Antioch: The Model Church

In our day and age, there are many programs out there that are directed towards preachers and church leadership. We are told to look at such churches as whatever his name has in Houston, Saddleback, and of course the church that started this mega movement, Willow Creek, though I believe that SECC in Louisville KY was of the first. We are then encouraged to look at the worship service, and encouraged to adopt and tweak the service to fit our congregation. I’ve even had one tell me that we could live-feed another church’s worship service and then once they begin their preaching aspect, I would switch to preaching myself.

There is ever this push to adopt. To become a great church, a church must become a big church, an impactful church, an authentic church. I don’t mean to nay-say the bigger churches as such. Though they have their place as long as they are reaching lost souls, as long as Christians are maturing and growing in their walk with the Lord, I wonder if perhaps we might have it a little backwards. We are busy growing the church. Emphasis seems to be on the church, and not on the Kingdom.

Because, as Christians, we should look to the Bible to guide us, we are going to look at a model church for our time. I want to see what we can learn, see what we are not presently doing that we can be doing. I want us to see the focus of the church of Antioch. For this congregation, many firsts were had. Let’s read the 12 verses together:

(Heart for the Lost) It may seem cliché to say this. Every church has a heart for the lost, don’t they? Do they? What would this heart look like? Since we cannot see ideals and values, we have to look at action. The action to this point is that people were scattered, and they were sharing Jesus, but only to other Jews. To them, the Great Commission was to tell Jews in all other nations about Jesus.

Yet some broke that tradition. Instead of going to who is expected, they went to those who weren’t. Peter was just the beginning for something new. But he wasn’t the first. He still was in Judea, in his comfort zone. Those from Cyprus and Crete went and started preaching to Greeks. They took a risk. They became extroverts. And this was daring because they didn’t know what to expect.

I wonder if maybe they had considered the full implication of the GC and realized that there were no conditions. Go into ALL NATIONS and make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey all I have taught you. I wonder if they had thought about the storms they were able to weather because of Jesus in their lives, and since they can see similar worries in the eyes of their Grecian neighbors… You get the idea. These Greeks could have thrown it back in their faces, rejecting a religion from some backwater country in the middle to the desert. But still, they had a heart for the lost. They took a chance and God blessed their efforts.

Do we have a heart for the lost? We don’t have to go to a foreign country if we have a heart for the lost. Not everyone is called to be a missionary. Yet there are those we would not normally go to who need the Good News. Our family needs the good news. Do we tell our brothers and sisters, our nieces and nephews, children, parents and grandchildren of the hope we have in Christ? Do our friends and co-workers know why you became a Christian? These are the people we go to, typically. These are the safe ones. They expect to hear us share our faith if they don’t have a faith.

But what about the others? You know the lady at the checkout line, what’s her name? Or the young man who bags your groceries? What about the person with a sad demeanor sitting at a table along the back wall, wondering if there is anyone who cares about him or her? Eating alone in a public place is quite lonely. Sure, perhaps there is a short lunch break and the person works nearby. But more times than not, this is one of those lost people that we need to have a heart for.

This is harder because we like to stay in our introvert bubble where people know what to expect from us, and the response is predictable. No one really judges us. Sure, they may find our idiosyncrasies a bit off, but that’s not really judgment. We don’t have to be labeled a fanatic, a zealot.

I did that the other week. The same young lady always seems to wait on us at Taco Bell. She knows I am a preacher. But for some reason, I never really got to know her. Wrangling 5 kids amongst us can be rather distracting. So the day happened when I wasn’t swamped by boys. And then I asked her if there was anything she needed us to pray about when we pray over our food. Well, she quickly became defensive. She is the daughter of the COGIC preacher here in town. That’s fine. I wasn’t recruiting for the church, just the kingdom.

Her response didn’t put me off. It wasn’t threatening. She still gives good service. We still talk. Now I have another topic to make conversation, since she is a sister in Christ. But I would not have known that had I not approached her about it. And remember, when you approach someone you do not know, Paul says we can do all things through Christ, because he gives us the strength we need.

(Heart for One Another) This is our weakness, that of the independent church. In this, denominations have an appeal. There are regular meetings of the pastors. There are regular conferences for the people. And it’s easy to find another like-minded church when you are traveling down the highway. But this isn’t such a hierarchy. There was genuine concern for each other, between each congregation. When the Apostles and Elders heard about the faith spreading to the Greeks in Syria, they sent Barnabas to encourage them in the faith. He then took that opportunity to get Paul so that he can be accepted. It really was a great second chance for Paul, where a congregation knows the preacher Paul, not the sinner, the enemy, Saul.

Their hearts went out for the church in Judea because prophets came and told them about a famine that was to hit the entire Roman Empire. Now that means that the same famine that Judea was going to suffer, for which their offering was to help combat, was also the same famine that was going to hit them. Still they gave for the relief of Judea. That is a great faith, a great sign of fellowship.

IT is something that I wish we had more. We need more fellowship. It’s why I look forward to the Men’s Area Fellowship Meeting every other month. I’m lost when if I have to miss it. I would also love it if it becomes monthly. So the question is: What are we doing to achieve the fellowship that we read about in the Scriptures? What are we doing to work on increasing that fellowship?

Currently, we have a congregation near us hurting. Talking to one family, a good Sunday might be double our present attendance. I’ve offered what help we might give them, but for the asking.

This idea of caring for one another, for reaching those who need Jesus also does something else. It keeps us from being focused on us. It comes down that we need to be selfless. And these two characteristics of the Church in Antioch are also the same two points from Jesus’ answer in Matt 22.36ff: Love God, (by seeking the lost), and love your neighbor (by caring for one another).   

Let me therefore close with a single question: What can we do, what can you do to help Central become a model church like Antioch.

Fighting God?

Acts 11.15-19

This week, something has been quite heavy on my heart. It means a big change for my family, especially for my boys. They have met several friends, and now all of that is changing. It is one of the hardest decisions that I will have to make as a parent, because in doing so, I know I will be making the decisions that will affect their lives. No one likes to have routine interrupted or discarded.

Yet at the same time, no one wants to make waves either. What I am talking about is the membership policy for the Boy Scouts of America. Soon, they will allow homosexual leaders and boys in the troops, yet they leave it up to the individual charters to make the decision themselves. Jamborees, work days and summer camps will no longer be a safe place to leave my boys unattended. I’ve had around the campfire as a teen, “I don’t think girls will ever like me.” Now instead of offering encouragement, “Girls are probably more interested in you than you give yourself credit”, to being something like, “You might be intended for a girl.”  

But that’s not my biggest concern. My biggest concern is that the homosexual movement has promised not to stop there. They will go after the charter organizations themselves. Since it’s not a national policy, the national office doesn’t have to support the charter organization in any filed lawsuits. And there will be. I see this as a way to attack the smaller, rural churches, because not only will the troop be sued, but the sponsoring church as well. And I shared that on my wall on Facebook.

Normally I get quite a bit of feedback on my posts. But this one comment, “The BSA is a private organization; what they do within their own walls is none of my business, so long as no one is being harmed.” “When they came for the Communists, I remained silent because I was not a Communist. When they came for the trade unionists, I was silent for I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent, for I was not a Jew. When they came for the Catholics, I remained silent because I was not a Catholic. When they came for me, no one spoke up, because there was no one left to defend me.” That was a poem, part of a sermon by a German pastor named Friedrich Niemoller. That poem came to my mind when I read my friend’s comment, and saw few, very few follow.

This morning, as well look at Acts 11.15-18, Peter is taking a stand. We saw last week where he was directed by God to go to the Centurion’s home, where he taught Jesus, saw God pour out the gift of the Holy Spirit and then baptized them.

Then chapter 11 opens up with Peter returning to Jerusalem where some of the Jewish Christians were protesting that Peter would defile himself. They were missing the bigger picture of what was going on. They hooked up on one detail. Peter was at Cornelius’ house, a Gentile. So here is his response: (Read the text)

Peter realized that at his fork in the road, he could fight God, or go with God. He chose to fight with God. But those who were opposed to his actions, they chose the other road. They chose to fight God. Who was Peter to oppose God? That’s what he asked. And that is something we need to ask ourselves. Do we fight God in our life?

We fight God when we don’t take a stand. As Christians, we will find more and more of the testing of our resolve. People will push and push because as Christians, we are supposed to be nice, and let people take advantage of us. To some, what help they can get isn’t seen as help, but something they are entitled to because they came and asked. Sometimes they don’t even bother asking. Here’s my bill. I need it paid by 5 pm this evening. Ah nice, it’s 4.15. I’ll get right on this!

But that’s not really the type of stand we need to focus. Sure, we need to be wise stewards of what God has given us. The stand we need to make is sometimes for something like the BSA. I was a bit crushed in that two friends commented on my sharing of the BSA pending actions. Normally I get quite a bit of feedback. Not this time. One friend said what I shared. It’s not his business. But as a Christian it is. It is the backdoor of putting this issue in all of our faces. Niemoller was correct as he penned that poem.

We also need to make a stand in other areas too. The other two main issues are the Abortion movement and the gun ban movement. By redefining the 2^nd Amendment, and thus nullify it, then it would be quite easy for the rest of our rights to come crumbling down. It is also a reason that I don’t like the idea of foreigners being tried for war crimes in the American judicial system. If you can try them and then because they are not Americans who attacked America, then we can nullify their rights, which mean that somewhere down the road, we might find ourselves without our legal rights for whatever reason.

As far as abortion goes, I do believe that how we take a stand is critical. I believe the children are heaven bound.  I wish they had a chance at life. Yet how do we reach the mom who a year later slips into depression because she knows she should be celebrating a 1 yo’s b-day? Where will she find comfort and Gods grace for her pain? We need to be able to reach her.

Now, is it wrong? Yes. Should we pay for it? No. But that might be the problem, that we are trying to legislate morality. Morality is above legislation, regardless what the dunderheads in DC believe. Abortion fight has become something more than pro-life. It is now a freedom of religion issue. Hobby Lobby is trying to fight to keep from having to offer benefits that go contrary to their Christian life. They are being told by the courts as well as by the president that it’s ok to be a Christian, until we enter the public sector. They mean that once you leave your home, stop behaving like a Christian.

But let’s put the national issues aside for the moment. There is another area in which we must take a stand that is far more critical than the national issues. It is taking a stand for Jesus now. It is telling your neighbor about Jesus. It is about telling your friends, your coworkers about Jesus. If they go to church, then ask them how you might encourage them in their walk. I don’t know that apart from one neighbor at a time, will we be able to quickly turn the national views on religious freedom, the Bill of rights, etc. But we can see how one person at a time can change everything. South Korea. Not there yet, but closer than we are to being a Christian nation.

We fight God when we try by our own hand. Now this is an area where we tend to do things ourselves without consulting God. Peter could have done this. It is certainly what Judas was doing when he agreed to betray Jesus. See, I wonder if he wanted the Kingdom to come on his terms. Instead, he saw a good friend murdered. No kingdom. Just sorrow. He didn’t stay around long enough to see what happened on Sunday morning.

We tend to fight God when we living our lives our way. One pet peeve I have on facebook is the blatant hypocrisy that I see. One moment, there is a beautiful verse and picture, a pledge of following Jesus no matter what. Then the same person in the next moment posts jokes, stories or pictures of a questionable nature.

That is perhaps why we are where we are. Rather than seeing what and how God may want something done, we do it our way. For example, we make our music as loud and upbeat as the music that people hear on the radios. We preach sermons that make people feel good, but not motivated to be good. We confuse large numbers with intimacy, closeness with God.

Peter says we are a royal people, a peculiar people. It means that we stand out from the rest of the world. We do not have the same desires and ambitions that those who don’t know Jesus has. We cling to what we know, what we are comfortable with, just like the Jews when they heard that the Gentiles were accepting Jesus as their savior.

We fight God when we try to understand. This one is a bit more veiled than the other two points. I’ve drawn this point more from other places than from our text. For example, James says, do not merely listen to the word, but do what it says. Too often when we are told to do something, we want to know the why. Paul says that is the mystery that people were stumbling over: Jews were God’s chosen people. Why are the Gentiles coming in? Because God intended to save ALL peoples, not just a few.

My messages try to convey reasoning and understanding, but more times than not, we may not need to know why until later. Philip didn’t know why he had to go to a certain road. He went. The disciples didn’t try to understand Jesus when he said, come follow me. They followed. Then there is Elisha. He was appointed to carry Elijah’s mantle, or continue with Elijah’s ministry. He didn’t ask why. Instead, he held a bbq for all the area, using his farm equipment as both fuel and food. There are times, as a parent, I will need to bark something at my boy to obey immediately. Only after obeying, such as when I called him back in a parking lot, was he then able to see the car that he didn’t see the first time, and that the car didn’t see him either. God tells us to go, to share the message. The word tells us quite a bit about what we are to do. It is up to us to not question. Understanding the why comes with maturity. Now mind you, God will sometimes give us the reasoning as He leads us. He did with Ananias being sent to Saul. He did when he had Paul and Barnabas set aside to go on the first missionary journey. But don’t worry if you don’t understand at first.

So this leaves us with the final, how? How do we stop fighting God? It’s simple. Two words: (ready?) Stop it. That’s it. Too often we do things because we feel like doing them. We have come to believe that we are ruled by our feelings, our emotions. Because I feel like it, I must do it. Instead, we again listen to James’ words. Do what the Scripture says. Love your enemies, and bless them. Tell others about Christ. When you are loving God with all your fiber and loving your neighbor, you won’t have time to fight God. Spend time in the word. See how else he might have you do.

The best blessing of all comes from just stopping our fight. We are able to rejoice together, for I see a time of worship there as it dawned on them what Peter was telling them. And after all, isn’t that what we’ve come to do together, to worship the Father and encourage each other?