When the Crowd, Win the Crowd (Sermon)

See Paul sitting there in Lystra? He had just been run out of a town because some rose up against his preaching Jesus.  Now he is here in this new location. I can see him preaching to both the Jews and the Gentiles. To the Jews he’s said that Jesus came to redeem Israel and the world, that he is the long awaited messiah. To the Greeks I can see him preaching the freedom that Jesus offers, freedom from relying on others’ charities, freedom from obeying sets of rules, freedom from the guilt of the wrong doing, freedom from the fear of the end or death. Then there is a man there sitting, listening, wanting. I can imagine him wishing that he didn’t need to beg for scraps and pity. It is always been in the heart of man to want to provide for himself and perhaps even provide for those he loves. It’s a base instinct.

And Paul saw him listening, believing all that Paul had to say. To demonstrate his message, Paul then tells this man to stand up. Not only does the man stand, but he adds jumping. Mind you, he’s never been vertical. His ankles have never had weight of any sort on them. He starts walking instantly. I wonder if he was like my boys, still occasionally tripping, or was he graceful as if he’d been doing this all along? It doesn’t really matter. He was healed.

Then Paul learned something about the human nature. The human heart, which Jeremiah says can’t be trusted, is fickle, and can’t be trusted. Let’s read the people’s reaction to Paul’s good work following his good words.

(Read Verses 11-18) So here is Paul, instantly he’s Lycaonium’s pastor. Everyone likes him. He is at the top of his game, so much so, that they want to see him as a god. There is that temptation within leadership, just as there has been with being part of the “right” church. When the crowd cheers you, focus on God. It can become easy to lose focus on Jesus. After all, look back to Peter. He walked on water, further than you and I, but the moment he lost his focus, he sank.  Thankfully, Paul and Barnabas didn’t. They continued pleading with the people, barely stopping them from making the sacrifices to them. They continued stating that God is living, and continues to show His love and grace. It was a close call. But when the crowd cheers you, focus on God.

(Read verse 19a) But not everything remained up and up. The crowd turned on Paul and Barnabas. For some reason, crowds are never reliable. It is too easy to turn an audience into a mob. I am not sure how long it took the Jews to turn the masses, day or two, a week or month? Luke gives us no passage of time, other than the allusion of the passage in verses 8 and 9. The man listened to Paul speak. For how long did Paul speak before the man believed?

Here is why, though, we cannot trust and live by our emotions, live by our heart, live by our feelings. One moment, the people are in awe as they listened to God give the 10 commandments to them. Then begging in reverent fear for Moses to intercede, they turned and made a golden calf. I believe that when they heard the first 10, they were in earnest. But a few days later, perhaps a week or two, they turned away. They earnestly made a calf.

The crowd is fickle when one day; they are out clipping branches and laying blankets in the road welcoming Jesus as their rightful king. They were in earnest. They truly believed him to the long awaited king. Then just a few days later, 5 to be exact, the crowds are now saying, “crucify Jesus!” And unfortunately, they were in earnest.

Now some people come to stir up trouble because they were envious of the popularity of Paul. I can see the poisoned words, “Paul said your gods were worthless. He said that your parents who died worshipping Zeus are now dead in their sins.” It wouldn’t take much to poison a person’s mind.

I remember talking to one lady in a previous ministry. She said that to accept immersion as I teach it, instead of sprinkling, as her Lutheran priest taught, then she will not see him, or her deceased husband, or her deceased parents and siblings again. She would rather suffer with them if my teaching was correct and hers was wrong. Be it known, I never said where the fate of her loved ones rested. I said, and still say, trust in the Lord and his mercy and grace!  Yet, when the crowds jeer, focus on God.

(Read 19b & 20) The final lesson that Paul teaches us is when the crowds abandon, focus on God. That is the cycle of the crowd. They will praise us, then boo us and then leave us. They left Paul thinking he was dead. They didn’t kill him. But I do think a miracle did take place. I do think he was healed since he got up and seemed to have returned to the town before he left the next day. I imagine that he waited only because the day was already too late for traveling.  But when he did leave, he continued preaching. He continued winning people to the Lord.

For us, we are fighting a temptation. It would be easy to see us as having been abandoned by the many who’ve been part of this congregation. The world and the devil would say, “See how small you are? There’s no hope that this church has what it takes to grow!” But then we still have Paul’s promise to the church in Corinth. We have all we need to carry out the mission. We just need to focus on Jesus. We need to focus on reaching our lost loved ones with the good news that Jesus died to set us free. We reach, God adds.

Now the crowds may cheer us as we do so. The sad reality though, as we focus on God, on living righteous lives, or to live according to the grace we’ve received, the crowds will more than likely jeer us. It will give us a choice. We may think that we are to focus on ourselves, but no. That is not the solution. The solution is to focus on Christ. It’s not sitting around, hoping people will drop in through our doors. It is actually making a point to encourage people in Jesus, to talk about the Lord’s grace and ask them to consider Jesus. Time and again, God shows how when the crowds… we should win the crowds for Christ. Then the Lord added daily to their number those being saved. Are you ready to win? Do you need to know how to win? If so, come as we stand and sing.

Oh Great Day of Hope - Matthew 27.50-53 (Sermon)

This indeed is a Great Day!  And though I can easily take the time of the message to lay out why I prefer Easter as the title for our Christian holiday, I want to do something that is different today. I have elected a passage that is pre-burial in part, but not really pre-burial.

Because it goes beyond what we can fathom, I suspect many gloss over these 4 verses. There is no real simple explanation, other than the most simplistic of explanations. It finds a foretelling in Ezekiel 37, how God told Ezekiel to prophesy so that the valley of bones becomes flesh, and then again so that these bodies might regain their breath. He obeyed and a valley of dry bones became an army.

Of course, this is fascinating. Though Ezekiel is in a vision, what was happening in Jerusalem that day was no vision. It was happening, and because it happened, we have a great day, and we have a great hope! Let’s look at this passage, Matthew 27.50-53. {Read Text}

Let us see the good news of the Resurrection. The first and foremost is the reason Christ came to this earth. Back in the Garden, man was created in the image of God, the Lord Almighty. He created them male and female. He said above all creation that Man and Woman were very good. They knew no sin, felt no shame. Daily they walked with God. They enjoyed fellowship with Him. But along the way, Satan came in to corrupt this fellowship. He deceived Eve and she ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Adam, not wanting to lose her, shared in her sin. In their choice, they lost the garden. God had to banish them. He would not abide in sin. They were sentenced. Justice would be coming.

Then skipping a couple of ions, we see a little old woman begging of David to bring his son back to court. She prophesied that God is not content with banishing his children, but looks for a way to restore the fellowship. Let me back up now, to the choosing of Abraham and his descendents of Isaac, his son by Sarah. (This is like a country dance, two steps forward, one step back.) God chose Abraham for the plan God had for creation. He was working on restoring the fellowship with His own creation.  But even as he was choosing Abraham, through Moses, he was teaching that the salvation wasn’t just for the line of Abraham, but for all nations. That’s why there was a court of the Gentiles.

That plan was to restore our fellowship with Him, and he would do so by coming into humanity as Jesus. Justice had to be paid, so our Father decided to take on this pain. So we would not need to know what it is to be alone, He was sin for us. Because he was sin, the veil separating us from God was ripped open. We now had the freedom to approach him on our own, without a priest, without a sacrifice for our wrongs. Isn’t that great?

It doesn’t matter what is going on in our lives. He wants us to draw near to him. He opened the door for us. His apostles quote Jesus in telling us that we can now casually call him daddy, or papa, as we would our earthly father. While we were strangers, steeped in our sin and guilt, in our shame, He died for us so we can embrace him, accept His offer.  That is what the ripped veil tells us. Come!

So that we know how much God loves us, how He longs for our fellowship, He gave us a token of what is to come. He gives us hope for more life. Mind you, when Christ died, saints from all over the world were not raised, only those in Jerusalem. And even then, not all the saints from Jerusalem were raised into life. Only some of the saints were raised. These saints had a two-fold purpose. They were first to be evidences of Christ’s command over death. In life he brought three back, even after the last one had been dead for 5 days. Why would this be different?

Ah but perhaps that is where there is differences. We do not know that they lived eternally at that point, or if, like Lazarus, they died again. We don’t even know who came back. Were these recently died or were some of these bones like Ezekiel? It is not unheard of for a cemetery to be called a valley of death. They are, after all, reminders that death comes to all. So we draw this conclusion that just as some were raised as Christ died, or maybe others were right, that they came to life when/after Christ did. What is important is that they came to life! And as we have placed our hope in Jesus, so too, will we come back to life. Unlike those from the cemetery, we will receive new bodies, free from the signs of trials we’ve faced in this life.

There is another application here. It is more personal, for us as a body, Central Christian Church of Stuttgart. We are few. Experts tell us that we are dead already. Once a church’s median age reaches 63, once a church drops to a dozen or less, there is no hope. But as you know, I am not one to rely on experts. Neither are you.

We, instead, serve a living God. You know that Jesus trusted everything to a group of 12. If we count the children, we are 12, a bit more. With that aside, let’s focus on this. Jesus conquered death. And just as in the act of Friday and Sunday, I firmly believe that He can do more than we can ask or imagine! Jesus breathed new life into bones. He can breathe new life into this congregation.

Our prayers must expect it. Father, build up your body as we strive to build your kingdom. Sure, we will take a bit more effort on each of our shoulders. Yet let us not focus on our strength to do this alone. Because Jesus is fully powerful, Paul tells us that He gives us the same power that raised Christ from the dead. It’s also why we have not only been given the strength to endure, to reach out to others, to do, to be vessels of God’s glory, but we have one another for encouragement.

This morning, we are reminded that it is a great day of hope in Christ Jesus. I want to therefore encourage you that not only will you see this day as a new day full of new opportunity, but I want you to see that this great day of hope is just the first day, as tomorrow will be another.

Let us open our eyes not to what we hear in the news and see around us, a world falling apart. Let us instead see the opportunities before us, see the fields white for the harvest.

Now we have our song of commitment, song of decision. We will sing #228, “Were You There”. We will sing verses 1, 4 and 5. Verse 5 is easy, though it’s not in the book. Were you there when he rose up from the dead. Oh sometimes it causes me to praise him. For those who are not clothed in Christ, what better day for you to make a decision for Christ? I invite you to come forward. Let us stand and sing.

Truly the King [Mark 11.7-12, 15-18]

 Have you ever looked at the Gospels closely, carefully? Experts and theologians of learning have said that John’s Gospel is unique, and that the other 3 have copied one another, most likely Mark and Luke copied Matthew’s text. The reason for this is that Matthew and John were Apostles, part of the original 12, whereas Mark and Luke were not there, and therefore were second hand reports.

But ever since we looked at the escape of Peter from his execution, I have been rethinking. This past week, I took a closer look at the Passion Week, the final week of Jesus’ life, death and then resurrection. John and Mark each have over a third of their gospels dedicated to this week, whereas Luke and Matthew have significantly less to say, about a ¼ and a 6^th respectively. Does this mean one Gospel is more valuable than another? Not at all.

Rather, though there are similarities, each person has a different angle in writing his Gospel. Luke is undoubtedly influenced by Paul. Perhaps Mark was influenced by Peter, as well as Paul. It was Mark’s house that was the location for the prayer vigil. It does suggest that Mark was not as far removed from the life of Christ as we tend to think, as scholars tend to think.

This morning, as you can read in the bulletin, I am looking at Mark’s “Triumphal Entry”. Now too often, we think that the parade happens, and then he clears out the Temple and then carries on the rest of the day. It’s the feel I get as I read of the cleansing of the temple in Luke and Matthew. John’s Gospel doesn’t record a clearing of the Temple after the King’s Parade. He records a different one at the beginning of his earthly ministry.  So that in mind, let’s read about the Parade and the Clearing:  {Read Text}

Instead of a short parade with a few people as many movies depict, we read that it took some time for him to make the 3 mile journey from the gate to the Temple complex. This was no small procession. The crowds, easily in the thousands, were here, wanting to see Jesus. The narrow streets lined with people on both sides would have made the progression slow. People were shouting, showing their acclamation for the new King. This was so slow that by the time they did reach the Temple, it was already shutting down for the day. So Jesus and the 12 left for Bethany, something that Mark tells us they did nightly. Then the next day, they came back to the Temple. People were arriving, business was booming. And that was the problem.

When Jesus said that God’s House was a place of prayer for ALL NATIONS, that’s exactly what he meant.  The market was held in the Gentile Court. First you have the Court for the Priests, and then you have the Men’s court followed by the Gentile’s Court and then the Women’s Court. So only those who were Jews were able to attend the Temple Services. Gentiles and women and children would not be able to see, much less hear anything that the priests were doing or saying.  So Jesus comes in and runs off those who are there to do business. And from Matthew, we see that daily he taught and healed in the Temple Courts those who came to him.

This is the picture of Jesus. This is who he is.  This is what he does. He comes into our lives in a big way. (And perhaps this is why Baptism is important, because it is more a parade than what a simple, unseen prayer could hope to be.) Then he comes into our temple and cleans the debris, the trash and rot from our lives. For this wonderful grace, we sing hosanna!

But does he remain our king? A question I’ve always had and will always have is about the crowd that welcomed him as king, and the crowd that yelled, “crucify!” How many in the first group were also in the second group. I once asked this before another congregation. I was chastised for thinking that such a thing possible.

But really, is it? I think so. I think that when we lose our focus on Christ, when we lose our focus on our brothers and sisters and our neighbors, we cease being those who welcome the king. We become like those who cried out “Crucify!” Look at Judas. He had the same opportunities. When he went out to proclaim the Kingdom, he performed the same miracles as everyone else. He was there even as he went to the Temple. But then he switched sides for whatever reason, perhaps maybe to force God’s hand in restoring the nation of Israel.

So how do we find ourselves in the wrong crowd today? The biggest way is to ignore God’s way. Perhaps the easiest example, the most prevalent is that of marriage and love. Mind you, this is not a personal attack. Yet the biggest reason the church is no longer relevant in the lives of people today is that we have left the Word. We become afraid to stand up for truth, or if we do, we do so lacking all grace and love.

I will not shy away from it, but I have prayed through this message many times. So how have we defined marriage and love? The world teaches that in order to know if a couple is compatible, they need to live together first. That love is between two people. Marriage is overrated, or a Christian value.

So here is the truth about marriage and sex. Sex is a wonderful event that God has given to us for sharing between a husband and a wife. This institution predates Jesus. This institution in fact is the oldest in all creation. Day six, God created Man, then woman, and then marriage for Eve became Adam’s wife. God said that it was very good. Every culture, every nation has marriage.

Jesus said one of the problems the Samaritan woman in John 4 had was that she was no longer married, and she was living with a man not her husband. Marriage was only ever meant to be dissolved for reason of infidelity. Even then, only if the wronged wanted to. But now due to how messed up our world is, we have all sorts of scenarios. To honor God, live for Him. Keep yourself pure by abstaining or getting married. Stay married.

But we have messed that up with the idea that we need to be true to our hearts. We have been told we have no choice who we fall in love with. Thank you, William Shakespeare. Jeremiah 5.19 says that the heart is deceitful above all else in creation. Paul tells us that there is a battle waging within our bodies, the sinful nature (heart) and our spirit (soul, mind.)

But this is just the easiest sin to point out. Any sin, not just this, that we cling to, that we know is wrong, but we instead of repenting, we celebrate it; these are what have us keeping Christ from cleaning up our lives. Any, drunkenness, gluttons, lewdness, liars, thieves, such people will not inherit the kingdom.

What we need to do is to look at the Word. It is useful for preparing us for every good work. That’s what Paul told Timothy. Now that was the easiest example of why we are losing the relevancy in people’s lives. We have allowed fear of what people think to silence us. We do not want to offend. We forget that Jesus is our king. We forget that Paul told Timothy that if we hold to sound doctrine, then we would save souls.

By keeping sound doctrine, we also find ourselves being renewed in our minds. By staying in the Word, Hebrews 4.12 says that we are able to live God’s good and perfect will for our lives. He helps us by giving us the Holy Spirit (Titus 3.5). He does this when we gather together regularly. Hebrews says that this is essential, meeting together, for also strengthening each other up. Paul also states it in Col. 3.16.

The word then helps us to persevere. It was Paul’s aim to press forward, regardless of the victories or the stumbles behind him. He encouraged the reader to also take the same attitude, to follow him as he followed Christ. And here’s the best part of perseverance. It produces hope.

Paul told the Romans that we can rejoice because Jesus reconciled us while we were still sinners, still enemies of God so that we can become heirs with Jesus, so that we can call The Creator of the Universe, “Papa”.

I truly believe that even now it is not too late to take this passion that Christ gave, to let Christ clean your life of the sins, of the guilt, of the shame. It is still time to sing, “Hosanna!” Is Jesus truly your king?

Sharing the Message

Sharing the Message:  Acts 14.1-7

The passage shows that the message is not always easy. It’s not always easy to share the Gospel. But there are some rules, if you will, that will help us to share. Let’s read the text

Rule 1: Be consistent. Paul and Barnabas went weekly into the Synagogues to proclaim the Messiah to the people. These would be people who were believers in God, but they were just in error, or in ignorance. And for being the Apostle to the Gentiles, why did Paul first go to the Jews? He went because it was fitting since God revealed Jesus through them to all creation. Then after they had their fill, Paul would turn and proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles as well.

So now the question becomes how can we be consistent? There is the matter of rote. Paul always did this so that when it was time to do this, he could do this. Were you able to follow? He created for himself a routine to follow every time that he was in a new place. First, seek out the Jews and then seek the Gentiles.  Are we in the habit of sharing our faith in the same manner time and again?

One of the reasons we may not be, which then keeps us from being consistent, is that we are not ourselves. We are not ourselves when we try to be someone else. As a preacher, it is easy to hear the comparisons. I can listen to Chuck Swindoll and wonder if ever I will sound as polish as he does, or perhaps as engaging a story teller as Brant over in Hot Springs. Then I read another preacher. We are not called to be someone else. We are called to be ourselves. I am never going to be another preacher. I am me. I must be content in being me. Just as you must find contentment in being you.

What works for me in sharing my faith is not always going to work for you. Of course, learning to take an interest in the person, be they clerk, boss, family or whoever, is a trait that is not unique to some. It is something we are called to be, just as the parable of the Good Samaritan suggests.

Of course a warning must come now. This is not to say that we must follow our hearts. Jeremiah said that the heart, our feelings, are deceitful above all else. When we give ourselves to following our hearts, we may just deny our downside. We deny our sinful tendencies. We are comfortable being a Christian sinner because God is faithful. Yet we are thereby changing the grace of the Gospel into a perversion. Paul warned the Romans against doing that very thing. Shall sin abound so that grace abound even more? Absolutely NO!

We are to be ourselves, striving to living up to the hope, trying to be found worthy of the grace that we have been given. That is the consistency that the world needs to see from us.

Rule 2: Do not be discouraged. Not everyone is going to accept our message. The message, according to Jesus, will end up dividing people, even families, fathers against sons, mothers against daughters. Some accepted what Paul had to share. Those who did not, not only did not accept the message, but they created trouble for Paul and Barnabas. Yet, in the midst of these attacks, Paul and Barnabas were not discouraged. They kept sharing, preaching.  Verse 3 is key here. They spoke boldly in reliance on the Lord. It means that they clung to Jesus. Paul would later write to the Philippians that he can do all things because Christ gives him the strength to do so. To the church of Corinth, Paul made the promise that they have already all they need to further the Gospel message of Jesus. Paul would tell another man that we are not given a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of boldness. These are promises that we can claim for our lives. Are we willing to rely upon the Lord?

It is a question that we each must resolve before the time comes, and soon is coming when people will disparage us for our faith. We will be and are already being told that it is good to be Christian in our faith, but that we should leave our faith at home when we enter the public sector.  The attacks are coming. And we can weather the attacks as long as we remember Christ.

Now I am not saying that Jesus will empower us as he did with the Apostles, allowing us to do miraculous works. There was purpose to those works. He may still use them, but the promise for working miracles is not given. Instead Jesus said that we shall do greater works than what is recorded of Jesus. Today the Church worldwide feeds millions, heals millions, clothes millions and cares for millions daily. That is indeed greater works than Jesus did. Are we part of that work? Are we vessels of hope and grace for those hurting, facing storms in their lives? We are if we do not allow ourselves to be discouraged. Jesus is with us.

Rule 3: Keep doing what you are doing. After the trouble arose, Paul and Barnabas learned that their very lives were in danger. Let me stop here. When trouble rises up against you, you do not have to take it. You can flee. The text here says that they fled. God didn’t mean for us to be whipping bags. He meant for us to be messengers of hope and grace. Barnabas and Paul were no different. So they fled, when they learned that the people of Iconium meant to kill them.

When people flee, such as those in the witness protection program, they are given new identities. What they did in the old location must not be done in the new location. It’s how the witnesses hide from the bad guys. But it is the opposite with God and his children. It is different with us. Yes, we should flee, but as we do so, we follow what they did in the last verse. They kept evangelizing. They kept preaching Jesus.

So if you see trouble rise against you, then move, but keep sharing your faith. Of course, if you look at rule 3, following it helps you to live rule 1. A person becomes consistent by doing what he is doing. It won’t always be easy. Your loved ones may reject you. Your friends may leave you. It sometimes will require us to take bold steps, but remember. God is with us. He will guide our words.

Is your life an example of these 3 rules? If not, then make that choice now to start being a witness for Christ. You may be the only one able to reach someone. And when you do, the results will be eternal.

Other People's Blessings

In the News this week: Re:New is about ready to begin their worship services in their new building. They have been maxing out at a total 350 people each week, just a year and half later. The new place should allow them to easily double the number.

Over in Hot Springs, the preacher has just returned from training preachers and conducting an evangelistic series. They are also now meeting with 150 plus each Sunday.

Best news is that Royse Church has come together in light of the new preacher being near death in the hospital. But he came home Friday, just 8 days after a diabetic coma, gangrene and septicemia and 3 major surgeries to clean him up. A nurse visits him daily to administer an IV of medications. But he hopes to be able to preach tonight. We’ll see.

And the final news item is that the Church Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas had a great evangelistic meeting. They were invited the first Sabbath to return after giving a word of encouragement about Jesus. They became the talk of the town. Come the next Sabbath, the place was packed out. I suspect that Synagogue attendance had never been so good.  Bottom line, seems that God is working and blessing other people.

How do we handle such news? When we hear of God blessing others, and we seem to not be as blessed, what is our honest reaction? What do we do? Our passage this morning, in light of others’ blessings, gives us a choice, which do we take, that of Jealousy or that of Joy? Let’s read the passage:

Jealousy blinds. They lost their focus. They were not focused on bringing the people in to worship God together. By the time of Jesus’ ministry, and especially for the times of Paul, Synagogue membership was most like a membership to a country club. It was about social status, not about drawing closer to their heavenly father. Instead of rejoicing that all these people were coming to learn at the Synagogue, they became jealous that they were not the source of appeal. It was Paul and Barnabas preaching Jesus.

Jealousy kills. Not only was their focus gone (eyes on serving the Father), their attitude became poisoned, like a virus that attacked everyone.  Enough men and women rose up against the Gospel that Paul and Barnabas that they shook the dust from their feet. And that is quite serious. If the message is not welcomed in a town, shake the dust of the town from you.  All because they were jealous at the lack of attention and authority, they snuffed out a seedling of a plant. Was the community the rocks and weeds or the hard ground that kills the mere seedling that is a new believer’s faith?

Now there is the attitude of Joy.

Joyous attitude is focused on the mission: Spreading the Good News of Jesus. Too often, myself included, we look for reasons why a group or church is having record outreach and why it is on a faulty foundation. Rather, we should be like the disciples who rejoiced that the Gospel was spreading like wild fire.  Of course it is also implied that being focused means that you are about the task of sharing your faith. Paul and Barnabas didn’t just go about the town talking themselves up. People who heard them went about telling their neighbors. Sure, Paul and Barnabas were talking to those who wanted to during the week, but people tend to come because they were invited by someone they know. We see that in the Gospels a couple of times. Philip told his brother about Jesus. The woman at the well told her town about Jesus. Are we all talking about our faith, inviting people? This is a team effort.

Joy allowed them to stay faithful. How often do we let troubled waters change our plans? Here were the jealous types stirring up trouble for the Gospel. The world loves to have us give up when things become complicated, or when opposition arises. Yet are we willing to stand firm and face that opposition?  What if that opposition is so strong that you are expelled? That is what happened with Paul and Barnabas. The community of unbelievers decided that they needed to leave, and that they needed assistance in escorting them away. And yet, even though the disciples were robbed of their teachers, the good news still spread. They were still full of joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.

Is your faith, your joy that strong? I would love to say that it is. I can suspect that they were hurt from being expelled from the area. Yet they still looked to God. They knew that what they were facing was quite temporary compared to what eternity held for them. And yet, despite the problems, they still told their neighbors.

Bottom line here is that regardless of the situation, where we are as a body, we have a choice to make. We can decide to become bitter by what we see happening in other churches, even poison our spirits, or we can choose to stay focused on Christ, to be filled with the joy from the Holy Spirit, empowered to share the good news with those around us. It is here then that God will then bless our efforts. He will continue to provide all that we need to carry out the mission in our lives. What is your decision?

Becoming Antioch

I will tell you something. There is an appeal to the larger churches. It seems that they are always doing more, being more effective. More people want to go to the bigger churches. Sure, they will dress up the issue of why they choose the bigger churches, such as the music program is better. There are plenty of teachers and youth programs. The facilities are state of the art, and the parking is more convenient. And then there are ladies’ groups, men’s ministries, family activities, missions and missions trips, choir, etc.

Bigger churches even have conferences to teach the smaller churches how to be like the bigger churches. And though there may not be anything wrong with the bigger churches, is this the best model to look at? Do we have plateaus we consider, we want to reach? We have so many members. Though there are some works being done in the bigger churches, for our model we should do what our movement does best, look at tradition! Look at the Bible. If we are to become like a church, Antioch is that church to become. (READ TEXT)

What we see here is what we do not see here. We have Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark returning from Jerusalem. It is also interesting to ponder, which I did Wednesday night, was Paul one of those who told Rhoda to be quiet? After all they came with John Mark and the prayer meeting was at his mom’s home. If anything, it goes to paint a picture of a couple of men that we tend to put on pedestals.  And we do that. We find a leader we like and we start believing that they are like super human. They don’t sin, or if they do, their big sin is speeding, or under-tipping. Anyway, the Bible gives us an honest picture of who they are.

What we do not see here, or anywhere in the New Testament, is reference to the size of the church. So often today, we feel that in order to be an effective church, we must have people so we can have programs so we can make progress. But it is easier in the larger churches. Reality is that the same percentage of the people do the work in a church of 1000 as they do in the church of 50.

We are, however, a smaller congregation. So how do we move from here? How do we become like the church of Antioch, or the church of the New Testament? In our short three verses, there are three observations. Now at this point in the timeline of the church of Antioch, she is a congregation just a year old. And already, there are leaders here in the church. There were prophets, which one definition is someone who speaks the words of God, such as I am doing right now. I am being a prophet because I am telling you what the Word says. Maybe there were others who spoke for God as did Elisha and Isaiah and Jeremiah.

But not all churches are like Antioch with growing in their faith in Jesus. Today, we can see many churches meeting together, but that’s all they do. They are content with it. These churches, I would say are idle churches, kind of like the church of Laodicea. Neither hot nor cold. But then a church that is cold, I suspect is one that rejects the Bible because it is politically correct. But a church of apathy? The writer of Hebrews had that the readers should themselves be teachers of the faith, but yet they are still no further along than a baby. In Hebrews 5.11-14, the writer is chastising them for not growing up. It is an expectation. It is implied when Jesus told the disciples to teach the new disciples to obey everything they were taught by Jesus.

Now this maturity came from their spiritual discipline. Here we see as they are sending out men for spreading the good news, which is the first missionary journey in the Bible, they fasted and prayed. Now of this, perhaps we are good at praying. But I don’t want to venture there, lest we be called on it. I can’t help but think that Paul was at the prayer meeting at John Mark’s mother’s house. If Paul’s prayer life was in a state of flux, I suspect each of our prayer life is in flux. There is always room for improvement.

And though this prayer is a spiritual discipline, it is more than that. First it’s not commanded. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to pray. The closest the Law comes to commanding that you pray is “when you pray”. It is assumed that we pray. How else are we to communicate to and with God our Father? Fasting is also another assumptive discipline. It’s never commanded of God’s children. I wonder though if their prayer time was so fervent that that’s when fasting occurred. It wasn’t some ritual that Jesus warned against in the sermon on the mount.  But do we get so wrapped up that we forget the time and find that we have missed meals?  Was this the fasting that happened before the first crew was sent out to spread the good news?

The implication is clear though. How seriously do we take our time that we talk to our Heavenly Father? How often do we get so wrapped up hours pass instead of minutes, or how important do we view this? God, thanks for the grub. Is that all we have to say to our father, who adopted us, who gave us purpose?

Finally, they were able to discern God’s will. They were sensitive to His leading. Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work I have ready.” How often do we really rely upon God to lead us? Yes, he gives us freewill, but he also gives us direction. He doesn’t force us to take a path. He just tells us there it is. And yet, as we think we are hearing God’s voice, we need to make sure that God is indeed guiding us. He is not the only spiritual entity. There is also His angels and then Satan and his angels. They can all sound good. That is why they fasted and prayed. They wanted to make sure that their main leaders were indeed being called out.

Too many times, can you count them, when I have heard, “Well the Lord told me to do this.” I had people come to me and tell me that what they were doing was in accordance to God’s will.  I sit back and ask, really? God wanted you to cheat your neighbor. In order to discern God’s leading, we must be striving to grow, to practice our spiritual disciplines. We are at a critical time, not just Central, but the church in general. Too long have we had it easy. That time is changing with each additional day passing.

As for Central, it isn’t too late. The work of sharing the news is harder because it falls on more shoulders. But God did promise to give us all that we need to carry out the mission, at least that’s the promise in 1 Cor. 1.5-7.  

The Measure of Faith

Faith is defined by Hebrews 11.1 as being: “…the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by it, our ancestors were approved.” I added verse 2 for good measure. And what is it that we hope for? Is it not for something that is better than what we are going through in this life, that there is more beyond this life? It is sad that some say that faith means we have more to this life, that we can live life to the fullest.

Our definition of heaven and hell become temporal, what we experience. Some say that hell is living life as a victim, but when we chose to make it more, then life becomes like heaven. And for whatever reason, some won’t even broach the subject. But in understanding the pictures of faith this morning, we need to realize that there is more beyond this life.

If our understanding is for this life alone, then we are to be considered fools, as Paul told the Corinthian church. If you think your life is good now in Christ, then know how much better life will be in His return. If you think your life is hell right now, apart from Christ, we have no idea how much worse hell will be, a place of loneliness, solitude, darkness, and sorrow beyond description. No, let us focus on what is waiting for us, for those in Christ: Think of the best wedding reception you’ve been to, or the best celebration that you have ever experienced. Every time you think of it, there isn’t the least bit of sorrow or sadness associated with it. THAT is nothing compared to the feast God has been cooking, has been preparing for us.

Paul said this: As long as he lives, he will live for Christ, but should he die, then he gains. That is a life lived by faith. That is exactly what we see here with our passage this morning. We see that, and a life of doubt. Let’s read our text:

First the life of doubt: When we discussed this on Wednesday, we started at verse 6. The question came up about what the church was praying for. Were they praying for Peter? So verse 5 answers this. They were praying for Peter. How they were praying, that is another question. I suspect that they were praying for his release. It would fit my sermon a bit better to assume that they were.

The problem is that there was doubt somewhere. Doubt tends to rob a person, making him blind, fearful. Yet, this account demonstrates clearly that there is no situation that is so insurmountable that our Great Father cannot help us with. It was a dire time for the church, once again. The State learned that a small minority could be appeased to silence by going after the meek, those who’d turn the other cheek. And the first 4 verses should serve the church a warning this morning. When the State today finds it easier to quiet the shouts of those against Christ by going after Christians… James was put to the sword. So did the Church in Jerusalem have any hope?

Prayer sometimes is the last act of desperation. I get that sense here, too. They became too absorbed in their problems that when the answer became clear, they denied the answer. You’re crazy. It’s his ghost. Leave us.

That’s when faith comes to work, though. When times seem bleak, look. Jesus came to frightened, though experienced boatmen in the midst of a storm. Peter walked to Jesus. How far? I believe it was a bit more than 3 feet. Then when the 12 came back, along with one who was possessed by a demon whom they could not drive out, we hear, “This critter only comes out by prayer, you of little faith.” Then during the time between the cleansing of the Temple and laying his life down that final week, he withered the fig tree. Oh, my children, if your faith is but the size of a mustard seed, you could command that mountain, “be cast into the sea!” and it would move.

Faith is always Amazing.  When the rest of the disciples finally opened the door, they were amazed because God answered their prayers. Now what storms are we willing to weather in our lives? And are we weathering them with the aid of Christ, or do we try them alone? Or do we leave the struggle completely to others?

 With faith, we are never alone. Yes we have God with us, clothed in Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit. But there is more to the faith. We are also a family. When Peter was arrested after James’ death, the church in Jerusalem came together. They were praying with one another. They were sharing the hard times.

Too often Americans love to go to church to feel good. But what about those hurting around us? Do we take time to see their hurts, to minister to them? We were never meant to weather the storms alone. Jesus did that for us, on the cross. (His disciples had abandoned him, and then he saw God’s presence leave, thus why he cried out, “where are you?!” He did that so that we would never have to.) Then He gave us each other. When times are tough, do we call our brothers or sisters? Is the church meeting always to be happy, happy, joy, joy? If we haven’t already, we are in the process of losing our community.

Faith is a Community. When we realize that we are a community, we are a family, then we can better invite others to join the family, to meet our Father through Christ Jesus. BRP revealed that though churches are friendly, they are not welcoming. Church is something we do, not where we belong. Faith fixes that. It brings us together, in love. For the good times, and especially for the bad times.

Finally, Faith is ever Calming, ever comforting. Peter is the epitome of faith in the midst of the storm. He learned well watching others, and in this case, Jesus. You remember Jesus slept in one storm where the disciples, again, seasoned boatmen, were fearful of losing their lives. “Master, we are about to die and you sleep?!” “Of little faith, be calm!” Then turning to the waves, he then calmed the storm. Peter was now that beacon of calm. This is what Paul meant by telling the Philippians, I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”

Peter, here, wasn’t singing Tom Dooly song. There was no fear. He knew his destination. He was taking a much needed rest. He was sleeping so soundly that I imagine the Angel of the Lord kicking him awake, and even then, the angel only managed sleep-walking state. It was only after he was finally free and clear from the prison complex did he come to.

Ah to have faith as Peter. Maybe Paul learned his axiom from Peter, to live is for Christ and to die is to gain. So how do we do with the storms in our lives, the struggles? As a family, we are facing a storm of sort. We are a small family. But when we are living a measure of faith, allowing it to comfort us, to calm us, to unite us into a family, a community, then we will see amazing things happen. It will take us believing in what we pray for, doing what we can, letting God handle the hurdles, and to fill us with his strength.

If, but the size of a mustard seed, what can we then see?