ-like church. Let me remind you what Antioch was like. Caravans flowed into this mega city from Asia Minor, from Persia, from India, and even from China.

Remember, this city was right on the Silk Road. All trade from all nations, from all languages flowed through here. It was actually the meeting place between East and West. And let me just say this here tonight.

It was the meeting place of all religions. All the religions, all the traditions, all the practices of the East flowed into this city. All the religions, all the gods, all the myths of the West, of Athens, of Rome, all flowed into this city.

In other words, this city was the meeting place of all religions, all statues, all gods, all mythology. It literally poured in here from East and West and, in fact, from all nations, all directions, and all cities.

It was the key center of diversity and religion. You see, religious diversity and tolerance marked this entire city. There was a merger in this city. On the same streets, every single street in this city, there was a merger of every sort of religious ethos and belief that you can imagine.

In fact, Antioch is depicted in old murals as a heathen goddess. This city was called the Heathen Queen. That was the name of this city. And Antioch depicted as a crowned mother goddess with a river under her feet, her feet on top of that river.

The mother goddess, she was the mother goddess. She embodied religion herself. And when you go into the history of Antioch, you find that it was originally founded as a shrine dedicated to the mother goddess, Anna.

And again, all religion converged on here. When you begin to look into the city, it was a pagan city typifying the new age of our entire past generation. The new age is a merger of all religions, all types of teaching, all types of ideas.

That's what today's new age is. It is ancient paganism revived in our generation. And I want to tell you, the new age is coming back like a torrential rain. Do you realize old paganism is reviving in all of our nations?

All the old gods are arising. All the same ways of thinking in my lifetime have had a revival. All the old gods are beginning to be worshipped again by a whole new young generation. And in fact, a young generation don't think it's strange.

My generation thought it was illogical, was crazy, was a fad. But that younger generation now thinks it's normal. Antioch was filled with divination, healing cults, idolatry on every street, horoscopes marked every single home.

And each street that you went on to, it portrayed a complicated mixture of Grishu Roman, of Egyptian, of Persian, and of Syrian deity. All of this mixed up on every single street. You couldn't avoid it.

Statues of goddesses and gods from every nation were on the streets of that city. It was a religious city. It was a religious center. It was dominated by religion. They believed in deity. They believed in the supernatural.

They believed in healing. They believed that you could touch God in prayer. Almost everyone in the city believed that. Even the Roman emperors raised up a great temple in the middle of the city. Julius Caesar put a statue there to be worshipped by the masses and to give adoration to him and to sacrifice to him.

I want you to see this was a pluralistic religious society. A merger of every religion dominated the city, contending for the hearts of men and women. There was nothing in the entire ancient world from China to Rome that wasn't there, or should I say, Gaul and Britain.

I can tell you all the gods of the ancient world found a home in this city. But what did Christ do? Christ came to raise up his house right in the midst of that. Christ came to build his church right in the midst of that religious confusion.

Don't think that the 21st century is so different than any other generation. All we're seeing is what happened in the first generation. And I want to tell you it's time for a Christlike church. I've got four points I want to preach on here tonight.

The Meaning of the Name Christian

First of all, this is my first point on a Christlike church or the church in Antioch being a Christlike church. This is my first point, the meaning of the name Christian, the meaning. Such an abused name in this hour.

Look at verse 26, what it says at the end of verse 26. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Do you realize here in Acts 11, 26 is the first ever use of the name Christian? Do you realize it was in Antioch the name Christian was used for the very first time?

Not in Jerusalem, not in Samaria, not in Galilee, not in any other city. It was Antioch was the very first place. This was the very first time. It was a certain time, not two years before this, not a year before this, not two years after it.

It happened at a certain time when certain things were happening. And so the meaning of the name Christian, they were called, who were called, the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. There had always been disciples since the day of Pentecost.

They had been spreading across towns, cities, and nations. But this is the first time that disciples of Christ are called Christians. Until now, the Christians had referred to themselves as disciples.

Jesus had called them disciples. They knew themselves or self-identified as a disciple of Christ. They were called believers. They had faith in Christ. They're called brethren. They're brothers and sisters joined together out of an experience with Christ.

They're called saints or holy ones. They're known by the name the Way or the Church of God. These are all names that they used of themselves. I am a believer. I am a disciple. I'm a brother in Christ.

They called themselves all of these things. And the Christians in the empire had only until this very point be considered a Jewish sect. Many of them were just thought to be another form of Judaism, another off-branch of Judaism until this very time.

Then they got a unique identity, a unique religious identity. You see, Christian, the term or the name Christian only occurs three times in our New Testament. The first time is here in Acts 11, 26. And when any word in the Bible is used for the first time, take careful note of it.

You're going to find everything you need to know about it there. It's called the law of first mention. In other words, you find the first time something is mentioned in the Bible, it is very, very important.

It begins to reveal to you something about it. And when we go here, we have the name Christian. The second time we have it mentioned is in Acts 26, 28. And it is King Agrippa saying to Paul in prison, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

I want you to notice something. It's not a Christian calling themselves a Christian. It is a pagan king actually using the name. Notice again 1 Peter 4, verse 16. Peter uses it when he says, when he talks to Christians and says, when you suffer as a Christian or for being a Christian.

Do you realize only three times it is used in our Bible? And all three times it is used by the world of the church, not by the church itself. It's not a name given by God or the apostles or some preacher or some church calling themselves Christian.

When you come here to Acts chapter 11 and to the place called Antioch, look what it says, and the disciples were called Christians. The word called there means to be uttered or to bear a name or to be given a name.

You see, they didn't call themselves Christians. The Jews did not. Remember there's 40 ,000 Jews in this city. They didn't call them Christians. You know how I know that? Because Christians, the word Christ is in it, which means anointed one.

It's the Old Testament Messiah. No true Jew would call Jesus the man of Nazareth, Messiah, or else they give him the place of deity. They would never do that. So the Jews didn't give it to them. The Christians didn't call themselves by the name Christian.

So what happened? I actually believe that it was this local multicultural community of Gentile, idolatrous pagans that gave the name Christians. The church, the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

They were called it. They didn't call themselves it. But do you know what? The people in Antioch began to call them by the name Christians. They didn't invent it themselves. It didn't come from the apostles.

It actually come from this religious city. They began to call them Christian. You know what? When you study the history of Antioch, you see that they were notorious, famous for giving people nicknames, groups of people, they would call them nicknames.

In fact, they were very famous and well-known for their wit or their mockery. And so they would study a group of people or a religion or a sect or some soldiers, and they would coin or invent a name for them.

And so this is what happened, was the pagan, idolatrous, religious people of Antioch, they actually created the name Christians. Do you know for an entire century, no Christian in Wrighton ever called themselves Christian.

For 100 years after this, no Christian writer talks about the church being Christians, not a one of them, not on record. But do you know what? From about 98 AD, the end of the first century, all the Roman empires talk about the church being Christians.

It was used by sinners, by pagans, by other religions. We were called Christians. We were named by this world Christians. You ought to wear that name with honor. But I tell you, we didn't create it. We didn't invent it.

It didn't come out of Scripture. The Holy Spirit didn't give it. It was a name that was actually given to us. And you know what? It came through study, through pagan religions watching us. And as they watched the first Christians, the first disciples in Antioch, they said, there's no other name that we can possibly give them than this name, Christian.

And so they were identified by this name. They could see the sudden rise of a new group in their city. It wasn't like other groups. In fact, it was a new culture. It was a new religion. And these disciples were separate from every other religion.

They weren't just another Jewish sect. They didn't merge with everyone else. In fact, they weren't tolerant of other religions at all. They were radical. They were separate. They were unique. They were opposed to all of the gods and all of the teachings of the city.

And so they drew attention at that time in a very real way. It was very obvious that these disciples had a common identity. In other words, if you find a real disciple of Jesus, you had to put them under this common name, Christian.

Christian. There's no other name you could give them. Because they actually showed that they had a common culture, a common language, a common lifestyle, a common way of thinking, a common way of speaking.

And so they identified themselves very obviously and visibly. They had a lifestyle that identified them in a very open way. Let me tell you what this name Christians means. Christians. The word Christians, or in the Greek, it is Christianos.

Christianos. It is a Greek name with a Latin ending. Do you hear that? It's a Greek name. It's Christ. Christ was a Hebrew name, an Old Testament name. The anointed one. Remember, Christ means anointed one.

It's in the Old Testament. So it's a Hebrew name, but this is actually its Greek translation, Christ. But see the end, the ion, in, Christian, Christian. That ion is actually a Latin ending, or it comes from the Roman Empire.

So you've got Greek, you've got Hebrew, you've got Latin, or you've got Roman. A whole mixture here. Now this joining of Christ ion, I want you to notice for a second that ion part, or as it is in the Greek, anos.

This anos was often used by Roman soldiers in the Roman army. And if they had a general, they would take the name of the general, and they would call themselves an anos, or a follower of that particular general.

In other words, here's an example. Caesar, anione. So Caesar, and then they would add this ions term at the end, which meant a follower of that Caesar. Or the Jews actually done this in their own land of Israel.

So you have, you read the Bible and you find a group called Herodians, ions, Herod, ions. Do you know what that meant? Soldiers loyal to Herod, devoted to Herod, followers of Herod. Under the leadership of Herod, they belong to Herod.

They are marching as an army. So to be a ion means to belong to, listen to this carefully, to be associated with, or connected to a person. It means that you identify yourself completely, absolutely in your person to that one general, to that one person, to his teaching, his practice, his campaign, even to the point of death.

So everyone, everything else is excluded. You have only one loyalty, and that's to that general, or to the person of Christ. To be a Christian meant that you submit to Christ. You are loyal to Christ.

You have no other loyalty, no split loyalties. There's not room to have two ions. You can only be one ion. What are you ion to? That is the key question here. Who are you loyal to? Who are you sworn to?

Who are you devoted to? And you know what? You look at the teaching of the general. You look at the character of the general, the campaign, or the mission of the general. Then you find out who these ions are.

They get their entire identity from this one person. So to identify yourself completely with this person, his teaching, practices, campaign, you are a zealot for this person. Now notice with me, these uncircumcised, born-again Gentiles in the city of Antioch, these believers so talked incessantly about Jesus Christ, about Jesus being the Christ.

They so embodied it. They so took on his mission, his character, his nature, his message, everything, that they were merely seen as Christians. They could be recognized as that. I'm not just talking about a mere name or title here.

I'm talking about someone being identified as a Christian, as one absolutely loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the coming Messiah. They named by what they saw in them. The Antiochian citizens, they're going to name you by how you speak, by how you act, by your devotion, by your attitude, how you sacrifice, what you live for.

They'll watch you carefully. They'll name you accurately. And they coined, they created this name, Christian. The disciples were named Christians first in Antioch, first. It was this idolatrous religious city that looked at them and said, ha, yous are Christians.

See, you bunch, every time we meet one of you, we walk away from a conversation and we go, they're radically loyal to this man called Christ. We don't know much about Christ, but when we look at them, we hear his message.

You see, we can't see Christ. We can't feel Christ. We weren't in Jerusalem. We didn't see him die on the cross. But these little Christians, when we come in touch with them, they say the same thing. They live the same thing.

They believe the same thing. You see, we as the church have diversity and unity. We are very diverse. You're a very diverse bunch in the church, I want to tell you. But we have unity. We are Christians.

Christians. Because of the manner of the disciples' life, of their conduct, as followers of Jesus, the population of Antioch nicknamed them Christians. They carried something of his character. And they lived out his message as Lord of their individual lives.

So that's my first point tonight, the meaning of the name Christians. That's what we see in this singular verse, the meaning of the name Christians. So here's an entire church, all these disciples, for the first time they're being called Christians.

They actually reveal themselves to be Christians. They are living out the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go a bit further here. My second point, teaching, and I want you to hear this, teaching leads to Christlikeness.

Teaching Leads to Christlikeness

Look at verse 26 again. Look what Saul and Barnabas are actually doing. Remember when Barnabas goes get Saul, he returns to Antioch. What do they do then? Verse 26, "...and taught much people for one entire year.".

One entire year. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people. One entire year. Saul arrives in the city. They teach for one entire year. At the end of that year, they're called Christians by the city.

Do you see? This is in context. The name Christian has a context. What happens before it? What leads in, in the year before they are ever called Christian? What happened uniquely here, why they're called Christian?

It says they taught much people and the disciples were called Christians. What's my second point? Teaching leads to Christlikeness. Do you see how it says Saul and Barnabas taught much people? These people were called disciples.

They're already disciples. But at the end of the year, under this process of being discipled or being taught, they are then named by unsaved people, Christians. That teaching had such impact that they had to be called Christians.

The impact of being taught the Word of God actually led to them being called Christians. And what do I mean by Christians? I mean Christlikeness. Christlikeness. To be a Christian means you're Christlike.

If you don't speak like Christ and think like Christ and decide like Christ and follow Christ and walk in the love of Christ and obey the commands of Christ, you're not a Christian. You're not a Christian.

You're not identified with your baptismal certificate, I'm afraid to tell you. You're not identified by just being called born again. You're actually identified by your likeness to Jesus. If you're not like Jesus tonight, you are not a Christian tonight.

If you don't speak like Him, walk like Him, follow Him, you're not a Christian. If you don't have a cross on your shoulder tonight, you are not a Christian. If you're not denying yourself and following Christ, you are not a Christian.

And so, it says that they taught them. Teaching leads to Christlikeness. Look at this word taught, both of them taught. It's the word, Greek word, didaskou. It means to teach in such a way that someone learns.

Do you hear what I just said? You teach in such a way that someone learns. Real biblical teaching is not just teaching. If no one gets taught, I have not taught the Word of God. Listen to me, I want your ears tonight.

If you don't live out what gets preached in this pulpit, I have failed. I am not a Bible teacher. Do you hear me? Another word, so, this taught much people. I haven't taught anyone. If you don't become Christlike, if you don't become the message, if the Word of God doesn't penetrate your heart, I have failed as a Bible teacher.

And I'm called to teach the Word of God, I want to tell you. But I'm not here to impart information. I'm not here to fill in Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. That is not my purpose. You see, today in the church, we've created theologians.

We've created a title that is not a biblical title. We've created positions in seminars, Bible college called a theologian or a professor of theology. What do you mean by that? Oh, they sit in a classroom and they teach theology.

They're professors. What is theology in their book? The knowledge or teaching about God. Let me give you a quote from one of my heroes of the faith. His name is called William Ames. He was an Englishman born in 1576, but he moved to Holland, the Netherlands, and become one of the first preaching Puritans.

He become a giant of a man. He was the first of the Puritans. He gave birth to Puritans, Puritanism all over the Netherlands and all over England. He was a ginormous man, a godly man. I once showed Brother Clendenin this quote in his book, and Brother Clendenin stole my book.

I never seen it again. Candice had to buy me another one. But listen to this quote. He defines what theology is. Theology, true theology, is the doctrine or teaching of living unto God. Do you hear what I'm saying?

Real biblical teaching or theology is the teaching of how to live for God, in God, according to God's Word. If you don't live this out, it's not biblical teaching. It's not biblical ministry. And I want you to see this, that at Antioch, Saul of Tarsus and Barnabas from Cyprus, they taught the Word of God week in, week out for one entire year.

And it led all those disciples, many of them, masses of them, into Christlikeness. In fact, all you could do at the end of that first year, one year, one year. What have you done with the past year of teaching?

Do you realize how much teaching the Word of God should impact your life in one year? One year, not 10 years, not 30 years. One single year. There's something wrong when we have Christians 30 years and they don't become more Christlike.

There's something wrong. Either it's the pulpit or it's in the hearts. It's in the people sitting, listening, learning, taking notes, but not becoming more Christlike. God help us. We're wasting our time if that's what our church life is.

You see, teaching leads to Christlikeness. If teaching and preaching does not raise up Christians, Christlike disciples, who are visibly marked by their association, dedication, imitation, and devotion to Christ in a way that sinners can see and a city takes note of, we have failed.

Something is wrong. Something is hindering the Word of God. If you're satisfied to hear the Word of God week after week after week, and yet you never change, or if you're actually satisfied with that, there is something terribly wrong.

Either I haven't communicated right, I'm failing in what I'm doing, or else there's a problem with you in your heart that's very serious. There's something in this. You see, a gifted teacher does not merely impart knowledge and information.

He raises up taught ones. That's what the word teach means. It means to actually make people learners, to raise up taught ones. That's why a teacher needs a lot of patience. That's why he needs a lot of the love of God, because if what he teaches gets forgotten, neglected, missed, rejected, do you realize how devastating that is?

That the Word of God does not find a rich soil. It is a terrible thing. Notice in this verse there are two men teaching. It says that they taught much people. Barnabas is a prophet, but he's teaching.

Do you see prophets teach the church of God? Oh no, prophets prophesy. Who told you that? Who told you that? For an entire year, this prophet Barnabas was in the church, teaching the church in a way that led that church to Christ-likeness.

If a prophet is in the church, teaching the church, they're going to become Christ-like. Paul, or Saul as he was named at this point, Saul was actually a Bible teacher. He was gifted as a Bible teacher.

What is the fruit of teaching the Word of God for a year? You produce Christ-likeness. And so you have here in this church for a period of one year, you have two preachers, two men teaching the Word of God.

One gifted as a prophet, one gifted as a Bible teacher, and they're both teaching the church, and it produces a Christ-like church, or a group of people who are called by the world out there. They're Christians.

They're devoted to Christ. They're loyal to Christ. They can't stop talking about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It is beautiful saints of God that you see that these two men, you know today in the church there's groups in the church that say, oh, these one-man ministries, these men who stand in a pulpit, we can all teach.

We're all called to minister. We all have the ability to teach the Word of God. We should all be sharing. They don't like pulpit ministry. They hate it. When we went to Martin Lloyd-Jones Church, the guy almost choked to actually tell us about the pulpit.

I wanted a photograph in the pulpit of Martin Lloyd-Jones, a great preacher who impacted his generation. So the guy took me up there. The guys looked through the glass with envy. I seen them dribbling out of either side of their mouth as though, watch me get a photograph in Martin Lloyd-Jones pulpit.

And I said, can my friends come get a photograph as well? And you know, the guy downplayed. You see, they didn't preach up there. They actually brought a nice little didgeridoo down amongst the people and said, oh, we don't believe being up there in the pulpit.

We're just one of the people. We minister on their level. That was their generation. What a disaster. Do you know, we live in a church generation. They're against men standing in the pulpit preaching.

Only two men standing preaching, teaching everyone. Where's the other preachers and teachers? Only two men for an entire year. But you know what I want to tell you, at the end of that year, there were Christians in that city.

All over, everybody knew that there's Christians. Much people, not just a select, small, elite group. And you need to hear this. You see, Christians were produced. If you only had a small bunch of elite, carefully chosen people, then you could maybe say, yes, Christians.

But no, this was hundreds, thousands of people out of every background, out of every culture, every religion in that city, every form of sin, every age, male and female, young and old, out of every sort of home and background, out of every tragedy.

Do you hear what I'm saying? You're talking about thousands, thousands of people coming out of that city. And at the end, after being taught the Word of God, they are called Christians. These are new converts, fresh out of the world.

Can you imagine the marriage problems? Can you imagine the terrible sins and addictions they were involved in? I guarantee there's people sitting there, used to be temple prostitutes. In other words, they religiously gave their body over to men every single day of their life.

Now, after a year, they're called Christians, are Christ-like, are devotees of the Lord Jesus Christ. Something is really happening. Much people are being taught. Teaching leads to Christ-likeness. You see, this is the secret of a Christ-like church.

Antioch was a Christ-like church. I want us to be a Christ-like church. The teaching has to be more than mere hearing of information, or debate and discussion over theology, or talking about prophecy and end days.

You know, I've talked on the Great Reset and prophetic things, and I love to do that, and I've got so much more to say. But I'm going to deal with families in this hour. You know, people want me to talk about, well, what's happening with the Great Reset?

What's going to happen in the next year? I want to tell you, I'm in the will of God preaching on marriages at this particular time. That's the greatest way for you to be prepared as a church for the Great Reset, and all that's coming on our world, and the sorrows, and all the change, and the economy collapsing.

It's going to happen very soon. Going to happen very soon. Everything's coming to your door. Oh, don't think it's all over. It's not. But I'm telling you, I teach on families, on marriage, on the issues of the heart, on Christlikeness, and it's the best way for you to get prepared, I want to tell you.

You see, Christ, these two converted Jewish preachers were preaching Christ. What do you think they taught them? Do you think it was mere information, Bible prophecy studies, information on having your best life now?

You know what? Why they were called Christians after a year. Do you know why? Because two teachers weren't teaching information. They were teaching Christ. They were preaching Christ. They were ministering Christ.

They were making people to arise and live Christ, and speak Christ, and think Christ, and act Christ, and allowing Christ to live through all of these members of the body. They revealed the Messiah in their teaching.

They preached a person, not a creed. And as they opened up the Word of God, they taught, they opened up, they expounded. They opened up the old Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament. They taught the Old Testament Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.

They actually taught how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. Remember, this is a pagan city. They don't have a clue about Judaism, many of them. They're saved out of paganism, heathenism, idolatry, sexual sin, perversion, immorality, everything.

They're saved. What do two Bible teachers start teaching? Christ is the Messiah that was prophesied in the Jewish Scripture. He is the fulfillment. He is the promised one that is in the Old Testament.

They taught the Old Testament Scripture. They didn't have a new style of worship. They didn't have wonderfully changing, flashing lights. Do you realize how much this city had? They could have drawn in all of the cultural, religious agendas.

They could have brought the latest thing to the stage. Oh no, they didn't. They brought the Old Testament Scriptures, prophecies about the Messiah. They went to Genesis. They went to Malachi. They went to Isaiah.