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?

The Right Road? Acts 10

It was something new for the Church. It was a new time, not just a time of peace, but a time of opportunity. It was a time that Peter was about the region preaching the Gospel message. He had relied on the Holy Spirit to preach to the Jews along the Mediterranean Sea about Jesus. He was healing those who needed healing. Though his preaching and good works were nothing new for Peter, he was even beginning to act a little different.

For Peter, a devote follower of the Law himself, is now found in Joppa staying at another Simon’s house. This man was a tanner. He dealt with hides and critter skins. He was an unclean man because he was in an unclean business. Or maybe Simon Tanner had the right of it, of understanding the Law. Anyway, it was new territory for Peter.

It is understandable when something new comes along. A new thought, a new method, perhaps even a new theology is hard to accept initially. (Of course, it wasn’t really a new theology, but The Theology cleared up. All the Law and the Prophets pointed toward Jesus. Peter’s message did bring clarity to what was known, or at least to what was understood.) A church comes around and does things differently. That’s ok. It doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. It means that it is new and should be looked at. It should be weighed.

When I was in my Church of Christ youth ministry, it was something indeed new. This branch of the Restoration Movement, was struggling. Was having a youth minister an asset to the outreach of the church, to the discipleship of the church, or was it wrong, too conforming to the pattern of “worldly churches”? That was what the congregation and the eldership struggled with. After a year of ministering there, the question was still unsettled. I am not sure if even today that that question has been or will be settled for that congregation.

Something else new happened for the Church. No longer were people coming who had a passing familiarity with Judaism and the Law. Now people are coming in and have no clue as to what exactly a Christian believes. The world for Peter was changing, just as our world is changing today. For Peter, until this morning, Samaritans were the closest he got to non-Jews. They were at least somewhat familiar with the church culture.

To prepare him, however, God also challenged him with his core beliefs. As I’ve said, he was staying at an “unclean” home. Now in the middle of the morning, he is praying and has a vision. It’s a sheet coming down. “Kill and eat!” he hears commanded. Can you imagine what you’d see on it? You’d see pigs, horses, squirrels, rabbits, iguanas, snakes, turkeys, ducks, even perhaps dogs and cats. (Notice what’s not there: Catfish and crawfish!) Here Peter is in a crossroad. He knows that this vision is from God, but what should he do?

[He is willing to be challenged.] When a person is confronted with the new, it is natural for a person to fall back on what he already knows and has accepted. “Never!” you can hear him say. He’s denied himself pepperoni pizzas. He won’t change now. Or will he? “Go with the 3 men seeking you,” he then hears the Spirit telling him. He does. He leaves his comfort zone. He’s going with Gentiles on a mission for God.

He goes where he hadn’t really given thought. He’s forgotten the commission, to make disciples of all nations. It wasn’t to proclaim the Messiah to the Jews in all nations, but to proclaim Jesus as the Savior to everyone. Peter has learned that all need God’s love and grace. Everyone needs a hope for tomorrow, a hope that only comes by Jesus Christ.

And it is indeed everyone. Cornelius would be a man that many would see as being a moral man. He does good. He gives to the poor. And his heart was seeking. This is something of an insight we do not have with our neighbors. I wish we could. I have hurting friends. If I could read their hearts, then I could better effectively minister to them. Yet even here, the most moral of men still need to hear the Gospel. So Peter, directed by the Holy Spirit, is sharing the Good News with someone he would not have picked. Not because the man is moral and we sometimes see that as a hindrance. Often moral people are harder to reach mainly because they fail to catch the difference between doing good because you love God and doing good so that you can be good.  Another reason Peter would not have chosen him, if left to Peter is that this man is not only a Gentile, or non-Jew. He is a Roman Centurion. He is the icon of all that Jews hate. After three years with Simon Zealot, Peter surely could share his disdain for all things, or people, Rome.

Then that is how we are. We more times than not cheer when we hear someone we don’t like has suffered. Well let’s not be soft. Perhaps we don’t cheer about people we don’t like. We perhaps cheer because of someone we hate has suffered. For example, not too long ago, Seals took out public enemy numero uno. Osama was executed by a hit team. What was your reaction? Can you remember the day? News reports showed Americans everywhere rejoicing. Few of us thought, “There went his last hope of salvation.” But that is common, to rejoice when your enemy suffers. It’s why Jesus told us to be different by not just merely dealing with our enemy, but to go beyond, to love our enemy as if he were our dear brother, our best friend. Pray for him, give graciously to him.

[He is open to reaching.] Peter was gracious; going to someone God has directed him to. Then while preaching Jesus, the hope of a better tomorrow, the restoration of fellowship between man and God, God poured His Spirit on them, the Gentiles. Why? Mind, you, here we see the charisma poured out. That’s the Greek word for gift. It is not the same Greek word that Peter promised in Acts 2.38. This is a special gift that has been poured out at a particular time, or by the touching of the Apostles. Not even the early Deacons could impart the Charisma as did the Apostles.

This is important to understand because this is new territory. Did God truly want non-Jews to come to Christ? Was he truly calling the whole world?  This sign God provided wasn’t so much for Peter’s sake as it was for those who came with him from Joppa. They needed to know that God was indeed accepting of all men, of all tribes and nations. I ponder here about the order of things. Did the Apostles have heavier weight on baptizing people? Not so much as people being baptized, but the holiness of the rite itself. It is this time that the new believer is being washed of his sins and being given the gift of the Holy Spirit. John would write in the Revelation that those who believed in Jesus were sealed by the Holy Spirit. “Yes, Peter, I favor all who would accept Christ. Baptize them.”

We are in a new time, in a crossroads if you will. Everything seems to be changing faster than we can comprehend. New things are coming faster than perhaps we can handle. I never thought 20 years ago, typing away on my Apple IIe that I would one day be able to hold my sermon notes on this tablet, that there would be a site like facebook that would literally change the way we communicate with one another. It is amazing to see, to think about.

Like Peter, we will be directed to do something different, perhaps even new, if we are willing to be used. And in the storm of new, it would be so easy to be misguided. How do I know that I am on the right road? Peter’s journey, God had continually given him signs to say that he was on the right road. But can we see those signs today?

[We need to check the map.] Not necessarily so. Perhaps we might. Yet in all things, God still has given us something by which we should use. Peter tells us in his letter that we should test the spirits to see if this is indeed from God. But what shall our standard be? What will be the answer key for our testing? First, the Word of God, the Bible. If we are being led to do something new, to make sure we are on the right road, we need to be spending time in His Book to us. This is our road map.  Peter was at a crossroad, and God guided him to the right road. We, too, are at the same crossroad. 

Something Great - Acts 9.32-42

As I prepare for my sermons, I lay out the texts about a month in advance. We have been looking at the Book of Acts, looking at spreading the Kingdom while building a community. All the messages I have tried to keep with this theme. As such, I have skipped portions and even chapters, such as Acts 7. Here in Acts 9, this is the 5^th message, whereas Acts 10, a longer chapter, will have only 2 messages.

Originally, I thought that I would not have as many. I thought last week I would be finished with Acts 9, but as I laid out the messages, I couldn’t get past this one. It didn’t seem to fit a flow. But still there is a message here that we need to consider this morning. I brought it up Wednesday night at our prayer meeting. Jim and I had a great discussion about it. It made me wonder about the event. Let’s read this morning’s text:

What was it about this passage that I couldn’t pass? I went back to verse 31, and the church was encouraged by the Holy Spirit. Here we have Peter, being encouraged by the Holy Spirit, leaving Jerusalem and the comfort of safety that he and the others felt by staying behind as the rest of the church scattered. He now no longer had to fear the Sanhedrin arresting him. It seems losing their key zealot took the wind out of their sails.

Now as Peter was about, proclaiming Christ, he started ministering to people. I do not know if this man, Aeneas, was the only one in Lydda to be healed, but he was a person of interest. Peter did what he could for him, what God set him about to do. Peter was able to heal the man. He was sound and whole. No longer did he need to beg for handouts and scraps. He could now provide for himself.

Yet while there, Peter became aware of another person needing help. Her friends came for Peter because she herself had died. I am not sure how long she was dead. It could have been a day or two, maybe longer. Her body was washed and laid out for people to come and view. So he goes to see what help he could be.

While there, after seeing all the clothes she had made for others, for she loved making clothes for those who needed, Peter then puts the mourners, the community, and the family outside the room. He needed privacy, he needed quiet, he needed to talk to the Father, and so he did. In partnership, he raised Tabitha back to life.

From these two healings, many people were saved in three communities. Peter used what he was given for ministering to others. Ministering to people allowed him to see others who needed ministering, and he knew that this was a partnership. That is this morning’s outline.

We need to be open; we need to be looking for opportunity to minister to others. Tabitha did by being the closet for the poor. Peter did that through the healings. How do we do that in our lives today? Are we looking for ways in which we can be ministering to others? There are needs out there that go unmet. And if we desire to share the gospel with others, we need to meet what needs the person has so that the person will be open to hearing the Gospel. Consider James asking us what good is our faith if we see someone hungry or cold and do nothing to meet his needs? Too often that is what the church does now. That is what we do now.

I am not saying that we should go out and heal people. I am not sure that people are called to be miraculous healers of late. Seems the power of healing, as well as other gifts, were passed on by the laying of hands of the Apostles, which according to Acts 1, is someone who witnessed Christ from His baptism to his ascension. No one is that old today. But as the church globally, we feed over 100 million starving people every day. How many hungry people are you feeding in your neighborhood? Do you know of any who are? There are national and state and even city drives for coats and shoes for kids. Do we help facilitate that? The sheer number by which the church ministers to daily is greater than that of Jesus and his days of walking this earth. Are we seeking opportunities to minister?

When we start ministering to other people, then that tends to create a cycle of ministering to other people. Because Peter was in the Almyra and DeWitt area, someone from Stuttgart was able to send for him. (That is the equivalency of distance these towns were.) Say your skill is repairing bicycles. You enjoy doing it. As you help one in need, the word gets around that if someone needs help with his bicycle, he can come to you. You find yourself doing more, serving more.

Mr. Jett was a scout leader when I was a boy. He was known for helping kids. After school, being that he was retired, he opened his garage up for any and all who wanted to learn a neat art, wood carving. Now because this was after school, he had girls in his garage right alongside the boys. He would minister to them in ways that I didn’t realize at the time, and only more recently did I learn that a church had underwritten his expenses so that he could provide a supervision in a time before there were daycares so that kids wouldn’t need their latchkey while parents were away at work.

I suspect that was the nature of Tabitha’s ministry. As she helped one family with clothes, they told another family and soon she found herself helping others. Now mind you, this is not Tabitha, Mr. Jett or the bicycle repairman being taken advantage. These examples of ministry come from a partnership with the Holy Spirit. Because their service came from the Love of God so overfilling their hearts, they were able to serve others.

And sure, there may be times that we are taken advantage. I suspect that of those I help with bills, not a few were because of mismanagement, because they felt like they are due the help because the help is there. But that’s ok. We don’t worry motive if someone comes in need. I pay what I can, share the love and message of Jesus with them. I do so because I am not alone.

Just as Peter was not alone with Tabitha, (remember that he took time to talk to the Father,) so we are not alone. Because we have been clothed in Christ, so too are we sealed with the Holy Spirit. We are never alone. And because we are never alone, it is not by our strength alone that mission is accomplished. And also, let us remember that our Father has given us another resource so that we are not alone, tangibly. He gave each of us each of us. He gave me, you. He gave you, me.

We are at a point in our history, speaking now of Central Christian, where we need to realize that now is the time that, like Peter did something great, we too, can do something great. We have all that we need to minister. We have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we have one another. Let’s come together to spur one another one. If you are not part of the Family, will you join us?

A New You

Acts 9.19-22

Touch of the Master’s Hand is my favorite song by Wayne Watson. Let me read it to you.

Well it was battered and scared, and the auctioneer felt it was hardly worth his while to waste much time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile. “Well it sure ain’t much but its all we got left I guess we ought to sell it, too. Oh, now who’ll start the bid on this old violin? Just one more and we’ll be through.” And then he cried, “One give me one dollar; who’ll make it two; only two dollars who’ll make it three? Three dollars twice, now that’s a good price! Now who’s got a bid for me? Raise up your hand, now don’t wait any longer; the auctions about to end. Who’s got four; just one dollar more to bid on this old violin?”

Well the air was hot, and the people stood around as the sun was setting low. From the back of the crowd, a gray haired man came forward and picked up the bow. He wiped the dust from the old violin, then he tightened up the strings. Then he played out a melody, pure and sweet, sweeter than the Angels sing. And then the music stopped, and the auctioneer with a voice that was quiet and low, he said, “Now what is my bid for this old violin?” and he held it up with a bow. And then he cried out, “One! Give me one thousand! Who’ll make it two, only two thousand, who’ll make it three? Three thousand, twice, you know that’s a good price. Come on, who’s got a bid for me?”  

And the people cried out, “What made the change? We don’t understand.” Then the auctioneer stopped, and he said with a smile, “It was the touch of the Master’s hand.”

As I was pondering this morning’s passage, this song came to my mind. I like it. Saul of Tarsus, as we left off, had met the Savior on the road. God had then asked someone to do something that seemed, at least from Ananias’ point of view, quite dangerous, as if he was asked to shoo away a rattlesnake. Ananias, however, didn’t know that Saul was not the same person who headed to Damascus days before. He was changed. He was open to accepting the Lord. Ananias arrived, healed him, then baptized him, and then we have our text this morning:

It is said that most new growth within the body comes from new growth. Saul seems to exemplify that axiom. Here he is, with the disciples of Damascus and instantly proclaiming Christ. Now from here, or somewhere between verses 25 and 26, 3 years will have passed for Saul, for even our journey through the book. In the letter to the churches of Galatia, he says that he didn’t go to Jerusalem right away in his faith. Instead after 3 years of walking, then he became associated with the Apostles. But that story is for next week. This week, having been touched by the Master’s hand, he is new.

He was excited and telling others about Jesus. So often anymore, we have somehow come to believe that we need to study to know how to tell people who they need to see them through life’s storms. But here we see Saul, untrained in matters of Christianity. Perhaps he may have picked something up watching and battling the Christians the previous years. But for the most part, he accepted Christ. He was clothed in Christ. He was a new creation. He was new. And now he had a new mission, a new message.

What keeps us from sharing the message with others? Personally, there are a couple of reasons. First, but perhaps not foremost, is that of fear. Fear of what others would think of us. Yet let us consider something. We live in an area that is prone to have an occasional tornado. It is a scary time. Yet who of us would not make sure our neighbors knew of the impending doom? As soon as our smart phone apps alert us, or perhaps the TV station or the siren itself, do we not call loved ones?

Yet I say that there is something worse than a tornado coming. Well not for me, perhaps not for you, but for those who we love and are not in the faith, will they be able to weather the storm coming? Aside from being in Christ, the answer is no. We fear our temporary standing in our own worlds, but others in our spheres are hell bound.

This brings up another reason we do not tell others about Christ. Our culture has lead us to believe, and perhaps many of our churches are also guilty by being complicit. If we stand for truth, we are being judgmental. That is a lie. It is not judgmental when we say that God created a man and a woman to become one, a husband and a wife. It is not judgmental to say that life begins at conception, and anything that brings that life to an end prematurely is wrong. It is not judgmental to say that men and women are different, that God has specific roles for each in the kingdom.

Yet we do not want to be judgmental. Here is an example of being judgmental. Bob, because I don’t like you, you’re going to hell.” That is judgmental. Or this, a bit more subtle: “Bob wouldn’t be interested in hearing the gospel. He’s set in his ways.”  When the church, when we, when you and I start standing for the truth, we are not being judgmental, but we are perhaps bound to save souls.  Do we have new life? One sign of new life would be how we handle the good news. We don’t need to know more than Jesus saves, gave me hope to get through my troubles.

The New Saul also showed us something else: He is different. The people were surprised to see the stark difference between what they had heard and what they were seeing. They marveled at this. It reminds me of Matthew 5.16 where Jesus tells us that since we are the light of the world, then let our light so shine before men that they see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. That is what Saul was doing here.

Of course, then we must remember Paul’s words to the Romans, 10.14, “How can they believe unless they hear, hear unless someone tells them?” Too often, in our non-judgmental efforts, we have taken Peter’s words to wives to win their husbands through quiet action as our role, our plan to save the nation, through the silent actions of the church. But that is a gross misapplication of Peter’s words. Rather, we need to realize that it is not enough to just do good, to pay it forward. We need to tell the person why we are the way we are.

Of our neighbors, do they know that we are different because of Jesus? Have we told them that? Or do we assume that they know because they see us travel to church on Sundays? Worse yet, do they even know that we are different? There was once a bumper sticker popular 20 years ago: “If you were accused of being a Christian, would you be convicted?” That can stop us up short.

In what ways are we living apart from the world around us, besides being here this morning? Do we laugh at the same jokes, even tell them? Do we hold the same values that are found in the world? If we are new, then it should, like with Saul, make a stark contrast with the world around us. It’s like being able to spot the hunter in his camouflage because he’s also wearing that bright orange vest. It makes him stand out, just as Christ wants us to stand out in our world.

Final sign of a new Saul is that he matured in the faith. That is what Luke, the writer meant when he penned the last verse, “and Saul grew more and more powerful…” (NIV). The Christian Standard says, “He grew more capable…” He matured in the faith. Maturity in the faith is something that comes by spending time in the word. See where Saul kept confounding the Jews by proving Jesus is the savior. Proving implies strongly that he was using the Old Testament Scriptures to show who Jesus is, how he is the Messiah. I believe also the mere exercise of debate helped Saul to grow in the fiath.

Now let me say this about maturity in the faith: It is expected of us. Paul chastises the church in Corinth for not being more mature, needing the elements of Jesus all over again. It’s similar to the accusation the writer of Hebrews made to his readers, that thought they ought to be eating steak, they still need milk.

Growing in the faith is not like physical growth. For my children, (Flower) has no choice when her legs lengthen, her head hardens, her teeth drop through the gums. It happens naturally. Even now, her reliance on milk is less than half as she is on to eating solid foods. Growing spiritually is something that takes desire and purpose.

I have had people tell me that after so many years walking with the Lord, they feel they still need the basics of the Gospel. I wanted to tell them, “Grow up! Stop being infantile.” When the desire to stay at a particular plateau, we become stagnant. We lose our saltiness. We cease being the light.

Now my signs of a new you are done, how we handle the Gospel message, that we are different, and that we mature in Christ, I feel a little beat up. I don’t like feeling beaten, and I don’t like to beat up. Sometimes, bluntness is called for. Sometimes when a child is reaching for that hot burner, we need to be harsh to grab the attention, rather than loving, because being all loving and emotionally sensitive might make us too late to keep that child from burning himself.

So here is the good news. If you and I are still breathing, it’s not too late to be new you. We can still rise up and be intentional, telling others the good news. We can start living differently, living for Christ immediately. We can decide now is the time to grow up.  This comes from the Grace that God gives us every day. Yes, we won’t always get it right, but God does give us His Spirit to guide us, if we but truly rely upon him. Paul, being an apostle, having written well over half of the New Testament, admitted to the Romans that he still messed up. He still found himself committing sins he knew better not to. Then to the Philippians, 3.13, “This is I know, forgetting what is behind me, I press onward to the goal.” All things have passed. We can look forward, to be new every day. Are you ready for a new you?

Before I close with the invitation,  I didn’t finish the lyrics of the song. Let me continue:

You know there's many a man with his life out of tune, battered and scared with sin; and he’s auctioned cheap to a thankless world much like that old violin. Oh, but then the Master comes, and that old foolish crowd, they never understand: The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought just by one touch of the Master’s hand. And then he cried out, “One! Give me one thousand! Who’ll make it two, only two thousand, who’ll make it three? Three thousand, twice, you know that’s a good price. Come on, who’s got a bid for me?” 

And the people cried out, “What made the change? We don’t understand.” Then the auctioneer stopped, and he said with a smile, “It was the touch of the Master’s hand.”

So this morning, which are you? Are you the old fiddle, battered, needing a healing, a gracious touch from the Father? Would you like to be that nice violin, making a sweet melody for the Kingdom? If so, and you need prayer, or just desire prayer

A New Year Every Day

In honor of the New Year, just a couple days away, I have 2 lists regarding New Year's Resolutions (NYRs):

Standard 10 Resolutions: Stop smoking, stop drinking, get into shape, lose weight, enjoy life more, get organized, learn something new, get out of debt, spend more time with family and help people.

Top 10 Different Resolutions: 1. Get your photo taken in 5 interesting and new places. 2. Learn a party trick. 3. Break a record. 4. Make a new friend every month. 5. Develop a good relationship with your body. 6. Learn something new that you didn’t learn as a child. (This is nurturing your inner child.) 7. Try a new food each week. 8. Make the usual unusual. 9. Settle a financial worry. 10. Do something nice for others each day.

Here are a few observations about NYRs: Most fail because they are made with little thought, usually within a week, or two, if not an hour of the New Year. One study shows 38% strongly do not make NYRs, of which I am now one. 64% of NYRs are broken by the end of the month, most of those by the end of the first week. And finally, did you notice, of the two lists, others were last. I looked at several “Christian” NYRs lists as well, and sadly, they also have ‘others’ listed last. Take care of yourself and then others.

Now as the new year is upon us, for the most part, we enjoy it, what it represents. It represents a new start, a fresh start. For some reason, we live life in blocks of time. We look at another hour, another day, another week, another month, another year. So the new year is here, and with it, we know that all that has happened in 2012, and that which didn’t happen, is gone. It is behind us.

But in that, we reflect on the previous year. We look at ourselves and weigh ourselves. We think about missed opportunities, struggles in life, be they medical, economical, or relational. We look at our faults and weaknesses. And that’s where the NYRs come in. We realize that we are lacking. We know the truth of Romans 3.23, of our sinfulness. We want to be better this coming year. Now here are some ways in which I can become a better person, thus the NYRs, fresh goals for the fresh year.

Now regarding NYRs, one expert has said that one of the main reasons NYRs fail is from the lack of tools needed to achieve the goal. Do you know that as Christians, we do have the tools needed to keep any NYRs that we make? This morning, we are going to look at some tools needed. Or perhaps measures by which we can have a new year, a fresh start every day. So when we blow it, we don’t have to wait for the year to start over.

First measure comes from the Gospel of Matthew, 11:28-30. Jesus knows how tired living life is, how hard it is.  He knows that we are bogged down, so he gives us an offer, a trade. Rather than focusing on ourselves, we give ourselves to him, and in trade, he gives us a new burden, a lighter one, one for the kingdom. It is interesting that most of the problems in life that anyone suffers, comes from being selfish. It is hard to worship and bow down to one’s own self. Have you tried it lately? Bow down to yourself. You cannot do it, and yet, as society, as the world turns, that is exactly what people try to do every day. The message they hear is: “Me first, me first!” You deserve this new car. You deserve to have this action done for you. You deserve this, you deserve that.

With Jesus, from the beginning it was all about putting others first. Look at the 10 commandments. The first 5 are about how we treat God. See other here. These are not about us, but about God. Now the 5^th is a transitionary one, but still about others, in this case, our parents. Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, and do not lie are all about how we treat others. 9 of the first 10 are others, whereas on average, 8 or 9 of NYRs are about me. The last one, do not covet, is truly about the “me”.  In a sense, God is laying before us the map of a sure mess. Focus on you, and here’s what will happen. You’ll start to lie, then steal, then cheat, and then murder, and disrespect your parents, and then defame, speak against God. Jesus says that we trade our focus. Rather than on us, we focus on our neighbor. Jesus continues on with other passages about humility and putting others first, but this is enough to focus on now. We couple this with our prayer verse, Luke 10.2, and we change our perspective to a kingdomly perspective.

The Second Measure comes from Paul’s letter to the Church of Corinthian (2 Cor. 5.17). We take up Jesus’ yoke of burden when we clothe ourselves in Christ. We are then in Him, and therefore a new creation. You see, what has plagued us in the past, our sins, our failures, whatever, all of that is nothing now. We are no longer the same wastes that we have seen ourselves. Paul continues this passage in verse 19, that God does not hold our sins against us. That is a huge picture of grace here. God, through the work of Jesus, put our sins away, and reconciled us. Another passage, Paul says that God has adopted us. We are no longer waste, but we are children of the King of the Universe. We are holy children. We are forgiven and new.

I would be remiss if I left out Philippians 1.6 where Paul tells us that being a new creation, God continues to work on us. We continue to change. Whereas all the NYRs focus on the person doing the work, here are two passages that tell us that God, someone not me, is doing the work. This is an ongoing process.

Being an ongoing process, let’s consider the final measure we will look at this morning. Paul wrote these words in one of his last letters. Philippians 3.13-16. Here he is talking about being made perfect. He hasn’t. He said that God is still at work just a couple of chapters from this passage. I guess that we can say that this is more a reminder than anything else. What has happened is gone and is past. Too often we are tempted to live by the failures of the year, of life. We focus on what we could have done instead of what there is to be done. For some, they let what has happened to become their anchor. Because of some pain that they suffered, terrible as it is, keeps them from doing whatever. Because a mother abandoned her son, he became a man who never trusted a woman because he was waiting for her to betray or leave him, just like his mom. This means he might be married half a dozen times, or never married, just going from one woman to the next. Is there a pain that you have allowed to become your anchor? Paul says that is in the past.

Of course the context of the passage was more addressing successes of the past. They can be as much of an anchor or hindrance to living for Christ as pain was. When we so focus on the highs of the past, we stop dreaming for what can be done tomorrow.  We end up losing our vision. Whatever has been, was. It is interesting that verse 13 became the vision for Walt Disney, whether he acknowledged it or not. It came out in the movie several years ago, “Meet the Robinsons”. WD was known for always looking forward. In the face of success, he looked forward. In the face of adversity and failure, he still looked forward.

Now the new year is upon you. You may not be the type to make NYRs. But remember, since you have taken up Jesus’ burden, you now are new creation that our Father is still working on, that you no longer need to be shackled by the past woes. Even if you fall flat on your face Wednesday, Thursday is a brand new year. So is Friday. So is today.  

Lessons from the Magi

Let’s start with a quiz, just to make sure we are wide awake. This quiz will be a true/false quiz, and since my computer crashed this past summer, I couldn’t go back and see if I had given you this quiz. 1) The Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and then to Joseph. 2) Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem. 3) Jesus was born as soon as they arrived in Bethlehem. 4) Jesus was born in a stable. 5) Animals were present at Jesus’ birth. 6) Angels sang at the announcement to the shepherds. 7) The shepherds were told to go and worship. 8) Not all the shepherds believed Jesus was the messiah. 9) Three kings came from the orient. 10) The star the magi followed rested above the manger, where Jesus lay. 

If you answered false to all these questions, then you answered them all correctly. When I first saw this quiz, I missed the very first, and only the first statement. The reason for the quiz was that sometimes, we might allow ourselves to become so familiar with the accounts of the birth; we forget that what we know isn’t really what we know. We become so focused on what the holiday is, we forget what the event meant, and means today.

It was a tumultuous times in which Jesus came into the world. Residents of the world were in upheaval. A census had been ordered. It wasn’t like we have today, where we receive the flier in the mail to fill out and return, or even see a person come to the door and take our number. Rather than the government doing the work of tallying the people, the people were required to make the journey to their hometowns, to the place of their ancestors. Though I’ve never really understood why this was. It just was.

To make matters worse, Mary was due quite soon. I don’t know if you have traveled with a very pregnant wife, or if you had been very pregnant as you’ve needed to take a trip. I know that it is quite uncomfortable. That is what Carol has told me, and that was when she was still a couple of months out, walking Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. For Mary, the journey was 120 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. She and Joseph were at least a week on the road. Perhaps two or three, depending on how fast she was able to journey.

When they did finally arrive in Bethlehem, there was no room for them in the inn. So often, we wonder about that. Was this a curse, or a blessing in disguise? After all, inns back then were not what they are now. They were a big open building where those staying would find a piece of floor. So that by staying in the inn, giving birth would have a couple of problems. First of course is the total lack of privacy for this moment. Second, can you imagine those weary of traveling, wanting sleep, being kept up by a woman giving birth? There would have been no peace there.

So where did the couple go to for Jesus’ birth? Was it to the stables in the back of the inn? Not likely. For one, we don’t really know, but if the inn had no room for Mary and Joseph, then chances are, the stable would have been equally crowded. I don’t imagine that Jesus was born in a barn. When we travel long distances, we have our family tent packed. We set it up where and when we are able. It’s been a few years since we used it. Nevertheless, I also suspect that Joseph also had a tent packed. I can see him pitching it in a field, finding a feed trough that wasn’t in use as a make shift crib. Shepherds left them in the fields all the time for the animals, be they sheep, cows or other livestock.

So there’s Mary, giving birth. We are not sure of how long they were camping out, if they were even in a tent. But by the time we see Matthew 2, Jesus has been born, has a proper bed and the family is living in a proper house. It is here that the Magi find the new born king, and it is here where we draw our lessons about Christmas from the Magi. Let’s read the text.

Now I could focus on the gifts and their nature, how that reveals to us who Jesus is as a king and as a priest. But instead, we first need to remember that Christmas means nothing, is worth nothing if we do not see this and look forward to Easter. His mission was to live with us, die for us, and then redeem us. That is what his death, burial and resurrection has done. So what do we learn here at this end about Jesus?

Our first lesson is that Jesus is a threat. He was a threat to Herod. And He was a threat to the Temple leaders.  Of all who focus on the unrest of Jerusalem, I’ve not seen anyone look to the Temple. It was not too far from Herod’s palace. And I imagine that the priests would be anxious because they knew full well that they were not leading God’s children as they should be. Surely they saw the slight God gave them by having these foreigners before them with news that they should have been first to know, not last. With Herod, I wonder if he was familiar with this type of series of events. Was he familiar with the reign of David? God appointed him to be king instead of Saul. Now here is another king, someone who may very well be usurping supplanting the former king once again.

But then that is how some react. When they are threatened, they become dangerous. Herod was both. He told the Magi to make the careful search and report back so that he too might go and worship the young king. I am not sure what he said directly, but what he did say was enough for the Magi to apparently buy the plan of events, until that is, God warns them with a vision. Being foiled didn’t sit well with Herod. He sets to cast the net to protect his power over the people. He demands all boys 2 and under to be slaughtered in and around Bethlehem.

Now not only was Jesus a threat to Herod, though not in the way Herod thought, Jesus was also a hope. For once, in a long time, the people would have a king that would take care of them. He would become their source of comfort. No matter how dangerous the fields look, Jesus said that he would never leave us, never forsake us. He will see us through the most dangerous of storms.  For those in Bethlehem, a storm unspeakable was about to fall on them.

That is something we tend to forget as Christians. God never promised us escape from the storms of life. He promised to see us through. When the boat was tossed to and fro, Jesus came and calmed the disciples and then he calmed the sea. That is our life now. You might be going through a rough time financially, or perhaps you have a relationship that is on the rocks. The news is nothing but dire with shootings, society falling down into a financial abyss, or perhaps even just a loneliness that sometimes people are reminded, being that it’s this time of year. Jesus promised that he would walk with us, to guide us through. We don’t escape, but our hope is in something deeper than feelings or even facts. Our hope is on Jesus, our savior. By him, we can call God, papa.

The final lesson I want to take from here is that when God gives us a mission, He will provide all that we need. For the family, they had the gold, perfume and spices. All of which could have been sold to keep the family on the lam for some time. It definitely saw them to and through Egypt. Now God still does give us all that we need to carry out the mission today.

No, don’t go looking for material goods because I am using this analogy. Rather, follow me. Paul told the Church of Corinth that they had everything they needed to carry out the mission, which is proclaiming the good news. Today he gives us all that we need.

It may not be money. It is, as Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus that the same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead, that power is now ours. He prayed for that the church that they might become more aware of what God has gifted them. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is ours. The same power that Jesus said could drive a mountain into the sea, yes that is ours. It is this same power that allows us to draw closer together. It allows us to draw closer to Him. It changes us to be filled with His grace, His love, and His vision.

For us, for those who seek God’s face, His favor, I encourage you to take a second look at the Magi, at all the aspects of Jesus’ birth. Let his love for you and I permeate and flow through us to those who are lost and hurting. Let us return to the true purpose of Christmas.ll encouus to be filled with His grace, His love, and His vision.

yes that is ours.It i