Sunday, May 25, 2014

Acts 2:42-47 "The Model Church"

                Creating and integrating new church programs, bringing new people into the church simply as a means to grow in number and membership, increasing a church’s presence within a community, creating and implementing mission/vision statements, and church revitalization plans; these are just a few of the hot topics in the modern American church today.  These are just a few of the sort of administrative matters that numerous church conferences are aimed at.  Not all, but some.  If you want to sell a lot of books, write something about one of these topics.  There are services and organizations devoted solely to helping churches in these areas.  Some good, some not so good.  The amount of mail and emails that I get for these types of services makes up probably 80% of the communication traffic that I see per week up here.  However, these are not new areas of emphasis for churches.  These are things that have been something that churches have focused on for quite some time.  Sure, the substance has changed, but the principles behind it have been in place for hundreds of years.  We often get caught up in trying to have the most appealing and attractive (and therefore most perfect) church.  However, I’ve come to regularly asked myself if much of the efforts of churches are devoted to a bigger kingdom, or simply to a bigger specific congregation.  Do we want to see transformational growth within God’s kingdom, or do we want to see transfer growth to help our own individual churches?

                Last Sunday we looked at the greatest sermon ever preached (aside from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount).  When we were looking at Peter’s sermon, I said that it was a model sermon for how we are to present God’s Word to His people.  The principles for delivering God’s Word effectively were right there in Peter’s sermon, and every effort should be made to model such principles in our handling of the gospel.  Well, today, we are presented with another model, a model church.  The first Christian church there in Jerusalem was a model of what a church is supposed to look like and how they are to operate.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that new programs, mission statements, or any of the other items I listed a moment ago are worthless.  In fact, I find great value in a church deciding a direction for her ministry and committing full force to it.  I’m not saying that conferences are a bad idea.  Many times these conferences are helpful, especially when they help to spur church leaders to thinking more gospel-centric and less congregation-centric.  However, when we ask ourselves as a church body what we are to do, I think that the church here in Jerusalem gives us a pretty clear image as to how we are to conduct ourselves.  I think that we can gain a pretty clear image of at least the basic principles for how a church is to operate by looking at what the early Christian church did here in Jerusalem. It’s pretty simple really; they studied, fellowshipped, worshipped, and witnessed.

                Our text for today opens with Luke recording, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.”  In other words, the text begins with theses 3000 new converts (plus the 120 church members from chapter 1) learning from the apostles.  You see, this wasn’t just a small group of people.  This was a mega-church of some 3,120 people.  The question inevitably arises as to what they were teaching.  Were they teaching about their own thoughts or something else?  Well, the answer is that they were teaching from the only source of authority they had…Scripture.  It would have been quite easy, and possibly even expected, for the people of this church to sit around and just wait for something miraculous to happen.  After all, they were only a few months removed from Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.  However, they were not content to just sit around and wait for something to happen, they were active in their faith.  They were hungry in their appetite for the things of God.  They weren’t content in just becoming a follower of Christ, they wanted to know all that there was to know.  They couldn’t get enough of God’s word. 

James Boice emphasizes the importance of studying Scripture in his commentary on this text, not just of the early church, but of us as well.  He basically says that if we are a Christian, if we are someone who claims ourselves to be born again through the body and blood of Jesus Christ, then our studying (or at least our want to) ought to be something that flows naturally from us.  He says that if you are a proclaimed Christian, yet you do not hunger for God’s Word, then you ought to take a good look at how genuine your conversion is.  You know, the sad part of it is that that statement probably would send shockwaves through many American Christians today if we actually paid attention to it.  However, I think he’s right.  Think about how many folks you know, maybe even you yourself, who you would consider to be a good honest Christian person.  If they can confine their faith to a few hours a week when they’re in town, does that really resemble the faith of a person who has found out the lifesaving good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  No, I think that when our conversions are genuine, there is a hunger for God that is instilled within us that can only be satisfied by spending time with Him, in His Word.  So that’s the first thing that we see, they were a church that was learning and studying.

                The second thing that we see the church here doing is that they are enjoying fellowship.  Now, some comments need to be made here about fellowship because it is often misunderstood in today’s world.  We tend to think that any time we gather together with another person(s) that that is fellowship.  Well, it is, but it’s not the full extent of it.  The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, which has to do with having something in common.  It’s the same word that is us later on in verses 44-46, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongs and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”  Notice the use of the word all here.  This wasn’t a fellowship that existed just amongst a few.  Now I’m certain that in a church of over 3,000 there had to be some factions.  You know that those original 120 had to have some sense of superiority or seniority over the 3,000, or did they?  You see, if these 120 original members would have not welcomed the new converts as equals (so-to-speak), then I don’t think that this church would have worked.  There wasn’t a sense of earning your stripes or an unofficial probationary period that we find in most churches today.  No, this church sought the inclusion and acclamation of all believers in the life of the church.  When someone professed faith in Christ, they were accepted into this church family and participated fully in her life.  That’s what fellowship means.  We have to resist the inclination to have what could be called a secluded fellowship, a fellowship where we gather together with a few select people and try and keep everyone else out.  We have to question what kind of loving fellowship it is if it seeks the exclusive of certain folks.

                The third characteristic that we find of this church is that they worshipped.  “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”  They gathered daily for a time of worship.  John Calvin, during his time of reform in Geneva, tried as best he could to emulate this practice.  For a time, Calvin found himself preaching every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.  However, Calvin could not physically keep this pace and had to back off.  When defending his attempt at such a torrid pace of worship, Calvin pointed to the early church in Acts 2 as his model.  Now, I don’t want to go against Calvin, but I think that there is a little nuance in this text that we must pay attention to.  Yes, we’re told that they attended temple together, but we are also told that they broke bread (i.e. communion) in their homes.  In other words, there was worship in their homes just as there was in their temple.  As I said earlier, I fear that many churches today and many Christians in general fall victim to worshipping God only one day a week.  The only worship that is practiced is that of formal worship on Sundays.  Think about it, if we attend more than one service per week, we feel like we’ve spent all of our week in worship.  However, if we look at the model of the early church, we find that we are to either formally or informally worship God daily.  Some churches have designed things like vital groups, small groups, or circles to combat this problem.  However, it isn’t solely upon the church to rectify this error, but it falls on each of us to devote ourselves and our families to some type of worship of God on a daily basis.  It is important for our faiths that we worship Him daily.

                The final characteristic of this early church is that they witnessed, they were evangelistic.  “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”  How do you think these folks were being saved?  Do you think that they were hearing about what was going on in this new Christian (although that title doesn’t come for a few more chapters) mega-church in Jerusalem and they wanted to see what it was all about?  Well, I’m sure some came to be saved that way.  However, I would imagine that a majority of these folks who were saved came to know Christ through the outreaching and ministry of the church and her members.  This congregation went out in search of the lost.  They went out proclaiming God’s Word and inviting those who heard their message to come and repent of their sins and be saved.  Don’t mistake the language of “And the Lord added…” to mean that they were not active in their mission.  This language simply shows that Luke (the author of this book) knew full well that these people who were going out were only instruments that God was using.  But make no mistake about it, they were still going out.  They weren’t just sitting back and waiting for God to bring these people to them.

                We want to know what a church has to do in order to be successful in this world.  That’s been the question for hundreds of years, and it’s still the question many are asking today.  The only things that have changed with regards to this question are the incorrect answers; the ones that have to do with programs and marketing campaigns.  Now, there are many new programs and ministries within the church that are very good and needed, but those are the ones that fall in line with this church that is modeled here for us in Acts 2. The problem with our thinking is that we think of success in terms of numbers and numerical growth in membership.  We think too much of the church as a business.  However, I don’t think that this early church was concerned with their membership numbers as much as they were the growth of God’s kingdom.  They didn’t want to just have more folks around them, but they wanted to seek out and save the lost.  I often tell people who want to know about church growth that when a church does all the things that she’s supposed to do and does them well, then growth takes care of itself.  It’s not a scheme for man to figure out, but a result of God’s calling people to saving faith through the lives of professing Christians.  I’ll end today be telling you without hesitation, if you set your mind to modeling the Acts church and concern yourself with kingdom growth, then you are a successful church, regardless of what happens in terms of numerical growth.  When your foundation as a group of connected Christians is upon God and studying His Word, fellowshipping in His name, worshipping Him daily, and witnessing to everyone about Him, then you are fulfilling God’s call to be the church, to be the bride of Christ.  Let’s all commit this day to modeling ourselves and our lives after these Christians here in Jerusalem.  Let’s all commit ourselves to daily study, fellowship, worship, and witnessing.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Acts 2:14-41 "The Greatest Sermon Ever"

                When I was in seminary, my preaching professor, Dr. David Jussley, was a stickler for what he liked in a sermon.  He wanted a concise introduction that caught the attention of the listeners, he wanted 3 or 4 points of exposition of the text that were repeated often, and he wanted a conclusion that always pointed to the cross.  Now, these weren’t unreasonable or even impractical expectations, but sometimes it was a struggle to confine ourselves to such a rigorous structure.  Many of my classmates either worked at or attended FPC Jackson, where Dr. Ligon Duncan was the senior pastor.  Now Dr. Duncan is for my money one of the finest preachers that we have in the world today, much less the Presbyterian Church.  However, Dr. Duncan doesn’t really follow the model of introduction, points, and conclusion.  He begins to, and after telling his congregation that there were 4 points to his sermon, he would cover 3 of them, only to bring up his fourth point a few weeks later when dealing with a different text.  We would often ask Dr. Jussley about his opinions on Dr. Duncan’s preaching and he would never tell us.  Then, as we were all preparing to graduate and Dr. Jussley was soon to begin retirement, he finally broke down and spoke about Dr. Duncan’s preaching.  We were all thinking that he was just going to berate this man who was held in such high regards amongst fellow pastors.  However, Dr. Jussley simply said, “We you learn to preach like Ligon Duncan, you can get away with breaking any rule you want to, so who am I to criticize his preaching?”

                Ever since Peter preached this sermon here at Pentecost, it has been the model of what a sermon should look like.  Pastors, like myself, have spent time learning how to preach by following the model of prominent preachers before us.  Well, there is really no more prominent preacher in the Christian faith than the first one, Peter.  You see, this is the first sermon preached after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.  It has been studied and studied and dissected and really looked at from every single angle possible.  Now, many folks look at this text and say that it’s a wonderful sermon, but there’s really nothing that we can learn from it.  However, I would like to suggest a different outlook on this sermon.  Yes, it is a sermon.  In fact, it’s the greatest sermon ever (or at least the most effective), but that’s not all it is.  After all, a sermon is just a one-way conversation about Scripture and about God.  The principles about what makes up a great sermon and great conversation about God are very similar, the only thing that is different is the structure.  In other words, the elements and components are the same for sermons and conversations.  So, the same principles that we see in Peter’s sermon are the same principles that we all ought to have in our presentations and conversations about the gospel.  So as we look through this sermon, I want all of us to keep in mind the importance of all of these elements with respect to our witnessing and evangelism.

                When I look at Peter’s sermon, I see a few key elements.  The first thing I see is that it is full of Scripture.  We find that Peter quoted the prophet Joel as well as quoting David twice from the Psalms.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that the apostles most likely devoted themselves to a time of Old Testament study when seeking guidance over their next move.  Peter used that time of study to help him develop his sermon to not just be his thoughts, but to have evidence from the very books that those in Jerusalem held sacred.  I was on a mission trip a few years ago with a friend of mine and we were talking about memorizing verses of Scripture.  I mentioned to him that as long as I had Google, I really didn’t want to waste a lot of time on memorizing all that versification.  He very quickly and loving, yet sternly as well, corrected my thinking.  He told me how in his 20 years of ministry that nothing was more helpful to his preaching, counseling, evangelizing, and general Christian conversation than memorizing Scripture and where exactly it is found in the Bible.  I must admit that as time has passed and I have grown in my thinking and matured in my ministry, those words spoken to me that day were exactly right and are some of the most valuable instructions that have been given to me.  The same holds true for our conversations with others.  There is almost nothing more valuable than being able to precisely proclaims the truths that we confess, and what better place to take those truths from that Scripture itself.

                Another thing that we see about Peter’s sermon is that it is Christ-centered.  Now, if we are faithful to Scripture and don’t vary from what we find there, then this is sort of just a part two of being rooted in Scripture.  However, there is always that need for how what we find applies to Christ.  As I mentioned earlier, my seminary professor would always make us close with pointing to the cross.  His reasoning for this was often given to us in the form of an analogy.  You see, he was dog person.  He would often say that giving a sermon and not specifically pointing to Christ was like taking a dog outside and not teaching him what he was supposed to do out there.  Sure, he may pick up on using the bathroom by himself, but he also may learn to dig, chew, or any other number of bad habits.  In other words, sure, some folks may make the connection between that particular text and Christ, but there are some who may not.  The only way to be certain that those bad habits don’t form is for you to make the connections yourself.  So, in our conversation about God, we have to make the connections between what we read and how we are to react or what we are to think in light of that.  We are to connect Scripture and Christ with whomever it is we are talking to instead of leaving it up to them to make the connection.

                 Thirdly, we are to be fearless in our speaking.  This is one that I fear we are failing at miserably in our society today.  We find ourselves in a world that is so afraid of offending, that we have allowed the Christian message to lose its bite in some circles.  Whether it be shying away from certain topics because it causes debate or that we just don’t want to offend someone, we have lost that sense of fearlessness when it comes to the gospel.  We have allowed the potential consequences of our actions to deter us from what we ought to be doing and saying.  My kids know that there is a consequence for their incorrect actions.  However, when something comes up that they really want, many times they completely ignored the consequences and just go for it.  To them, the reward very much outweighs the risk.  Shouldn’t we have that same mindset and attitude when it comes to our faith?  Should we really shy away from speaking the truth about our faith because we are afraid of the judgment and consequences that might come our way?  Or should we say not what we want to say, but what we need to say?  Shouldn’t we speak the truth?  The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus says that we should grow in Christ and our knowledge of God, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”  (Ephesians 4:14-15).  We are to speak the truth with love and without fear, but we must speak the truth.  When we proclaim Scripture to someone else, we don’t do so because we offend them.  When we engage ourselves in Christian conversation, our goal ought not be to shame them (or at least it shouldn’t be).  No, our goal is to speak the truth to them because we love them and we want the best for them.  For those who have not heard the gospel, it is as if we possess the answer to ever question they have.  How could we ever keep that a secret?  How could we ever be fearful of speaking the truth to another person whom we care about?

                As we bring this look at Peter’s sermon to a close, I want to remind you of one thing.  The results that we see from this sermon (people being cut to their hearts, their wanting to know what to do, and some 3,000 conversions), it’s not all Peter’s doing.  Yes Peter had a great message that was rooted in Scripture, Christ-centered, and delivered fearlessly.  However, it was the power of God through the Holy Spirit that cause all of those folks gathered there to turn their lives to Christ and fix their eyes upon Jesus.  However, this account ought to serve as a great reminder and warning for us all.  For us to be our most effective and thusly be the most effective instrument for Christ that we can be, we must arm ourselves with the proper tools.  We must devote ourselves to God’s Word, and we must prepare ourselves to speak without fear.  Now, I can’t promise you that you will see some 3,000 people come to Christ as a result of this, but think about the impact that you can have if just one person comes to see Jesus through your efforts.  I can promise you that it is an amazing feeling, knowing that God used you to help give sight to the blind.  Amazing things can happen when we proclaim God’s Word, proclaim Christ, and do so without fear.  I don’t want to sound like I’m a magician or that Christianity and magic are in any way related, but stand back and prepare to be amazed at the wonderful and glorious things that God will do through all of us when we equip ourselves adequately for our service of Him.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Monday, May 12, 2014

The Michael Sam Debate

In light of Michael Sam getting drafted on Saturday:

I have heard a lot of folks giving time this morning to the fact that Michael Sam's announcement concerning his sexuality hurt his draft stock.  There have apparently been some ought there who thought that he was drafted so late in this years draft not because of his NFL potential on the field, but because of the potential distraction that he might be off the field.  However, for the last few weeks, I have heard nothing but negative things about his play ever since his poor combine results.  Most draft "experts" had him somewhere between the sixth and seventh round of this years draft, which is where he went.  He went in the seventh round, eight picks from the end of the draft.

The question now becomes what happens next.  Sam, like every other NFL player, will be brought into mini-camp.  Sam, like most NFL players, won't have any guaranteed money coming to him if he is cut.  Sam, like most NFL rookies and guys in their first few years, will struggle just to make an NFL roster.  However, unlike every other NFL rookie, their will be a lot of attention paid to Sam's status on the Rams roster.

From a football perspective, the Rams have one of the best defenses in the NFL.  In particular, their defensive line is their strength.  They have three All-Pro caliber guys, and added a potential fourth one int he first round of this years draft when they selected Aaron Donald out of the University of Pittsburgh.  There is a chance that Michael Sam might not be good enough to make the roster with the Rams.  The question then becomes, what is the reaction?  Will the reaction be the same that we find every time a player gets cut in the NFL?  Most folks don't even pay attention to a player who hardly even sees the field gets cut.  Or, will the sentiment displayed be one of hatred.  Will the folks who applauded Sam's announcement and the Ram's selecting of him then turn their hatred on the Ram's and their coaching staff for cutting him.  If the goal is to have equality and for Michael Sam to be treated like every other NFL player, then getting cut when you're not good enough is part of it.

I certainly don't agree with Sam's lifestyle.  However, I don't have any qualms with him making a living using his natural talents and abilities.  If he's good enough to make the roster, then he should be on the team.  If he's one of the best in the league, then he should be a Pro-Bowler.  If he's one of the greatest of all-time, then he should go into the Hall of Fame.  Obviously the Hall of Fame isn't even a thought right now.  Sam is just trying to make the St. Louis Rams roster.  I'm simply pointing out that whatever his abilities on the football field allow him to do, then he should be able to do it.

As for Sam's lifestyle, I'm against it.  For Michael Sam as a person, I hope he succeeds.  For Sam's cause, I'm really indifferent about it.  I hope that a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor wouldn't prevent them from making a living, as long as there is no religious or cultural conflict.  Last I checked, the NFL has a morals clause, but not a religious-affiliations clause.

Despite all of the possibilities, the thought still lingers in the back of my mind, "What if he gets cut?  Will this stance/cause that is supposed to built upon showing unconditional love become something that shows us only hate."  I guess only time will tell.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Acts 2:1-13 "The Gift of the Holy Spirit"

                The text that we have before us today is one that could be tackled from any number of angles.  We could spend a great deal of time talking about the day of Pentecost and what significance it has in the life of God’s people.  After all, it is both the day of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai and the day of the descending of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the other followers of Christ.  Because of this later event, it is sometimes referred to as the Birthday of the Church.  We could be tempted into dividing this text up and dissecting it really verse by verse with the clever wordplay that is used here throughout the text.  For example, the Hebrew and Greek word for Spirit also means wind or breath.  So in verse 2 when Luke writes of a mighty rushing wind, he is actually connecting what is happening to the Holy Spirit.  We could take time to really digest what is going on here with the speaking in tongues and the comprehension of those gathered there.  We could even take the time and distinguish between the people of God and those who were against him in the final two verses.  We’re told that some were amazed, and others thought that these folks were drunk at 9 in the morning.  As I said, there are so many angles that we could approach this text from, and I think that we would be justified in choosing any or all of them.  However, I was to take a much more simplistic approach to this text today.  I want to simply look at one of the things that I mentioned earlier, and that is the coming of the Holy Spirit and the reason for calling this day the Birthday of the Church.

                The word Pentecost in Greek literally means fiftieth.  It comes fifty days after the day of Passover.  This year, that happens to fall on June 8th.  Prior to its being the day of the giving of the law, its original meaning was a celebration of the Feast of Harvest.  It was the time of year when grain harvesting began.  The Feast of Harvest was the festival of anticipation of the fuller harvest yet to come.  If we take that original meaning of Pentecost and apply it to the fact that throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus spoke numerous times of his coming being like that of a harvest, we can assume that those who followed Jesus expected a greater and fuller harvest of souls during this current Pentecost.  Add this with the expectations that he had just given them in Acts 1 about the baptism of the Holy Spirit that is to come and the power that they are to receive at this time.  The followers of Christ gathered there had to be bursting with excitement.

                Now, we’re going to look at the entirety of Pentecost and what took place there over the next several weeks, but I want to pull our attention back to our text for today after giving you that background as to what was expected by those who were apostles and other followers of Christ.  And this is where we’re going to focus our attention for the rest of our time together this morning.  I want us to look together at Acts 2:4.  This is after the mighty winds rush through and after the divided tongues of fire fall upon all the people.  Now as a side note, the divided tongues of fire are simply a reference to talking outside of oneself.  In essence, it’s a sense in which those gathered around were speaking, but it wasn’t their words being spoken; it was God speaking through them.  But then in verse 4 we read, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  Many of us, and many readers of Scriptures and biblical scholars, are and have been drawn in by the notion of tongues and the fact that all those gathered there began to speak in tongues.  I’m not going to say that giving attention to these events is somehow wrong; however, this morning, I want us to focus simply upon the words, “and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”  In other words, I want to just set aside all the other things that we find going on here and just focus upon the filling of the people by and with the Holy Spirit.

                I want you to stop and think about that for just a moment:  they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit.  It doesn’t say that just the apostles were filled.  It doesn’t say that just those mentioned by name were filled.  It doesn’t say that only the most devout of Jesus’ followers were filled.  NO!  It says that ALL were filled with the Holy Spirit.  Isn’t that the most comforting, astounding, and amazing thing that we could hear?  To think that the same Holy Spirit that we first find in Genesis 1:2 (And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters) came and filled all those gather there in Jerusalem that day.  To think that the same Holy Spirit who we’re told about in Matthew 3 who “[descended] like a dove and [came] to rest on [Jesus]” is now descending upon and filling those gathered there in Jerusalem.  To think that the third person of the Trinity filled these people in Jerusalem is amazing.  There are some who might would even argue that it is more amazing than the second person of the Trinity, i.e. the Son, dwelling amongst humanity.  After all, this is God Himself not just dwelling with humanity, but within human beings, within fallen man.

                Now, let’s take this indwelling of the Holy Spirit experienced by all those in Jerusalem who followed Jesus and think about it in terms of us today.  This same Holy Spirit dwells within each of us right now.  Can you comprehend that?  Can you comprehend the magnitude of those words that I just said?  Can you comprehend that the same Holy Spirit who was there during creation, the same Holy Spirit what descended upon Jesus and then upon those gathered there in Jerusalem; that same Holy Spirit fills us this very day.  This type of thinking gives us a whole new meaning of and an even greater confidence in those (as I call them) power verses like Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”).  After all, we have the same Holy Spirit working in us and through us and to us that Jesus did.  Think about that.  There is no limit to what we might accomplish for the kingdom of God.  All things that are in line with the will of the Father are within our reach, they are within our ability and power.

                So, we stand here (well, I stand, y’all sit) and we realize that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us just as these apostles and other believers in Jerusalem did.  We may be tempted to ask ourselves why we don’t have the power to do the same things that the apostles did, the things that we will see them do over the coming months as we continue through Acts.  Why can’t we speak in tongues, heal people, drive out demons, etc.?  Well, the short answer is that we can, but that just isn’t God’s will at this time.  That is to say that God could use us to do those things, but His will is not for us to do that at this time.  And there’s much debate along this line about these types of activities.  They are referred to as spiritual gifts in many circles.  Some say that they are finished while others view them as very much alive today.  Now, my own personal opinion (and that’s all that it is, is an opinion) is that they are not in use today.  However, just because they are not in use doesn’t mean that they are outside of God’s power.  I firmly believe that if they were needed in the Church today, that God could empower all of us to do these very things that we will find the apostles doing here in the early church.

                Not wanting to go off in an entirely different direction, let me steer the conversation back to where we originally began, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The same Holy Spirit that was there at creation, at the baptism of Jesus, and descended upon the early church there in Jerusalem is here with us today.  He’s here with us in our daily lives.  He’s empowering us to do the things that we are able to do.  He’s here to make the elements on the table before us have significant to us.  He’s here applying the righteousness of Christ to all of our hearts at this very moment.  I mean, think about what we find here in these verses.  The Holy Spirit is with all believers.  We have the power of God working through us.  We have the power of God giving us the ability to accomplish anything.

                When you feel down; when you feel insignificant; when you feel like you’re just always a step behind or on the losing end of a battle, remember that the Holy Spirit dwells within you.  Remember that the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of God, is dwelling within you at this very moment.  The Holy Spirit dwells within ALL believers, within all those who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and have been baptized in His name.  This simple fact alone should eliminate the Christian pessimist.  But seriously, because of this simple fact, there is no limit to the great things that we can accomplish for God’s kingdom.  However, we must remember that this news doesn’t mean that we are all going to have superpowers or anything, but it means that anything that is in line with God’s with, that we have the ability to accomplish it.  God has a plan for all of our lives, and he has given us His Holy Spirit to accomplish that plan and purpose.  There is no reason for us to ever think that something is too big for us to overcome it.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Acts 1:12-26 "Christian Crisis Management"

                Last Sunday, we began our journey through the book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles as is its fuller title.  We saw a text that gave us a bit of the foundational elements of the church.  We looked at a text that established the primary focus and function of the church.  We saw that we aren’t necessarily to be concerned with knowing everything, but taking what we do know, i.e. the gospel, out into the world.  We also noted that the same missionary mandate that the church is to operate with is to extend to all of her members as well.  In other words, we’re not supposed to just sit idly by and wait for the church to do the work of God, but instead we are all to seek to fulfill the commands of God.  And this makes perfectly logical sense, seeing as how the church is made up of the collection of her people.  We’ve all heard many times after a devastating natural disaster destroys a church building that the church is much more than brick and mortar.  We’re always reminded that the church is not a building, but a people.  Today, we will look at the first church crisis that must be overcome.  We’re going to look at the first problem faced by the people that made up this body of believers.  We’re going to see how the people of that church handled their dilemma.  Ultimately, we’re going to see how these principles translate to today and what handling a crisis in a Christian manner ought to look like in our lives.

                As we’ve already said, last week we looked at the missionary mandate that Jesus gave to his apostles; he gave them a mission that they were to complete.  They were to be Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.  Then, after giving them that mission, Jesus ascended into the heavens.  However, he didn’t come back, but then two angels informed the apostles that Jesus was gone.  Well, I don’t know if it dawned on you last week, but the disciples never really received any instructions as to what to do next.  Sure, they were told to take God’s word out into the world, but they were never really told how to do it.  It would be similar to me telling someone to build me a house, but never telling them where, what size, or any other useful and necessary information.  So, this group of followers of Jesus are faced with a problem.  They know that they are to take God’s Word out into the world, but they don’t know how to do it.  So, they go through the process of figuring it out.

                The first thing that we see that this group did was to gather together.  We see that they returned to Jerusalem from where they had been.  They didn’t all go off on their own like they did for a brief moment after Jesus was buried in the tomb.  They didn’t really know what their next step was, but they knew that whatever it was, it needed to be done together.  Next, we see that they waited.  They didn’t all gather together just to come up with some quick scheme and get to work.  No, they gathered together and they waited for their next move.  They took their time and were patient about what needed to happen next.  This brings us to the next step taken by these apostles; they prayed.  However, they didn’t just pray, they prayed together.  Verse 14 says, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”  We don’t know exactly what this praying looked like, but we know from the words “with one accord” that it was a unified prayer.  They didn’t retreat back to one location all to prayer separately, but they prayed in unity for what they were to do next.  There was a sense of oneness that was displayed through their offering up of prayers to God.

                Now, I want you to stay with me here to see this next step.  We’ve seen thus far that this group of apostles, this group of followers of Christ, that they dealt with their crisis by first, gathering together and fellowshipping together.  Next, they waited patiently and obediently instead of rushing into what they thought was best.  Then they prayed.  Well, after praying, they seemingly took time to study.  Now, this is where some explanation is needed, because at first glance you may be wondering how I get studying from what is written here in this text.  Well, the reason for saying that the disciples studied has to do with Peter’s words here about Scripture being fulfilled with Judas’ death and how that connects with the words of David from Psalms 69 and 109.  I think that we can make a logical assumption here that Peter’s want to replace Judas could very easily and I think did, spring out of his reading of Scripture, his reading of the Old Testament; specifically his being reminded of the twelve tribes of Israel.  After all it’s not like it would be unheard of for an individual or a group to accompany prayer with the reading of Scripture.  James Boice says this, “Two things go together in the Christian life:  prayer, in which we talk to God, and Bible study, in which God talks to us.”  Another reason as to why we could conclude that Peter and the rest of this group were studying at this time has to do with Peter’s sermon at Pentecost that we will see in a couple of weeks.  His sermon is just chalked full of Old Testament Scriptural references.  Now, we often tend to speak heavily of what we have most recently consumed.  I know that for myself, for example, that my preaching is much different if I currently reading from the book of Isaiah as opposed to the book of Philippians.  Think about it, don’t you find yourself most often quoting the latest literature that you’ve read?  So, Peter’s vast quoting of the Old Testament in his soon-to-be delivered sermon is another reason for us to suggest that the next step for the apostles here was study.

                So, this group has gathered, waited, prayed, and studied.  Finally, they arrived at the final step in their solving of this problem, they trusted.  We are told that they put forth two candidates to replace Judas:  Joseph and Matthias.  After another moment of prayer, they cast lots to see who would be chosen to replace Judas.  They trusted in God that the lot would fall upon the one whom God had appointed to replace Judas.  Now, this may seem like a sort of hocus-pocus type of way of going about replacing Judas.  We might be tempted to putting it on the same level as drawing straws or opening to any random Bible verse as our new life’s motto.  However, we have to remember that the casting of lots was following an Old Testament precedent.  The selecting of Matthias is seen as confirmation from God that he is to be Judas’ replacement.  Now, ultimately, we know that Matthias is never heard from in Scripture again.  We know that there are other apostles such as Barnabas, Paul, and Timothy who ultimately arise and so the selection of Matthias really doesn’t seem to amount to much.  However, think about the potential problem that existed at this point.  There was an absence, an opening of a spot among the twelve.  If something like that came up today, we would have campaigns, backstabbing, background checks, etc.  You see, the apostles were able to avoid all of that.  They were able to avoid all of the negative and damaging results that could have come about simply by following this model of problem solving.  They gathered, they waited, they prayed, they studied, and they trusted in God.

                So, we now ask the question of what this might look like in our lives or how we are to go about implementing these steps into our problem solving.  Well, the answer is to do the exact same thing that they did.  It really isn’t that complicated.  Sure, it may look a little bit different, but we are to follow the exact same steps that the apostles followed after the ascension of Jesus Christ.  When we are faced with problems, both in our churches and in our own lives, the model for how to deal with crisis situations in a Christian manner is right there for us.  First, we gather.  If it’s a church problem, then we gather as a church.  If it’s a family problem, then we gather as a family.  If it’s a personal problem, then we get someplace where we can “gather ourselves.”  In other words, we get away from the noise and distractions, and we get some place that only those going through the crisis are present.  Secondly, we wait.  This can be the most difficult step of them all.  After all, when we’re going through something, we want to fix it and stop the hurting.  I know that as a husband and a father, my first instinct is to just fix it.  Whatever it is and however it needs to be fixed; just do it.  Well, sometimes the best course of action is to simply wait.  However, it’s not as if we are to do nothing while we wait.  We are to pray and study Scripture.  We are to do exactly as Boice’s comments early told us to do.  We are to talk to God through prayer and have him talk to us through the reading of His Word.  And finally, we are to trust in the Lord that He is leading down the path that we need to go.  Trust in the Lord is a powerful thing.  It is something that can give us hope when everything around us would leave us hopeless.  It’s something that gives us courage when the things of this world make us want to run and hide.  Trusting in the Lord is the only way for us to keep our sanity and our faith in a fallen world such as this.

                The next time you or your family or any other group that you are a part of is faced with a problem or dilemma, I don’t want you to go about solving it or handling it the worldly way, the way that in which we just look for the first viable solution to our problem and go with it.  No, I want you to follow the model that the apostles set before us here at the beginning of the church.  I want each of us to gather, wait, pray, study, and trust in the Lord.  Now, I know that there are times in which immediate decisions must be made, but I’m not talking about those.  I’m talking about the problems, crises, and anxieties that cause us to worry.  I’m talking about those things at home or at work that cause us to lie awake throughout the night.  I’m talking about those things that cause us to wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and leave us unable to go back to sleep.  Friends, the only way in which we can go about dealing with our problems in a God-honoring manner is by following these steps here of gathering, waiting, praying, studying, and trusting.  I can’t urge you enough to follow the Christian model of dealing with a problem and not the one that the world seeks to promote so often.  After all, when we handle things in a manner such as this, a manner that honors God, we are given opportunities to bring about even great glory to and for His kingdom.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.