Faith and Community
Acts 4: 32 – 5: 11.
I. Introduction.
When I was pastor in Mississippi, I was expected to become a member of the Canton Rotary Club. I had never been a member of a service club before. I had been given opportunities to join clubs when I was in high school and college, but I had never joined. In high school, I played on the high school soccer team and worked during soccer season as a referee. I wasn’t a hardship case; the kind of student who had to work to help support my family. But I made a little spending money by refereeing soccer games and doing something I enjoyed doing.
In college, I had a little bit of scholarship money and a work study job in order to play soccer. We practiced every day during the season, and when it wasn’t soccer season, I managed to find plenty of things to do with my time outside of clubs.
So, I didn’t really want to join the Rotary Club…
But there were a group of 80 year old men who would not take “No” for an answer. There was one man in particular—Robert Filgo—who insisted that I join the Rotary Club. When we first got settled into town, Mr. Filgo called and told me that he would pick me up on Thursday for Rotary. I was to be his guest.
We went to the local “fish house.” I don’t know if we even have “fish houses” in Texas. In Mississippi, a “fish house” is a restaurant that just appears on the side of a two lane highway, usually in the middle of nowhere. They are places to eat fried catfish—I say fried catfish as if there is any other way to eat catfish. They aren’t the fanciest of restaurants, but the fish, hushpuppies and French fries are always pretty good.
The fish house had a large back room, reserved every Thursday for the Rotary Club. The room had seating for about fifty people. The Rotary Club had forty members and a regular attendance of 25 – 30.
When I walked into the back room, the first thing I noticed that day was that the Rotary Club was all men. The second thing I noticed was that I was by far the youngest man in the room. I estimate that when I eventually joined, I brought the average age down to approximately 89.
Mr. Filgo took me to his table and invited me to sit down. We were the first ones at our table. The next man to come to our table told me that I was sitting in his seat. So, he took the seat next to me. The next four or five men who came to our table told me that I was sitting in Cecil’s seat and Cecil was in Jim’s seat, so everyone had to find a new place to sit. It was very uncomfortable for me to know I had messed up the entire Rotary Club by sitting in Cecil’s seat.
We ate our catfish, and the Rotary president called our meeting to order. We stood. Someone said a prayer. We saluted the flag and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, I noticed the only woman in the room. She was the piano player. The song leader stood up and announced that there would be no song books that day, because we would sing a song everyone knew by heart. The Rotary Song.
R-O-T-A-R-Y…
That Spells Rotary…
R-O-T-A-R-Y…
Is known on land and sea…
From North to South…
And East to West…
He profits most who serves the best…
R-O-T-A-R-Y…
That Spells Rotary…
Well, it was my first time at Rotary and my first time in any club meeting, so I did not know the Rotary Song. I just stood there feeling dumb, lost and not a little bit uncomfortable.
Then, we heard a presentation from an invited guest. At the conclusion of his presentation, the Rotary president came back to the microphone and announced, “Let’s stand and say the club motto as we are dismissed.” Again, I didn’t know the club motto, so I stood uncomfortably and then shook hands with all the well meaning Rotarians as we left the fish house.
When I got back to my office, I thought about how uncomfortable the whole scenario had been and how I would probably NEVER go to the Rotary Club again.
And then, all of a sudden, rather unexpectedly…I had a thought. I wonder if this is the way people feel when they come to church?
If someone comes to our church today for the first time, how will they perceive church? Do we seem to be a genuine community of people who welcome new people? Or, do we seem like a “closed group?” Do we have strange customs and rituals that outsiders find uncomfortable and just a little disturbing?
Do new people know where to sit? Do church members draw attention to the fact that someone is sitting in their seat?
Do we sing songs that sound strange to new people? Do we expect them to know the words to the strange songs?
I don’t want to sound too negative about the church. There is a negative side to our community. But there is also a very positive side.
If you subscribe to the email prayer list, then you have seen several “Thank You” notes come through your email this week. Three of our church members communicated through this email list how God answered their prayers. And all three of these “Thank You’s” said something like this, “I just don’t know what I would do without my church family.”
Church is perhaps the only community many of us have that truly takes care of each other during the trials of life. We pray for each other in times of crisis. We bring food to people who are grieving or to people who are recovering from surgery. We provide a community of support like nothing else in the contemporary world.
But, this begs the question…Why would anyone want to be a part of the church in Twenty-First Century American culture? The answer is very simple. People will want to be a part of our community, IF they can see that we are making a difference. However, if the church is just a place to go on Sundays and kill a couple of hours, then they have better things to do with their time.
In the book of Acts, it was obvious that the church was making a difference!
Read Acts 4: 32 – 5: 11.
It seems rather ordinary. Luke gives us an ordinary look into the life of the early church. On one hand, this reads sort of like a news account of the normal ordinary occurrences inside the early church. If this were a small town newspaper, it would end with the classic statement: “And a good time was had by all…”
On the other hand, Luke reports something rather extraordinary. The church was a new and different kind of community. It was not like the Rotary Club. It was not like the Junior League. It was not like the PTA. This is a group of people who are committed to each other. They genuinely loved each other and they truly meet the physical and emotional needs of their culture.
Don’t let this Scripture worry you. I do not intend to suggest that we give all our money to the church and form a socialist society where no one has his or her own property. I don’t want to suggest this, because I don’t believe it was what was taking place in the early church.
In the first place the Scripture says that the church members sold their property “from time to time.” If this had been a socialist society, they could not sell their property “from time to time.” No, they would have sold their property ONCE. Then, no one would have any rights to claim individual or family property.
In the second place, the Scripture specifically says that Barnabas sold a field that he “owned.” This was Barnabas’ field. Perhaps it had been handed down through his family for generations. Perhaps it was a field he had bought with the money he had earned in his own employment. Either case, it belonged to Barnabas and not to the leadership of the church.
The key concept for us to grasp in this story is the concept of using our possessions to demonstrate our faith. Barnabas was a man whose life had been changed by a relationship with Jesus Christ as his Lord. Barnabas’ faith was not something he simply talked about. Barnabas lived out his faith by using his resources or his possessions as a source for blessing other people. He saw a need in his church, and he took action to meet that need. He saw a family in need, and he took action to meet that need. In other words, Barnabas allowed God to use him to answer the prayers of other people.
II. The Difference Between Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira.
The story that comes after this, makes Barnabas’ story difficult to interpret. Barnabas sold a field and gave ALL the money to the church. Ananias and Sapphira sold a field and gave a PORTION of the money to the church. God honored Barnabas’ gift, but God killed Ananias and Sapphira.
On first glance, it seems that God wants people to give all their money to the church. Anyone who withholds money from God will be struck dead on the spot. But that is not how I read this story. I think we need to take a close look at the motives for the ones who gave their money to the church.
The Barnabas story comes right on the heels of Luke’s explanation that the church members sold property and gave the proceeds in response to real needs in the community. The Ananias and Sapphira story comes right on the heels of the Barnabas story. The need had been met. Ananias and Sapphira were not trying to meet a specific need. They were giving for another reason.
I think there are two choices for Ananias and Sapphira’s motivation. Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira were giving because Barnabas’ gift made them feel guilty. Or, and this is what I believe is the case, Ananias and Sapphira were jealous of the attention Barnabas got for his extraordinary gift. So, they tried to imitate Barnabas’ generosity. They wanted other people to think they were doing the same thing Barnabas had done.
However, Ananias and Sapphira did NOT do the same thing Barnabas had done. They sold property. They gave money to the church. They told the church they had done the same thing Barnabas had done. BUT, they were lying. They were trying to get credit for something they did not do. They wanted to be recognized by the church and rewarded for being generous.
III. Faith Leads to Community.
Money is not the only thing this Scripture talks about. Money is just the only thing we notice when we read it.
Money is actually the third and final thing mentioned in this Scripture.
Verse 32…All the believers were one in heart and mind…
There was a unity among the church members like nothing the ancient world had ever seen. This does not mean the Christians / Believers had turned into robots or that they had stopped to think for themselves. No. This indicates a kind of selflessness that is only possible through Jesus.
Naturally, all people think about themselves. It is unnatural for people to think about others or to be concerned about what other people need.
This can be true in the church as well as outside the church. Would you believe there are people who think church is all about them? I don’t mean our church. I’m talking about people in other churches. I know it is hard even to imagine this. But there are people who will go to one church as long as it “meets their needs and expectations.” And the moment things are not going the way they think they ought to go, they drop out.
This is the normal state of human life. Everyone wants the very best for themselves. It’s not normal to think about what other people need. It’s not normal, but it is possible once our lives have been changed by Jesus.
Verse 33…With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all…
Everyone who saw this church knew there was something different about the people and the community they made up. This church was not focused on itself. This church was focused on the people outside the church. They knew Jesus. They had been changed by Jesus. And, they wanted their friends, family members and neighbors to know Jesus too. They told the story of Jesus: his death and resurrection. They witnessed to everyone and invited them to become a part of their community.
IV. Conclusion.
The message of Acts 4 and 5 is a message about being changed by faith in Jesus. It’s not about money. But the way we use our money is one way we can know about the change in our lives.
In some ways, I think Twenty-First Century America is a lot like First Century Jerusalem. Money is our god. Money is our Lord. We will do anything just to have a little more money. We allow money to control us and boss us around.
If Jesus is the Lord of your life, then you can only have one Boss. Jesus is Boss. Jesus is the One who controls us. Money does not control people who are followers of Jesus.
We can use our money in ways that demonstrate our love for Jesus and the people of our community.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008: Grander Vision Living
This sermon is the fourth and final in a series of sermons based on a book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006). During these four weeks, our church members are meeting in Sunday night small groups in the homes of church members. We are using the Just Walk Across the Room small group curriculum produced by Willow Creek. The small group format includes four components: (1) food / fellowship time; (2) watching the Just Walk Across the Room teaching DVD; (3) group discussion; and (4) each person prays for three specific people they know who are "far from God." The four weeks will conclude with an event to invite the people we have been praying for to come to the church for an informal meeting to receive more information about our church and a brief presentation of the Gospel.
===============
Grander Vision Living
Acts 4: 23 – 31.
I. Introduction.
I don’t know what your Sunday School class chose to study this week, but I hope you did the lesson from Matthew 9. It is the story of one of Jesus’ disciples named Matthew. We have reasons to believe that Matthew and Levi are the same person. At least their stories are exactly the same in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, the call of the first five disciples sounds something like this: One day Jesus was walking along the shore of the Lake of Galilee. As he was walking, Jesus saw two brothers repairing their fishing nets. The brothers’ names were Simon and Andrew. Jesus made eye contact with Simon and Andrew and issued a very simple call, “Come. Follow me.” The brothers dropped their nets, stopped what they were doing and devoted their lives to following Jesus.
The same day, walking along the same shore line, Jesus encountered two different brothers—James and John, the sons of Zebedee. James and John were sitting in their father’s boat. Perhaps they were planning to cast off the shore and begin a day of fishing. Perhaps they were in the boat sorting the fish they had caught earlier. Again, Jesus got their attention and issued the same, simple call, “Come. Follow me.” James and John got out of their father’s boat and committed themselves to a life of following Jesus as his disciples. The Gospels never tell us what might have happened to Zebedee. We know that James and John never went back to work in their father’s boat. Perhaps he took early retirement. Perhaps he went bankrupt. Or perhaps he had to hire two new fishermen to replace his sons in the business. All we know is that James and John never went back to the life of fishing for fish.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all agree that Simon, Andrew, James and John were the first four disciples to follow Jesus. These Gospels also agree that the first teaching Jesus gave these four fishermen-turned-disciples was something like this: “Stop fishing for fish. Come with me and we will fish for people.”
In terms of a fisherman who has devoted his entire life to the skill, craft or even luck of making his living pulling fish out of the water, Jesus’ words to these first disciples describe a “Grander Vision” for living life. Jesus gave them a greater purpose for their lives. They had spent years pursuing fish. Now, Jesus wants them to pursue people.
According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, the next disciple Jesus called was a tax collector. Mark and Luke tell us this tax collector’s name was Levi, but the Gospel of Matthew tells us his name was Matthew. We believe this was the same man, because it is the same story. Jesus found Matthew sitting at his toll booth, collecting taxes. He was sitting by the Lake of Galilee, so we can infer that he was doing one of two things. Either he was collecting a toll from the people who traveled along the road, or he was counting the fish caught out of the lake and charging taxes to the fishermen. Either way, Matthew was hard at work when Jesus walked up. Jesus did the same thing when he encountered Matthew: He made eye contact and issued the simple call—“Come. Follow me.”
On one hand, Matthew responded to Jesus in the same way Simon, Andrew, James and John responded: he stopped what he was doing and committed himself to a life of following Jesus as a disciple. On the other hand, Matthew did something different. Matthew threw a party for all of his tax collector friends.
Tax collectors in the ancient world did not have a good reputation. They were regarded as traitors who showed more allegiance to the Roman Empire than they did to their fellow Jews. They were also known to be unethical in the fees they charged the tax paying citizens. In short, tax collectors were known as “sinners.” So, when we say that Matthew threw a party for his friends, we are saying that Matthew threw a party for sinners. This was just too much for the Pharisees to handle. Jesus—the newest Rabbi / Teacher on the scene—was attending a party with sinners.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. There are some modern day Pharisees who do not believe Christians should attend parties with sinners. They focus all their attention on the verses of Scripture that teach us to “keep ourselves separate and unblemished from worldly pursuits.” They completely ignore the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus, who actually preferred to spend his time with people who did not know God.
On Saturday night we are going to have our own “Matthew Party” here at the church. I want you to bring your friends. We are taking extra precautions to ensure that our “Matthew Party” lasts one hour or less. We are going to eat hamburgers; Shauna and our musicians will play some music; we will show a video highlighting the activities of our church; and I will close with a brief presentation of the Gospel. The only way this will work is if you bring guests. This will NOT be a church fellowship! This is an opportunity for church people and non-church people to spend time together in order to introduce people to Jesus.
Approximately 120 adults and youth have been meeting in small groups. I have encouraged each person to pray for three of their friends. Now, it is time to invite your friends. I think you should be honest and tell people, “We are having hamburgers in the Family Life Center. You will learn more about what our church does. And, my pastor is going to tell you what we believe.”
Simple. Anyone can come. But, please remember…This is not a church fellowship. It is an opportunity to introduce your friends to Jesus.
If you have not participated in a small group, you can still come. You can come, IF you bring someone with you. We need to know how many people are coming by Tuesday. Fill out the “Matthew Party” form. Give us your name and the total number of people in your party.
The “Matthew Party” is one way we can connect with the Grand Vision Jesus has given First Baptist Church. On one hand, some of us are very comfortable in our church. We know the songs. We have our own seats on Sunday mornings—seats that automatically form to shape our bodies. We are comfortable with the programs, activities and ministries this church provides.
But…something is wrong if we think church is all about us. Something is wrong with us if we think we are supposed to come to church only for the things that church provides us. Of course, we do provide ministries and activities so that you can get something out of church. But that is not why we are here. We are here to advance the Kingdom of God and push back the realm of Satan.
Read Acts 4: 23 – 31.
II. Verse 23: “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.”
A. On their release…
These words connect the following descriptions and teachings to the narrative of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. Peter’s preaching had stirred up the Jewish people and had led to 5,000 conversions. The Sanhedrin knew they had to put a stop to this Gospel preaching. However, they had no charges against the disciples, so they were forced to let them go.
B. Went back to their own people…
The Sanhedrin and the Jewish political / religious leaders had some things in common with Peter and John. After all, Peter and John were Jewish by birth. However, there was one significant difference between them. Peter and John were followers of Christ. When the Bible says, “they went back to their own people,” it is describing the common life of Christians.
I first moved to Texas in 1994. Very soon after I moved here, I read a newspaper article about the way Texans view themselves. There is no other state in the United States of America quite like Texas. Did you know that approximately 50% of Texans view themselves as Texans first and Americans second? This is not true about any other state. Only in Texas.
Christians ought to be the same way. We might find ourselves living in the United States of America—or even living in the great state of Texas—but our primary identity comes from our relationship with Christ. And when we find ourselves in trouble or hurting or under persecution, there is only one place we should want to come. To church, to be with “our own people.”
III. Verse 24: “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. Of course, I have lots of options. I could lie to you, or I could preach like the TV preachers do. I wish I could tell you that Christians do not have the same kinds of pain and suffering found in the rest of humanity. I cannot say that and tell the truth.
Christians suffer two types of pain. First, we experience the pain of being human. Death, divorce, broken relationships, cancer…This is the pain of living in a fallen world. Second, we face persecution that comes as a direct result of our faith in Christ. Just as we recognize a difference between us and the world, so the world sees us as different from them. As a result, we are excluded and even discriminated against.
However, as Christians, we can face pain and disappointment with confidence and with power. We can walk through the “valley of the shadow of death” knowing that God is with us. We experience God’s presence through our prayers and through the times we gather in the church with “our own people.”
IV. Verses 24 – 30: The Prayer.
Notice that the Bible says “they raised their voices together in prayer.” I can find two explanations for this expression. It might mean that the entire church started praying the exact same words in unison. However, it is more likely that the church prayed together in antiphony. The leader would pray out loud one line at a time. The congregation would repeat the same words out loud.
A. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
The God who comforts us in our time of need is the same God who created us. The God who created us has a plan and purpose for our lives.
B. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.'
The God who created us is the same God who has revealed himself to us in Scripture. This is significant because it shows us that God is the One pursuing us. God has not left us to our own devices. God loves each person individually and desires a relationship with each of us.
C. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
God’s pursuit of us did not end with the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament. God sent his Son Jesus into human history. By naming Herod and Pontius Pilate, we can place the life and death of Jesus into a historical timeline.
D. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
I do not believe this is a defense of a “predestinarian” view of God. This does not teach us that everything that happens is necessarily God’s will. It is a specific reference to the crucifixion of Jesus. The crucifixion was God’s plan from the very beginning. The crucifixion is not God’s plan
B. It was always God’s intention to pursue human beings and go to the great lengths of sending his only Son to die on the cross for our sins.
E. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
This is NOT what I would have prayed! I would have prayed for God to protect me and to prevent me from being arrested again. They prayed for BOLDNESS and for COURAGE to keep on preaching, no matter what they might encounter.
F. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
There are two sides to presenting the Gospel: miracles and preaching. It is God’s job to do the miracles. It is our job to do the preaching. We don’t get to decide what miracles God performs. The only decision we make is whether or not we will be faithful to describe God’s miracles in terms the world can understand.
God still performs miracles. He heals the sick. He quiets the storm. And most frequently, God changes lives. God takes a worldly, unashamed sinner and transforms him or her into a follower of Christ. This is a miracle. Our own stories of salvation are miracle stories to be shared with non-Christian people. Their lives can be changed too!
V. Verse 31: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
When God’s people pray, God shows up. We know that God showed up, because the room was shaken. AND, because God’s people continued to preach with BOLDNESS, even in the face of certain persecution.
VI. Conclusion.
There is a pattern in Acts 4, that is consistent with everything that has happened so far in the book of Acts. The church gathered for worship. The church scattered to witness. This was the pattern for the earliest church, and it continues to be the pattern for our church in the Twenty-First Century. This is God’s Grand Vision for us. We are not supposed to gather for worship and scatter to complain or compare our church to other churches. We are to leave this place of worship encouraged and emboldened to tell non-church people about God’s plan of salvation.
===============
Grander Vision Living
Acts 4: 23 – 31.
I. Introduction.
I don’t know what your Sunday School class chose to study this week, but I hope you did the lesson from Matthew 9. It is the story of one of Jesus’ disciples named Matthew. We have reasons to believe that Matthew and Levi are the same person. At least their stories are exactly the same in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, the call of the first five disciples sounds something like this: One day Jesus was walking along the shore of the Lake of Galilee. As he was walking, Jesus saw two brothers repairing their fishing nets. The brothers’ names were Simon and Andrew. Jesus made eye contact with Simon and Andrew and issued a very simple call, “Come. Follow me.” The brothers dropped their nets, stopped what they were doing and devoted their lives to following Jesus.
The same day, walking along the same shore line, Jesus encountered two different brothers—James and John, the sons of Zebedee. James and John were sitting in their father’s boat. Perhaps they were planning to cast off the shore and begin a day of fishing. Perhaps they were in the boat sorting the fish they had caught earlier. Again, Jesus got their attention and issued the same, simple call, “Come. Follow me.” James and John got out of their father’s boat and committed themselves to a life of following Jesus as his disciples. The Gospels never tell us what might have happened to Zebedee. We know that James and John never went back to work in their father’s boat. Perhaps he took early retirement. Perhaps he went bankrupt. Or perhaps he had to hire two new fishermen to replace his sons in the business. All we know is that James and John never went back to the life of fishing for fish.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all agree that Simon, Andrew, James and John were the first four disciples to follow Jesus. These Gospels also agree that the first teaching Jesus gave these four fishermen-turned-disciples was something like this: “Stop fishing for fish. Come with me and we will fish for people.”
In terms of a fisherman who has devoted his entire life to the skill, craft or even luck of making his living pulling fish out of the water, Jesus’ words to these first disciples describe a “Grander Vision” for living life. Jesus gave them a greater purpose for their lives. They had spent years pursuing fish. Now, Jesus wants them to pursue people.
According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, the next disciple Jesus called was a tax collector. Mark and Luke tell us this tax collector’s name was Levi, but the Gospel of Matthew tells us his name was Matthew. We believe this was the same man, because it is the same story. Jesus found Matthew sitting at his toll booth, collecting taxes. He was sitting by the Lake of Galilee, so we can infer that he was doing one of two things. Either he was collecting a toll from the people who traveled along the road, or he was counting the fish caught out of the lake and charging taxes to the fishermen. Either way, Matthew was hard at work when Jesus walked up. Jesus did the same thing when he encountered Matthew: He made eye contact and issued the simple call—“Come. Follow me.”
On one hand, Matthew responded to Jesus in the same way Simon, Andrew, James and John responded: he stopped what he was doing and committed himself to a life of following Jesus as a disciple. On the other hand, Matthew did something different. Matthew threw a party for all of his tax collector friends.
Tax collectors in the ancient world did not have a good reputation. They were regarded as traitors who showed more allegiance to the Roman Empire than they did to their fellow Jews. They were also known to be unethical in the fees they charged the tax paying citizens. In short, tax collectors were known as “sinners.” So, when we say that Matthew threw a party for his friends, we are saying that Matthew threw a party for sinners. This was just too much for the Pharisees to handle. Jesus—the newest Rabbi / Teacher on the scene—was attending a party with sinners.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. There are some modern day Pharisees who do not believe Christians should attend parties with sinners. They focus all their attention on the verses of Scripture that teach us to “keep ourselves separate and unblemished from worldly pursuits.” They completely ignore the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus, who actually preferred to spend his time with people who did not know God.
On Saturday night we are going to have our own “Matthew Party” here at the church. I want you to bring your friends. We are taking extra precautions to ensure that our “Matthew Party” lasts one hour or less. We are going to eat hamburgers; Shauna and our musicians will play some music; we will show a video highlighting the activities of our church; and I will close with a brief presentation of the Gospel. The only way this will work is if you bring guests. This will NOT be a church fellowship! This is an opportunity for church people and non-church people to spend time together in order to introduce people to Jesus.
Approximately 120 adults and youth have been meeting in small groups. I have encouraged each person to pray for three of their friends. Now, it is time to invite your friends. I think you should be honest and tell people, “We are having hamburgers in the Family Life Center. You will learn more about what our church does. And, my pastor is going to tell you what we believe.”
Simple. Anyone can come. But, please remember…This is not a church fellowship. It is an opportunity to introduce your friends to Jesus.
If you have not participated in a small group, you can still come. You can come, IF you bring someone with you. We need to know how many people are coming by Tuesday. Fill out the “Matthew Party” form. Give us your name and the total number of people in your party.
The “Matthew Party” is one way we can connect with the Grand Vision Jesus has given First Baptist Church. On one hand, some of us are very comfortable in our church. We know the songs. We have our own seats on Sunday mornings—seats that automatically form to shape our bodies. We are comfortable with the programs, activities and ministries this church provides.
But…something is wrong if we think church is all about us. Something is wrong with us if we think we are supposed to come to church only for the things that church provides us. Of course, we do provide ministries and activities so that you can get something out of church. But that is not why we are here. We are here to advance the Kingdom of God and push back the realm of Satan.
Read Acts 4: 23 – 31.
II. Verse 23: “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.”
A. On their release…
These words connect the following descriptions and teachings to the narrative of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. Peter’s preaching had stirred up the Jewish people and had led to 5,000 conversions. The Sanhedrin knew they had to put a stop to this Gospel preaching. However, they had no charges against the disciples, so they were forced to let them go.
B. Went back to their own people…
The Sanhedrin and the Jewish political / religious leaders had some things in common with Peter and John. After all, Peter and John were Jewish by birth. However, there was one significant difference between them. Peter and John were followers of Christ. When the Bible says, “they went back to their own people,” it is describing the common life of Christians.
I first moved to Texas in 1994. Very soon after I moved here, I read a newspaper article about the way Texans view themselves. There is no other state in the United States of America quite like Texas. Did you know that approximately 50% of Texans view themselves as Texans first and Americans second? This is not true about any other state. Only in Texas.
Christians ought to be the same way. We might find ourselves living in the United States of America—or even living in the great state of Texas—but our primary identity comes from our relationship with Christ. And when we find ourselves in trouble or hurting or under persecution, there is only one place we should want to come. To church, to be with “our own people.”
III. Verse 24: “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. Of course, I have lots of options. I could lie to you, or I could preach like the TV preachers do. I wish I could tell you that Christians do not have the same kinds of pain and suffering found in the rest of humanity. I cannot say that and tell the truth.
Christians suffer two types of pain. First, we experience the pain of being human. Death, divorce, broken relationships, cancer…This is the pain of living in a fallen world. Second, we face persecution that comes as a direct result of our faith in Christ. Just as we recognize a difference between us and the world, so the world sees us as different from them. As a result, we are excluded and even discriminated against.
However, as Christians, we can face pain and disappointment with confidence and with power. We can walk through the “valley of the shadow of death” knowing that God is with us. We experience God’s presence through our prayers and through the times we gather in the church with “our own people.”
IV. Verses 24 – 30: The Prayer.
Notice that the Bible says “they raised their voices together in prayer.” I can find two explanations for this expression. It might mean that the entire church started praying the exact same words in unison. However, it is more likely that the church prayed together in antiphony. The leader would pray out loud one line at a time. The congregation would repeat the same words out loud.
A. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
The God who comforts us in our time of need is the same God who created us. The God who created us has a plan and purpose for our lives.
B. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.'
The God who created us is the same God who has revealed himself to us in Scripture. This is significant because it shows us that God is the One pursuing us. God has not left us to our own devices. God loves each person individually and desires a relationship with each of us.
C. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
God’s pursuit of us did not end with the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament. God sent his Son Jesus into human history. By naming Herod and Pontius Pilate, we can place the life and death of Jesus into a historical timeline.
D. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
I do not believe this is a defense of a “predestinarian” view of God. This does not teach us that everything that happens is necessarily God’s will. It is a specific reference to the crucifixion of Jesus. The crucifixion was God’s plan from the very beginning. The crucifixion is not God’s plan
B. It was always God’s intention to pursue human beings and go to the great lengths of sending his only Son to die on the cross for our sins.
E. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
This is NOT what I would have prayed! I would have prayed for God to protect me and to prevent me from being arrested again. They prayed for BOLDNESS and for COURAGE to keep on preaching, no matter what they might encounter.
F. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
There are two sides to presenting the Gospel: miracles and preaching. It is God’s job to do the miracles. It is our job to do the preaching. We don’t get to decide what miracles God performs. The only decision we make is whether or not we will be faithful to describe God’s miracles in terms the world can understand.
God still performs miracles. He heals the sick. He quiets the storm. And most frequently, God changes lives. God takes a worldly, unashamed sinner and transforms him or her into a follower of Christ. This is a miracle. Our own stories of salvation are miracle stories to be shared with non-Christian people. Their lives can be changed too!
V. Verse 31: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
When God’s people pray, God shows up. We know that God showed up, because the room was shaken. AND, because God’s people continued to preach with BOLDNESS, even in the face of certain persecution.
VI. Conclusion.
There is a pattern in Acts 4, that is consistent with everything that has happened so far in the book of Acts. The church gathered for worship. The church scattered to witness. This was the pattern for the earliest church, and it continues to be the pattern for our church in the Twenty-First Century. This is God’s Grand Vision for us. We are not supposed to gather for worship and scatter to complain or compare our church to other churches. We are to leave this place of worship encouraged and emboldened to tell non-church people about God’s plan of salvation.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008: The Power of Story
This sermon is the third of four sermons based on a book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006). During these four weeks, our church members are meeting in Sunday night small groups in the homes of church members. We are using the Just Walk Across the Room small group curriculum produced by Willow Creek. The small group format includes four components: (1) food / fellowship time; (2) watching the Just Walk Across the Room teaching DVD; (3) group discussion; and (4) each person prays for three specific people they know who are "far from God." The four weeks will conclude with an event to invite the people we have been praying for to come to the church for an informal meeting to receive more information about our church and a brief presentation of the Gospel.
===============
The Power of Story
Acts 4: 1 – 22
I. Introduction.
Last Sunday, I preached a different kind of sermon. I preached a sermon with points. I grew up with preachers who preached points. The joke we often tell about sermons is that they contain three points and a poem. Of course, the pastors I grew up with didn’t read poetry or use poetry in the pulpit. They usually preached three points and a death bed story—a story about a man or woman who finally recognized his or her need for Christ at the very last possible moment.
In my own preaching, I have tried to do something different. I like to say that I preach “pointless sermons.” What I mean by that is that I try to stick with one point, or sometimes two points. If I can communicate one point in a way that you leave here understanding the one point, then I feel like I have been successful.
I do this for a couple of reasons. First, how many times have you heard a pastor preach a three point sermon and walk away thinking you just heard three sermons? Second, how many times have you heard a three point sermon that lasted as long as three sermons?
I believe there is a place for three point sermons. There are some things that are best communicated by listing three or more points. In fact, I think of three point sermons as a kind of list. And everyone needs to keep lists. Some of you are probably making a list right now. You are thinking, “I need to buy eggs, milk, bread, peanut butter…” Or you are thinking, “I need to go to the bank, the grocery store, and then take my taxes to the Post Office.” Lists are important. But, lists are hard to remember.
Last Sunday, I preached a list of ideas about building relationships with people outside the church. I honestly do not believe there is anyone here who can recite the list back to me right now. In fact, you might remember that I had a hard time remembering the list while I was preaching. I had to go back and look at my notes to make sure I didn’t leave anything out.
This is why I like to preach stories. You may not remember the list I gave you last week. But you do remember the story I told you. I told you about a man who had been crippled for his entire life. He sat outside the temple, begging for money. Peter and John saw the man. And, even though they did not have any money, they gave him something. They introduced him to Jesus.
I don’t think I am very different from other people. I go to the grocery store and forget to buy the things on my list. I go through my work day and forget to do things on my “to do” list. But I can remember stories. I am interested in stories and want to listen to people who tell stories about their own lives. This is especially true when someone tells me a story they are passionate about.
Read Acts 4: 1 – 22.
Today’s story begins on the front steps of the temple and moves to the Jerusalem City Jail and then to the courtroom of the Jewish Sanhedrin. This story represents the first resistance the disciples faced since the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It gives us a peek into the future of the Gospel. Wherever the Gospel is preached, people will be divided. Some people will hear the Gospel and respond with repentance and faith. Other people will hear the Gospel and recognize the Gospel as a threat to their way of life and do everything in their power to stop other people from coming to faith.
This story also contains a portion of Peter’s second sermon as well as his testimony before the Jewish authorities.
Peter’s first sermon happened on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the first Christians, and all the people of Jerusalem heard the sound of a roaring wind. The wind attracted the crowd, and Peter preached the Gospel to the gathered crowd. Three thousand people were saved that day.
Peter’s second sermon happened after a 40 year old crippled man had been healed. This man had been crippled from birth. He sat on the front steps of the temple, begging for money from the Jewish people who came to the temple for their daily 3:00 prayer time. When the man asked Peter and John for money, Peter reached out his hand to the crippled man and said, “Silver and gold have I none. But what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”
When this man was healed, he could not keep it secret. He stood, he walked, he jumped, he yelled, and he gave glory to God. Again, this attracted a crowd, and Peter used this as an occasion to confront the Jewish people with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Peter’s second sermon contained a very Jewish presentation of the Gospel. He started in the Old Testament, the Bible for the Jews. He quoted from Moses, Samuel, Isaiah and all the prophets. He showed them how Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the fulfillment of every Jewish hope described in their Scriptures. Jesus fulfilled all the hopes of Israel. But, the Jewish people collaborated with the Roman government to crucify Jesus. Of course, that is not the end of the story.
Peter told the Jewish men and women of Jerusalem that they were responsible for killing Jesus, but God was responsible for bringing Jesus back to life. They had killed the Messiah, but they could not kill the hope the Messiah brought for Israel.
This is the beginning of a long New Testament debate about who is the True Israel. The Jewish religious leaders claimed that God would keep the promises of the Old Testament to anyone who was born into the nation of Israel. Peter told his audience—and Paul later takes up the same argument—that True Israel does not describe a race of people related to one another through biological birth. NO! True Israel describes the men and women who place their faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah.
The promises God made in the Old Testament will be fulfilled. God will never break the promises he made. However, these promises will be fulfilled in the lives of True Israel.
II. The Jesus Story.
The story that Peter told that day is the story of the Gospel. I will call it the “Jesus Story.” It is the same story we are supposed to tell in the Twenty-First Century. The story has never changed, because God has never changed.
Every man and woman who has ever lived has the same basic need. We are sinners and are unable to have a relationship with God.
God has demonstrated his moral standard for us in the Law of the Old Testament. God wants us to live moral and righteous lives—lives free from murder, hate, sexual immorality, lies, gossip and slander.
However, we are incapable of living this kind of life. At our basic human level, we are rebellious and do not want to follow God’s plan for our lives. On our best days, we earnestly desire to live moral and righteous lives. But, we cannot do it. We are our own worst enemies. We desire righteousness, but we fail to live up to the standards God set for us. Often, we fail to live up to the standards we set for ourselves.
God recognized our human predicament and provided a way. As Peter said in Acts 4: 12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” God sent his Son Jesus as the only way we might be saved.
No human being is capable of meeting God’s requirements for morality and righteousness. But we can meet God’s requirements for salvation. As Peter preached in Acts 3 and 4, the only way to be saved is to let Jesus do it for us.
III. Our Story.
When we reach a point in life that we realize we cannot meet God’s requirements for morality and righteousness, we can enter into the Jesus Story through faith. We enter into the Jesus Story by praying something like this: “God, I cannot meet your requirements. I need Jesus to forgive me of my past and lead me in a new future.”
At this moment, the Jesus Story becomes My Story as well.
When we tell the Jesus Story to our friends and family members, it is important for us to show how the Jesus Story is also Our Story. And the only way to do that is to talk about the change Jesus brought about in your life.
We see this in the confrontation that followed Peter’s second sermon. The healed man caused a scene. A crowd gathered, and Peter preached the Jesus Story to the crowd. After Peter’s first sermon, 3,000 people were saved! After Peter’s second sermon, 5,000 people were saved! He gets better every time he preaches!
Five thousand new Christians attracted a different kind of crowd. The Jewish religious leaders gathered around Peter and John and tried to get them to stop preaching. They asked the question all authority figures ask when someone is breaking the rules. They asked, “Who gave you the right to do this?”
Their question gave Peter another opportunity to tell the Jesus Story. And as Peter retold the Jesus Story, the religious leaders noticed a change in Peter and John. Peter and John were simple, uneducated men. They had not studied in the Jewish seminaries. They were not trained in rhetoric or in public speaking. They simply told their own personal stories about Jesus, and they told those stories with passion.
Before Peter and John met Jesus, they were fishermen. They did not have an education, because they did not need an education. They had been taught by their own fathers how to make nets, repair a boat, catch fish and sell fish in the marketplace. But after they met Jesus, their lives were changed. They knew the Bible, they understood the promises of God and they communicated salvation to Jewish men and women with passion.
Later in the conversation with the religious leaders, Peter tells us about another change that took place in his life. The religious leaders recognized that Peter and John believed in the message they were preaching. But, they still felt the need to stop them from preaching. So, with all the authority of the Jewish political and religious systems they commanded the disciples to stop preaching. In verse 19, Peter said, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
This is a bold statement. Peter stood face to face with the same people who had crucified Jesus. These people had the political power to crucify Peter also. These people had the religious authority to expel Peter from worshipping in the temple. And Peter looked into their eyes and said, “I will not obey your command.”
Do you realize who this is speaking? This is the same man who only 52 days earlier had been confronted by a slave girl. In the ancient world, women had no power, and slaves could do no harm to people who were not slaves. When a woman with no power whatsoever asked Peter if he were a disciple of Jesus, Peter denied ever knowing who Jesus was! Now, Peter was standing up to the most powerful people in the Jewish political and religious world.
Peter’s story would sound something like this: “I was a simple, uneducated fisherman. I had heard about the Old Testament Law before, but I knew I could not measure up to God’s standards. Then I met Jesus. He told me that God loved me and wanted me to spend eternity in heaven. Jesus changed me from a simple fisherman into preacher who tells other people how they can go to heaven.”
Or, Peter could tell his story like this: “I thought I was so brave. Everyone thought I was the guy who never backed down from a fight. But that wasn’t me. I was afraid to tell a slave girl about my religious beliefs. Jesus changed my life. Now, I not only believe Jesus is the only way to be saved, but I will risk my life for Jesus who died for me.”
IV. Conclusion.
In January 2005, I started working on a project for the church I was serving in Waco. The pastor in Waco had visited a church in Minnesota that used testimonies in their worship services every week. Each week someone would stand behind the pulpit and in less than five minutes tell the story of how they became a Christian. The Minnesota church called these stories “Faith Stories.” We wanted to start doing the same thing in our church in Waco. So, it became my responsibility to develop a way for people to write their stories and tell them in less than five minutes.
The most important part of telling your story is to tell how Jesus changed your life. If you were an adult when you became a Christian, this will be easy to describe. Maybe you were caught up in your career and making more money, but the Jesus Story helped you find something eternal to live for. Maybe you thought you could one day be good enough to meet God’s moral and righteous requirements, but the Jesus Story helped you discover God’s plan for salvation.
But, if you were like me…I became a Christian as a child. I heard the story of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection since I was an infant. It was hard for me to recognize what kind of change took place in my life. But, there was a change. This is my story: “I always believed that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross and rose again. I took it for granted. But one day I realized that Jesus died for me. I realized that God loved me and wanted me to have a relationship with him today and forever in heaven. I always believed that Jesus died for everyone. But it changed my life when I realized that Jesus died for me.”
===============
The Power of Story
Acts 4: 1 – 22
I. Introduction.
Last Sunday, I preached a different kind of sermon. I preached a sermon with points. I grew up with preachers who preached points. The joke we often tell about sermons is that they contain three points and a poem. Of course, the pastors I grew up with didn’t read poetry or use poetry in the pulpit. They usually preached three points and a death bed story—a story about a man or woman who finally recognized his or her need for Christ at the very last possible moment.
In my own preaching, I have tried to do something different. I like to say that I preach “pointless sermons.” What I mean by that is that I try to stick with one point, or sometimes two points. If I can communicate one point in a way that you leave here understanding the one point, then I feel like I have been successful.
I do this for a couple of reasons. First, how many times have you heard a pastor preach a three point sermon and walk away thinking you just heard three sermons? Second, how many times have you heard a three point sermon that lasted as long as three sermons?
I believe there is a place for three point sermons. There are some things that are best communicated by listing three or more points. In fact, I think of three point sermons as a kind of list. And everyone needs to keep lists. Some of you are probably making a list right now. You are thinking, “I need to buy eggs, milk, bread, peanut butter…” Or you are thinking, “I need to go to the bank, the grocery store, and then take my taxes to the Post Office.” Lists are important. But, lists are hard to remember.
Last Sunday, I preached a list of ideas about building relationships with people outside the church. I honestly do not believe there is anyone here who can recite the list back to me right now. In fact, you might remember that I had a hard time remembering the list while I was preaching. I had to go back and look at my notes to make sure I didn’t leave anything out.
This is why I like to preach stories. You may not remember the list I gave you last week. But you do remember the story I told you. I told you about a man who had been crippled for his entire life. He sat outside the temple, begging for money. Peter and John saw the man. And, even though they did not have any money, they gave him something. They introduced him to Jesus.
I don’t think I am very different from other people. I go to the grocery store and forget to buy the things on my list. I go through my work day and forget to do things on my “to do” list. But I can remember stories. I am interested in stories and want to listen to people who tell stories about their own lives. This is especially true when someone tells me a story they are passionate about.
Read Acts 4: 1 – 22.
Today’s story begins on the front steps of the temple and moves to the Jerusalem City Jail and then to the courtroom of the Jewish Sanhedrin. This story represents the first resistance the disciples faced since the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It gives us a peek into the future of the Gospel. Wherever the Gospel is preached, people will be divided. Some people will hear the Gospel and respond with repentance and faith. Other people will hear the Gospel and recognize the Gospel as a threat to their way of life and do everything in their power to stop other people from coming to faith.
This story also contains a portion of Peter’s second sermon as well as his testimony before the Jewish authorities.
Peter’s first sermon happened on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the first Christians, and all the people of Jerusalem heard the sound of a roaring wind. The wind attracted the crowd, and Peter preached the Gospel to the gathered crowd. Three thousand people were saved that day.
Peter’s second sermon happened after a 40 year old crippled man had been healed. This man had been crippled from birth. He sat on the front steps of the temple, begging for money from the Jewish people who came to the temple for their daily 3:00 prayer time. When the man asked Peter and John for money, Peter reached out his hand to the crippled man and said, “Silver and gold have I none. But what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”
When this man was healed, he could not keep it secret. He stood, he walked, he jumped, he yelled, and he gave glory to God. Again, this attracted a crowd, and Peter used this as an occasion to confront the Jewish people with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Peter’s second sermon contained a very Jewish presentation of the Gospel. He started in the Old Testament, the Bible for the Jews. He quoted from Moses, Samuel, Isaiah and all the prophets. He showed them how Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the fulfillment of every Jewish hope described in their Scriptures. Jesus fulfilled all the hopes of Israel. But, the Jewish people collaborated with the Roman government to crucify Jesus. Of course, that is not the end of the story.
Peter told the Jewish men and women of Jerusalem that they were responsible for killing Jesus, but God was responsible for bringing Jesus back to life. They had killed the Messiah, but they could not kill the hope the Messiah brought for Israel.
This is the beginning of a long New Testament debate about who is the True Israel. The Jewish religious leaders claimed that God would keep the promises of the Old Testament to anyone who was born into the nation of Israel. Peter told his audience—and Paul later takes up the same argument—that True Israel does not describe a race of people related to one another through biological birth. NO! True Israel describes the men and women who place their faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah.
The promises God made in the Old Testament will be fulfilled. God will never break the promises he made. However, these promises will be fulfilled in the lives of True Israel.
II. The Jesus Story.
The story that Peter told that day is the story of the Gospel. I will call it the “Jesus Story.” It is the same story we are supposed to tell in the Twenty-First Century. The story has never changed, because God has never changed.
Every man and woman who has ever lived has the same basic need. We are sinners and are unable to have a relationship with God.
God has demonstrated his moral standard for us in the Law of the Old Testament. God wants us to live moral and righteous lives—lives free from murder, hate, sexual immorality, lies, gossip and slander.
However, we are incapable of living this kind of life. At our basic human level, we are rebellious and do not want to follow God’s plan for our lives. On our best days, we earnestly desire to live moral and righteous lives. But, we cannot do it. We are our own worst enemies. We desire righteousness, but we fail to live up to the standards God set for us. Often, we fail to live up to the standards we set for ourselves.
God recognized our human predicament and provided a way. As Peter said in Acts 4: 12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” God sent his Son Jesus as the only way we might be saved.
No human being is capable of meeting God’s requirements for morality and righteousness. But we can meet God’s requirements for salvation. As Peter preached in Acts 3 and 4, the only way to be saved is to let Jesus do it for us.
III. Our Story.
When we reach a point in life that we realize we cannot meet God’s requirements for morality and righteousness, we can enter into the Jesus Story through faith. We enter into the Jesus Story by praying something like this: “God, I cannot meet your requirements. I need Jesus to forgive me of my past and lead me in a new future.”
At this moment, the Jesus Story becomes My Story as well.
When we tell the Jesus Story to our friends and family members, it is important for us to show how the Jesus Story is also Our Story. And the only way to do that is to talk about the change Jesus brought about in your life.
We see this in the confrontation that followed Peter’s second sermon. The healed man caused a scene. A crowd gathered, and Peter preached the Jesus Story to the crowd. After Peter’s first sermon, 3,000 people were saved! After Peter’s second sermon, 5,000 people were saved! He gets better every time he preaches!
Five thousand new Christians attracted a different kind of crowd. The Jewish religious leaders gathered around Peter and John and tried to get them to stop preaching. They asked the question all authority figures ask when someone is breaking the rules. They asked, “Who gave you the right to do this?”
Their question gave Peter another opportunity to tell the Jesus Story. And as Peter retold the Jesus Story, the religious leaders noticed a change in Peter and John. Peter and John were simple, uneducated men. They had not studied in the Jewish seminaries. They were not trained in rhetoric or in public speaking. They simply told their own personal stories about Jesus, and they told those stories with passion.
Before Peter and John met Jesus, they were fishermen. They did not have an education, because they did not need an education. They had been taught by their own fathers how to make nets, repair a boat, catch fish and sell fish in the marketplace. But after they met Jesus, their lives were changed. They knew the Bible, they understood the promises of God and they communicated salvation to Jewish men and women with passion.
Later in the conversation with the religious leaders, Peter tells us about another change that took place in his life. The religious leaders recognized that Peter and John believed in the message they were preaching. But, they still felt the need to stop them from preaching. So, with all the authority of the Jewish political and religious systems they commanded the disciples to stop preaching. In verse 19, Peter said, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
This is a bold statement. Peter stood face to face with the same people who had crucified Jesus. These people had the political power to crucify Peter also. These people had the religious authority to expel Peter from worshipping in the temple. And Peter looked into their eyes and said, “I will not obey your command.”
Do you realize who this is speaking? This is the same man who only 52 days earlier had been confronted by a slave girl. In the ancient world, women had no power, and slaves could do no harm to people who were not slaves. When a woman with no power whatsoever asked Peter if he were a disciple of Jesus, Peter denied ever knowing who Jesus was! Now, Peter was standing up to the most powerful people in the Jewish political and religious world.
Peter’s story would sound something like this: “I was a simple, uneducated fisherman. I had heard about the Old Testament Law before, but I knew I could not measure up to God’s standards. Then I met Jesus. He told me that God loved me and wanted me to spend eternity in heaven. Jesus changed me from a simple fisherman into preacher who tells other people how they can go to heaven.”
Or, Peter could tell his story like this: “I thought I was so brave. Everyone thought I was the guy who never backed down from a fight. But that wasn’t me. I was afraid to tell a slave girl about my religious beliefs. Jesus changed my life. Now, I not only believe Jesus is the only way to be saved, but I will risk my life for Jesus who died for me.”
IV. Conclusion.
In January 2005, I started working on a project for the church I was serving in Waco. The pastor in Waco had visited a church in Minnesota that used testimonies in their worship services every week. Each week someone would stand behind the pulpit and in less than five minutes tell the story of how they became a Christian. The Minnesota church called these stories “Faith Stories.” We wanted to start doing the same thing in our church in Waco. So, it became my responsibility to develop a way for people to write their stories and tell them in less than five minutes.
The most important part of telling your story is to tell how Jesus changed your life. If you were an adult when you became a Christian, this will be easy to describe. Maybe you were caught up in your career and making more money, but the Jesus Story helped you find something eternal to live for. Maybe you thought you could one day be good enough to meet God’s moral and righteous requirements, but the Jesus Story helped you discover God’s plan for salvation.
But, if you were like me…I became a Christian as a child. I heard the story of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection since I was an infant. It was hard for me to recognize what kind of change took place in my life. But, there was a change. This is my story: “I always believed that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross and rose again. I took it for granted. But one day I realized that Jesus died for me. I realized that God loved me and wanted me to have a relationship with him today and forever in heaven. I always believed that Jesus died for everyone. But it changed my life when I realized that Jesus died for me.”
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008: Living in 3 D
This sermon is the second of four sermons based on a book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006). During these four weeks, our church members are meeting in Sunday night small groups in the homes of church members. We are using the Just Walk Across the Room small group curriculum produced by Willow Creek. The small group format includes four components: (1) food / fellowship time; (2) watching the Just Walk Across the Room teaching DVD; (3) group discussion; and (4) each person prays for three specific people they know who are "far from God." The four weeks will conclude with an event to invite the people we have been praying for to come to the church for an informal meeting to receive more information about our church and a brief presentation of the Gospel.
===============
Living in 3 D
Acts 3: 11 – 29.
I. Introduction.
My parents have always been the last people in the United States of America to adopt the current technology. We were the last household in America to buy a microwave oven. In fact, they still have the same microwave they bought in the late 1980’s. It is approximately the same size as a Toyota Corolla.
Shauna and I have been married for 15 years, and we are personally responsible for purchasing every CD player, DVD player and cordless phone my parents have ever owned. We take a lot of pride in the Christmas presents we have bought them through the years. If it were not for us, their grandchildren would not be able to watch videos at my parents’ house.
I remember very well the summer of 1977. It was the day my dad finally broke down and purchased our very first color TV. I did a little research to find out how far behind my parents were in 1977, and discovered that the last “new” television program broadcast in black and white took place in December 1967.
(Incidentally, my parents kept that 1977 RCA color TV until my brother and I bought them a new TV for Christmas 1998! The old TV was approximately the same size as a Toyota Sequoia. And for several months, the new TV sat on top of the old TV in their living room.)
I can remember watching all my children’s programming in color for the first time. I discovered that Big Bird is yellow, and Grover is blue. I discovered that most TV programs are better in color. There is only one exception! The Andy Griffith Show is not better in color.
Now, there is even newer technology for television: high definition. And, I suppose I am just like my dad…Because I have not yet subscribed to HD. But my brother has, and I got to watch the college football Bowl Games at his house in HD. And, everything looks better in HD.
The title of my sermon comes from the second section of Bill Hybels’ book Just Walk Across the Room. In this section, Hybels suggest a way for us to live in order to become better witnesses for Jesus. He calls it Living in 3 D. This does not refer to three-dimensional like when you went to the movie theater to watch Jaws 3 or Meet the Robinsons. These are three steps each of us could take, which will help us communicate our faith to people who are far from God.
Develop Friendships…Discover Stories…Discern the Next Step…
Read Acts 3: 11 – 29.
Last week, we read the story of Peter and John going to the temple to pray at 3:00 in the afternoon. Each day, they had encountered the same crippled man sitting on the front steps of the temple. Either they had never noticed the crippled man before, or they had never thought they had anything to offer the man. However, after they had received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter and John no longer saw this man as a crippled beggar. Now, they saw him as a man whose life would be better if he knew Jesus.
Peter reached out his hand to the crippled man and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…Stand up and walk!”
When this man stood up, he began to walk and run and jump and give all the praise and glory to God. Since it was the customary time for good Jewish men to come into the temple to pray, this caused a commotion. A crowd gathered around, and Peter did what Peter did best…He confronted the Jewish people with the Gospel. He told them the story of Jesus and how Jesus fulfilled all their Jewish, religious hopes. He told them about the crucifixion and how God was at work in the crucifixion, reconciling God and sinful humanity. AND, Peter told them that they were ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus.
This story is one of many biblical stories about sharing the Gospel with others. Some of you might be gifted to do exactly as Peter did in Acts 3. Others of you may not have the same kind of confrontational nature as Peter. Don’t worry. God has not called all of us to be just like Peter. However, God has called all of us to share our faith.
It is amazing how many Christians have tried to “make deals with God.” Perhaps you can relate to this. Some people have literal conversations with God that sound something like this: “God, I am willing to study the Bible every day and read the Bible through every year. I will memorize Scripture, and I will even teach other people what I learn about Scripture. But, please ask someone else to share the Gospel.”
Other people may never have a literal conversation with God like that. But that is the way they live their lives. Can you relate to that? Does your spiritual life include telling other people about Jesus? Perhaps you have memorized the entire book of Psalms. Perhaps you spend twenty hours per day praying for the sick. Perhaps you have given away half of your financial net worth to feed the hungry and clothe the poor. These are good things. But God never intended for us to trade away our responsibility to tell other people about Jesus. The only way for God’s Kingdom to advance into the realm of Satan is for people like us to tell other people about Jesus.
I. Develop Friendships
A. Spend Time with People who Are Far from God
Who are you spending time with on a regular basis? I work in a church office. I visit church people in their homes and in the hospital. I do weddings and funerals for church people. It is possible for me to spend an entire week around Christian people only. Most of you don’t work in a church, but perhaps all the people in your place of business are Methodists, Episcopalians and Presbyterians. Perhaps all of your friends come from this Baptist church or another church in our town.
The fact is that the longer a man or woman is a Christian, the more he or she spends time with other Christians. We connect with other Christians, because we have something in common. Friendships develop out of common interests. Sometimes, our common interest is a faith in Jesus Christ.
There are two distinct approaches to the Christian life. The first is what some people call the colony approach. I call it the “hunker down” approach. This is what we do when we run away from non-Christian people. We go to church on Sunday mornings. We work in Christian environments. We spend our leisure time with Christian people. We even send our kids to a Christian school. In short we do everything we can to “hunker down” with other Christians and have no weekly interactions with people who do not know Jesus.
The other approach is Living in 3 D. This is similar to what we witnessed in the life of Jesus.
The religious people did not like Jesus, because he spent all of his time with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus did not hang out with church people! Jesus spent his time with men and women who lived far from God. And, the result was that the Kingdom of God grew as lives were transformed by the Gospel.
B. Invest in Genuine Relationships
If we want to follow the example Jesus set for us, then we need to develop some relationships with people who are not like us. I know it is natural for Christians to seek out other Christians for friendships just like it is natural for Democrats to seek out other Democrats and for Republicans to seek out other Republicans. I am not suggesting that you do something unnatural. I am suggesting that you find non-Christian people with whom you already have a connection.
If you are an avid fisherman, spend some time getting to know other fishermen. If you are addicted to coffee and go to the same coffee shop every day, spend some time getting to know the people you see every day.
C. Resist Viewing People as “Projects”
The last thing I ever want you to do is to be fake. I genuinely want you to become friends with non-Christian people.
I remember when Shauna and I first got married, she auditioned for a singing role in the Mississippi Opera. A woman in the opera company showed an interest in Shauna and invited her to sing in some promotional spots. Then, this woman invited Shauna and me to her home for supper one night. We met her husband, we ate supper, we drank coffee, we enjoyed small talk. Then, they asked how we liked the coffee. We said it was very good. They said, “It is Amway coffee. We would like to sign ya’ll up to be in Amway with us.”
When we refused to sign up, the relationship ended. We were just a “project.” They were no longer interested in us when we would not convert.
II. Discover Stories
A. Listen First
If you are a friendly person and already have many friends, then you don’t need me to tell you this. You probably learned this in kindergarten. Everyone’s favorite subject to talk about is themselves. I like to talk about my own life. You like to talk about your life. We all like to talk about ourselves.
If you want to develop a true friendship with another person, start by asking them to tell you about his or her own life. Listen as other people talk about their families, their jobs, their hobbies, their political views, anything they want to talk about.
B. Speak Later
Once you have listened to someone else talk about his or her favorite subject, then you can talk about your favorite subject. Talk about your family, your job, your hobbies, your political views, anything you are interested in. This is how a friendship begins to develop. When the time is right, talk about Jesus.
C. Allow the Holy Spirit to Lead
This is where prayer is important. If you have a genuine friendship with another person, you will want the best for them. This is especially true for Christians who have non-Christian friends. Begin to pray for that person’s spiritual life. And ask God to open the door for a spiritual conversation.
A spiritual conversation might begin when the other person asks you, “How are you able to manage all the stress in your life?” Or, “Why were you not available to eat breakfast with me last Sunday?” Or, “What do you get out of going to church every Sunday?”
III. Discern the Next Step
God has gifted each Christian with different personalities. Just as you ought to be an authentic friend, so you should be authentic to yourself. It is OK to be the person God created you to be.
A. Confrontational Evangelism
1. Peter
2. Acts 3: 11 – 15
B. Intellectual Evangelism
1. Paul
2. Acts 17: 16 – 21
C. Interpersonal Evangelism
1. Jesus
2. John 4: 4 – 10
D. Invitational Evangelism
1. Andrew
2. John 1: 40 – 42a
E. Evangelism through Service
1. Dorcas
2. Acts 9: 36 – 38
F. Testimonial Evangelism
1. Man Born Blind
===============
Living in 3 D
Acts 3: 11 – 29.
I. Introduction.
My parents have always been the last people in the United States of America to adopt the current technology. We were the last household in America to buy a microwave oven. In fact, they still have the same microwave they bought in the late 1980’s. It is approximately the same size as a Toyota Corolla.
Shauna and I have been married for 15 years, and we are personally responsible for purchasing every CD player, DVD player and cordless phone my parents have ever owned. We take a lot of pride in the Christmas presents we have bought them through the years. If it were not for us, their grandchildren would not be able to watch videos at my parents’ house.
I remember very well the summer of 1977. It was the day my dad finally broke down and purchased our very first color TV. I did a little research to find out how far behind my parents were in 1977, and discovered that the last “new” television program broadcast in black and white took place in December 1967.
(Incidentally, my parents kept that 1977 RCA color TV until my brother and I bought them a new TV for Christmas 1998! The old TV was approximately the same size as a Toyota Sequoia. And for several months, the new TV sat on top of the old TV in their living room.)
I can remember watching all my children’s programming in color for the first time. I discovered that Big Bird is yellow, and Grover is blue. I discovered that most TV programs are better in color. There is only one exception! The Andy Griffith Show is not better in color.
Now, there is even newer technology for television: high definition. And, I suppose I am just like my dad…Because I have not yet subscribed to HD. But my brother has, and I got to watch the college football Bowl Games at his house in HD. And, everything looks better in HD.
The title of my sermon comes from the second section of Bill Hybels’ book Just Walk Across the Room. In this section, Hybels suggest a way for us to live in order to become better witnesses for Jesus. He calls it Living in 3 D. This does not refer to three-dimensional like when you went to the movie theater to watch Jaws 3 or Meet the Robinsons. These are three steps each of us could take, which will help us communicate our faith to people who are far from God.
Develop Friendships…Discover Stories…Discern the Next Step…
Read Acts 3: 11 – 29.
Last week, we read the story of Peter and John going to the temple to pray at 3:00 in the afternoon. Each day, they had encountered the same crippled man sitting on the front steps of the temple. Either they had never noticed the crippled man before, or they had never thought they had anything to offer the man. However, after they had received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter and John no longer saw this man as a crippled beggar. Now, they saw him as a man whose life would be better if he knew Jesus.
Peter reached out his hand to the crippled man and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…Stand up and walk!”
When this man stood up, he began to walk and run and jump and give all the praise and glory to God. Since it was the customary time for good Jewish men to come into the temple to pray, this caused a commotion. A crowd gathered around, and Peter did what Peter did best…He confronted the Jewish people with the Gospel. He told them the story of Jesus and how Jesus fulfilled all their Jewish, religious hopes. He told them about the crucifixion and how God was at work in the crucifixion, reconciling God and sinful humanity. AND, Peter told them that they were ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus.
This story is one of many biblical stories about sharing the Gospel with others. Some of you might be gifted to do exactly as Peter did in Acts 3. Others of you may not have the same kind of confrontational nature as Peter. Don’t worry. God has not called all of us to be just like Peter. However, God has called all of us to share our faith.
It is amazing how many Christians have tried to “make deals with God.” Perhaps you can relate to this. Some people have literal conversations with God that sound something like this: “God, I am willing to study the Bible every day and read the Bible through every year. I will memorize Scripture, and I will even teach other people what I learn about Scripture. But, please ask someone else to share the Gospel.”
Other people may never have a literal conversation with God like that. But that is the way they live their lives. Can you relate to that? Does your spiritual life include telling other people about Jesus? Perhaps you have memorized the entire book of Psalms. Perhaps you spend twenty hours per day praying for the sick. Perhaps you have given away half of your financial net worth to feed the hungry and clothe the poor. These are good things. But God never intended for us to trade away our responsibility to tell other people about Jesus. The only way for God’s Kingdom to advance into the realm of Satan is for people like us to tell other people about Jesus.
I. Develop Friendships
A. Spend Time with People who Are Far from God
Who are you spending time with on a regular basis? I work in a church office. I visit church people in their homes and in the hospital. I do weddings and funerals for church people. It is possible for me to spend an entire week around Christian people only. Most of you don’t work in a church, but perhaps all the people in your place of business are Methodists, Episcopalians and Presbyterians. Perhaps all of your friends come from this Baptist church or another church in our town.
The fact is that the longer a man or woman is a Christian, the more he or she spends time with other Christians. We connect with other Christians, because we have something in common. Friendships develop out of common interests. Sometimes, our common interest is a faith in Jesus Christ.
There are two distinct approaches to the Christian life. The first is what some people call the colony approach. I call it the “hunker down” approach. This is what we do when we run away from non-Christian people. We go to church on Sunday mornings. We work in Christian environments. We spend our leisure time with Christian people. We even send our kids to a Christian school. In short we do everything we can to “hunker down” with other Christians and have no weekly interactions with people who do not know Jesus.
The other approach is Living in 3 D. This is similar to what we witnessed in the life of Jesus.
The religious people did not like Jesus, because he spent all of his time with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus did not hang out with church people! Jesus spent his time with men and women who lived far from God. And, the result was that the Kingdom of God grew as lives were transformed by the Gospel.
B. Invest in Genuine Relationships
If we want to follow the example Jesus set for us, then we need to develop some relationships with people who are not like us. I know it is natural for Christians to seek out other Christians for friendships just like it is natural for Democrats to seek out other Democrats and for Republicans to seek out other Republicans. I am not suggesting that you do something unnatural. I am suggesting that you find non-Christian people with whom you already have a connection.
If you are an avid fisherman, spend some time getting to know other fishermen. If you are addicted to coffee and go to the same coffee shop every day, spend some time getting to know the people you see every day.
C. Resist Viewing People as “Projects”
The last thing I ever want you to do is to be fake. I genuinely want you to become friends with non-Christian people.
I remember when Shauna and I first got married, she auditioned for a singing role in the Mississippi Opera. A woman in the opera company showed an interest in Shauna and invited her to sing in some promotional spots. Then, this woman invited Shauna and me to her home for supper one night. We met her husband, we ate supper, we drank coffee, we enjoyed small talk. Then, they asked how we liked the coffee. We said it was very good. They said, “It is Amway coffee. We would like to sign ya’ll up to be in Amway with us.”
When we refused to sign up, the relationship ended. We were just a “project.” They were no longer interested in us when we would not convert.
II. Discover Stories
A. Listen First
If you are a friendly person and already have many friends, then you don’t need me to tell you this. You probably learned this in kindergarten. Everyone’s favorite subject to talk about is themselves. I like to talk about my own life. You like to talk about your life. We all like to talk about ourselves.
If you want to develop a true friendship with another person, start by asking them to tell you about his or her own life. Listen as other people talk about their families, their jobs, their hobbies, their political views, anything they want to talk about.
B. Speak Later
Once you have listened to someone else talk about his or her favorite subject, then you can talk about your favorite subject. Talk about your family, your job, your hobbies, your political views, anything you are interested in. This is how a friendship begins to develop. When the time is right, talk about Jesus.
C. Allow the Holy Spirit to Lead
This is where prayer is important. If you have a genuine friendship with another person, you will want the best for them. This is especially true for Christians who have non-Christian friends. Begin to pray for that person’s spiritual life. And ask God to open the door for a spiritual conversation.
A spiritual conversation might begin when the other person asks you, “How are you able to manage all the stress in your life?” Or, “Why were you not available to eat breakfast with me last Sunday?” Or, “What do you get out of going to church every Sunday?”
III. Discern the Next Step
God has gifted each Christian with different personalities. Just as you ought to be an authentic friend, so you should be authentic to yourself. It is OK to be the person God created you to be.
A. Confrontational Evangelism
1. Peter
2. Acts 3: 11 – 15
B. Intellectual Evangelism
1. Paul
2. Acts 17: 16 – 21
C. Interpersonal Evangelism
1. Jesus
2. John 4: 4 – 10
D. Invitational Evangelism
1. Andrew
2. John 1: 40 – 42a
E. Evangelism through Service
1. Dorcas
2. Acts 9: 36 – 38
F. Testimonial Evangelism
1. Man Born Blind
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
The Single Greatest Gift: Sunday, March 30, 2008
This sermon is the first of four sermons based on a book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006). During these four weeks, our church members are meeting in Sunday night small groups in the homes of church members. We are using the Just Walk Across the Room small group curriculum produced by Willow Creek. The small group format includes four components: (1) food / fellowship time; (2) watching the Just Walk Across the Room teaching DVD; (3) group discussion; and (4) each person prays for three specific people they know who are "far from God." The four weeks will conclude with an event to invite the people we have been praying for to come to the church for an informal meeting to receive more information about our church and a brief presentation of the Gospel.
The Single Greatest Gift
Acts 3: 1 – 10.
I. Introduction.
For those of you who do not know this: I am a sports junkie. And March is the best time of the year for sports on TV. I had three teams in the NCAA tournament this year, and I filled out a tournament bracket for the first time in my life. My bracket doesn’t look so good right now, because only one of my three teams is still playing.
If you have been following the basketball games on TV, then you have seen a few commercials over and over and over. I find one of the Cadillac commercials to be very sad. There is a man driving a Cadillac and talking about all the luxurious features. But he begins the commercial with these words: “Life is just high school with money. What are the cool kids doing? What kind of cars do the cool kids drive?”
Why didn’t we leave these kinds of popularity contests behind us when we graduated from high school? The meaning of life should not be defined by the “stuff” we accumulate. Cars and houses and popular friends do not last forever. George Strait was right when he sang, “I’ve never seen a hearse with a luggage rack.” We can’t take our “stuff” with us when we leave this earth.
As Christians, we are not supposed to get caught up in the world’s pursuit of temporary things. Of course, there is nothing wrong with working for nice “stuff.” The problem is when we make accumulating “stuff” the primary focus of our lives. It’s a problem when we become “Possessed by our possessions.” Don’t let your finances and the size of your house define your character.
I would not stand up here on a Sunday morning and talk about the world’s view of possessions and popularity if I was only worried about the world. No. I fear that we as the church have allowed the world to influence us more than we have influenced the world. Of course, you know that when I say “the church,” I am not just talking about Lufkin’s First Baptist Church. I am talking about all Christians and all Christian churches, but I am also talking about First Baptist.
The culture has transformed our church more than we have transformed the culture.
Consider what churches do to attract a crowd. Sometimes churches try to look more like a three ring circus than a church, so people will come in the doors. I even know of a church in the Houston area that has a spotlight roving all over the room until it finally stops on one person. If the light stops on you, then you win an XBox 360, a flat screen TV or a new truck.
God has not called us to give away prizes! God has called to give away something infinitely more valuable. We are to give away Jesus—the single most important gift we ever received and the greatest gift we could give away.
In Acts 3, we read a story about a man who was down and out. He was looking for a handout from the disciples Peter and John. He asked for money, but they did not give him what he was looking for. They gave him something infinitely better.
Read Acts 3: 1 – 10.
There was no such thing as Disability in the First Century. There wasn’t even AFLAC supplemental insurance for folks who could no longer work for a living…
This man born lame had only one means for survival…He had to beg for money. The routine would have been the same for this man every single day. Friends or family would carry him to a place where he could be seen by many people. He would probably wear the dirtiest, filthiest, most torn clothes he could find so people passing by would feel sorry for him.
And this guy had a good spot. He sat at the gate to the Temple…On the front steps of the church…So that all the religious folks would have to step over him as they went about their daily religious routines…
The Bible tells us in verse 1, that Peter and John were walking into the Temple at their regular hour of prayer. We can assume from this statement that this was a daily activity for the disciples. Of course, if we read Acts 2: 46, we don’t have to assume anything. Luke tells us in Acts 2:46, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”
There was nothing unusual about this day. Each day at 3:00, the disciples went into the Temple to pray. This is what all good Jewish men did in the first century. If they lived in Jerusalem, they stopped what they were doing at 3:00 so they could go to the temple. If they didn’t live in Jerusalem, they went to their local synagogue. There was nothing new or unusual about this day.
But neither was there anything new or unusual about this lame beggar. Peter and John had probably stepped over him every day for weeks. But for some reason they had never noticed him…
Maybe they were used to looking away…Or, maybe they just didn’t feel any compassion for a man in this predicament…Or, maybe they never thought they could do anything for him… Or, maybe they did what you and I do when someone walks up to our car window at a traffic signal—they looked straight ahead and pretended that no one was there.
Whatever their reasons might have been, there was something different this day…There was something that caused them to notice a lame beggar sitting on the steps of the Temple at 3:00 prayers…
I think Luke, the author of Acts, has placed this story where it is so we will make a connection between this story and the story that came before it. The story before this one was the story of the first Christian Pentecost…The day the disciples were in Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit came upon them with power…
I think that Peter and John had stepped over this man for days and weeks because they never had the power to do anything….They were not connected to the power that comes from the Holy Spirit…But when the Holy Spirit came, they had the power to do something…
And that is exactly what they did…They did something! Peter said, “Look at me. Do I look like I have any money? I am just as poor as you are. I left a lucrative career as a fisherman to become a traveling preacher. But I do have something I would like to give you. It is better than money.”
Peter reached down to the beggar, held his hand and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—Walk.” I want you to notice a couple of things about what can happen to you when you are connected to the Power of God…
II. Power of God Transforms Lives.
Two lives were transformed in this story: the lame beggar and Peter…
1. Man lame from birth experienced both a physical transformation and a spiritual transformation.
2. Peter experienced a spiritual transformation.
The physical change that took place in the lame man is obvious. When Peter commanded him to stand and walk, the man stood up and walked. But that is not the only thing he did. He started jumping and running…And one other thing. He was also continually praising God. Notice that he did not praise Peter and John. He praised God. In other words, he knew that God was responsible for this miracle.
Some people suggest that since this man lived in Jerusalem, he had probably heard about the miracles Jesus performed. People just like this man had come face to face with Jesus and were healed of their disability. But not this man. Perhaps he had tried to come to Jesus, but was unable as a result of his disability. Now, it was Jesus who had healed him.
Later in this Acts 3: 16, Peter told the gathered crowd that this man had been healed by faith in Jesus. This is not simply a physical miracle. It was both physical and spiritual.
It is important to note that the ancient world attributed every disease and disability to the presence of evil. In our contemporary world, we would never associate physical disability to sin. We attribute it to genetics or biology. Therefore, this appears to be a physical solution. Yet, in the eyes of the religious people of the first century, this man was lame as a result of his own sinfulness or—since he was lame from birth—the sins of his parents. Again, this causes us to think of this miracle in spiritual terms. Peter did not heal this man. Jesus healed him! Jesus gave him a spiritual solution to his physical problems.
Peter also was transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. For some reason, Peter had ignored this man every day as he entered the temple at 3:00 to pray. But now that Peter had the Holy Spirit in him, it was different. He noticed a fellow human being in need. AND…This is the most important part…Peter saw this man as another person who would be better off if he had Jesus in his life.
How do you think of other people? I know what you say you believe. You say that you believe everyone would be better if they knew Jesus like you know Jesus. But is that how you live your life? When you drive into your driveway at home and your neighbor is mowing the grass next door…Do you think he or she would have a better life if they knew Jesus? When you buy a cup of coffee at a coffee shop or a gas station…Do you think the person taking your money would have a better life if they knew Jesus? What about your boss at work? He makes more money than you make. He takes better vacations than you take. But, would he be a better person if he knew Jesus?
That is a hard question to answer. I know you believe other people need Jesus in their lives. But do you make the effort to introduce other people to Jesus?
For the man in our story today, it is obvious how he needed Jesus. He needed to be healed! But what about the people we know who seem perfectly happy without Jesus? There are some preachers who will say that it is impossible to be happy without Jesus. And, I suppose there is part of me that believes that as well. But, I know a lot of people who seem to live happy and fulfilled lives without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
One obvious answer is eternal life. I believe in a real heaven and a real hell. Life does not end at the grave. For those who place their faith in Jesus and give him control of their lives, heaven awaits. For those who do not place their faith and lives in Jesus, hell awaits.
In addition to eternal life, I also believe in abundant life. That is Christian language for the hope and help Jesus provides us as long as we live on this earth. If you can imagine this with me, imagine a husband and wife riding in a sports car. The man is in the driver’s seat, and the woman is sitting right next to him. The man has his right arm around his wife and he is waving to all his friends with his left arm. He has NO HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL.
Everything is perfect and happy…as long as the road is straight. But how will they manage when the road becomes rough or curvy? The rough and curvy times are the times when we most need the hope and help only Jesus can provide.[1] In my personal experience and in my experience walking with many of you through rough and curvy times, this is when our faith in Jesus sustains us!
III. Power of God Is Never Hidden.
The first thing I want you to notice about the power of God is the way Peter could not keep it hidden. When God is at work in our lives, people will notice it. No matter what God does—whether it is big or small—everyone knows God is the one who did it. Not Peter. Not John. Not even the man born lame. God did it, and everyone saw.
Several places in the New Testament we read about a battle between flesh and spirit. Early pagans thought this was a battle raging inside every human being. Flesh was understood as evil, and spirit was understood as good. Live by the spirit, and you can save yourself. Live by the flesh, and you will be just like everyone else.
In a Christian understanding, this is not an internal battle. It is an external battle. At the moment of salvation, God places his Holy Spirit within each of us. The Holy Spirit begins immediately convicting us of sin and convincing us of righteousness. But at the same time, the world begins its work on us through temptation and appeals to our popularity. We have to choose. Will we let the culture around us transform us? Or will we let God’s Holy Spirit transform us?
If we keep walking past people in our lives without ever showing them the power of God in our lives, then the world is winning. But, if we have the power of God, which cannot be hidden…If we truly believe that we have experienced something through Jesus that everyone else needs in their lives…If Jesus is the greatest gift we have ever received and we want to share that with others…THEN the Spirit of God is winning.
IV. Conclusion.
There is an ancient story about Saint Thomas Aquinas. It is told that Aquinas once visited Pope Innocent II in the Pope’s treasury room. The Pope was surrounded by treasures and was actually counting his money when Aquinas arrived. The Pope said, “You see, Thomas, the church can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Thomas replied, “True, Holy Father, but neither can she say, ‘Rise and walk.’”[2]
Do you believe that Jesus still changes lives? Do you believe that your faith in Jesus is something everyone needs?
[1] Lee Strobel, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary: How to reach friends and family who avoid God and the church. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993). This is Lee Strobel’s illustration about his life before he became a Christian.
[2] F.F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988), pp. 77 – 78.
The Single Greatest Gift
Acts 3: 1 – 10.
I. Introduction.
For those of you who do not know this: I am a sports junkie. And March is the best time of the year for sports on TV. I had three teams in the NCAA tournament this year, and I filled out a tournament bracket for the first time in my life. My bracket doesn’t look so good right now, because only one of my three teams is still playing.
If you have been following the basketball games on TV, then you have seen a few commercials over and over and over. I find one of the Cadillac commercials to be very sad. There is a man driving a Cadillac and talking about all the luxurious features. But he begins the commercial with these words: “Life is just high school with money. What are the cool kids doing? What kind of cars do the cool kids drive?”
Why didn’t we leave these kinds of popularity contests behind us when we graduated from high school? The meaning of life should not be defined by the “stuff” we accumulate. Cars and houses and popular friends do not last forever. George Strait was right when he sang, “I’ve never seen a hearse with a luggage rack.” We can’t take our “stuff” with us when we leave this earth.
As Christians, we are not supposed to get caught up in the world’s pursuit of temporary things. Of course, there is nothing wrong with working for nice “stuff.” The problem is when we make accumulating “stuff” the primary focus of our lives. It’s a problem when we become “Possessed by our possessions.” Don’t let your finances and the size of your house define your character.
I would not stand up here on a Sunday morning and talk about the world’s view of possessions and popularity if I was only worried about the world. No. I fear that we as the church have allowed the world to influence us more than we have influenced the world. Of course, you know that when I say “the church,” I am not just talking about Lufkin’s First Baptist Church. I am talking about all Christians and all Christian churches, but I am also talking about First Baptist.
The culture has transformed our church more than we have transformed the culture.
Consider what churches do to attract a crowd. Sometimes churches try to look more like a three ring circus than a church, so people will come in the doors. I even know of a church in the Houston area that has a spotlight roving all over the room until it finally stops on one person. If the light stops on you, then you win an XBox 360, a flat screen TV or a new truck.
God has not called us to give away prizes! God has called to give away something infinitely more valuable. We are to give away Jesus—the single most important gift we ever received and the greatest gift we could give away.
In Acts 3, we read a story about a man who was down and out. He was looking for a handout from the disciples Peter and John. He asked for money, but they did not give him what he was looking for. They gave him something infinitely better.
Read Acts 3: 1 – 10.
There was no such thing as Disability in the First Century. There wasn’t even AFLAC supplemental insurance for folks who could no longer work for a living…
This man born lame had only one means for survival…He had to beg for money. The routine would have been the same for this man every single day. Friends or family would carry him to a place where he could be seen by many people. He would probably wear the dirtiest, filthiest, most torn clothes he could find so people passing by would feel sorry for him.
And this guy had a good spot. He sat at the gate to the Temple…On the front steps of the church…So that all the religious folks would have to step over him as they went about their daily religious routines…
The Bible tells us in verse 1, that Peter and John were walking into the Temple at their regular hour of prayer. We can assume from this statement that this was a daily activity for the disciples. Of course, if we read Acts 2: 46, we don’t have to assume anything. Luke tells us in Acts 2:46, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”
There was nothing unusual about this day. Each day at 3:00, the disciples went into the Temple to pray. This is what all good Jewish men did in the first century. If they lived in Jerusalem, they stopped what they were doing at 3:00 so they could go to the temple. If they didn’t live in Jerusalem, they went to their local synagogue. There was nothing new or unusual about this day.
But neither was there anything new or unusual about this lame beggar. Peter and John had probably stepped over him every day for weeks. But for some reason they had never noticed him…
Maybe they were used to looking away…Or, maybe they just didn’t feel any compassion for a man in this predicament…Or, maybe they never thought they could do anything for him… Or, maybe they did what you and I do when someone walks up to our car window at a traffic signal—they looked straight ahead and pretended that no one was there.
Whatever their reasons might have been, there was something different this day…There was something that caused them to notice a lame beggar sitting on the steps of the Temple at 3:00 prayers…
I think Luke, the author of Acts, has placed this story where it is so we will make a connection between this story and the story that came before it. The story before this one was the story of the first Christian Pentecost…The day the disciples were in Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit came upon them with power…
I think that Peter and John had stepped over this man for days and weeks because they never had the power to do anything….They were not connected to the power that comes from the Holy Spirit…But when the Holy Spirit came, they had the power to do something…
And that is exactly what they did…They did something! Peter said, “Look at me. Do I look like I have any money? I am just as poor as you are. I left a lucrative career as a fisherman to become a traveling preacher. But I do have something I would like to give you. It is better than money.”
Peter reached down to the beggar, held his hand and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—Walk.” I want you to notice a couple of things about what can happen to you when you are connected to the Power of God…
II. Power of God Transforms Lives.
Two lives were transformed in this story: the lame beggar and Peter…
1. Man lame from birth experienced both a physical transformation and a spiritual transformation.
2. Peter experienced a spiritual transformation.
The physical change that took place in the lame man is obvious. When Peter commanded him to stand and walk, the man stood up and walked. But that is not the only thing he did. He started jumping and running…And one other thing. He was also continually praising God. Notice that he did not praise Peter and John. He praised God. In other words, he knew that God was responsible for this miracle.
Some people suggest that since this man lived in Jerusalem, he had probably heard about the miracles Jesus performed. People just like this man had come face to face with Jesus and were healed of their disability. But not this man. Perhaps he had tried to come to Jesus, but was unable as a result of his disability. Now, it was Jesus who had healed him.
Later in this Acts 3: 16, Peter told the gathered crowd that this man had been healed by faith in Jesus. This is not simply a physical miracle. It was both physical and spiritual.
It is important to note that the ancient world attributed every disease and disability to the presence of evil. In our contemporary world, we would never associate physical disability to sin. We attribute it to genetics or biology. Therefore, this appears to be a physical solution. Yet, in the eyes of the religious people of the first century, this man was lame as a result of his own sinfulness or—since he was lame from birth—the sins of his parents. Again, this causes us to think of this miracle in spiritual terms. Peter did not heal this man. Jesus healed him! Jesus gave him a spiritual solution to his physical problems.
Peter also was transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. For some reason, Peter had ignored this man every day as he entered the temple at 3:00 to pray. But now that Peter had the Holy Spirit in him, it was different. He noticed a fellow human being in need. AND…This is the most important part…Peter saw this man as another person who would be better off if he had Jesus in his life.
How do you think of other people? I know what you say you believe. You say that you believe everyone would be better if they knew Jesus like you know Jesus. But is that how you live your life? When you drive into your driveway at home and your neighbor is mowing the grass next door…Do you think he or she would have a better life if they knew Jesus? When you buy a cup of coffee at a coffee shop or a gas station…Do you think the person taking your money would have a better life if they knew Jesus? What about your boss at work? He makes more money than you make. He takes better vacations than you take. But, would he be a better person if he knew Jesus?
That is a hard question to answer. I know you believe other people need Jesus in their lives. But do you make the effort to introduce other people to Jesus?
For the man in our story today, it is obvious how he needed Jesus. He needed to be healed! But what about the people we know who seem perfectly happy without Jesus? There are some preachers who will say that it is impossible to be happy without Jesus. And, I suppose there is part of me that believes that as well. But, I know a lot of people who seem to live happy and fulfilled lives without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
One obvious answer is eternal life. I believe in a real heaven and a real hell. Life does not end at the grave. For those who place their faith in Jesus and give him control of their lives, heaven awaits. For those who do not place their faith and lives in Jesus, hell awaits.
In addition to eternal life, I also believe in abundant life. That is Christian language for the hope and help Jesus provides us as long as we live on this earth. If you can imagine this with me, imagine a husband and wife riding in a sports car. The man is in the driver’s seat, and the woman is sitting right next to him. The man has his right arm around his wife and he is waving to all his friends with his left arm. He has NO HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL.
Everything is perfect and happy…as long as the road is straight. But how will they manage when the road becomes rough or curvy? The rough and curvy times are the times when we most need the hope and help only Jesus can provide.[1] In my personal experience and in my experience walking with many of you through rough and curvy times, this is when our faith in Jesus sustains us!
III. Power of God Is Never Hidden.
The first thing I want you to notice about the power of God is the way Peter could not keep it hidden. When God is at work in our lives, people will notice it. No matter what God does—whether it is big or small—everyone knows God is the one who did it. Not Peter. Not John. Not even the man born lame. God did it, and everyone saw.
Several places in the New Testament we read about a battle between flesh and spirit. Early pagans thought this was a battle raging inside every human being. Flesh was understood as evil, and spirit was understood as good. Live by the spirit, and you can save yourself. Live by the flesh, and you will be just like everyone else.
In a Christian understanding, this is not an internal battle. It is an external battle. At the moment of salvation, God places his Holy Spirit within each of us. The Holy Spirit begins immediately convicting us of sin and convincing us of righteousness. But at the same time, the world begins its work on us through temptation and appeals to our popularity. We have to choose. Will we let the culture around us transform us? Or will we let God’s Holy Spirit transform us?
If we keep walking past people in our lives without ever showing them the power of God in our lives, then the world is winning. But, if we have the power of God, which cannot be hidden…If we truly believe that we have experienced something through Jesus that everyone else needs in their lives…If Jesus is the greatest gift we have ever received and we want to share that with others…THEN the Spirit of God is winning.
IV. Conclusion.
There is an ancient story about Saint Thomas Aquinas. It is told that Aquinas once visited Pope Innocent II in the Pope’s treasury room. The Pope was surrounded by treasures and was actually counting his money when Aquinas arrived. The Pope said, “You see, Thomas, the church can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Thomas replied, “True, Holy Father, but neither can she say, ‘Rise and walk.’”[2]
Do you believe that Jesus still changes lives? Do you believe that your faith in Jesus is something everyone needs?
[1] Lee Strobel, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary: How to reach friends and family who avoid God and the church. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993). This is Lee Strobel’s illustration about his life before he became a Christian.
[2] F.F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988), pp. 77 – 78.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
